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Home Sweet Home - A Thing of the Past??

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Golden Girls with SW Desert Homes BR564219000

Home Sweet Home - A Thing of the Past??

 

I just finished re-reading a blog and the comments following it that J. Phillip Faranda posted a few days back.  I was thinking about  the "Herd" Mentality, and about key phrases I will often say as a REALTOR when helping folks to decide if a home is right for them.

Earlier today, I read a great post about being neighborly, written by Lisa Orme, and I was transplanted back to my childhood and the fun we had in our neighborhood. Potlucks, bar-b-cues, card parties - all kinds of fun stuff.

Family farm in VermontFamily

I got to thinking about my 23 years I lived in and around Green Bay, WI and the family homesteads, family farms, and history there. 

I thought about 3 or 4 of my closest high school friends back in Washington State,  and the homes they purchased in the late 70's and early 80's ...and still have.

I reminisced over the different posts I've read from loan officers this past week.  Terms like appreciation, investment, equity, turnover, flipping, resale-ability, etc. came to mind.

Lastly I thought about the timidity of some buyers today, who are fully qualified, have savings, good credit, etc. but still hesitate to purchase a home in these times of mass inventory and low interest.

I'm wondering - if we (and we being America as a whole) bought our homes for that express purpose - to be a home, a sanctuary, a place of security and memories - would we have experienced this housing bubble?

Is it the "American Dream" that led to the buying frenzy of a few years back, or the thrill of making the American Dollar?

Home Sweet Home

Don't statistics say something about the average home buyer moves every two years? 

I'm feeling something has been lost when the Walton Family Homestead got re-sold for investment apartments. (example)

I'm feeling nostalgic over "Home for the Holidays". 

Making gingerbread house with Grandma

Home may be where your family is, but how many of you remember "Going Home" to visit mom and dad and staying in your old room?

My children don't have their "childhood" home to come home to.  I moved too many times.  My middle son, has, however, just built a lovely Wisconsin home in which he intends to put down permanent roots.  I envy him, and I'm happy for him.

What's your viewpoint?  Have we become a society always looking for the next best thing? Have we lost our ability as a nation to put down roots?

 

 

Posted by

If I can assist you in your home buying or selling in Marana, Tucson, Oro Valley, or Vail, please don't hesitate to call me!  Email at Cara@SWDeserthomes.com

Cara Marcelle Mancuso, Golden Girls with SW Desert Homes

520-909-2988   

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Michael Collins
*ROCK REALTY|Broker|Realtor|Real Estate|WI Short Sale Agent* - Janesville, WI
CDPE, SFR , Wisconsin Short Sale Specialist Realto

You make some good points Cara.  Maybe this is why strategic defaulting is now a problem.  People just are not as attached to their homes anymore.  It's sad :(

Jul 27, 2010 09:48 AM
Mike Martin
(909) 476-9600 ~ WeLoveSellingRealEstate.com - Fontana, CA
Realty Masters & Associates

We have become less attached to our homes in recent years and I think a lot of that is that we've become more mobile overall so people tend to move out of state a lot more often than they used to, as well as homeowners are more sophisticated in using the home for equity and as a springboard to buying a nicer home... I think it's sad in some ways but as you said in your post, home is where your family is!

Jul 27, 2010 10:18 AM
Coral Gundlach
Compass - Arlington, VA
Real Lives. Not Just Real Estate.

Cara, this is a great blog!  I love the line - "Is it the "American Dream" that led to the buying frenzy of a few years back, or the thrill of making the American Dollar?"    That says it all!  If people did just stay focused on creating that home, that sanctuary, that American Dream, the market would stabilize and we probably wouldn't have experienced such a bubble.

My generation (X) and those behind me, have HUGE entitlement issues.   The 25-40 demographic thinks the world owes them something.  I think that mentality will change during this slump, or at least I hope.

I constantly try to remind people about those non-monetary reasons we buy homes.  I truly believe people always will want their own place, and hope, after this mess is cleared up (oh maybe in 5 years?  I hope?), we will not think of our houses as cash machines but a place to build equity in over 20-30 years and sell when we retire or need to downsize.

Jul 27, 2010 12:34 PM
Cara Marcelle Mancuso
Golden Girls with SW Desert Homes - Tucson, AZ
Call a Marana neighbor, I'm THERE!

Thanks for the re-blog Michael  - it IS sad.

Mike Martin - you bring up good points.  We're so much more mobile.  I just wonder if we're missing something by all the moving we do.  I can remember a major home remodel when I was about ten - very exciting - same old house, but more bedrooms!

Coral - thanks for stopping by.  My KIDS are genX too - my oldest has the worst entitlement issues I think.  My middle - the one that built the home for the lifetime, is old fashioned!  I always smile and tell him he's living the American Dream - at least the OLD American Dream.  I'm glad to hear you remind your clients about non-monetary reasons to buy a home.  I need to do that too, and I'm going to start.

 

Jul 27, 2010 01:59 PM