Good Financial Sense – Buying a Home
With the recent news reports concerning the housing markets, renters may get the impression that home ownership is no longer the value it once was, or that making the decision to buy a new home might be best postponed. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact a recent study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and The Center for Economic and Policy Research found that those renting a two-bedroom apartment would be better off financially by buying a low-priced home at a loan rate of 6% in 24 of the 100 largest metro areas, including Augusta.
A low priced home is defined as priced at 75% of the median priced home in the market, or around $109,500 accordingto the latest figures for Augusta.
Even more interesting to potential homebuyers is the chance to build equity. Here, too, there’s good news for buyers in Augusta. In 66 of the top 100 markets, you’d be in the black in four years should you buy a low-priced home today. You’d do best in McAllen and El Paso, Texas, where you could build roughly $90,437 in equity with a 6% loan, and just shy of that with a 7% loan. In Augusta, you’d stand to make more than to $57,000. In Augusta, prices never got run up to the sky. Now, homes are still affordable. And most importantly, the prices aren’t likely to come crashing down. In fact, home prices in Augusta have shown greater growth than 92% of nearly 300 markets most recently surveyed by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
(Page 26 at this link http://yournewhomecolumbia.com/yournewhome-links.html)
It’s just more proof that home ownership is still the best way to create financial security for any family, and Augusta outperforms the majority of the country in providing an opportunity for everyone to participate in the great American dream of home ownership.
How much equity you’d have by 2012 if you bought a low-priced home today…
| Metro area |
6% loan |
7% loan |
8% loan |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas |
$90,437 |
$89,871 |
$89,381 |
| San Antonio |
$90,017 |
$89,064 |
$88,239 |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. |
$88,907 |
$87,473 |
$86,232 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas |
$87,837 |
$86,703 |
$85,721 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas |
$83,880 |
$82,669 |
$81,620 |
| Rochester, N.Y. |
$82,898 |
$81,898 |
$81,032 |
| Syracuse, N.Y. |
$80,231 |
$79,341 |
$78,571 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y. |
$77,934 |
$77,045 |
$76,275 |
| Jackson, Miss. |
$77,648 |
$76,659 |
$75,804 |
| Austin-Round Rock, Texas |
$70,007 |
$68,530 |
$67,251 |
| Memphis, Tenn.-Mississippi-Arkansas * |
$68,348 |
$67,286 |
$66,367 |
| Baton Rouge, La. |
$61,802 |
$60,648 |
$59,651 |
| Pittsburgh |
$61,174 |
$60,221 |
$59,397 |
| Tulsa, Okla. |
$58,599 |
$57,624 |
$56,780 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark. |
$58,420 |
$57,416 |
$56,548 |
| Augusta, Ga.-Richmond County, S.C. |
$57,424 |
$ 56,465 |
$55,636 |
| Lakeland, Fla. |
$56,960 |
$55,793 |
$54,784 |
| Columbia, S.C |
$55,993 |
$54,936 |
$54,022 |
