Is the housing market positive , negative , or neutral ? It depends on the home region , the regional home listing inventory supply , and the price range is perhaps the safest answer to give .
Why doesn ’ t it feel like a slow home sales market to firsttime buyers ? Let ’ s take a closer look at the national home sales numbers for October 2023 as provided by the National Association of Realtors :
• 66 % of homes for sale were sold in less than a month .
• 62 % of surveyed real estate professionals said that their firsttime home buyers had to put in four or more offers before closing on a home .
• The median home sales price for an existing home was $ 391,800 , up 3.4 % compared to a year ago .
Invest in Your Future Today
The average homeowner at retirement age has 83 % of their net worth tied up in their primary home . 60 %+ of Americans surveyed say that they live paycheck to paycheck , so saving is challenging . Middleincome parents may spend an average of $ 310,605 by the time a child born in 2015 turns 17 years old in 2032 , per Brookings Institute . What about college ?
The average Social Security benefit paid out in 2022 was $ 1,657 / mo . ($ 19,884 / yr .). Median savings rate ( excluding retirement funds ) by age : $ 3,240 ( under 35 ); $ 4,710 ( 3544 ); $ 5,620 ( 4554 ); and $ 6,400 ( 5564 ), per a Federal Reserve survey . The median retirement savings for all families is $ 87,000 , according to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances .
Mortgages help create longterm wealth , especially after they are paid off in full .
There ’ s good debt ( mortgages ) and bad debt ( credit cards at 28 % to 33 % rates , etc .). Mortgages help create longterm wealth , especially after they are paid off in full . To shorten the time to pay off a mortgage , you might pay biweekly and add some principal to reduce 10 to 15 + years in payments while the home asset
potentially doubles or triples in value .
Our dollar ’ s purchasing power is on track to continue falling in value . If so , the prices paid for consumer goods , services , and assets like real estate may keep rising as well . As a result , equity gains for real estate ownership may increase while giving you more options to pay off debt and build a brighter future .
MEET RICK TOBIN
Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate , financial , investment , and writing fields for the past 30 + years . He ’ s held eight ( 8 ) different real estate , securities , and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California . He provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation . He ’ s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation ; the oldest real estate school in California ; and the first online real estate school in California . Please visit his website at Realloans . com for financing options and his new investment group at SoCal Real Estate Investors for more details .
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