My estranged dad left me $420K when he died and I want to make the most of it. Should I invest in stocks or buy a house?

For the baby boom generation, homeownership was a primary path to wealth building. As of 2025, boomers hold $19 trillion in residential real estate — out of the $47.9 trillion total value of the U.S. owner-occupied housing market. (1) But is real estate still a surefire way to grow wealth? That’s the question Lena is asking. She’s a 32-year-old single mom with a young son. After the recent passing of her estranged father, she inherited $420,000. Once her debts were paid, she was left with about $400,000 — ...