Top 10 Reasons to Buy a Home

Why is Now a Great Time to Buy?
You can get a good deal. Prices are down 30 percent on average. They're at a level that makes sense for people's income.
Mortgages are cheap. At 4.3 percent on average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, your costs to own are down by a fifth from two years ago.
You can save on taxes. When you add up the deductions for mortgage interest and others, the cost of owning can drop below renting for a comparable place.
It'll be yours. The one benefit to owning that never changes is that you can paint your walls orange if you want (generally speaking; there might be some community restrictions). How many landlords will let you do that?
You can get a better home. In some markets, it's simply the case that the nicest places are for-sale homes and condos.
It offers some inflation protection. Historically, appreciation over time outpaces inflation.
It's risk capital. If the economy picks up, you stand to benefit from that, even if you're goal is just to have a nice place to live.
It's forced savings. A part of our payment each month goes to equity.
There is a lot to choose from. There are some 4 million homes available today, about a year's supply. Now's the time to find something you like and get it.
Sooner or later the market will clear. The U.S. is expected to grow by another 100 million people in 40 years. They have to live somewhere. Demand will eventually outpace supply.
 This article first appeared in The HOUSTONREALTOR® Magazine by  Brett Arends.

"Top 10 Reasons to Buy a Home" was originally posted as a blog post at Register Real Estate Advisors on October 14, 2010.
Register Real Estate Advisors was named "Best Real Estate Blog in Texas by the Mays Business School Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University.
© 2008-2010 | Register Real Estate Advisors