The Honest Truth: People Are Buying Houses

September 28, 2011

Posted by jim_gillespie in General

We're not lying. Homes are being sold.

I love my iPad. And one of my favorite apps is Zite. If you don’t have it, get it! It pulls articles of interest to you and essentially creates a daily online magazine with sections of interest to you. And what’s really cool about it is that it doesn’t only pull content from mainstream outlets, but allows me to read “off-the-beaten path” articles or blogs I might not have found before.

My “real estate” section routinely pulls blog posts from an outfit called The KCM blog. Yesterday I saw this great post and thought I’d share it. As a math guy, I loved the simple presence. The author broke down the National Association of Realtor’s estimate for annualized home sales for 2011 and determined that nearly 14,000 homes are being sold every day.

I’d like to break it down a little more. With 22% of all August sales being to investors, that leaves 10,749 homes being sold every day to “regular” people. Those with a lifestyle need. Births. Marriages. Job promotions or transfers. A myriad of other reasons.

Why is that figure important? Because it showcases that those with a lifestyle need and the financial viability to do so ARE buying homes. They are taking advantage of the lowered – yet correcting – prices, increased inventory affording choice and all-time low mortgage rates. These nearly 11,000 “regular” homebuyers a day are really smart.

I know there are many, many people who would love to enter the home buying process today but can’t. The economy is tough, unemployment is high and consumer confidence is low. And, I know, we as people are almost pre-wired to follow the herd.

But in homeownership today, I caution you to make sure the herd has your individual best interests at heart.

No matter where I travel and no matter how many people I meet – both inside and outside of real estate – I continually hear stories of people who just bought a home. These people looked at their individual situations and made the determination that was OK for them to be an active participant in the home buying process.

Is it home ownership for everyone today? No. But for nearly 11,000 “regular” people a day it is!

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

buying, Economy, home, house, real estate

Kalpana Krishna-kumar

Great insight, David… incidentally it is KCM blog not KMC blog

http://coldwellbanker.com david_marine

Thanks! Actually Jim Gillespie wrote the post. He was out so I posted it for him. I’ll have to update the post so he gets the credit for it!

Rick Hoffman

David: You analysis and comments are right on. My wife has been working with a group of recently graduated university students who have real jobs and share one thought; they all want to buy their first home. They are doing it not for emotional reasons but as a part of their larger life plan. This all started with one guy who has his life together and he was the first to buy. Now he is introducing my wife to all of his friends who have the same type of goal orinented, purpose driven life and owning a home is a part of their plan.

Regular people don’t make the headlines but I agree with you that they are still smart enouogh to buy a house.

Rick Hoffman
Coldwell Banker San Diego.

http://www.facebook.com/davidmarine David Marine

Thanks for the comment Rick. Jim Gillespie actually wrote this post so I’ll give him the credit for the insight. He asked me to post it for him but I forgot to adjust the setting to give him credit for it!

Dean Harrington

So true! I write and speak about this often. It’s amazing that a reckless period of over-paying (2002-2006) has led to a national dialogue that discourages prudent buying now, when homes are properly priced. Crazy!

http://www.deansdesktoday.com/
Anonymous

Thank you for the great news! I also love my iPad!!!
http://www.comfortlife.ca/ Retirement Housing

Nowadays people are often attracted towards flats but there are some who are still occupied by the thought of possessing a own house. The main advantage of such a house is that one can use it according to need without taking permission from others. This concept of buying houses is very popular among the retired people.

http://www.comfortlife.ca/
Jmoltke

I can’t find the Zite app?

http://coldwellbanker.com david_marine

It’s only available for iPad. Just search Zite in the app store and you should see it.

Ron

I would love to see App for Blackberry, although the ipad is a great tool you would be amazed as to the Blackberry Playbook for real estate business