NPHS LAUNCHES 2020 CAMPAIGN FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP
Ameer Elahee
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art of the American dream is homeownership, and because of that, most Americans have accepted that owning a home is the right thing and even an obligatory thing to do. A home is an attractive long term investment in that, while the real estate prices are cyclical, and homeowners should not expect the property value to increase overnight, staying in that home for a while there is a good chance that you will sell your home for a profit because of the appreciation in the future.
Despite the few dramatic recession, the country has faced in the past, with the most recognizable one being the financial crisis of 2008, residential real estate tends to rise in value. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, the average price of the sold houses in the U.S. rose from $340,400 in Q3 2014 to $380,300 in Q3 2019, which is a 10 percent increase in just five years. If we go back further, in Q3 2009, homes fetched about $274,100, which means a 28 percent increase in value. Additionally, owning a home is a quick way of building equity. Home equity is the difference between how much you still owe on your mortgage and the market price of your home. This is true because, over time, your home value will grow, which also means that the equity of your home will also grow. As you pay your mortgage, the equity of your home will also grow, with less of the payments going towards the interest and more towards lowering the
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balance on your loan. Understanding some of these benefits will help you make sense of why we encourage people to buy homes. That is why in January this year, the Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services launched the “Just Click HOME� campaign that aims to connect households from diverse backgrounds to services that help build awareness that homeownership is possible. Given the current economic times, it is so much easy to think getting into a home is impossible, than accepting that it is. The Just Click HOME campaign is dedicated to increasing homeownership rates and addressing related barriers, especially for the minority and vulnerable communities across the region. NHPS serves the counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, and Eastern Los Angeles, helping these areas build resilient and healthier communities. The campaign
THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | APRIL 2020
