Today, buying a home is still the best investment that most people will ever make in their lifetime.
If you don't already own a home, now is just as good a time as any to start looking to purchase one, especially with prices being as low as they are and with interest rates still falling. It will be just a matter of time before home prices stabalize and interest rates start going back up.
During periods of economic recession, many people end up losing their homes through foreclosure. Even though this is bad news, it's not the end of the world. The economy will eventually rebound and people will start feeling good about the economy and home ownership again. Even those who lose their homes will be able to buy again in the future if they take good care of their credit.
Even though the real estate market has faltered as of late, along with the rest of the economy, buying a home is still one of the best financial moves you can make. In the long run, those who own their own homes make out far better in terms of long term financial security and stability than those who don't.
There are some economists who would differ, saying that the stock market and other investment vehicles offer better returns on your money. This may be true, but they don't take into consideration that most people are not savvy about investing in the stock market. On any given day, the stock market may implode causing small time investors to lose everything.
Notwithstanding, the real estate market, as we all know, is also volatile. But, if you buy a home that you can afford and hold on to it until it is paid off, you can be sure that whether real estate prices rise or fall, in the end, you will still have a place to live along with the money you make as you pay down the loan along with the equity you accumulate as the property goes up in value.
It takes a long time to pay off a fifteen or thirty year loan, and it is an expensive undertaking, but most working class people can count on home ownership as the one thing that will reward them as they get older and contemplate retirement.
Until fifteen or twenty years ago, owning a home was looked at as a long term investment. A home was bought as a place to live in, raise a family, and to have as a place to live in free once it was paid off. Although you would still have to pay taxes and insurance on it, you didn't have a mortgage note. That was the key to living relatively well on your retirement and social security.
But then came the notion that it would be better to borrow the equity you have in your home by refinancing it or taking a second mortgage on it and investing the money in the stock market. The problem with that train of thought is that if the stock market tanks, you lose the money you borrow against your property, plus you still have to pay back the loan.
This is not to say that you will lose your money if you invest in the stock market. On the contrary, many people have made fortunes investing in stock. But what you have to ask yourself as a novice investor is whether borrowing money on your home to invest in other things is a good idea or not. Taking out a home equity loan to invest in other moneymaking vehicles has worked for some, but it has been disastrous for others.
People want something tangible that they can see and put their hands on. They want something that they can live in and call home. They want to own a piece of the rock and they want to be able to live comfortably when they retire. A home has always been a solid investment vehicle and although nothing is certain in life, owning your own home when you retire is well worth the time and money you have to invest.
Today, owning a home is still the best investment most people will ever make. Now is just as good a time as any to start looking to purchase a home, especially if you don't already own one. There are literally thousands of homes on the market this very moment, foreclosures, short sales, and regulars homes that people just want to sell.
Things have just reverted back to how they were ten to fifteen years ago when banks and mortgage companies made sure that you could afford to make your monthly payments before they gave you a home loan and now, like back then, you have to prove you can qualify. Although getting the right financing is tough, it is still doable. It may take a little more effort than it took in the past few years but you will find that owning your own home is well work the time.