Sitting on the sidelines...

From an article posted on Trulia, one of the big real estate search sites, comes this story. Market uncertainty is scaring away people who don’t own a home, particularly those who are in the 18-34 age group previously most likely to buy. More than 70 percent of non-homeowners surveyed say they have no plans to purchase a home in the next year. But the good news is 12 percent of non-homeowners say they expect to buy a home in the next 12 months.

Other key information from the survey includes:

44 percent of those 18-34 year do not own a home right now is because they believe home ownership is too expensive.

41 percent of 35- to 44-year-old respondents polled say they don’t think they can qualify a home loan.

92 percent of homeowners say they don’t plan to move in the next 12 months.

49 percent of homeowners still believe that their home is a great long-term investment

Only 4 percent of non-homeowners said that “Waiting for the new Housing Recovery Act to take effect” was keeping them from home ownership.

More than half of all non-homeowners said they still believe home ownership is an important piece of achieving “the American Dream.”

Women aged 35-44 in the survey agreed on this sentiment more than men aged 35-44 (66 percent versus 47 percent).

Non-homeowners with an annual household income of $50,000 to $75,000 agreed more strongly (78 percent) on a home being central to achieving their personal American Dream than those with an annual household income of under $49,000 or over $75,000 (51 percent and 53 percent, respectively).

When I was younger there were several components to the American dream, or at least the dreams that I had. While home ownership was in there, I recall that owning a Corvette some day was one dream, having a boat was another and having a date with a movie star like Sophia Loren Liz Taylor were all parts of the dream.

Well, I own my house; I had a Corvette (I sold it a couple of years ago, but I still own a 1978 MGB); and, I had a boat for many years before moving to Milford. I’m still waiting for the call from the movie star, but my wife likely won’t approve of that, now anyway. So, I guess I can say that I’ve lived the American Dream. Of course I had to sell the Corvette to pay the taxes on the house, but, hey, nobody ever promised that the dream would be perfect. Right now, I’m just trying to make sure that it doesn’t turn into the nightmare that has consumed so many others.

Do nothing is not really a strategy, it's a cop-out. This is probably the best time to buy that most people will ever see in their lifetimes. Mortgage rates are still reasonable, even if the requirements to get a mortgage are now more "stringent" (imagine having to have a job and prove that you can pay for the mortgage - the nerve of those people) and house prices are lower than they've been in 5-6 years. The current downturn aside; a house is still one of the best investments that one can make, in terms of future value; once we get through the current mess and get back on a "normal" appreciation curve. So get off the sidelines and get out there and find that perfect house at that unbelievable price! I can help you with that. Give me a call.