As a home buyer, you will have many things on your list of wants and needs – big rooms, chef’s kitchen, big yard, and granite. Often, these things consume our minds when making choices for our home purchase. However, I am here to tell you to think bigger than that. When you are searching for …
Homebuyer Priorities: Focus on the Things You Can’t Change Read More »
Research shows most people do not have enough money saved to retire comfortably or safely. In fact, the reality is Americans don’t save enough for retirement. To get a better picture of what we’re dealing with, let’s look at some numbers: 40% of Americans age 55-64 have no money set aside for retirement Of those in that …
We have seen many years of financial destruction to millions of homeowners with wave after wave of foreclosures immediately followed by wave after wave of short sales – which was sadly a dramatic improvement. Now, we are hearing and seeing evidence that the housing market is recovering. Over the past couple of years, single-family home sales …
There is a connection between personal income and housing prices. If housing prices increase at a faster pace than income for any extended period of time, housing will become overpriced compared to the local markets’ ability to afford it and it will inevitably return to equilibrium. This means price declines… at least relative to incomes. Essentially, …
The Correlation Between Home Values, Price Appreciation And Income Read More »
The general belief is that the extremely low interest rates we’ve seen over the past 10 to 12 years or so have been good for the affordability of housing. While in the short-term this may be true, by driving down a monthly payment for a given price on a home, the longer-term effect has been …
Have Low Interest Rates Been Good For Real Estate? Read More »
I believe I could make the argument that home ownership, in its current form, is making us poorer because of the depreciating consumer goods we choose to fill it with. While at its very heart, a home is a magnificent kernel of responsible living and financial well-being, over the years it has become something more…and certainly …
Home: An Appreciating Asset Filled With Depreciating Stuff Read More »
You’re a smart shopper. You set a budget, make a list of the features you want and set out comparison shopping to get as much as you can for your money. I suppose that’s how all savvy consumers shop. The difference is a home purchase is life changing. You’re adding a near permanent financial component to your life …
It has become the American way of life… we want to upgrade everything in our lives. It has become a frantic cycle of wanting more, doing more and having more. We may think we are moving up or getting ahead, but often the drive for more is costing us elsewhere in our lives. Perhaps it’s …
I am not sure how it got started, but the idea of a ‘Dream Home’ has come to mean the biggest most beautiful home you can afford. As it turns out, this isn’t the path to happiness. A ‘Dream Home’ should be the home most compatible with the life you dream of living. When I …
Dream Home? It’s Time for a More Meaningful Dream Read More »
