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Americans Dig Deep, Buy Homes
Americans bought some houses last month, God bless 'em.
Existing US home sales, which've spent the better part of two years mired in a hopeless rut, rose 3.4% last month, the NAR said Thursday.
That was the largest increase since a short-lived recovery in Q1 and the annual rate, at 3.96 million, was the briskest since July.
The figure underscores the extent to which the resale market was -- and remains -- moribund.
The uptick in October was down to September locks. The existing home sales
I understand the desire to own a home, however, at least in LA- the “rent vs. buy” analysis indicates that buying, instead of renting, is about twice as costly for the exact same house. Add in repairs/ replacements and consider the “lost income” on a down payment, and home ownership is more than twice as costly.
The “trick”, if one rents instead of buys, however, is to be disciplined enough to save the difference and not spend it.