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Unpacking the Long-Term Benefits of Homeownership If you’re thinking about buying a home soon, higher mortgage rates, rising home prices, and ongoing affordability concerns may make you wonder if it still makes sense to buy a home right now. While those market factors are important, there’s more to consider. You should think about the long-term benefits of homeownership too. Think about this: if you know people who bought a home 5, 10, or even 30 years ago, you’re probably Read more…

Reaching retirement is a significant milestone in life, bringing with it a lot of change and new opportunities. As the door to this exciting chapter opens, one thing you may be considering is selling your house and finding a home better suited for your evolving needs. Fortunately, you may be in a better position to make a move than you realize. Here are a few reasons why. Consider How Long You’ve Been in Your Home From 1985 to Read more…

Wondering if it still makes sense to sell your house right now? The short answer is, yes. Especially if you consider how few homes there are for sale today. You may have heard inventory is low right now, but you may not fully realize just how low or why that’s a perk when you go to sell your house. This graph from Calculated Risk can help put that into perspective:  As the graph shows, while housing inventory did grow slightly week-over-week (shown in Read more…

When you read about the housing market in the news, you might see something about a recent decision made by the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But how does this decision affect you and your plans to buy a home? Here’s what you need to know. The Fed is trying hard to reduce inflation. And even though there’s been 12 straight months where inflation has cooled (see graph below), the most recent data shows it’s still higher than the Fed’s target of Read more…

Today’s higher mortgage rates, inflationary pressures, and concerns about a potential recession have some people questioning: should I still buy a home this year? While it’s true this year has unique challenges for homebuyers, it’s important to think about the long-term benefits of homeownership when making your decision. Consider this: if you know people who bought a home 5, 10, or even 30 years ago, you’re probably going to have a hard time finding someone Read more…

If you’re planning to buy your first home, then you’re probably focused on saving for all the costs involved in such a big purchase. One of the expenses that may be at the top of your mind is your down payment. If you’re intimidated by how much you need to save for that, it may be because you believe you must put 20% down. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. As the National Read more…

Wondering if you should continue renting or if you should buy a home this year? If so, consider this. Rental affordability is still a challenge and has been for years. That’s because, historically, rents trend up over time. Data from the Census shows rents have been climbing pretty steadily since 1988.  And, data from the latest rental report from Realtor.com shows rents continue to grow today, even though it’s at a slower pace than we Read more…

Over the past year, home prices have been a widely debated topic. Some have said we’ll see a massive drop in prices and that this could be a repeat of 2008 – which hasn’t happened. Others have forecasted a real estate market that could see slight appreciation or depreciation depending on the area of the country. And as we get closer to the spring real estate market, experts are continuing to forecast what they believe Read more…

You may have seen reports in the news recently saying it’s better to rent right now than it is to own your home. But before you let that impact your decisions, you should understand what these claims are based on. A lot of the time, these reports are assuming things that aren’t realistic for the average household. For example, the methodology behind one of those reports says that renting is the smarter financial option because of the opportunity Read more…

One of the many reasons to buy a home is that it’s a major way to build wealth and gain financial stability. According to Freddie Mac: “Building equity through your monthly principal payments and appreciation is a critical part of homeownership that can help you create financial stability.” With spring approaching, now’s a great time to consider if buying a home makes sense for you. The best way to figure that out is to talk with a trusted real estate Read more…