[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f3iysbycz1kphe":3,"$ffeh0925h8cuz":47,"$fbwk2pqjjqsc7":51},{"item":4,"previous":35,"next":41},{"id":5,"slug":6,"title":7,"description":8,"excerpt":9,"contentType":10,"featuredImage":11,"bannerImage":9,"body":12,"agentsBottomLine":13,"bodyImage":14,"isInfographic":15,"categories":16,"isVideo":15,"videoThumbnail":9,"videoSource":9,"publishedAt":33,"updatedAt":34},383,"thinking-of-buying-a-home-ask-yourself-these-3-questions","Thinking of Buying a Home? Ask Yourself These 3 Questions! ","If you are debating purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family will have your best interest at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in real estate.\r\n\r\nLet’s look at whether or not now is actually a good time for you to buy a home.","","blog","https:\u002F\u002Fsimplifyingmedia\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002F01162135\u002F3-Questions.jpg","If you are debating purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family will have your best interest at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in real estate.\r\n\r\nLet’s look at whether or not now is actually a good time for you to buy a home.\u003C!--more-->\r\n\u003Ch4>There are 3 questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:\u003C\u002Fh4>\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">1. Why am I buying a home in the first place?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nThis truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances.\r\n\r\nA study by the \u003Cem>Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University\u003C\u002Fem> reveals that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:\r\n\u003Cul>\r\n\t\u003Cli>A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\t\u003Cli>A place where you and your family feel safe\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\t\u003Cli>More space for you and your family\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\t\u003Cli>Control of that space\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\u003C\u002Ful>\r\nWhat non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the biggest reason you decide to purchase or not.\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">2. Where are home values headed?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nWhen looking at future housing values, \u003Cem>Home Price Expectation Survey\u003C\u002Fem> provides a fair assessment. Every quarter, \u003Cem>Pulsenomics\u003C\u002Fem> surveys a nationwide panel of over 100 economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.\r\n\r\nHere is what the experts projected in the latest survey:\r\n\u003Cul>\r\n\t\u003Cli>Home values will appreciate by 4.1% in 2015.\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\t\u003Cli>The cumulative appreciation will be 18.1% by 2019.\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\t\u003Cli>Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of over 10.5% by 2019.\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\u003C\u002Ful>\r\n\u003Ch4>\u003Cstrong>So what does that really mean for you and your family?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh4>\r\nThe chart below was made using the \u003Cem>Home Price Expectation Survey’s\u003C\u002Fem> predictions:\r\n\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002FSlide1.jpg\">\u003Cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-31820\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002FSlide1.jpg\" alt=\"Homeowner's Family Wealth Over The Next 4 Years | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>\r\n\r\nIf the experts are right and you were to purchase a home by January 2016 for $250,000, that home would appreciate by over $34,000 over the next four years! As we have \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002F2015\u002F08\u002F31\u002Fnew-york-times-homeownership-is-best-way-to-build-wealth-2\u002F\">reported\u003C\u002Fa> before, homeownership is one of the best ways to build your family’s wealth.\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">3. Where are mortgage interest rates headed?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nA buyer must be concerned about more than just prices. The ‘long term cost’ of a home can be dramatically impacted by an increase in mortgage rates.\r\n\r\nThe \u003Cem>Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)\u003C\u002Fem>, the \u003Cem>National Association of Realtors\u003C\u002Fem> and \u003Cem>Freddie Mac\u003C\u002Fem> have all projected that mortgage interest rates will increase by approximately one full percentage over the next twelve months as you can see in the chart below:\r\n\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002FSlide2.jpg\">\u003Cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-31821\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002FSlide2.jpg\" alt=\"Mortgage Rate Projections | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Bottom Line\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nOnly you and your family will know for certain if now is the right time to purchase a home. Answering these questions will help you make that decision.","\r\nOnly you and your family will know for certain if now is the right time to purchase a home. Answering these questions will help you make that decision.","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002FSlide1.jpg",false,[17,21,25,29],{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},5,"For Buyers","buyers",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},9,"Home Prices","home-prices",{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},11,"First-Time Buyers","first-time-buyers",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},35,"Mortgage Rates","mortgage-rates","2015-09-10T10:00:05Z","2015-09-09T18:04:29Z",{"id":36,"slug":37,"title":38,"featuredImage":39,"publishedAt":40,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},382,"most-experts-agree-there-is-no-housing-bubble","Most Experts Agree: There is No Housing Bubble","https:\u002F\u002Fsimplifyingmedia\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2015\u002F09\u002F01162137\u002FEconomists-Agree.jpg","2015-09-09T10:00:22Z",{"id":42,"slug":43,"title":44,"featuredImage":45,"publishedAt":46,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},384,"economic-impact-of-every-home-sold-infographic","Economic Impact of Every Home Sold [INFOGRAPHIC]","https:\u002F\u002F\u002F","2015-09-11T10:00:54Z",{"cover":48,"open":49,"shareSpread":50},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Cover-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Spread-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Magazine-original.png",[52,56,57,61,65,69,70,71,75,76,80,84,88,92,96,100,104,108,112,116,120,124,128,132,136,140,144,148,152,156],{"id":53,"name":54,"slug":55},1,"Uncategorized","uncategorized",{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},{"id":58,"name":59,"slug":60},6,"For Sellers","sellers",{"id":62,"name":63,"slug":64},7,"Foreclosures","foreclosures",{"id":66,"name":67,"slug":68},8,"Infographics","infographics",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},{"id":72,"name":73,"slug":74},34,"Senior Market","senior-market",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},{"id":77,"name":78,"slug":79},38,"Move-Up","move-up",{"id":81,"name":82,"slug":83},41,"For Sale by Owner","for-sale-by-owner",{"id":85,"name":86,"slug":87},42,"Featured","featured",{"id":89,"name":90,"slug":91},45,"New Construction","new-construction",{"id":93,"name":94,"slug":95},52,"Luxury \u002F Vacation","luxury--vacation",{"id":97,"name":98,"slug":99},53,"Rent vs. Buy","rent-vs-buy",{"id":101,"name":102,"slug":103},80,"Time-sensitive","time-sensitive",{"id":105,"name":106,"slug":107},81,"Outdated","outdated",{"id":109,"name":110,"slug":111},147,"Internal","internal",{"id":113,"name":114,"slug":115},148,"Do Not Autopost","do-not-autopost",{"id":117,"name":118,"slug":119},320,"Inventory","inventory",{"id":121,"name":122,"slug":123},321,"Agent Value","agent-value",{"id":125,"name":126,"slug":127},322,"Affordability","affordability",{"id":129,"name":130,"slug":131},323,"Buying Tips","buying-tips",{"id":133,"name":134,"slug":135},324,"Downsize","downsize",{"id":137,"name":138,"slug":139},325,"Economy","economy",{"id":141,"name":142,"slug":143},326,"Equity","equity",{"id":145,"name":146,"slug":147},327,"Forecasts","forecasts",{"id":149,"name":150,"slug":151},328,"Selling Tips","selling-tips",{"id":153,"name":154,"slug":155},339,"Expired\u002FWithdrawn\u002FCanceled","expiredwithdrawncanceled",{"id":157,"name":158,"slug":159},340,"Price It Right\u002FOverpricing","price-it-rightoverpricing"]