How Much Has Your Investment Grown?

Want to see an example of why owning a home is one of the best ways to create wealth? Suppose you bought the average home in Charleston in January of 1998. It would have cost you $136,541. Based on a down payment of only $1000, your monthly payment would have been around $1000 and that would include your taxes and insurance. 10 years later in January of 2008, you would still owe $114,906 on that home, but it would now be worth $304,386, the average home sales price in January of 2008. That's a profit of $189,480. How else can you turn $1000 into $189,480 in 10 years?