Why Rent When You Can Buy?
Turning the dream of homeownership into a reality
can be both exciting and daunting at the same time.
Many renters don’t realize they have the means to
purchase their own home or the benefits of
homeownership as compared to renting. Whether it’s
building equity or getting tax advantages, owning a
home can be a great investment for your future. For
the majority of Americans, their home is their
largest financial asset and a major player in their
investment portfolio.
Building financial equity is one of the
greatest advantages of owning a home.
- Given the leverage in purchasing a home, the
average return on a 5 percent down payment over
10 years is usually three to five times greater
than stock market returns.
- If you bought a house 10 years ago, it would
be worth almost 27 percent more today.
- The typical homeowner’s net worth ($205,200)
was 49 times that of the typical renter ($4,200)
in 2008, according to NAR calculations using
statistics from the Federal Reserve Board.
In addition to equity, homeownership has tax
advantages that can help you save a great deal of
money, something that renters cannot enjoy. Here
are more advantages of owning your own home:
- Control over your property
- Freedom to decorate and landscape how you
like
- Fixed mortgage payments
- Pride and comfort in owning your own home
- Housing security
Renters are the ideal clients for sellers because
their offers are not dependent on selling their own
home first. The Illinois Association of REALTORS®
Partnership for HomeOwnership has a number of
mortgage and downpayment assistance programs
created specifically for first-time homebuyers.
And owning a home has intangible benefits too.
Owning a home adds value to communities and gives
you a setting to enjoy your lifestyle with the ones
you care about. |
