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

Buying or selling a home is a big adventure; some thrill seekers may choose to take on both tasks at the same time. If you're finding yourself in the position of needing to buy and sell at the same time, here are some tips to help you navigate the possibly challenging course ahead of you. Evaluate Your Local Market For most buyers and sellers, selling their current home before putting an offer on another property is their best real estate option. But for others, it really depends on the local real estate market. If you're thinking of selling and buying at the same time, research the market in your target area. This can help you gauge whether it's a buyer or seller market. If many properties are available, it might be a good time to list. If inventory is low, you may need to wait until the market picks up again. The general rule of thumb is to sell first in a buyer's market and buy first in a seller's market; but this isn't always the case since eve