Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  Homeowner Net Worth Has Skyrocketed If you’re weighing your options to decide whether it makes more sense to  rent or buy  a home today, here’s one key data point that could help you feel more confident in making your decision. Every three years, the  Federal Reserve Board  releases the  Survey of Consumer Finances  (SCF). That report covers the difference in net worth for both homeowners and renters. Spoiler alert: the gap between the two is significant. The average homeowner’s net worth is almost 40X greater than a renter’s.  And here’s the data to prove it ( see graph below ): The Big Reason Homeowner Net Worth Is So High In the  previous version  of that report, the net worth of the average homeowner was roughly $255,000 and that of the average renter was $6,300. But in  the release  that just came out this year, the gap widened as homeowner net worth climbed dramatically. As the  Survey of Consumer Finances  (SCF) report  says : “. . . the 2019-2022 growth in median net worth wa

In today's world of   rising housing costs , many buyers are looking for ways to still be able to buy a home. Some of them have found a solution in multi-generational living. Multi-generational living is when two or more adult generations live together under one roof. This includes siblings, parents, or even grandparents. Here’s an in-depth look at why more buyers are choosing this option today, so you can see if it may be right for you too. Reasons To Buy a Multi-Generational Home According to a  recent study  by the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), the top two reasons people are opting for multi-generational homes today have to do with affordability ( see graph below ): Cost Savings:  About 28% of first-time buyers and 11% of repeat buyers are deciding on a multi-generational home to save on costs. By pooling their resources, households can share the financial responsibilities like mortgage payments, utilities, property taxes, and maintenance, to make  homeownership  mor