Q. Is the American Dream of home ownership dead?
A. It depends on who you talk to and what you want to believe. Warren Buffett says, "Buy buy buy" and Suze Orman says, "The American Dream is Dead." There is no crystal ball to predict the future, but at the end of the day, everyone needs a home to go home to. So whether you rent or buy a home is really a personal decision.
According to a survey by Trulia.com (a popular home search website), 70% of Americans, both renters and homeowners alike, do NOT believe the dream of home ownership is dead; home ownership is still part of their personal American Dream. However, this is down from 77% from just one year prior (Q1 2010).
78% of home owners surveyed still say that their home is the best investment they ever made. Additionally, 88% of the renters surveyed in the 18-34 age bracket aspire to be a home owner.
Warren Buffet has said that buying his house was the 3rd best investment he has ever made. What won out in the #1 and #2 spots? The ring he bought his 1st wife and then the ring he bought his 2nd wife after his 1st wife’s death. (See even Buffett knows that a happy wife is a happy life.)
Buffett still lives in the same home he purchased in 1958 in Omaha, Nebraska. In a letter to shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. dated February 26, 2011, Buffett wrote, “For the $31,500 I paid for our house, my family and I gained 52 years of terrific memories with more to come.” Buffett went on to say, “A housing recovery will probably begin within a year or so. In any event, it is certain to occur at some point.”
A few years ago when the Dow was at 7,000, some financial advisors were still recommending to get out of the stock market if you hadn’t already. Anyone who listened then surely regretted it. Warren Buffett is a billionaire (the 3rd richest man in the world) and his message on the real estate market is both optimistic and realistic, so we are going with Buffett on this one. The American Dream of home ownership is not dead!
Quotes From Warren Buffett
A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.
I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.
I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.
When a country needs more income, they should get it from the people that have it.
In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.
~Lisa
Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County of Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.
Is the American Dream of Home Ownership Dead? - Copyright © 2011, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.
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The Scott Loper Team
Scott Loper - Associate Broker
Lisa Loper - Sales Associate
Gina Wherry - Sales Associate
RE/MAX Realty Group
439 Main Street
Harleysville, PA 19438
Ph: 215-256-1200 x-213
