Your home is not just a house anymore, this is an investment for many and it is the largest investment one can ever make. According to information given by a realtor in Greater Alexandria, the local real estate market is continuing to have steady growth in value.

In 2006, the average cost of a residential house in Alexandria was about $161,290 and in 2007 the average cost of a home has increased to $168,132. One of the greatest financial aspects of buying a house is the ability to leverage your money. Leverage permits you to use a small down payment and financing to purchase a larger investment. For instance, if you have bought a $150,000 home with 20 percent down, you leveraged the $30,000 down payment to purchase an asset worth 5 times that amount.

The benefits of leverage really become apparent with appreciation or the rise in value of a property. If you take the same $150,000 and the property values in your area were to increase on an average of 3 percent a year, your house would then be worth almost $175,000 in 5 years.