Mike Eastwood Author/Chief Executive Officer of Bello Sol Inc/West USA Realty of Prescott states.  Becoming financially secure is an important goal for many people today, but some don’t realize just how much   homeownership   can help them achieve that dream. A recent report,   The Journey Toward Financial Freedom ,   surveys Americans about their perspective on financial wellness and their goals. It shows there may be a significant misconception about the role owning a home plays in building wealth: “Home ownership is one of the indicators Americans say is  least connected to financial health .” Two major personal wealth goals – homeownership and net worth – work hand-in-hand. Below are just a few reasons why, if you’re looking for financial security, homeownership should be a top priority. Homeownership Is an Important Cornerstone of Building Wealth Every three years, the  Federal Reserve  releases the  Survey of Consumer Finan...

 MIke Eastwood Author/Chief executive Officer of Bello Sol Inc-West USA Realty of Prescott states.  There are many   non-financial benefits   of buying your own home. However, today’s headlines seem to be focusing primarily on the financial aspects of homeownership – specifically affordability. Many articles are making the claim that it’s not affordable to buy a home in today’s market, but that isn’t the case. Today’s buyers are spending approximately  20% of their income  on their monthly mortgage payments. According to  The Essential Guide to Creating a Homebuying Budget  from  Freddie Mac , the 20% of income that purchasers are currently paying is well within the 28% guideline suggested: “Most lenders agree that  you should spend no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on a mortgage payment  (including principal, interest, taxes and insurance).” So why is there so much talk about challenges regarding affordability? It’s Not...

   If you’re trying to decide whether or not to   sell your house , this is the time to think seriously about making a move states Mike Eastwood Author-Chief Executive Officer of Bello Sol Inc/West USA Realty of Prescott.    Fannie  Mae’s   recent   Home Purchase Sentiment Index   (HPSI) reveals the number of respondents who say it’s a good time to sell is higher now than it was over the past few summers ( see graph below ).   Today, the majority of consumers, 75 percent, say it’s a good time to  sell a house . Why is sellers sentiment up year-over-year? The higher good time to sell sentiment has to do with today’s  market conditions , specifically low housing supply, and high buyer demand. In the simplest terms, we don’t have enough houses available for sale to meet buyer demand. According to  the latest data  from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), we’re still firmly in a  sellers’ mar...

  One of the major questions real estate experts are asking today is whether prospective homebuyers still believe purchasing a home makes sense states Mike Eastwood Author/Chief Executive Officer of Bello Sol Inc- West USA Realty of Prescott. Some claim rapidly rising home prices are impacting demand and, by extension, leading to the recent slowdown in sales activity. However, demand isn’t the real issue. Instead, it’s the lack of supply (homes available for sale). An article from the  Wall Street Journal  shows this is true for new home construction: “ Home builders have sold more homes than they can build . Now they are limiting their sales in an effort to catch up.” The article quotes David Auld, CEO of  D.R. Horton Inc.  (the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States since 2002), explaining how they don’t have enough homes for the number of buyers coming into their models: “Through our history, to have somebody walk into our models and to tell them,...