Fed Study on Consumer Health Bodes Well for Homeownership

The Federal Reserve’s latest survey on the financial health of American consumers offers some promising findings on homeownership. According to the study, 43 percent of respondents who owned their home for at least one year believed that it had appreciated in value compared to 2013. Moreover, 70 percent of homeowners reported that the value of their home was greater than the balance on their mortgage. “These results might reflect actual differences in the expected trajectory of home values by neighborhood, or might simply reflect a broader optimism about the path of the economy that is generally projected by higher income respondents,” according to the Fed. Also, only 1 percent of respondents who put their home on the block were unable to sell the property. Still, 50 percent of renters were concerned about saving up enough to make a down payment for homeownership and qualifying for home financing. | Read More