The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway - Is Homeownership Still Worth It? + Why Work-Life Balance Is a Myth

Episode Date: May 11, 2026

Scott Galloway explains why renting often beats buying in high-cost markets like the Bay Area, makes the case for building economic trajectory over work-life balance, and offers a post-exit founder a framework for finding purpose without a company to run. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [e-mail], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast, and here you are. But home projects are a little different. If the podcast isn't your thing, you might lose a few minutes from your day, but if you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your TV, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage. I know a guy isn't a good strategy for your home. That's why Thumbtack works so well.

It matches you with top-rated local pros with photos, reviews and credentials, all in one convenient place. For your next home project, try Thumbtack. Hire the Right Prod today. Welcome to Office Hours with Prop G. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, pickethech entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind.

In case you missed it, Office Hours is now airing on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Prop G pod feed. You'll get double the dog, double the inside. Anyways, if you'd like to submit a question for next time, you can send a voice recording to office hours ofprofittymedia.com. Again, that's office hours ofproftymedia.com or post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit, and we just might feature it in our next episode. Our first question comes from Reddit, user Snapcrackle Pirate and asks,

Hi, Scott, I live in one of the most expensive areas in California. Both my husband and I were born here with two sets of grandparents and a young child. Leaving isn't really an option. It's a bit surreal to be renting at 35, but here we are. The twist in our sense, situation, will likely inherit two homes in this area down the line. So my question is, how should we think about renting versus buying in the context of a future inheritance? Is it more rational to buy anyway to start building equity despite the higher monthly cost,

or keep renting, invest the down payment in the market, and effectively wait for eventual homeownership through inheritance? Put differently, is chasing homeownership in a high-cost markets to a smart financial move, or just a legacy belief our generation hasn't let go of yet? huh, I just wouldn't plan your life around an expected inheritance. I would assume you're not going to inherit something and try and shape your decisions and ambitions around that because unfortunately death is persnickety and you don't know when you're going to inherit stuff.

So first off, when they've done studies on homeownership as an asset class, it has not outperformed and sometimes on many measures has underperformed other asset classes. But why is it generally speaking a good idea to buy a home in general? It's generally speaking a good idea. Why? Because it's forced savings. People will cancel their Netflix or they sell a stock if they get in trouble or need the money.

People will very rarely miss their mortgage payment and get evicted from their home. So it's forced savings, forces you be a bit more responsible. And also the earnings or the appreciation, the capital appreciation of home grows tax deferred. until you sell it, at which point I would suggest, depending if it's not your prime residence, you take advantage to $500,000 tax deduction for two people, if it's just real estate, put it in an LLC, and then you can do a 1031 exchange. Anyways, I think about taxes a lot. So is it, the reality is buying versus renting is situational. Generally speaking, in the Bay Area and in New York, it is much better to rent.

The statewide income needed to qualify for a mid-tier mortgage has grown much faster than median household income. Only about 23% of California households likely qualify for a mid-tier home mortgage a day down from 31% in 2019. So look, I've done really well on homes, but it seems like home prices in the Bay Area, three and a half times monthly rent for a comparable two-pedroom home are pretty elevated. So your situation of mortgage payment two-time rent is actually conservative by California's most expensive standards. And California statewide price-to-rent ratio is approximately 33.2, well above a threshold of 20, that signals renting is financially superior choice on a monthly cost basis to see above. It's probably better to rent in the Bay Area.

A ratio below 15 favors buying. A ratio above 20 favors renting. There's an interesting study on buying versus renting, a 2026-10-year rent versus buy wealth study, model 250 U.S. cities using Zill at home values and a 10.35% S&P benchmark return. Homeownership came out ahead in 250 cities when assuming a renter only invested the down payment, but when assuming the renter invested both the down payment and the monthly savings from cheaper rent, buying one in fewer cities. And this has been after, and I think this data's a little fucked out,

because I think this is probably after an unprecedented run-up in housing prices due to regulation from incumbents making harder to build than COVID. Kay Schiller, or I forget his name, is it Schiller? Anyways, basically, it's done a lot of research here saying that as an asset class, it's the same or less in most instances. Anyways, important advice for your situation, check the inheritance tax math. California's Prop 13 caps property taxes at around 1% of the original purchase price, so a home bought for 200,000 decades ago might only carry $2,000 a year tax bill, even if it's not worth $2 million. But under Prop 19, passed in 2021, errors only get to keep that low rate if they move into the inherited home as they're primary residence within a year. Otherwise, the county resets the tax to current market value,

potentially five to ten times increases oversight. So in other words, if and when you inherit this home, think hard about moving in within 12 months to maintain that advantageous tax status. So what you look at is yields. And basically, if something, you know, if a home costs a million dollars and you can generate $50,000 in rental income, that's a 5% yield. The yield, the yield, the The yields in places like San Francisco and New York are very low, meaning it's a better deal to rent than to buy. If you were in Nashville or Lubbock, Texas, I would err on the side of saying no, buy. So don't feel as if you need to buy to be an adult. Sometimes renting is the way to go.

