The American Dream – What is it?
Statistics state that an average homeowner changes homes approximately every seven years. Young married couples rent their first apartment four two years on average. Saving a down payment and beginning the search for their first home is the American dream. National interest rates are at an all time low. Based on a purchaser’s credit history, rates are available below five percent on a fifteen year fixed mortgage.
Many new homebuyers come right from an apartment, and their goal is to start a family. Whether or not they can fully realize this dream will usually depend on what they can afford and what their credit rating currently is.
Some areas of the country have been hit hard in the last few years buy the recession, causing property values to plummet. First time homebuyers with a reasonable down payment and a good credit history can purchase much more home for the money than they could five years ago.
If anyone remembers the eighties, then they may remember that interest rates of up to eighteen percent were quite common, and while this caused monetary problems for many, the number of homes being bought and financed did not drop. In fact, there were several thousand, and the American dream had become viable once again.
A one thousand square foot home in a planned subdivision sold for between ten and fifteen dollars per square foot. By today’s standards this sounds like a real bargain, but you must know the average wage was between ninety-five and a dollar sixty-five cents per hour. Interest rates were between seven and nine percent based on a thirty year mortgage.
The current financial situation will determine everything, including the price of houses. With lower wages came lower housing prices, and as wages raise over the years, the price of housing will raise. It’s all relative, and with that being the case, the price of housing never fluctuates much, relatively speaking.
When suburbia became a common term, the baby boom took place as a result of soldiers returning from the war. The government implemented the GI bill and even provided loans for veterans to help with their housing costs through the years.
Though many of these homes are older, they will last for quite a bit of time so long as you take care of them. Inflation has effected everything, and many rules have changed. That being the case, make sure you hire a good Realtor to help you with your purchase and your baby steps into the American dream.
Lance Mohr is a specialist in the Tampa real estate market. If you have any questions or are looking for hard working Realtor give me a call. For details on Brandon homes for sale or Carrollwood homes for sale please visit our website at Tampa2Enjoy.com.
