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Rent or Buy?
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:
- It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
- You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
- It allows you to have more space for your family
- 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.
Excellent article on the Real Estate Rebound
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.
Cost -vs- Value on Home Remodeling
Get started on those home repairs, knowing what type of return they’ll have when selling your house.
From a minor kitchen remodel & cabinet re-facing -vs- major kitchen with new cabinets, and from attics to basements, this report is a useful guide explaining what you can expect to recoup during your home sale. If spiffing up your house will help you to enjoy it while you’re living there AND you get a 91.5% return on your expense, why not call the contractor?
Also included is a link to the 2011-2012 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. This has national numbers and also drilled-down data for Portland here.
As always, if you have specific questions on what you might do to improve your home for sale, I’d love to come over and take a look around. And for fun do-it-yourself projects, visit my Pinterest page for my collection of fabulous projects. Please check back frequently – I add new content weekly.
Moving to Portland Oregon
What better way to explore Portland than through pictures? I’ve been collecting scenes from Portland, and have started to keep a file on a Pinterest page. You can find it by clicking here.
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.
The Buyer’s Market is Coming to a close….a MUST read!
As inventory levels off, and buyers try to take advantage of the record-breaking low interest rates, Sellers are finding themselves in an advantageous position for the first time in a few years. But that position may be short-lived. Shadow inventory (foreclosures that the banks had been forced by the Feds to hold back to help stabilize the market) has been cleared to be put on the market very shortly…. and prices will undoubtedly go down (it’s been predicted to be around 3-5%) before we see things level off .
I met Steve Harney in Seattle at the Windermere Symposium. He’s pragmatic, crusty, and above all, SMART. Here’s what he has to say to sellers: click this link… You may enjoy the blog, with its insight to current market conditions nationwide. (but many click-throughs to local stats)
The 3.8% Tax Effective January 2013
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.