Chasing home ownership for some sort of psychological benefit when it doesn't make any sense is not a great idea. I would argue that I don't know what home prices are like in the barrier, but I imagine there's somewhat inflated given the AI boom. So I don't know. Look, unless you're going to get a ton of psychic reward from buying right now, I would probably say hold off. And also don't feel ashamed to rent versus own. But I would plan your life assuming those people don't ever pass away. Anyways, again, another good problem. Thanks for the question.

Question number two. Hi, Scott. This is Adam from Queensland, Australia. I wanted to ask about your idea of men adding surplus value, especially as far as far as, others trying to be better dads than their own. For context, I'm traditionally a high school phys ed and science teacher, but a few years ago, we started breeding edible insects and running education programs in schools to teach kids about sustainability, food systems and STEM in a more engaging way than we felt we could in our traditional roles. So we didn't have to take on debt

for that startup. We've been selling repurposed wine barrels as bar tables, ice baths and hot tubs and this has become its own great business, and I'm super proud of the work that we do. My dilemma is this. I think we get paid really well as teachers, in my state anyway, although that doesn't make me popular with other teachers. But right now, I'm earning less,

I'm working way harder, and I'm not around my family as much as I would be if I was just in the classroom. But I've never been so motivated and driven in my work, and when I am home, I feel I'm more present and engaged as a dad and feel like I'm chasing something bigger for my family. My dad certainly wasn't absent, but he did work a lot, and he also provided really well for us financially, and I'm kind of stuck in between.

I'm more present, but the financial side is still a bit of a gamble. As someone who's been open about how hard they worked, how would you look at my situation and think about adding surplus value to your family when there's a trade-off between being, present and engagement and finances. Lots of love to you and the team, mate. You guys were my top pod of 2025 and I wish I was as cool as Ed Elson. Cheers. Thanks to Adam from Queensland. If I was so far we'd all live there, I've been, I try and go there every couple years and every time I go down there, I think these are my people. I think you're struggling with what a lot of men struggle with and that is balancing being a good dad, a good partner, a good neighbor,

in trying to be a good provider, and the sacrifice that takes in an increasingly competitive society. And not only that, the self-esteem or the lack of self-esteem that comes along with being more economically viable or less, which men are disproportionately evaluated on, but at the same time trying to be a good dad. So the common or the conventional narrative out there right now is sacrifice economic upside to spend more time,

with your kids. And I don't buy it. I was a bit of a workaholic. I could have sacrificed some time. I get all of my identity, unfortunately, at least until recently, from my professional success or lack thereof. And also, not growing up with money, which is so important to me, that I was willing to just work all the time. And at one point, I probably went five or ten years too long working that hard and it came at a cost. I always say it cost me my hair. It costs me my first marriage. And it was worth it. Now, what do I mean by that? I think in a capitalist society and is what sounds like maybe you're the primary breadwinner, I think you have an obligation to your family and to yourself to develop some economic security. And the trajectory you set for yourself professionally

in your 30s and 40s, really your 20s, 20s 30s and 40s is just so important. I think of it, similar to a launch, and that is a projectile or a rocket or Artemis or Saturn or the Falcon Heavy rocket expect rates 97% of its fuel just getting out of the soupy low orbit. But then that speed can take it tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of miles based on its trajectory and its speed when it gets into space on almost no fuel. So you want to burn a lot of fuel, my brother, in your 30s and 40s, and really establish a nice professional and financial trajectory that will give you momentum into your 40s, 50s, and 60s. And unless you're smart enough to be born to rich parents, there's no balance.

