Buying a house means more opportunities for this first-time owner
Buying a house means more opportunities for this first-time owner
Monique Coleman was 44 years old when she decided to make the leap into homeownership. At the time, she and her teenage daughter were living in Clarksburg, Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C., and finding a home was proving to be a challenge.
“I looked up and down, all the way around, every place in Maryland,” Coleman said. “And when I tell you the places that were in my price range, they were like shoe boxes.”
After viewing one home that Coleman described as “dilapidated,” she decided it was time to look farther afield.
“I told my real estate agent, ‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ And we got in the car and we started trekking up [U.S. Route] 340, which is the bridge that changes Maryland to West Virginia.”
In West Virginia, Coleman found more options in her price range. According to data from the real estate brokerage platform Redfin, in 2023 the median sale price in Maryland was $394,900; in West Virginia, it was $282,600. Ultimately, Coleman opted for a new construction site in Charles Town, West Virginia.
“I told my daughter, ‘Let’s build a house,'” said Coleman. “And she goes, ‘Oh, let’s build a house!'”
One of the biggest reasons Coleman decided to become a homeowner was that she hoped it would help her build wealth. She wants her daughter go to college without taking on much debt.
“As a result of me being a homeowner … if I need to take money out, I can do that,” Coleman said. “I’m still paying off student debt. And I did not want that to be the case for her.”
According to a 2018 study from the Urban Institute, homeownership is one of the main ways that American households build wealth. And for Black homeowners like Coleman, there’s evidence that rising home values have made a dent in the racial wealth gap.
“As a result of me knowing that I can do this, I’m thinking forward,” Coleman said. “So what happens when she goes to college? Do I stay? Do I flip it? My whole outlook is totally different now.”
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