Oregon’s Economy is at “Full-Throttle Growth”
As we head into the height of autumn, and the beginning of the holiday season, the overall pool of home buyers shrink due to these seasonal factors. But economic reports for Q3, combined with copious amounts of data from both the US housing and equities market over a long period of time, indicate that you should invest your savings in the real estate market NOW, the end-of-the-year, to get the greatest return on your money.
Why? Three Reasons:
#1 Saving your sanity. You don’t have to fight Black Friday crowds to save a few bucks on Xmas shopping.
2. Price appreciation in the last two months has started to moderate. According to September’s Market Action Report by RMLS, home prices continued to rise in 2015 compared to 2014. Comparing each year through September, the average sale price rose 5.9% from $333,000 to $352,500. In the same comparison, the median sale price rose 7.0% from $285,000 to $305,000. Sales slowed after the summer buying spurt with a median home price of $304,700. Inventory stayed stable at 1.9 months in, and total market time increased to 46 days. Freddie Mae increased interest rates to 3.82%; remaining within the industry standard of mortgage rate movement. But, the Federal Reserve made it clear it might increase rates by end of year. This leaves a window of opportunity for you to take advantage of low interest rates with lower home prices. You could get a bigger bang for your buck if you buy an investment property in November or December.
3. You get more return on your investment in real estate than if you invest in the stock market. Based on an analysis from Zillow, from 1975 to 2014, the S&P 500 averaged an annual return of 10.4%, while residential real estate returned 11.6% each year on average. Even though this is a small, 1.2% average return on investment (given all factors), it can result in a very big payoff as returns are compounded each and every year. Not to mention, when you own a home, you build equity and lessen your tax burden by writing off your interest on the mortgage. Overall, home prices also rose on average of 4% per year during the same time span mentioned above.
If you are thinking about investing in real estate, give me a call. I’m happy to help you find a property or answer any questions you may have.
tomkerrhomes.com 