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Warren Buffett it’s not the handy kind. But in 2012, during a CNBC interview, he explained exactly how someone with a wrench — and a little nerve — could make serious money in real estate.
“I would say single-family homes are cheap right now, too,” he said. “If I had a way to buy a few hundred thousand single-family homes and I had a way to manage — the management is huge — that’s really the problem because they’re one-by-one. They’re not like condos. But I’d load up on them and take out mortgages at very, very low rates.”
This wasn’t just a random suggestion. Buffett was telling a textbook: use low-interest 30-year fixed-rate debt, buy income-generating assets, and let inflation work in your favor.
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“If I was an investor who was a hands-on guy, which I’m not, and I could buy a few of them at distressed prices and find tenants … again, taking out a 30-year mortgage … it’s an efficient way to own a very cheap asset right now.”
Then came the line that summed it all up: “It’s a way, in effect, to short the dollar.”
At the time, the median home price in the US was just over $150,000. Mortgage rates were below 4%. And the market was still recovering from the housing crash, awash in foreclosures and fear.
Buffett was asked what advice he would give to a young investor choosing between buying their first home or investing in stocks.
Trends: Why Billionaires Like Warren Buffett Prefer Real Assets Over Speculation—Institutional real estate is now accessible to individuals
“If I knew where I wanted to live in the next 5 or 10 years, I would buy a house and finance it with a 30-year mortgage,” he said. “And it’s a great deal.”
Today, in 2026, mortgage rates are much higher. Home prices rose over $400,000. The distressed deals Buffett refers to are harder to come by, and for most buyers, the “cheap asset” moment is long gone.
But the basic principle has not changed.
Buffett wasn’t urging people to flip houses. He outlined how to use fixed-rate leverage to buy productive, income-generating assets—assets that don’t just sit there, but pay you monthly while the actual cost of your loan shrinks over time.
See also: This startup backed by Jeff Bezos will let you become an owner in just 10 minutes with minimum investments of up to $100.
For those who still want to follow the logic without turning into full-time homeowners, platforms like Arrived make it easy to invest in rental homes without the toolbox. For just $100 you can buy fractional shares in real estate, and Arrived takes care of everything Buffett has flagged as a dealbreaker: management. That means no flushing toilets at midnight, chasing down rent checks, or stressing about what your tenants just threw in the trash.
Buffett didn’t lift a hammer. I didn’t have to. But the strategy he described in 2012 still works. He owns the good. Fix the debt. Let time and inflation do the rest.
Read next: The secret to Buffett’s wealth? Private real estate –Get institutional access
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This article Billionaire Warren Buffett Said If He Were A Smart Guy, He Would ‘Short the Dollar’ By Buying Distressed Homes With 30-Year Mortgages and Renting Them Originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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