Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.
High mortgage rates and elevated home prices continue to make buying a home a costly proposition for many Americans.
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.5% to 3.75% at its latest meeting in July, while mortgage rates remain well above the ultra-low levels buyers enjoyed earlier this decade (1). Meanwhile, a Realtor.com analysis found that renting a starter home was cheaper than buying one across all 50 of the largest U.S. metros in March, with renters saving an average of $920 per month (2).
Must Read
That gap helps explain why real estate mogul Grant Cardone has argued that Americans shouldn’t necessarily be rushing to buy a home.
In an interview on YouTube for VladTV, Cardone said high mortgage rates were creating a unique environment for the American housing market, predicting that housing prices will skyrocket over the next decade (3).
His solution? Consider renting instead.
“Rents in this country are about half of what a mortgage is,” he said in a video posted to his TikTok (4). “You have no equity in it, no down payment, minimal insurance, you’re not paying property taxes and you have no maintenance.”
But renting your home doesn’t necessarily mean giving up on real estate as an investment. Cardone’s broader argument is that Americans can put the money they save by renting toward real estate that generates income instead.
And there are ways to get exposure to real estate without buying a property yourself or taking on a traditional mortgage. Here’s a look at some of those options.
A renter’s future?
If renting instead of buying a home seems like unusual advice, Cardone doesn’t think so. In fact, he seems to think it could become the new norm.
“America will become a renter nation. You will rent your cars, you will rent where you live, you might even rent your clothes in the future (5).”
Along with all the talk of renting, he clarified in a different video, “I’m not saying ‘don’t own real estate,’ I’m saying live in a house and pay rent. Take all the money that you would have spent on that house and invest in real estate that [has] cash flows — that pays you every month” (7).
Many prospective homebuyers are already feeling priced out of the market. Mortgages have been hovering above 6% for over three years, and haven’t previously been that high since 2008 — after the subprime mortgage crisis hit.
And with rates expected to stay at this level until the end of 2027 (6), is any mortgage really worth it?
Cardone saw this coming, too. Back in 2023, he predicted the necessity for substantially longer mortgage terms on the horizon.
“The savior of America will not be lower prices, it will be longer mortgages,” he said in a TikTok video at the time (5). “In your lifetime, you will see mortgages go from 30 to 40, 50 and maybe even 60 years. You could, if you live long enough, see a 100-year mortgage in America.”
However, we’re not quite there yet. Forty-year mortgages do exist, but according to Rocket Mortgage, lenders who offer them often do so with “nontraditional mortgage features” — since mortgages this long don’t meet the qualified mortgage standard (8).
But following Cardone’s strategy doesn’t necessarily require buying an investment property outright, or becoming a landlord yourself.
Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here’s where their money is actually going
Invest without a mortgage
In the meantime, you can still invest in residential real estate without having to buy or manage a property yourself — let alone take on decades’ worth of debt.
Invest in rentals through crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has become a buzzword in recent years. It refers to the practice of funding a project by raising smaller amounts of money from many people.
Many crowdfunding investing platforms allow you to own a percentage of physical real estate — from rental properties and commercial buildings to parcels of land. These platforms make real estate investing more accessible to the general public by simplifying the process and lowering the barriers to entry.
So, if you aren’t ready to jump into homeownership (financially or otherwise), platforms like Arrived let you buy stakes in rental properties, earn dividends and skip the responsibilities of property management.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.
Their flexible investment options allow both accredited and non-accredited investors to benefit from this inflation-hedging asset class with ease. You start by browsing vetted properties, then you simply select a property and choose the number of shares to buy.
Look beyond traditional rental investing
Rental properties have long been a proven source of steady, passive income for high-net-worth investors. It’s no wonder that real estate accounts for nearly 25% of the typical family office portfolio. However, the time, effort and costs involved in managing and maintaining multiple properties prevent many from investing. So unless you’re a hedge fund titan or an oil baron, you’ve been shut out of one of the most profitable corners of the market.
That’s where mogul comes in. This real estate investment platform offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, which gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or 3 a.m. tenant calls.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the mogul team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, you can invest in institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.
Each property undergoes a vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10% and 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.
Every investment is secured by real assets, not dependent on the platform’s viability. Each property is held in a standalone Propco LLC, so investors own the property — not the platform. Blockchain-based fractionalization adds a layer of safety, ensuring a permanent, verifiable record of each stake.
Getting started is a quick and easy process. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.
Farmland offers another way to diversify
Rental homes aren’t the only type of real estate that can generate income or potentially appreciate over time. Investors looking to diversify beyond residential properties can also consider assets that behave differently from the housing market.
Farmland is an option to consider — and you don’t necessarily need to buy an entire farm to get exposure.
FarmTogether gives accredited investors a way to invest in fractional ownership of U.S. farmland. Investors can potentially earn income from crop production while also benefiting if the value of the land increases over time.
The platform has $217 million in assets under management across 51 funded deals, covering eight states and 15 crop types. FarmTogether says each offering goes through a 105-point due diligence process, and less than 1% of deals in its pipeline make it onto the platform.
Farmland has also historically held up differently than other assets during downturns. According to FarmTogether’s own data comparing NCREIF indices from 1992-2025, farmland’s returns have shown a lower correlation to inflation than stocks, bonds or REITs.
This may be a fit if you:
-
Want exposure to farmland as a distinct, historically uncorrelated asset class
-
Can commit capital for a multi-year hold period (5-12+ years)
-
Are comfortable with a $15,000+ minimum investment
It may not be a fit if you:
You May Also Like
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Federal Reserve (1); Realtor.com (2); @VladTV (3); @grantcardone (4, 5, 7); Mortgage Bankers Association (6); Rocket Mortgage (8)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
