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Did you know that each year in the United States, we celebrate “National Roof Over Your Head Day” on December 3rd?
As noted on the National Calendar, it was “created as a day to be thankful for what you have, starting with the roof over your head. There are many things that we have that we take for granted and do not stop to appreciate how fortunate we are for having them.”
From bungalows to cottages, and farmhouses to treehouses, today we show our appreciation and gratitude for the places we call home. Owning the roof that shelters us is something many renters still aspire to, knowing there are so many financial and non-financial benefits to homeownership.
According to the 2019 State of the Nation’s Housing from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University,
“Cost-burdened renters now outnumber cost-burdened homeowners by more than 3.0 million. In addition, renters make up 10.8 million of the 18.2 million severely burdened households that pay more than half their incomes for housing.”
Homeownership drives many benefits, including providing families with a place to feel secure. It also helps promote confidence that they are investing proactively in themselves and their communities. That is why there are 77.7 million owner-occupied housing units in the United States.
Many, however, fear it is too expensive to own a home. In reality, however, it’s actually more expensive to rent. Here’s the breakdown as a percentage of income necessary for both – affording median rent and owning a home:
Today we pause to appreciate the places we call home, and all of the other reasons we have to be truly thankful. For those who don’t own yet and would like to, it’s a wonderful time to start identifying the steps to take toward homeownership. Let’s connect today to begin creating your plan.
There are great advantages to owning a home, yet many people continue to rent. The financial benefits are just some of the reasons why homeownership has been a part of the long-standing American dream.
Realtor.com reported that:
“Buying remains the more attractive option in the long term – that remains the American dream, and it’s true in many markets where renting has become really the shortsighted option…as people get more savings in their pockets, buying becomes the better option.”
Here are the top 5 financial benefits of homeownership:
Studies have also shown that a homeowner’s net worth is 44x greater than that of a renter.
A family that purchased a median-priced home at the start of 2019 would build more than
$37,750 in family wealth over the next five years with projected price appreciation alone.
Some argue that renting eliminates the cost of taxes and home repairs, but every potential renter must realize that all the expenses the landlord incurs are already baked into the rent payment – along with a profit margin!
Owning a home has many social and financial benefits that cannot be achieved by renting. Let’s connect to determine if buying a home is your best move.
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Success is something often worth repeating, and Brent Sutherland, a Certified Financial Planner and Real Estate Investor, has certainly made his way in a momentum-driving direction. Here are 3 tips he shares from a recent piece in Business Insider on the benefits of owning real estate:
“While it is certainly important to be properly diversified with your investments, it is even more important to be diversified with your income. This is because the largest financial risk for most of you is the loss of your primary source of income, which is typically in the form of a day job.”
The article highlights how having multiple sources of income, such as those derived from real estate investments, can eventually lead to relying less and less on a day job. Sound dreamy? It can be. When done well, real estate investments may eventually open up your time and the financial freedom to explore other things, like travel and other aspirations you may have for the future, particularly in the golden years of retirement.
“You can achieve and feel the results almost immediately. Property improvements are visible and tangible. You can cash, spend, and invest rent payments. Today! Not 30 years in the future.”
Currently, home prices are appreciating in all price ranges, and just last week CoreLogic announced their 12-month home value projection at 5.6%, an increase from 4.5% noted earlier this summer. With that in mind, real estate today is definitely driving immediate results!
“If you need $40,000 a year to live, you could alternatively invest in assets that generate an 8% cash-on-cash return. This is a very reasonable assumption. And it means you would only need to save a total of $500,000 (instead of $1 million). Yet, your investments would still meet your annual household living needs.
While returns, taxes, and inflation can, of course, affect your timeline, cash-flowing real-estate is a clear asset.”
Homeownership is a form of ‘forced savings.’ Every time you pay your mortgage, you’re contributing to your net worth by increasing the equity in your home, bringing you one step closer to true financial independence.
If you want to increase your savings and overall net worth, real estate is a great way to go. To learn how you can make it happen, let’s get together to discuss the process.
In a recent article, First American shared how millennials are not really any different from previous generations when it comes to the goal of homeownership; it is still a huge part of their American Dream. The piece, however, also reveals,
“Saving for a down payment is one of the biggest obstacles faced by first-time home buyers. Dispelling the 20 percent down payment myth could open the path to homeownership for many more.”
