Ahoy, matey! Belay y’ur Costa Mesa real estate musin’s fer a moment to consider how ye home equity be like treasure buried in ye back yard! Arrrrrr!
It’s long past Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19), so we may have to wait another year to give this metaphor the proper growl and scowl it deserves—but for Costa Mesa homeowners, the chest full of shiny home equity really could be buried out there in the back yard.
Metaphorically, at least.
The facts behind this were brought to the attention of those sharp-eyed Costa Mesa homeowners who pay attention to the Economic Outlook releases that the real estate analysts at CoreLogic send out monthly. These economists aren’t very piratical in demeanor. They favor bow ties to eye patches and whiteboards to parrots. They confine their raids to the gems found in the pages of government reports—and never ever pillage or burn anything to the ground (unless you include popular real estate misconceptions).
This month, the CoreLogic crew stepped up to their quarterdeck for a clear look around. When they brought their spyglass up to get a wide view of real estate’s progress over the past few years, the sights were pleasing. Looking at the period beginning with the 2011 trough in the housing cycle, the U.S.’s home price picture was breathtaking. They’ve risen a full 40%!
If the treasure chests buried in U.S. homeowners’ backyards is their homes’ equity, the growth inside was well worth protecting. Per CoreLogic, “The value of the housing stock and the amount of home equity wealth held by homeowners have risen dramatically during the last five years.”
Costa Mesa homeowners who have marked a similar rise in local values were confirmed by the fleshed-out findings. The figures showed that “home equity wealth” has more than doubled during that time: from $6.1 trillion to $12.7 trillion. The overall effect on the U.S. economy was also bracing. Moody’s Analytics estimates that the ultimate effect was to boost consumer spending by $100 billion—not even counting home improvement spending.
For the average Costa Mesa homeowner Captain Kidd types, digging up their own backyard buried treasure would reveal that they’d added about $11,000 worth of home equity doubloons over the past five years. Avast, matey—there be bounty, f’r sure!
Of course, Costa Mesa homeowners don’t have to set sail for the tropics or dig up the back yard to take advantage of their own home’s equity growth. It’s the basis for any number of financing options. And when it comes time to set sail for new digs, it reflects in the ultimate home equity equation: the price that buyers are willing to offer. To make sure you make the most when that time comes, I hope you will be sure to give me a call!
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