Regardless of whether you have the money, putting money down to purchase a home doesn’t make sense if you don’t have to. Savvy investors know that keeping that down payment money in their pocket, frees it up for other investments and keeps it working for you.

One of the biggest misconceptions homeowners have is that their home is the best investment they ever made. If you purchased a home in 1990 for $250,000 and sold in June of 2003 for $600,000 that represents a gain of 140%. During the same period, the Dow Jones grew from 2590 to 9188, a gain of 255%. The reality here is that financing your home was the best investment decision you ever made. When you purchased the $250,000 house in 1990, you only put $50,000 down. The $50,000 cash investment produced a profit of $350,000. That is a total return of 600%, far outpacing the measly 255% earned by the stock market.