Why Your Family Home Isn’t an Investment Strategy, and Why That’s Actually a Good Thing

Most Australians grow up believing their family home is their smartest investment. It’s the dream, right? Buy the house, pay it off, live happily ever after. We pour our savings, our weekends, and a good chunk of our identities into four walls and a postcode, convinced it’s the golden ticket to financial freedom.

But here’s the truth no one talks about: your family home won’t make you rich. In fact, it might be the very reason you stay stuck financially longer than you need to.

I’m not saying homeownership is bad. Far from it. I’m saying it’s time we separate what builds wealth from what builds a life. Because those two things aren’t always the same and confusing them could cost you more than money.

I’ve spent years inside the numbers with families across Australia, helping them build real financial freedom. I’ve also seen what makes a house truly valuable and it has very little to do with resale price. In partnership with Nexus Built, we’re unpacking a mindset shift that could reshape the way you think about wealth, security, and your own front door.

If you’ve ever felt financially stretched by your dream home, this article is for you. If you’ve ever wondered why the numbers don’t quite add up but the memories do, read on.

You walk through your front door after a long day. The kids are laughing in the living room, the smell of dinner’s simmering on the stove, and there’s that one scuff mark on the wall from last Christmas’ toy car crash. That’s not an asset on a balance sheet, it won’t produce you and income, and it won’t set you free financially, but that’s home. It’s where your family grows, where you host barbecues, and where you find peace amid the chaos of life, memories!!

For me, this is what homeownership is all about: certainty and stability. It’s knowing you’ve got a place to call your own, no matter what the world throws at you. Put the first (of many) school paintings on the wall, hang the professional family portrait that we got 5 years ago in the loungeroom for every guest to see. No landlord jacking up the rent (Except the RBA and interest rates but that’s another story) No worry about someone kicking you out for their brother in-law, and No need to stress about cleaning for a house inspection. Why? Because it’s yours! My wife Emily put this best when we bought our family home. “It’s a place we can grow old, create memories, but more importantly a safe place for our kids to grow up close to their School’s and friends”. A home isn’t an investment, it’s where my kids will remember their childhood the late-night stories, the backyard adventures. That’s worth more than any dollar sign.

She’s right. A family home offers an emotional return that’s impossible to quantify. It’s the late-night talks on the porch, the first pet’s muddy paw prints, the quiet mornings with coffee in hand. These are the moments Nexus Built helps bring to life, turning your vision into a space that’s uniquely yours. But while your heart might lead you to buy or build, your head needs to weigh in on the financial side too.

Let’s get honest for a second, buying a home isn’t cheap, and it’s rarely stress-free. For most families, especially in those first five years, the financial stretch is real. You’ve maxed your borrowing capacity, renovations cost more than you budgeted (don’t they always?), and suddenly, you’re not just juggling your mortgage you’re juggling your lifestyle, too.

That Instagram-worthy kitchen or perfectly landscaped yard? It can easily set you back tens of thousands and often delays other financial goals like investing or upgrading your car. Overcapitalising on your home might not just pause your financial progress, it can rewind it by years. I’ve seen clients get five years down the road and realise they’ve put every spare dollar into a property that’s given them little to no financial return. The equity is there, but it’s locked up. It’s not helping with school fees, it’s not building wealth, it’s just sitting in bricks and mortar.

But and it’s a big but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.

Because over that same five years, you’ve created something money can’t measure. You’ve hosted your first Christmas lunch. You’ve danced in the kitchen with your kids. You’ve walked them to the same school each morning, built friendships with neighbours, and turned four walls into a life.

That’s the real payoff of homeownership: certainty, stability, and memories that matter. Like my wife Emily said when we moved into our family home, “It’s not about the investment return. It’s about raising our kids somewhere safe, surrounded by their friends, close to their school, and feeling like this is ours.” She was right.

You don’t buy a home to build wealth. You buy it to build a life. And yes, it will cost you but in return, you get a kind of emotional wealth that no spreadsheet could ever capture.

Here’s the part no one tells you:
The moment you stop expecting your home to make you money… is the moment it starts giving you something even more valuable.

Relief. Freedom. Permission to live.

• Live for You, Not the Market. That wallpaper you love but worry will hurt resale? Put it up. That oddly shaped reading nook you’ve been dreaming about? Build it. The team at Nexus Built gets it, they design homes that reflect you, not the hypothetical future buyer. When you stop renovating for profit, you start creating for joy.

• Build Real Wealth Elsewhere. Here’s the practical upside: when you free your home from being your “investment strategy,” you can channel your energy into smarter financial moves. Diversifying into shares, ETFs, super, or even a separate investment property has consistently outperformed tying up equity in one oversized mortgage. I’ve seen clients use their newly built equity or save $300k home purchase, upgrade and instead build a $1.2M portfolio over 20 years. That’s not just better maths. That’s leverage.

• Less Pressure, More Peace. You don’t have to stretch yourself thin to “keep up.” A modest home that supports your lifestyle will always beat a showpiece that burdens it. Because no one wins when your dream home turns into your biggest stressor.

• Emotional Wealth Beats ROI. Here’s the real return: the birthday parties in the backyard. The quiet Sunday coffees. The nights under the stars. Those memories aren’t for sale, and they were never meant to be.

Your family home isn’t your super fund. It’s your sanctuary. And that shift in mindset?
That’s where real freedom begins.

This isn’t just philosophy, it’s strategy. Here’s what I tell clients every week:

1. Budget for Home Life
Set aside money for repairs and upgrades but don’t let the home eat your future. Set boundaries, not just dreams. Create an emergency fund. I always recommend starting with 3 months of expenses. (If you don’t know what this is, Download a Quarterly Statement from your bank). Golden rule is your home repayments should be no more than 40% of your total take home pay.

2. Diversify Your Assets
Your family home alone won’t build true wealth. Diversify into shares, ETFs, superannuation, or other liquid assets that actually grow. My Biggest Tip, automate your savings, investments, bills, extra repayments onto the mortgage each time you get paid. Money comes in and automatically goes out.

3. Measure Value in More Than Dollars
If you’re renovating, ask: “Will this make life better, easier, or fulfill our dreams?” If the answer is yes, that’s enough. Not everything has to make financial sense to make life sense.

4. Use the Right Experts
Builders like Nexus Built turn vision into bricks and mortar. Advisors like me help ensure your wealth grows alongside your lifestyle. Don’t do it alone.

5. Love Where You Live
Make your home a reflection of you, not a version of someone else’s valuation. If it makes you feel alive, it’s valuable.

Your family home is where your story unfolds. It’s not a share price. It’s not a retirement plan. It’s not a vehicle for passive income. It’s the space where your children will remember their childhood. It’s the place you’ll look back on and say, we made a life here.

So let it be that.

And let your wealth be built intentionally elsewhere, where it’s designed to grow, to work, to perform.

At Nexus Built, they understand this. They don’t just build homes, they craft spaces for families to live freely, emotionally and practically. And at Tenex Wealth, I’ll help you put the financial plan in place so that your home can stay what it’s meant to be yours.

Take a moment today. Walk through your house. Don’t just look at the finishes, feel the memories, the future still waiting to happen. If you’re ready to talk, about your home, your wealth, or the balance between the two, reach out. Because this is the beginning of your next chapter. Live life on your terms.

Tune in to Your Wealth Playbook for more insight. Or get in touch directly at Tenex Wealth or with the team at Nexus Built. Let’s build something that lasts emotionally, financially, and meaningfully.