Buying a Whidbey Island Home Still Considered a “Best” Investment

Buying a  Whidbey Island home has several unique advantages when compared with renting. Aside from being able to decorate as you choose, receive additional tax benefits, enjoy stability in your housing payments, and increase your ability to make future investments, it just feels good to own your own home! Many of our military clients own a home in each of their duty stations and use them as investments with the rent paying the mortgage.

A survey conducted last month by the PEW Research Center, a non-profit, non-partisan organization considered a “fact tank” on social & demographic trends in America, determined that the majority of adult Americans (81%) still believe “that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make.” It is interesting to note that while the same study showed that 47% of those surveyed felt that current economic factors have resulted in a decrease in their current home value, those same home owners felt that their home investment was a safe one.

Renters of a  Whidbey Island home and homes across America seem to agree with the idea of investing in a home, with 81% wishing to buy a home eventually, even if individual circumstances prevent it currently. In fact, when asked to rate long-term financial goals, homeownership and “being able to live comfortably in retirement” were rated the highest by 80% of those surveyed. The  participants that were surveyed seemed to understand that owning a home provides more than an avenue for generating savings – it also is a place to live and provides an element of physical and emotional stability unlike other investment options. This is also discussed in a video with  Dr. Robi Ludwig who partnered with Coldwell Banker Real Estate to survey 2,100 American adults, exploring how they feel about the future of homeownership.

The survey continued bycomparing investments – trying to determine which held fast in the long run – the stock market or the housing market. The answer was variable, depending on the year of investment, however, and unable to be determined overall. One item not considered in the survey is that owning a home provides income tax benefits that are not likely to be found in other investments, which could affect the dividend bottom line and how you choose to invest. Click here to view the survey in its entirety.