The general belief today is that homes are getting harder to afford, and this may be the worst time in a long time to buy a home, but at least one real estate pro says there's plenty of hope, we may just need to adjust our thinking about the word "home."
A recent survey indicates as many as one out of six (about 16%) of those who want to buy a home have given up the search because prices are too high or they felt they cannot get a mortgage or pay the monthly premium.
But Jennifer Wauhob of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene says it's a great idea to start off the search for a home by going back to the basics -- then work your way up.
"Talk with a professional," she says, "don't just assume that home ownership isn't for you. There's a possibility you might afford a townhouse or a condo, something that's at a lower price point that are within your budget.
"And there are things that we might see in the future that might help people buy a home, things like maybe a longer-than-a-thirty-year mortgage -- y'know, that aspect of affordability hasn't been changed in decades," Ms. Wauhob says.
"So there really are things out there that maybe the federal government could do, federal home initiatives that might help ease the cost of housing in the future" -- because rather than giving up, it's important to remember that there are options, including moving to an area where homes (or condos, for instance) are a little cheaper with an eye toward trading up in the future to a more desirable location.
And there's hope that, after last week's small drop in the Federal Reserve's interest rate, there could be lower mortgage rates on the horizon, she adds.
"Obviously interest rate makes up a big part of that [home] payment, and the lower the interest rate gets the more affordable home ownership gets for people..and we're hoping we might see rates come down a little bit more before the end of the year, so every little bit helps ease the affordability crisis that we've been in."