Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Why Rent When You Can Buy? For Most of Us this is a No-Brainer (Tomgriffey.com)


Why rent when you can BUY? Here are 5 GOOD Reasons why you should become ahomeowner now:
Five GOOD Reasons to Buy a House Right Now1. Interest Rates Are StillLowMortgage interest rates are still low—for now.A 30-year-fixed-rate loan nowaverages 3.55%, according to Freddie Mac, but many economists believe we willsee 5% rates next year. As interest rates increase, so do your monthlypayments.A $300,000 house at 4.16% with 20% down would have a monthly payment of$1,168. With a 5% interest rate, that payment increases to $1,288.2. There’sMore InventoryAs more houses enter the for sale market, pricesstabilize.“Inventories are at their highest level in over a year, and pricegains have slowed to much more welcoming levels,” said Lawrence Yun, ChiefEconomist at the National Association of REALTORS®.The upside is consumers nowhave more choices, if they are looking at existing homes.New homes are anotherstory: Yun says new construction needs to double its current production to meetmarket demand.3. Home Prices Are Going UpHome prices are rising.The median priceof an existing home was $223,300 in June, or 4.3% higher than June 2013. That’sthe 28th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains, and economists expectthat trend to continue. However, we are still at least 20% off the peak pricesof 2006.“Attempting to buy a home when the market is at its lowest point—or tosell at the peak—is tricky,” said Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist forrealtor.com®;.He compares it to trying to time the stock market.“You might getlucky one or two times, but overall, timing the market does not work,” Smokeadded. “It all points to purchasing power, and that’s a reflection of price andinterest rates, which will both be higher in the future.”4. Rents Are Sky-HighIfyou live in a big city, then you know rent is astronomical. In San Francisco,many people are spending 42% of their monthly income to pay the rent.Nationwide, rents are rising at a 4% annual clip.It’s not unusual to see adultsrooming together in expensive cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago,but everyone needs his or her own space at some point.Buying a home would lockin your monthly payment and stabilize your finances with a fixed-rate mortgage.This is, of course, assuming you don’t live the San Francisco area, where theaverage price of a home is $1 million.(If you’re renting and never thought youcould afford to buy a house, try our Rent vs. Buy calculator to see what’spossible.)5. Employment on the RisePerhaps nothing is as important to thefinancial stability you need to buy a home as steady employment. The U.S.economy is finally adding jobs—about 200,000 new jobs per month.The nextgeneration of home buyers—the millennials—has been particularly affected by thenation’s job slump. Saddled with student loans and tight lending restrictions,many in this generation have been living with their parents to save money untilthe economy picks up.If your employment prospects look good these days and theother four factors check out, then it may indeed be the right time for you tobuy a home of your own.
http://realtor.xn--com-mfa/
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