Each quarter, Fannie Mae releases their National Housing Survey. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. We like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting each time it is released. Here they are for the most recent report:

84% of the general population believes that owning a home makes more sense than renting.

The Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home

When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four reasons, in order, are:

1. It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
2. You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
3. It allows you to have more space for your family
4. It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)

The Home as an Investment

Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:

• 63% of the general population believes that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
• 53% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.

Rent vs. Buy

We are always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.

• 64% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home
• 70% of renters think that owning is superior to renting

Bottom Line

Our belief in the value of homeownership grows each time this survey is released.

Maybe you think Realtors are being optimistic when we say that the market is coming back. We are, I believe, optimists by nature. This job isn’t for the faint of heart, especially in the last few years when up to 40% of the Realtors left the business. But here is Barrons joining in our argument that we are on the mend.

Not only that, the article predicts 30% growth in the next 10 years. Payback. If you were waiting for the bottom, wait no longer. Let’s go house shopping.

Check back often, or subscribe to my Pinterest page.  You’ll also find pages on mid-century love, do-it-yourself ideas, restaurants, and awesome looking spaces to dream about in your next home in Portland, Oregon.  Obviously, I’m also the person to help you find it.  I love Portland, and I’ll show you nooks and crannies that will help you to love it too.

To get you up to speed about this new tax legislation, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has developed this informational brochure.

On the following pages, you’ll read examples of diff erent scenarios in which this new tax — passed by Congress in 2010 with the intent of generating an estimated $210 billion to help fund President Barack Obama’s health care and Medicare overhaul plans — could be relevant to your transaction.

Understand that this tax WILL NOT be imposed on all real estate transactions, a common misconception. Rather, when the legislation becomes eff ective in 2013, it may impose a 3.8% tax on some (but not all) income from interest, dividends, rents (less expenses) and capital gains (less capital losses).  The tax will fall onlywillon individuals with an adjusted gross income (AGI) above $200,000 and couples filing a joint return with more than $250,000 AGI. 

For more information, please click here.

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