Today’s mortgage rates and home prices might make you question if now is the right time to buy a home. While current market conditions are important to consider, it’s equally essential to focus on the bigger picture: the long-term advantages of owning a home.

Think about it this way—if you know someone who purchased a home 5, 10, or even 30 years ago, chances are they don’t regret their decision. That’s because, over time, home values tend to increase, which directly contributes to growing a homeowner’s net worth. Here’s how that growth can significantly accumulate over the years.

Home Price Trends Over Time
The map below, based on data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), illustrates how home prices have risen over the past five years. Since prices differ by location, the map highlights regional trends to give a clearer view of broader market movements:

You can see that nationally, home prices increased by over 57% in just five years.

Some regions are slightly above or below that average, but overall, home prices saw a big uptick in a short time. And if you zoom out even more, the benefit of homeownership — and the drastic gains homeowners made over the years — become even more clear (see map below):

The second map shows that, over a roughly 30-year span, home prices appreciated by an average of more than 320% nationally.

So the typical homeowner who bought a house about 30 years ago saw their home triple in value during that time. And that’s a major reason so many homeowners who bought their homes years ago are still happy with their decision today.