When thinking about real estate, you might wonder whether it's smarter to buy land or purchase a house. Both options have unique benefits, and the right choice depends on your goals, budget, and lifestyle. Some people dream of building a custom home from scratch in , while others want the convenience of moving into a ready-made property in Kirkland, WA . In this Redfin article, we help you understand the differences between the two so you can make an informed decision.
I grew up in a modest household in Hawaii - first-gen, middle class. We were the kind of family where you're taught to save every penny and keep your head down. The kind where we never ordered soda on the rare occasion we actually went to a restaurant. I followed those values into adulthood. I earned an engineering degree, landed a W-2 job, lived frugally, and saved hard.
The shrinking profitability for home flipping is largely due to home prices, which continue to climb nationally, albeit at a slower pace, driving up acquisition costs for investors. "We're seeing very low profit margins from home flipping because of the historically high cost of homes," said Rob Barber, Attom's CEO. "The initial buy-in for properties that are ideal for flipping, often lower priced homes that may need some work, keeps going up."
Cory B. George has never been afraid of risk. Whether at the card table or in the boardroom, he sees decision-making as a mix of strategy, timing, and instinct. "Poker taught me patience," he says. "You don't win every hand, but you learn to stay calm, read the situation, and wait for the right move." That same mindset shaped his career.
My trusty spreadsheet reviewed data from Cotality - previously known as CoreLogic - tracking the share of single-family home purchases made by people not occupying the property. My focus was on the average pace of the past 18 months - last year and the first six months of 2025 - and how those investment patterns compared to the previous nine years. What stands out: Seven of California's 10 most significant increases in investor share of homebuying were nowhere near the Pacific.
