It's on the air. It's in the paper. It's all over the internet.
FEAR.
Fear of a recession. Fear of another terrorist attack. Fear of being laid off. Fear of all the insecurities and unknowns of life. Fear of all the things we can't control.
And when it comes to the real estate market, FEAR seems to be the major reason we're not seeing more Buyers taking advantage of a Buyer's market.
I can't blame them. They're inundated with the media hyping FEAR. Let's face it, it helps sell everything from toothpaste to fabric softener. A news snippit flashes between commercials: "Housing market numbers slide again this month! Tune in for the latest on this housing crisis!" and America tunes in to hear the bad news. We don't really want to, but just like coming up on the scene of a train wreck, we just can't look away.
.
Yes, America is living through some challenging times. And I'm certainly not downplaying the fact that many people are suffering. Millions have lost their homes, and there are many foreclosures to follow.
But just how bad is the housing market overall? IS this a train wreck, or do we just need to get back on the right track?
How bad it is depends upon where you live. It truly is dismal in some areas, while here in our marketplace, in metro Louisville, Kentucky, our numbers are stable. It's taking longer to get them SOLD, but they are moving. Our problem here, as I see it, is that the media tend to report on the most economically beleaguered cities, and you simply don't hear about the many areas of the country that are doing very well, even experiencing housing price appreciation.
As a Realtor, I'm happy to see that our National Association of Realtors is putting out a very well produced commercial highlighting the benefits of homeownership. The commercial invites you to go to a website they're sponsoring: HOUSINGMARKETFACTS.COM. The NAR discusses the many reasons home ownership is a good long-term investment. Let me quote from their main page:
"The National Association of Realtors Wants You to Know:
Over the past 30 years, home values have risen more than 6 percent annually.
On average, the value of a home nearly doubles every 10 years.
60 percent of the average homeowner's wealth comes from their home's equity.
The average homeowner's net worth is $171,000 - that's nearly 46 times that of a renter's, who has an average net worth of $4,800.
Homeowners benefit from the power of leverage. At an annual appreciation rate of 5 percent, a 10 percent down payment on a home will return 94 percent after 3 years. After 5 years, the rate of return increases to 225 percent and after 10 years, 623 percent. "
Those are pretty impressive statistics, demonstrating that even in a shifting market, home ownership is a good investment.
Buyers: Don't let the BAD NEWS BEARS keep you frozen in FEAR. Get out there and take advantage of a market that has shifted in your favor. And according to the MBA, interest rates sank to only 5.62 percent from last week's 5.73 percent!!! This just MAY be the PERFECT time to BUY!
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