Why you care about appreciation even if you plan to stay for the rest of your life. Someone hear posted that you will not get equity for the 1st ten years or so because interest doesn't reduce your principal. These are historically low interest times, and this administration is making policies that are inflationary. Your interest is tax deductible, so is your property taxes, but back on subject. If you buy an energy efficient home and others are not, for example, in a world that is going to nail us to heat and cool our homes, you created a strong scenario for appreciation, and if you get enough of it, you can borrow on it tax free. You will be paying mip on an fha loan because you are not 80%ltv . If your house appreciates to below 80% ltv, you can go conventional and not pay any mortgage insurance premium in the future.. Shit happens.. I bought a house in Warrenton, Va in 2015. I still have it,, but my wife wants to live where the action is in Northern Virginia.. My former wife passed away in 2017. My new wife makes me live here, but A) I like it here too, and đ She is hot, smart and 29.5 years younger than me. If she decides she wants to live in bumbfuck Alaska, I'm goin'.. Like I said, shit happens. Btw, for the 1st time in my life, I am renting here in Alexandria, because I refuse to participate in this insane asylum of a market, even knowing I could get rapid appreciation here if the bubble doesn't burst. That's a real risk here...I would characterize the GB market as low risk...not big bucks like here.