Page 34 - Flathead Beacon // 5.20.2015

34 | MAY 20, 2015
REAL ESTATE
MONTANA LIFESTYLES
Achieving the American Dream
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
The American dream of home own- ership is alive and well even after the battering prices and budgets took dur- ing the housing crisis, according to a survey by Chase. A total of 87 percent of respondents said owning their home is something they have always wanted. “Owning a home is at the heart of most Americans’ dreams,” said Chase Mort- gage Banking CEO Kevin Watters. “And people are saving as much as possible to achieve home ownership.”
Potential homebuyers are gaining confidence. Compared to six months ago, nearly twice as many potential first- time buyers are optimistic about being able to save for a down payment over the next six months. Overall, 56 percent of consumers expect their finances to im- prove over the next six months while only 8 percent expect them to worsen.
“First-time home buyers are crucial to the housing market and the overall economy – and to their communities,” Watters said. “As families buy their first home, they are investing in their com- munities and enable other families to move up. That will eventually spur more new construction, generating additional jobs.”
Twice as many consumers who refi- nanced plan on spending more over the next six months than those who did not refinance. Sixty-eight percent of rent- ers want to own a home, but cite saving money to purchase a home as becom- ing increasingly difficult. While pulling together a down payment has always been challenging, tighter requirements have raised the hurdle. Sixty percent of homeowners plan to invest in improving their property in the next year.
According to another reputable lend- ing institution, a whopping 79 percent of us think home ownership is an essential part of the American dream. The recent
Lending Tree survey states that 76 per- cent of home owners said they’re confi- dent that when they’re ready to move up to a new home, they’ll be able to sell their current home, obtain a mortgage, and af- ford a down payment despite the recent recession and housing market crash. Of those surveyed, slightly more than half believe the housing market will take 12 months or less to recover and only 19 per- cent are postponing a home purchase or sale because of a weak housing market.
“Low rates, affordable home prices, and a recovering housing market have created a unique window of opportu- nity for potential home buyers. The good news is that the housing market is steadily improving and upcoming lend- ing regulations will hopefully provide the clarity needed for lenders to have
FOTOLIO IMAGE
renewed confidence,” said Doug Lebda, chairman and CEO of LendingTree. Consumer confidence is even stronger when it comes to home loan refinancing with 89 percent of those surveyed being confident that they will be able to refi- nance their mortgage with only 11 per- cent of being uncertain.
Weighing in on the side of real estate search engine giants, Trulia’s chief econ- omist appears optimistic in the renting population’s desire for home ownership as well. Amid rising home prices, in- creasing home sales, and falling delin- quencies and foreclosures, nearly a third of renters say they plan to buy a home in the next two years, according to a new survey from Trulia.
Despite coming of age through the years of boom and bust, a whopping 72
percent of Millennials, 18-34 year olds, say home ownership is part of their per- sonal American Dream, which is the same as the adult population overall. Among renters in this age group, 93 per- cent plan to purchase a home some day. Meanwhile, 43 percent of young adults are homeowners already.
“Millennials have been shaken, not scarred, by the housing bust,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist. “Nearly all of them want to own a home someday, if they’re not home owners already. But many of them think today’s low prices and low mortgage rates will last. They may be in for sticker shock if the cost of home ownership has returned to normal levels by the time they’re ready to buy.”
In 2012, housing inventory was down 23 percent nationally year-over-year, and down 43 percent since 2010. This decrease in homes for sale has limited the options for would-be buyers. Howev- er, rising prices could trigger more sales, thereby increasing inventory through- out 2013. Among current homeowners, 22 percent said they are at least some- what likely to sell their home in the next year. This was especially true among home owners who bought their home between 2010 and 2012, as they’re more likely to have seen their home values increase since purchase, which means they’re more likely to be able to sell at a profit.
“Home buyers need inventory to choose from, and with fewer foreclo- sures on the market, new inventory will come from new construction or home owners wanting to sell,” Kolko said. “Rising prices will bring out more sell- ers, especially if price increases lift them back above water.”
Submitted by the PR Committee. Con- tent Courtesy of Houselogic, NAR (Na- tional Association of Realtors).
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