Perfect market conditions? Perhaps

A desire to own a home of their own and establish a household are the reasons homeowners cite most often for purchasing a home, according to a recent consumer survey. Thirty-three percent of all buyers, and a whopping 70 percent of first-time buyers, express these factors as prime motivators in their quest for a home purchase, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

A wish for a larger home, a job-related move, a change in family situation, a desire for a home in a better area and an interest in being closer to jobs, relatives, school or transit are also high on the list of reasons for purchasing a home.

Interestingly enough, taking advantage of perfect market conditions was not mentioned – not this year, not last year – not in NAR’s 26-year history of surveying buyers and sellers. The most important factor in buying or selling a home isn’t what is going on nationally — it is what is going on in our local market.

Evaluating the region’s present and future trends, as well as influences in area neighborhoods, are essential steps to creating long-term wealth, whether you are in a buyer’s or a seller’s market.

You might be wondering if buying a home right now is a smart financial decision. The fact is, homeownership is key to building long-term wealth, no matter when someone buys. Studies show that, over time, most homeowners steadily build equity. According to NAR and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 60 percent of the average homeowner’s wealth comes from their home’s equity. Over time, your home can become the largest asset in your investment portfolio.

Experienced REALTORS® will tell you, “All real estate is local.” Locally, the Inland Northwest has been discovered by newcomers leaving less affordable, less family friendly areas, to join us as new neighbors. They bring their professional expertise, their civic participation, and their purchasing power with them to our local economy. And although home sales were down 11 percent in 2007 over 2006, there were approximately 7,000 homes purchased in the region, as reported at the end of the year by the Spokane Association of REALTORS®.

The year 2007 was Spokane’s fifth-best year ever in home sales, and approximately 7,000 local homebuyers knew that “timing the market” would delay their biggest long-term investment portfolio asset – owning a home.

Another well-timed incentive is that interest rates dropped by another one-half percentage point this past week. Local REALTORS® have the pleasure of seeing that the newly developing favorable interest rate climate may allow a buyer’s payment estimates to be lower, and therefore more affordable, in 2008, than higher closing estimates the buyer may have calculated when rates were higher in 2007.

Better industry-wide fixed rates in 2008 are a legitimate benefit for ready buyers. These replace the risky sub-prime mortgages that offered only short-term incentives that later burst the affordability bubble for homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgage adjustments that kept climbing.

If there are no perfect market conditions, what is the first step to home-ownership or selling a home locally? After reading sensational national headlines, would-be local homebuyers and sellers are encouraged to get the facts from a local REALTOR® professional.

To refine your big picture goals and needs, sit down for coffee, ask for a current neighborhood market analysis, or attend a homeownership seminar.

Even if you plan to buy a home in the distant future, contact any of the 2,000 local REALTOR® professionals who are members of the Spokane Association of REALTORS®. Consider them a valuable resource, because “all real estate is local” and historically, purchasing a home has been a good long-term investment for families like yours.