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Home Is Where The
Money Is
If
it seems that home values represent more and more of your
personal wealth, it's likely that you're right. A new study
shows that for most of us real estate is plainly our largest
financial asset, an asset which has grown by $1.5 trillion
in value during just the past two years.
Housing's Rising Contribution, a new study written by
Dr. Mark Zandi, co-founder of Economy.com and commissioned
by the HomeOwnship Alliance, an industry group, provides
some interesting reading.
"According to the Federal Reserve Board's Flow of
Funds, households own over $12 trillion worth of housing and
have $6.6 trillion in homeowners' equity. There is close to
$90,000 in homeowners' equity in the average house and the
median amount of homeowners' equity per house is estimated
as close to $45,000. With the recent collapse in
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Mortgage Rates
U.S. averages as of June 27, 2002:
30 yr. fixed: 6.55%
15 yr. fixed: 5.99%
1 yr. adj: 4.61%
Get today's rates
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Ten Things To Do
After You Sell
Once
escrow has closed without a hitch and you've handed the keys
over to the new owners, you've probably written the selling
process off as over. But don't change your state of mind too
fast.
In their book, "House Selling for Dummies (Hungry Minds
Inc., 1999)," authors Eric Tyson and Ray Brown lay out a laundry
list of what you can do to ultimately save yourself money and
peace of mind down the road.
Tyson is a syndicated columnist and the bestselling author
of Personal Finance for Dummies. Brown is a real estate
consultant and speaker.
Once you sell your house, they suggest you:
Keep copies of all the paperwork related to closing and
settlement. Although it might be tempting to run the mountain of
paperwork through the shredder or tuck it away in storage,
you'll want to have it handy for April 15. When you file your
taxes you'll need documentation for the expenses and
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Tips for Buying A Home
When You're Single
It
appears fewer singles are buying homes. And competing against
dual-income bids in a period of low interest rates and a dearth
of available homes could spell more tough months ahead for
single homebuyers.
In 2001, single women bought 15 percent of homes, while
single men purchased 7 percent, according to the National
Association of Realtors' survey, "2002 Profile of Home Buyers
and Sellers," which evaluates marketing, demographic, and other
characteristics of home buyers and sellers.
In 1999, singles made up 27 percent of the market share.
"Single buyers were a smaller component of last year's
housing market due to the mild recession," said David Lereah,
NAR's chief economist.
According to the NAR 42 percent of all homebuyers are
first-timers; 53 percent of single men and 52 percent of single
women are new to home buying.
The biggest factor for singles and families continues to
center around location - the neighborhood, price, and proximity
to work, school, family, and friends.
As economic uncertainty lingers, many single homebuyers'
biggest concern is whether they can afford a
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Keeping Your House Cool
The
scorching days are already here. Some of us are succumbing and
switching our air conditioners into full gear. But installing air
conditioners and paying for the energy to run them can be costly.
With residential energy consumption expected to rise 22
percent by 2020, finding ways to keep energy use, not to mention
your utility bills, down is vital.
The U.S. Department of Energy says steady growth in the hot
southern states, the rise in consumer electronics, home office
equipment, and security systems will contribute to the mounting
consumption level.
Newly built homes are, on average, 14 percent larger than the
existing stock, so more heating, cooling, and lighting
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate
market today, find current interest rates, or browse the
extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some
of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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