While aspiring buyers are finding the current housing market challenging around Montgomery County, homeowners are enjoying the increasing values of their homes, writes Michaelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

For the majority of families, owning property is currently the primary way to build wealth.

In the Philadelphia metropolitan area and around the collar counties, a homeowner has already gained over $110,000 in equity if he or she has been living in their house for five years. If a resident has lived in the home for ten years, the number is closer to $150,000, roughly the same as 15 years.

Meanwhile, those who have lived in their homes for 30 years have gained more than $310,000 in equity.

Home equity provides repeat buyers with an advantage in the housing market compared with the majority of first-time buyers who do not have the cash to compete. Homeowners also have the advantage of being able to borrow money against their home’s equity.

This is typically a less expensive option than personal loans and credit cards.

According to Gay Cororaton, senior economist and director of housing and commercial research at the National Association of Realtors, the potential homeownership benefits also become social benefits, “enabling the next generation to step up the economic ladder.”

Read more about the current housing market in The Philadelphia Inquirer.