Purchasing your dream North Florida home is one of the biggest investments you may make. It is also one of the best investments you will ever make. As a general rule, houses appreciate about five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. This figure will also differ from neighborhood to neighborhood and region to region. Five percent may same miniscule at first, but upon looking further, a home is truly a great investment. If you bought a home for $200,000, it would increase in value $10,000 during the first year. That means that you earned $10,000 with an investment of $40,000. That’s nearly a 25 % return on investment. You are making mortgage payments and paying property taxes, along with a couple of other costs. Since the interest on your mortgage and your property taxes are both tax deductible, the government is subsidizing your home purchase. Basically, your rate of return when purchasing a property is higher than most any other investment you could make.