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Which Is Better:
Real Estate Or Stock?
Around the country real estate results in many communities -- but not all -- have been extremely good in the past year. The National Association of Realtors says that median prices for existing homes reached $183,600 in May -- up 10.3 in the past 12 months.
However, from an investment perspective, home values have actually risen at a far greater pace.
Imagine that a home was bought in May 2003 for $166,455. Add 10.3 percent and sure enough the price a year later is $183,600.
But did anyone buy a home for cash
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in 2003? Some people, sure. But most homes, most of the time are financed. If you bought with 10 percent down ($16,546), your cash investment was up 104 percent.
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Rising Interest Rates Gives Rise To Borrowing Advice
Rising interest rates are coming with a rising tide of advice to help home buyers and homeowners cope with the added expense.
To allay some fears, Larry Goldstone president of Thornburg Mortgage, Inc., a Santa Fe, NM mortgage lender specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMS), says mortgage interest rates will remain relatively low historically.
Even with higher rates, says Goldstone, ARMs remain a bargain.
"The advent of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), hybrid ARMS, and interest-only loans will continue to bolster the housing market as interest rates rise," Goldstone said. Furthermore, compared to rates as high as 18 percent 25 years ago, today's interest rates remain a bargain.
A $320,000 mortgage in today's low-interest rate economy is the equivalent of a $100,000 mortgage with an 18 percent interest rate in 1981.
"Buyers realize they can spend $200,000 more and actually pay about the same monthly payment as they were
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Pack Away Kids'
Moving Blues
Buying a new home can be very exciting for adults, but it can evoke a whole lot of fear in children. Summer break is when many families decide to make a move since children are frequently on break. But regardless of the timing, it's helping children understand the reason for the move that will help pack away kids' moving blues.
Some 10 million school-age children move each year in America, according to Gabriel Davis, author of The Moving Book: A Kid's Survival Guide. She writes about tips and activities that give children a little extra attention to help them better handle a move.
Davis writes that giving kids something to focus on like a new activity that they'll be able to participate in, once they get to their new home, can help get them excited about the move.
Helping kids deal with a move has a lot to do with how parents handle the move says Life Coach, Brook Montagna of Mindful Life Coaching. She believes easing children's moving blues starts with first addressing whatever factors are causing stress in the parents' lives.
Have the Right Attitude
"Lots of times we'll focus on how difficult this is going to be for the children, but we forget to manage our own stress and that kind of filters down to the kids," says Montagna.
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Stopping The Noise
Have you ever heard your neighbors when you didn't want to? Maybe they're in their yard or even in their home and the sounds bleed through into your house. For some homeowners stopping the outside noise from coming in is quite the challenge.
"We've been here 10 years and it's been noisy," says homeowner, Bob Niles.
Bob and his wife Kay live in a detached home in San Clemente, CA. "Our houses are kind of small and the yards are real close," says Niles.
When the couple added on a room and widened their home it brought them even closer to the neighbor's yard. They knew that stopping the noise would become even more difficult.
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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