Selling isn't free. Where I live you can expect to pay 6% just to the realtors. You also have other costs like lawyers, etc. You're also ignoring leverage. If

Selling isn't free. Where I live you can expect to pay 6% just to the realtors. You also have other costs like lawyers, etc. You're also ignoring leverage. If the house is 40% of my net worth, I take a 5% hit on the sale price, and I've only paid 20% of the house then I've lost 10% of my net worth not 2%.