The Monica Foster Team
Menu
  • Home
  • Buyers
    • Close
    • Properties
      • Search For Homes
      • Request Home Search
      • 24/7 Virtual Open Houses
      • Our Listings
      • New Listings
      • Home Walkthroughs
    • Buyers
      • Buyer Representation
      • Luxury Home Buying
      • New Home Construction
      • Virtual Buying
      • Home Ownership App
      • American Dream TV
    •  
      • Buy with Cash
      • Cities / Neighborhoods
      • Relocation
      • Short Sales & Foreclosures
    • Buyer Resources
      • Buyer Videos
      • Community & School Reports
      • Area School Districts Facts
      • When Choosing a Home
      • Buyer Negotiation Process
      • Housing Programs
    •  
      • Property Disclosures
      • Ready to Buy
      • Ready to Move
      • Final Walkthrough Checklist
      • Homestead Exemption
      • Real Estate Flow Chart
    •  
      • Title Policy Rates
      • Contract to Close Process
      • Who Pays What?
      • Owning a Home
      • Mortgages
      • Mortgage Rates
      • Property Tax Records
    • Close
  • Sellers
    • Close
    • Sellers
      • Selling Your Home
      • Virtual Selling
      • Luxury Home Marketing
      • American Dream TV
    •  
      • Value My Property
      • Guaranteed Home Offer
      • Home Offer Consultant
      • Short Sale
      • Expired Listing
      • Relocation Company
    •  
      • Selecting Your Agent
      • Professional Photos
      • 3-D Tours
      • Home Staging
      • Virtual Staging
    • Seller Resources
      • Seller Videos
      • Ready To Sell
      • Priced To Sell
    •  
      • Ready To Move
      • Contract to Closing
    •  
      • Who Pays What?
      • Remodeling
      • Real Estate Flow Chart
    • Close
  • Raving Fans
  • About
  • Contact
    • Close
    • Social
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Pinterest
    •  
      • Social Wall
      • Blog
      • YouTube
    • Help
      • Ask Us
      • Refer Us
      • Join Our Team
      • Join Our eXp Group
    • Close

Realty Blog By Monica

How Misunderstandings about Affordability Could Cost You

0
May 27, 2021 - General Information

There’s a lot of discussion about affordability as home prices continue to appreciate rapidly. Even though the most recent index on affordability from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows homes are more affordable today than the historical average, some still have concerns about whether or not it’s truly affordable to buy a home right now.

When addressing this topic, there are various measures of affordability to consider. However, very few of the indexes compare the affordability of owning a home to renting one. In a paper just published by the Urban Institute, Homeownership Is Affordable Housing, author Mike Loftin examines whether it’s more affordable to buy or rent. Here are some of the highlights included.

1. Renters pay a higher percentage of their income toward their rental payment than homeowners pay toward their mortgage.

The report explains:

“When we look at the median housing expense ratio of all households, the typical homeowner household spends 16 percent of its income on housing while the typical renter household spends 26 percent. This is true, you might say, because people who own their own home must make more money than people who rent. But if we control for income, it is still more affordable to own a home than to rent housing, on average.”

Here’s the data from the report shown in a graph:How Misunderstandings about Affordability Could Cost You | Simplifying The Market

2. Renters don’t have extra money to invest in other assets.

The report goes on to say:

“Buying a home is not a decision between investing in real estate versus investing in stocks, as financial advisers often claim. Instead, the home buying investment simply converts some portion of an existing expense (renting) into an investment in real estate.”

It explains that you still have a housing expense (rent payments) even if you don’t buy a home. You can’t live in your 401K, but you can transfer housing expenses to your real estate investment. A mortgage payment is forced savings; it goes toward building equity you will likely get back when you sell your home. There’s no return on your rent payments.

3. Your mortgage payment remains relatively the same over time. Your rent keeps going up.

The report also notes:

“Whereas renters are continuously vulnerable to cost increases, rising home prices do not affect homeowners. Nobody rebuys the same home every year. For the homeowner with a fixed-rate mortgage, monthly payments increase only if property taxes and property insurance costs increase. The principal and interest portion of the payment, the largest portion, is fixed. Meanwhile, the renter’s entire payment is subject to inflation.

Consequently, over time, the homeowner’s and renter’s differing trajectories produce starkly different economic outcomes. Homeownership’s major affordability benefit is that it stabilizes what is likely the homeowner’s biggest monthly expense, assuming a buyer has a fixed-rate mortgage, which most American homeowners do. The only portion of the homeowner’s housing expenses that can increase is taxes and insurance. The principal and interest portion stays the same for 30 years.”

A mortgage payment remains about the same over the 30 years of the mortgage. Here’s what rents have done over the last 30 years:How Misunderstandings about Affordability Could Cost You | Simplifying The Market

4. If you want to own a home and can afford it, waiting could cost you.

As the report also indicates:

“We need to stop seeing housing as a reward for financial success and instead see it as a critical tool that can facilitate financial success. Affordable homeownership is not the capstone of economic well-being; it is the cornerstone.”

Homeownership is the first rung on the ladder of financial success for most households, as their home is most often their largest asset.

Bottom Line

If the current headlines reporting a supposed drop-off in home affordability are making you nervous, let’s connect to go over the real insights into our area.

Monica Foster May 27, 2021
Tags:   Buying MythsFirst Time Home BuyersFor BuyersPricingRent vs. Buy

RELATED POSTS

NO COMMENTS

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Your email is never published or shared.

SubscribeSubscribe to Blog

Recent Posts

  • Charming Corner 1.5 Story 3BD 2BA Home For Sale in Port Arthur
  • Stunning 2 Story 4BD 3.1BA Home For Sale in Friendswood
  • Stunning 3BD 2BA Home For Sale in League City
  • Charming 3BD 2BA Home For Sale in League City
  • Investment 3BD 2BA Home For Sale in Webster

Categories

  • General Information
  • Home Walkthrough
  • Investment Properties
  • Lifestyle
  • New Listings
  • News
  • Sold Listings
  • Vacation Rentals

Our Social Networks

Our Social Networks

Brokered by eXpRealty

Certified Residential Specialist
Accredited Buyer Representative
Certified New Home Specialist
Accredited Staging Professsional
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist
Seller Representative Specialist

Monica M. Foster

Monica M. Foster
The Monica Foster Team

Houston – Clear Lake – League City
Pasadena – Baytown – Beaumont
Galveston – Pearland – Sugarland
Katy

Main: 346.202.7307

Contact Us

© 2023 Realty By Monica, LLC  • 

Terms of Use  •  Privacy Policy
Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services
Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Notice