There's just tradeoffs. And the tradeoff I took was to have less time with my family early, such that I would have more time as they got older. I have a crazy amount of balance right now. I'm going to kick off in a couple hours and go to Selfridges and have dim sum with my kid. My oldest told me he likes Empire of the Sun. I'm going to try and get his tickets when they're here in London. You know, I can take a car out to his boarding school on Wednesday night and hang out with him. I can do a college tour with him and I'm already planning. He's going to UVA. I'm already planning to go to the

UVA Berkeley game and bring a bunch of friends with me. I just have, I just have so much wonderful balance and time with loved ones right now. But it came at a price. I remember coming home when I'd been on the road for two or three weeks, meeting with clients all over the world. I mean literally all over the world. My biggest clients were Audi and Samsung, do the math in terms of geography there. And just being really bummed out because the first thing I would do, I would go into the room at night and just look in on them sleeping, and I would notice they had physically grown. Then since the last time I saw them several weeks earlier, they were bigger. It would really bum me out, and I thought, am I, do I not get it? And I look back on it, And the reality is I'm glad I made the sacrifice because, and this isn't the way the world should be, but the way the world is, their health care, their ability, your ability to get them great education, your ability to help them out if they don't get a, you know, come out of the gates right out of school, your ability to do nice things, given how long you're probably going to live. I don't know. I've just, my advice is always establish economic trajectory, do what you can't.

to be with your kids and your partner. Obviously, prioritize certain moments, certain events that you've got to be at. I'm flying back. I go to every year out of your account lines. I'm flying back a few days early to go to my kids, what's it called, speech day, which is awful.

I've been before, and I'm not sure that means that much to them, but it just feels like I should be there for that. Anyway, I'm doing some virtue signaling right now. I think every TikTok and all your friends are going to be generous with your money, and decide you should spend more time with your family and your kids. And what I have found is that the sacrifices early on in the trajectory

it established for me has given me a great deal of balance later in life. And the balance later in life is really important because, one, I didn't have the mojo, I don't have the mojo and the energy you have to really go at it. And so if I found myself now in a position where I was a bit financially anxious, it would put huge strain on my relationship with my partner and my kids. So in some, it sounds to me like you have great judgment and you're doing the right thing. It's a very personal decision. You have to get alignment with your partner.

Some people decide they don't want to do what I do. I'm not saying my way is the right way. It's just my way. And they want to move to a lower cost area, coach Little League, and prioritize family and church and not money. God love them. And they're very happy. That was not how I wanted to be. I wanted to have the money to live in New York and then London and have kids, and that is just a shit ton of money, which means a lot of sacrifice early on.

A very personal decision, I think the world who doesn't need to pay your mortgage will advise you or have a bias telling you to spend more time with your family and sacrifice professional relationships. I don't think that's necessarily the default. Get alignment with your partner and also the sacrifice and the trajectory you established now are really important for a laborer. in life. But again, these are very personal decisions. I don't think there's a right way. I think there's just your way. Very much appreciate the question. We'll be right back after a quick break. Support for the show comes from Vanta. If you're a business owner, you're probably seen the shift. Risk and regulation are rising and customers now expect proof of security before they'll even sign on. Building that trust is critical to closing deals, but it's often costly,

time-consuming, and complex. Vanta says that's exactly the problem they've built to solve. Vanta your compliance process to bring compliance risk and customer trust together on one AI powered platform. So whether you're prepping for a SOC 2 or running an entire GRC program, VANTTA keeps you secure and keeps your deals moving. This helps companies get compliant fast and remain compliant, opening doors to next level growth opportunities and freeing a valuable time. That means no more digging through audits and spreadsheets. Instead, you get a system working quietly in the background, keeping you compliant, reducing risk, and helping your business scale quickly and with confidence. companies including ramp and riders spend 82% less time on audits with Vanta.

That's not just faster compliance, it's more time for growth. You can get started at vana.com slash prop G. That's VAN-V-A-N-T-A.com slash provg. Support for the show comes from IMA. Every day it seems like there's a new fad diet that wants to tell you what to cut out and what to add in. But before you go and fill your fridge with beef tallow and salmon skin, ask yourself if you're actually getting the full scope of vitamin and minerals you need in a day. Here's a tip to help you fill in the gaps.

IMAID's daily ultimate essentials drink. IMAE uses clean ingredients. It's NSF certified, which means all the ingredients are third-party tested for purity. Our colleague Ed, Ed, IMAid. Ed, IMA. Love it. Hydrating, refreshing, makes me feel like I'm healthy. I hope I am healthy, but this makes me really feel that way.

So big fan of IMA8. Nice. Give your body what it deserves with Ion 8. IAM8, go to IM8health.com slash prop G and use code pop G for a free welcome kit. Five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. That's IM number eight, h-e-a-l-t-h-h-h-com.com slash prop-G code prop-G for a free welcome kit, five travel sachets plus 10% off your order. IMAidhealth.com slash prop-G code prop-G.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose treat, cure, or prevent any disease. support for the show comes from ADWS. How much of your work days actually work versus just hunting for information? The answer you need is buried in a Slack thread. The data is in Salesforce or in an email from two weeks ago. By the time you pulled it all together, half your morning is gone. That's the problem Amazon Quick was built to solve.