Buyers often overestimate how much they need to qualify for a home loan. According to the same article:
“Americans still overestimate the qualifications needed to get a mortgage, resulting in qualified potential buyers not even considering homeownership. Indeed, the Urban Institute report revealed that 16 percent of consumers believed that the minimum down payment required by lenders is 20 percent or more, and another 40 percent didn’t know at all.”
While many potential buyers still think they need to put at least 20% down for the home of their dreams, they often don’t realize how many assistance programs are available with as little as 3% down. With a little research, many renters may actually be able to enter the housing market sooner than they ever imagined.
In addition to down payments, buyers are also often confused about the FICO® score it takes to qualify for a mortgage, believing a ‘good’ credit score is 780 or higher.
To debunk this myth, let’s take a look at Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insight Report, which focuses on recently closed (approved) loans.
As indicated in the chart above, 50.23% of approved mortgages had a credit score of 500-749.
Whether buying your first home or moving up to your dream home, knowing your options will make the mortgage process easier. Believe it or not – your dream home may already be within your reach.
Many sellers believe spring is the best time to put their homes on the market because buyer demand traditionally increases at that time of year. What they don’t realize is if every homeowner believes the same thing, then that’s when they’ll have the most competition.
Housing supply traditionally shrinks at this time of year, so the choices buyers have will be limited. The chart below was created using the months supply of listings from the National Association of Realtors.
As you can see, the ‘sweet spot’ to list your house for the most exposure naturally occurs in the late fall and winter months (November – January).
Temperatures aren’t the only thing that heats up in the spring – so do listings!
In 2018, listings increased from December to May. Don’t wait for these listings and the competition that comes with them to come to the market before you decide to list your house.
At this time of year, purchasers who are serious about buying a home will be in the marketplace. You and your family will not be bothered and inconvenienced by mere ‘lookers.’ The lookers are at the mall or online doing their holiday shopping.
If you’ve been debating whether or not to sell your house and are curious about market conditions in your area, let’s get together to determine the best time to list your house.
It’s that time again. Soon, the cutest ghouls and goblins will be prancing from door to door asking for tricks or treats. Here’s some inspiration to make your carvings stand out from the rest!
We can’t help who we fall in love with, and even more frustratingly, who falls in love with us. It’s simply one of life’s mysteries. And we might not know exactly why we fell in love with real estate, but we probably have our suspicions. Here are six reasons why I fell in love with real estate:
You have to enjoy working with people in order to be a successful real estate agent. Coworkers, clients, baristas who recognize you as you bring in a gallon-sized travel mug for your daily caffeine dose — you’re always around people. It would be dishonest to say that it always goes smoothly, but the relationships and interactions are a huge part of the overall experience, and allow you to connect with people in a way you don’t get to in many other careers.
If the drudgery of five days a week at the same office, with the same snack machine, and the same coworkers telling the same lame jokes kills your spirits, then the novelty of working in real estate will be the wind in your sails. No two days will ever be the same in the business, which means every day you’ll embark on a new adventure that could lead to a closed deal, or a trip to the park to meditate and clear your head. If you like variety, you will fall in love.
While we may convince ourselves that we hate prospecting or showing up to appointments that go nowhere, it’s those very things that make us appreciate our successes that much more. The pursuit, the hopes and dreams of success, the sweat you have to put in to make things happen — all of these are the ingredients for a successful real estate career, and we appreciate the work more than we are willing to admit.
While real estate requires working with lots of different people in different capacities, it also has its share of solitude, and is, at its core, an independent profession. Nothing will happen unless you make it happen yourself, so if you’re an independent-minded person who enjoys being out on your own, not only will you be successful but you’ll also fall in love with the feeling of getting in your car and creating your own destiny.
While the lows are painful, the highest are exhilarating. If you’ve never experienced the joy of a signed contract, or a clear to close, then you have no clue just how energized and happy a signature or a few words can make you feel. Any doubts about the profession can be immediately wiped out, and you can fall in love with real estate all over again after you get to celebrate one of your triumphs.
They say that if you do something you love, then you’ll never work another day in your life. Well that’s not exactly true, you’ll still have to work, but it will feel different. In real estate, even though you’re helping other people buy and sell houses, it still feels like something that’s yours. And because it’s yours, you will care. And because you care, you will appreciate it in a way that’s different than almost any other job you could possibly have, which is all the more reason to fall in love with it.
Based on information from Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service, which neither guarantees nor is in any way responsible for its accuracy. All data is provided ‘AS IS’ and with all faults. Data maintained by Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
© 2020 Windermere Real Estate
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