Americans Are Now Saying Rent And Not Buy A Home. Here’s Why
For many people, one of the biggest dreams that you can have seems to be owning your own home. It is a true sense of independence. Now that may be a house, a condo, a duplex, whatever, it is a big deal. Believe it or not, I have never wanted to own a house. Never. Why you may ask? There are three things I really dislike...raking leaves, mowing the lawn, and shoveling snow. If you own a house...you probably have to do all of that. I could potentially see myself owning a condo, where all of that is taken care of with dues.
Now I do have some things that are going in my favor if I ever decided to buy a home or property. I have really improved my credit, I have eliminated a fair amount of debt (just student loans left) and hopefully I will be here at KIX 105.7 for a while. But for many who have dreams of owning a home, and have been renting for most of their lives, the hope of buying a home seems to be going away. Faced with a white-hot real estate market, renters are losing confidence they will ever own a home. The average probability of owning a home at some point in the future tumbled to 43.3% this year, down from 51.6% in 2021. You can read more HERE.
One of the reasons it seems to be going this direction, is the price of houses. In talking to my mother, there is A LOT more to owning than just having a mortgage that you pay every month. There are property taxes, electric bills, water bills, cable and internet, gas, insurance for the home (fire, water, etc.) Not to mention that what if you have neighbors who are just awful. Many want to be a homeowner because you can build equity in the home, and perhaps you can eventually sell you home for a lot more than what you paid for it. Rent prices are going up too.
I am sure that there are a number of factors that I am leaving out, but you get the idea. We are dealing with a situation that is very difficult. You have to make sure you have the funds and/or the credit to secure a place you like. Perhaps a place where you would want to raise a family. Enough income to not put yourself into debt if an emergency happens. So for many, renting is the way to go in the short term to weather the storm. Do you agree? Share your thoughts.
