Home values have been rising steadily in most U.S. markets for the last 1-2 years. While rising home prices are obviously good for folks looking to refinance or sell their homes, steadily increasing home values are also good for home buyers. While higher home prices may seem like a bad thing for buyers in the short run, the upward trend in housing values helps home buyers tremendously in the long run. If a buyer pays $200,000 for a home in 2013 and home values increase at a rate of 5% per year over the next 10 years, that home will be worth more than $300,000 in 2023. Even if home prices increase more slowly than that the fact is that steady increases in housing values means the home will be worth more in the future than it is worth now. That is one of the major benefits of owning a home rather than renting.
Owning a home is not for everyone, but home ownership does make a lot of sense for a lot of Americans. If you are currently renting, now is a good time to look into buying. And if you already own a home and would like to move, now might be a good time to look into selling and perhaps buying again. Housing values are rising but they are not overheated like they were 7-9 years ago. And mortgage interest rates are still very low by any historical measure. Contact us in the form in the sidebar to learn more about the available purchase programs such as the FHA, VA, USDA, or Fannie/Freddie home purchase programs.