Now is the time to buy a home

If you are ready to buy a home and can afford it, now is a great time to buy. Mortgage interest rates remain very low. In many areas, buyers have a lot of inventory from which to choose and long-term homeownership continues to be one of the best ways for the typical American to build wealth.

Do not let all of the negative media attention about the "mortgage meltdown" keep you from pursuing your homeownership dream. Mortgage industry woes are primarily limited to subprime loans and other types of creative and comparatively risky financing products. While the mortgage industry stalled briefly to reconsider its more exotic loans, there is plenty of conventional financing available for qualified homebuyers. Interest rates remain at historically low levels, still less than 7 percent for the typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Indeed, the market has changed. It has gone from a frenzied seller's market to a calmer buyer's market. In fact, buyers have not seen a market this strong in years. When the national median home price dropped for the first time on record, the decline made huge -- albeit misleading -- headlines. For starters, there is no such thing as a national real estate market. All real estate markets are local and driven by local factors that include the local economy, housing supply and demand and other attributes like geography.

Prospective homebuyers have some time to shop inventory and thoroughly compare home types and prices, amenities, neighborhoods, commutes and other important real estate-related features. Buyers have stronger price negotiation power as sellers compete for their attention by offering concessions or other incentives.

While all real estate markets have ups and downs, Americans continue to consistently build wealth through homeownership.

According to the NAR:

• On average, the value of a home doubles every 10 years.
• The average homeowner today has 36 times the wealth of the average renter. Homeowners essentially are paying themselves when they pay their mortgages and this means they are building equity
• Sixty percent of the average homeowner's wealth is their home's equity. For homeowners who are in their homes for the long-term, home equity typically is their single largest source of wealth.

Brought to you through a partnership of the Southeast Missourian and the Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors.