The Best Investment
As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region.
Five percent may not seem like that much at first. Stocks (at times) appreciate much more, and you could earn over six percent with the safest investment of all, treasury bonds.
But take a second look
Presumably, if you bought a $200,000 house, you did not pay cash for the home. You got a mortgage, too. Suppose you put as much as twenty percent down that would be an investment of $40,000.
At an appreciation rate of 5% annually, a $200,000 home would increase in value $10,000 during the first year. That means you earned $10,000 with an investment of $40,000. Your annual "return on investment" would be a whopping twenty-five percent.
Of course, you are making mortgage payments and paying property taxes, along with a couple of other costs. However, since the interest on your mortgage and your property taxes are both tax deductible, the government is essentially subsidizing your home purchase.
Your rate of return when buying a home is higher than most any other investment you could make.
If you are moving to a home for the first time, you are going to be very pleased with all the new space you have available. You may have to even buy more "stuff."
Next Income Tax Savings
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| Benefits of Owning Your Own Home |
|---|
| Important Things To Avoid Before Buying a Home |
| Don't Buy a Car - or Did You Already Buy One? |
| The Business Cycle and Buying a Home |
| Comparable Sales and Your Offer Price |
| Major Factors Influencing your Offer Price |
| Offering to Purchase Real Estate- the Basics |
| Writing an Offer - Safeguards Regarding the Property |
| How Financing Details Affect Your Offer |
| How FHA and VA Financing Affects Your Offer |
| Selecting Service Providers |
