By:Dennis Norman
Lately the news has not been pleasant about home ownership. Falling home prices,an oversupply of homes and a shortage of financing. Kind of makes you question if owning a home is really part of the “American Dream”? I think it is all a matter of perspective.
To begin with when we buy a home to live in the investment aspect of the transaction is not usually the top priority. Don’t get me wrong,I think we all want to feel that the house we buy will be a good investment in the long run,however we generally spend more time and energy finding a house we can truly call “home”and one that meets the needs of our family. If the buyer has kids then typically the local public and private schools are at the top of the list and a yard or other outdoor area to play is important as well. An older couple maybe more concerned about accessibility of the home in terms of all rooms being on one level,no steps,etc as well as proximity to grand kids,doctors etc.
My 29 years in the real estate business have included over 15 years of developing and building new homes,town-homes and condos. My life as a developer frequently had me trying to figure out what features would be important to buyers and what buyers would be willing to pay for a home or condo with those features. To do this a lot of research was needed as well as some guess work. One thing I realized over time is that buyers definitely have priorities and know what they want,or at least some of what they want,and no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t convince someone to buy a house that didn’t satisfy that criteria or “feel right”to them. It wasn’t all about price….sure,we could influence someone with price but short of “fire selling”the home we couldn’t sway a buyer with price unless they were already interested in the house and felt it met their needs.
I think this shows a “home”is more than just a house. One way this is really illustrated well is with the “Within these walls”exhibit sponsored by the National Association of REALTORS(R) and on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. This exhibit is of a partially reconstructed house that stood for 200 years at 16 Elm Street in Ipswich,Massachusetts,about 30 miles north of Boston. This house was slated for demolition back in 1963 until efforts by Ipswich citizens saved it.
The exhibit tells the stories of five families who lived in this home over the years and made history in their 
kitchens and parlors. Spencer R. Crew,director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History said “This exhibition will inspire our visitors to look at history in a new way,a history that begins at home”. Wow,does that say a lot! I guess I never thought about my home in terms of my family “making history”but now that I think about it that makes sense. Think about all the “history”in your home….when brought your first child home from the hospital or the first puppy,or perhaps the first kiss or dinner with your spouse,the tree your child built a tree house in,the kitchen where you made thanksgiving dinner with your mom,and so on. We all have our memories of things that happened “within our walls”…hopefully mostly good,but some bad things too…It’s all history,our family history….some of the events inside our homes will go on to influence our children and others to do great things.
For many of us our homes may be “worth”less today then they were a year or two ago,however that is only in financial terms…perhaps the real value of our home to us far exceeds the price someone would pay for it.
Related posts:
- Better buy a house now before they’re all gone!
- Another look at real estate values and median prices
- Home mortgage interest rates continue to fall….Life support for the ailing real estate market but not the cure
- FHA Reform Bill Passed by House;Good News for Homebuyers
- Two-thirds of Americans less likely to buy a house due to poor economy
It’s rather a great as well as useful bit of data. I am satisfied that you just contributed this particular beneficial information around. Make sure you keep us current like this. Appreciate sharing.
[url=http://bloghonk.com
‘.~ I am very thankful to this topic because it really gives up to date information ;”*
[...] in December 2008 I wrote a post about “The Real Value of a House”in which I suggested,among other things,that we make “history”in our homes,[...]
[...] in December 2008 I wrote a post about “The Real Value of a House”in which I suggested,among other things,that we make “history”in our homes,[...]
[...] in December 2008 I wrote a post about “The Real Value of a House”in which I suggested,among other things,that we make “history”in our homes,[...]
[...] in December 2008 I wrote a post about “The Real Value of a House”in which I suggested,among other things,that we make “history”in our homes,[...]