There’s nothing worse than media articles that continually pound the idea that your finances are in shambles.  YOUR finances.  I’m not certain what the analysts in the stock market are attempting to convey during these strangely unique economic times other than:

1. You’re going to lose your job soon.
2. Your interest rates are going to increase.
3. You should not by a house.
4. The world as we know it is gone forever.

ENOUGH ALREADY!

An article posted today at Marketwatch.com states that…

The purchase of a house is the ultimate confidence indicator, and if there’s anyone out there with any confidence these days after what the markets and the financial sector have been through, then you’re talking about the true eternal optimist.

Are you that optimist?  Are you someone who wants to “indicate confidence?”  We in the real estate business know the value of home ownership.  We understand that when you buy a home, you put part of your payment into the value of the house, and part of it goes to the bank.  When you rent, which is what many people who are sitting on the fence are doing, all of your payment goes to the owner of the home, and none of it is invested.  Furthermore, none of your payment will help you reduce your tax liability at the end of the year.  And historically over time, your home will increase in value.

Are you interested in giving yourself a raise?  Then buy a house.

the housing market looks like a sunken soufflé

What a way to make a soufflé unappetizing.  But we’re not talking about food are we.  We’re talking about the concept of buying low and selling high, and the only thing that sunken represents to me is a low point, which is when I would buy.  What about falling prices?  When buyers hold out, sellers drop their price.  That’s just basic supply and demand.

But why, ultimately, are you thinking about buying a home?  Is it purely financial?  I would hope not.  This “sunken soufflé” could give you a perfect opportunity to finally secure a home.  Not a house, not an investment for quick profit, but a home.  Somewhere you can relax and entertain.  Somewhere you can raise your children over the next 10 years.  What you need is a place to call home.

If you look at the market in this light, it makes perfect sense to buy a home.  Real estate is and always has been a long term wealth building investment vehicle, but more than that, it’s your little piece of America that you can rest upon every night when you come home from a long day at work.