Let’s say you are thinking of buying a house. You are probably watching the news for real estate market insights, you are listening to your friends tell you about their experiences- good, bad, indifferent. You might be a bit nervous and scared about buying right now and you’ve seen what has happened over the past decade so you are smart to be cautious. It’s difficult for even experienced Realtors to look into their handy-dandy crystal balls these days because we are seeing some unprecedented changes in the real estate market, coupled with unprecedented changes in the Miami Valley. Erring on the side of caution is wise under these circumstances so take a deep breath and understand that following your gut will keep you out of trouble.
But still, you want a home of your own. You want to paint the walls with salmon-colored chalkboard paint, and put down exotic Brazilian hardwood floors. You have kids in 4-H and two horses you are tired of boarding. Or maybe you simply can no longer stand the thought of paying a cheap and stingy landlord for a roof over your head. Congratulations! You just discovered the best reasons for buying a home.
Forget about the real estate boom. For hundreds and hundreds of years, people who were smart and competent and knowledgeable were buying homes primarily for those same reasons. They didn’t buy a home because real estate was a great financial investment, because it wasn’t. They didn’t buy a home because they thought they could make money from selling it in a few short years, because they couldn’t. They bought a home because they wanted a space of their own. A space where they got to call the shots, paint with the colors that made them happy, use the land the way they wanted, not beholden to a landlord, and put down roots in a community that they loved, and if we think about the lessons of the past few years, those just might be the best reasons for buying a home.
In many respects, this is a perfect storm for home buyers: Inventory is up, interest rates are down, prices are down. The difference in the boom years and now is that there is no real indication that prices are going to up any, if at all, at least not for quite awhile, but don’t despair, you do have options. You can buy a home because you want a place of your own. You can buy a home as an investment or rental property, including duplexes and multi-units. And you can buy a home in a part of the country that is experiencing better economic times than Dayton- there is still money to be made somewhere.
I saw an interesting real estate forecast that makes sense to me, if you want to gaze into that crystal ball you can find it here. There are places where you can invest in real estate and still make (some) money. There are real estate markets and niches that are more lucrative than others, but understand that Dayton is a different market with, in my opinion, a long way to go before we see solid recovery. What that means is for most home buyers in Dayton Ohio, a home represents a place of their own and all the joys that come with that freedom. If you think about it, “”because you want to” might be the best reason of all to buy a home.
Photo: TLussier
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