Yesterday, we discussed the reasons why homeownership makes sense, financially. Today we wanted to touch on the emotional or ‘real’ reasons that many Americans strive to become homeowners. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University performs a study every year surveying participants for the reasons that American’s feel are most important in regards to homeownership. The top 4 reasons to own a home cited by respondents were not financial. 1. It means … [Read more...]
One More Time, Real Estate is a Great Investment
In a recent blog post on Marginal Revolution, economist Alex Tabarrok discussed homeownership as an investment. Here is what Mr. Tabarrok had to say: “Housing is overrated as a financial investment. First, it’s not good to have a significant share of your wealth locked into a single asset. Diversification is better and it’s easier to diversify with stocks. Second, unless you are renting the basement, houses don’t pay dividends. Stocks do. You can hope that your house will accumulate in value … [Read more...]
One More Time, Real Estate is a Great Investment
In a recent blog post on Marginal Revolution, economist Alex Tabarrok discussed homeownership as an investment. Here is what Mr. Tabarrok had to say: “Housing is overrated as a financial investment. First, it’s not good to have a significant share of your wealth locked into a single asset. Diversification is better and it’s easier to diversify with stocks. Second, unless you are renting the basement, houses don’t pay dividends. Stocks do. You can hope that your house will accumulate in value … [Read more...]
Exising Home Sales Inch Up In January [INFOGRAPHIC]
Some Highlights: Existing Home Sales rose to an annual rate of 5.47 million, representing an 11% increase year-over-year. Inventory levels remain below the 6-month supply needed for a normal market at a 4.0-month supply. Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist, warns: "The spring buying season is right around the corner and current supply levels aren't even close to what's needed to accommodate the subsequent growth in housing demand." … [Read more...]
Low Inventory Causes Home Prices to Accelerate
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their latest Quarterly Metro Home Price report earlier this month. The report revealed that home prices are not only continuing to rise but that the increases are accelerating. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, discussed the impact of low inventory on buyers in the report: "Without a significant ramp-up in new home construction and more homeowners listing their homes for sale, buyers are likely to see little relief in the form of slowing price growth in the … [Read more...]
Mortgage Rates Again at Historic Lows
Just two weeks ago, we posted an article discussing where mortgage interest rates may be heading over the next twelve months. We quoted projections from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association and the National Association of Realtors. Each predicted that rates would begin to rise slowly and steadily throughout 2016. However, shaky economic news and a volatile stock market have actually caused rates to drop six out of the last seven weeks, and have remained at 3.65% for the past two … [Read more...]
Thinking of Buying A Home? What Are You Waiting For?
With spring right around the corner, you may be wondering if you should wait to enter the housing market. Here are four great reasons to consider buying a home today instead of waiting. Prices Will Continue to Rise CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index reports that home prices have appreciated by 6.3% over the last 12 months. The same report predicts that prices will continue to increase at a rate of 5.4% over the next year. The Home Price Expectation Survey polls a distinguished panel of over 100 … [Read more...]
Future Home Values: Where Do The Experts Think They Are Headed?
Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey. Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where they believe prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number. The results of their latest survey: Home values will appreciate by 3.7% over the … [Read more...]
How To Create Real Family Wealth [INFOGRAPHIC]
Some Highlights: Buying a home is often the biggest financial decision that any family will make. The average net worth of a homeowner is 45x greater than that of a renter. Homeownership puts your housing costs to work for you. Infographic was created in cooperation with Jensen & Co. … [Read more...]
Are the Kids Finally Moving Out?
During the recession, many young adults graduating from college were forced to move back in with their parents. This caused new household formations to drop dramatically from the long term average of 1.2 million formations annually to half that number. However, this may be the year this turns back around. According to the Urban Land Institute’s report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate, household formations will increase dramatically. They project that 3.68 million additional households will be formed in the … [Read more...]
