Over a decade, price appreciation usually overcomes even bad slumps
From MSNBC Real Estate:
For all the doom and gloom about the housing market, it still generally pays to own a home.
That might be a tough case to make right now to the 16 million homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. But history suggests the American Dream is a pretty safe bet.
Homes have appreciated by an average of 4 percent a year since World War II. They act as hedges against inflation and bestow significant tax benefits.
Me again: Often lately, I've been asked by potential buyers if it's a good idea to buy a home right now, since real estate is "in a slump". My response to that is that real estate values will, over the years, go up and down. However, the trend is always UP. In other words, if you drew it on a graph, you would not see a straight line going up over the years. Instead, you'd see a line going up, then dipping down, then going up, then dipping down, and so on. But you would also see that in the long run, the dips don't matter: the line on the graph always goes higher.
It's just a matter of looking at the big picture, and not worrying too much about what's going on right now.
Besides, I tell buyers, when is the best time to BUY? When real estate values are high, or when they have dipped down? Of course the answer is when they have dipped down.
So remember: When the market is "bad" for sellers, it's a great time for you to buy a home.
You can read the rest of the article here. It's a good read. And if you're ready to buy, or just have questions about buying, email me at mike@mikedavishomes.com , or call me at 515.966.4510. If I'm with a client I won't answer the phone, but if that happens, leave me a voicemail and I promise your call will be returned within an hour or two at most.
Hope you are having a great week!
Comments