Quick is an intelligent workplace assistant that connects to all your systems, your documents, your dashboard, Salesforce, to your Slack email, and gives you complete answers in seconds. Not links to dig through, actual answers with full calls, context. And here's where it gets interesting. Quick doesn't just find answers. It turns them into action. Create a deck, update a ticket, send a message right there in the conversation without switching tools. It's AI that actually works the way you do. Learn more at AWS.com slash Quick. Welcome back. Question number three comes for a listener who emailed us.

Hey Scott, I spent 27 years building and running a manufacturing company, burned out years before the sale, but kept going on pure stubbornness. Now it's three years post-close. I'm finding financially fine. Still a part of owner, just enough involvement to be able to feel connected, but not enough to feel the heat, and I have absolutely no idea what to do with myself. To be clear, I'm not depressed. I don't miss the status or the importance. I generally love not grinding every day. The problem is I can't seem to get motivated by anything that's supposed to come next, not my other business, not my other businesses, not the volunteer work. I plan for years, nothing. I have major ADD, and I'm a serial entrepreneur, which means sitting still isn't in my

Gene. So what's the actual recovery arc look like for founders post-exit? Is there one? For context, full retirement is not an option. I know myself. If I go beach bum, I love to surf. I will go all the way beach bum and I need an on-ramp back to purpose, not an X-Ramp into oblivion. Any thoughts would be appreciated. This is a tough one. Look, I don't, the problem is you probably have exactly the wrong amount of money. And that is, you don't have enough money to probably, probably start a great nonprofit and have a foundation and, you know, save the whales or, you know, cure malaria in Africa. But you don't have, but you have enough money such that you don't have to do anything. You don't have to take a job. I have a lot of friends who retired with, you know,

a decent amount of money, but not enough money to really go large and give away money and do really crazy, cool things. But enough money such that any offer that came their way wasn't quite good enough. And I'll give you my, you and I have sort of a similar arc. In 1999, I was, you know, 30, 34. And my company, Red Envelope had filed to go public. I was about to sell my brand strategy firm profit for about $33 million. So I thought, oh, I'm done. I think my stake in Red Envelope supposedly at the IPO was going to be worth, I don't know, 30 or or 60 million plus the, anyways, I thought I'm done. Back then, having 20 or 30 million was more than enough, at least I thought, you know, I'm someone who, like, didn't want to tell my mom I'd lost

a jacket because they cost 30 bucks growing up. But anyway, I thought I was done. So I left New York, joined the faculty at NYU, I thought that's my passion, that's what I want to do. And then shit got real in 2000 with internet companies and all of a sudden I was broke. And I sort of wandered the earth from 2000 to 2008, trying to find something to do. I did some activist investing with hedge funds. I taught, but I didn't go all in on teaching. And then I found, you know, I was just sort of roaming. I was just sort of lost, sort of just, I don't know, floundering, for lack of a better term.

But I tried new stuff, tried to do different things, tried to be very social, me people, try and get deals going. And ended up, I thought, okay, I like teaching. I think I can make a decent living at it. I went all in on teaching, which was different than investment banking or startups, and built and ended up doing a research project on luxury brands and digital IQ, so the digital IQ index and it turned into a business. In other words, just get really engaged in something and try some things. Find something that's not, don't let perfectly the enemy a good, find something

you think you're good at and that you don't hate, and go all in it, go all in on it for two or three years and see if it works. And if it doesn't, you know, pull back and do something else. But the key is just getting on with something. Like the time to start is now because if you're not careful, you can wake up. Time goes fast. And you wake up. A lot of my friends have woken up and they're like 60 and like, I got to get really serious about the next thing. And they like sold their company or cashed out or got fired from wherever it is. Goldman Sachs at 45. And they really haven't done a hell of a lot in 15 years. So find friends, meet with a lot of people, find out what deals they're working on, what they're doing, find co-founders or co-partners to do stuff

within, tell people you're available looking at projects. Don't be afraid to volunteer your time to help other people get shit going and see if there's a role there for you. In sum, be really social and lower your bar. Something doesn't have to be an eight or nine for you to get involved. Make it six or seven or seven or eight and see if it turns into an eight or a nine. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to office hours ofprofgymedia.com. Again, that's office hours ofprocheemedia.com. Or if you'd prefer to ask on Reddit, just post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit,

and we just might feature it in an upcoming episode. This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez and Laura Janair. Cameric is our social producer, Brad Williams, is our editor. And Drew Burroughs is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Propge Poppe from Provegy Media.