Considering the way this Real Estate market is, with prices falling, difficult mortages, cautious buyers and the media putting it's own slant on everything, I find myself reflecting on what it means to buy a home.  Traditionally, buyers had a goal to find a place to call their own.  A place where they could paint the walls any color, have pets, plant trees, and maybe even raise a family.  I remember when my husband and I went out to purchase our first home, we looked for the perfect home for our needs within the price we could afford to pay.   We knew what we could afford and looked within that price range.  Our goal was to find a "home" that would be safe and secure, and a great place to raise children.

We did not go from house to house looking for the cheapest house that would be best to flip in a few years.

It's sad the way things have changed.  People don't have a sense of neighborhood where they will stay, build close  friendships, and raise their children. 

 Current buyers are so affraid real estate values will fall, many have stopped shopping for a home, the American dream.  I can't say I blame them.  No one wants to find out they own something worth less than what they paid.

The ironic thing is that as a society we constantly buy things that are worth less the minute we get them home.  The biggest example of that is when we buy a new car..........the  minute we take it off the showroom floor it loses thousands of dollars.  Yet Americans do it every day of every year.  Most individuals will do it over and over again, never thinking there is anything wrong with it.

At least in real estate, if you buy a home that loses value, it will gain it again in a few years.  Too bad the same isn't true for automobiles.