If you're a member of the National Association of Realtors you should have gotten your issue already. Every month this thing comes in my mailbox and I used to really think it was a waste. Most of the time it was just a pep-rally session for other Realtors or hashed and rehashed strategies. Well, I'm not really sure when they started doing this or if I was oblivious before, but there's a small economic section in this magazine, that's well worth the price of the paper. It's actually called "Front Lines" which is an oxymoron, but that's another article for another day.
Obviously, this month's issue is always a winner with the Cost vs. Value report, however, there's a lot of nuggets in these Realtor Magazines. Here's what I found, feel free to add your own in the comments section.
- * An investor purchasing a property 5 years ago would be ahead by $54,000 nationally.
* $10,000 down payment invested at 5% would be worth $110,000 in 10 years, while $10,000 invested in stocks at 10% interest would only yield $23,600.
- The average net worth of a renter is $4,000, the average net worth of a homeowner is $184,400.
- 57% of internet users have watched videos online
- A sign of the times? Siding and window replacements on those resales are now starting to pay off.
Joan - I like the magazine, I'm just not overwhelmed with the wealth of information.
Hank - As usual Kichen Makeover ranked pretty high. You have to watch out though. Older homes, built in the early 90s or older make great candidates. Or neighborhoods with high appreciation. Buyers might expect corian or granite when they get to certain price ranges. In general though, no upgrades are 1:1. Most of them are in the 80% range. Rehabs being the exception to the rule.
Brian - Occassionally, a stellar article comes out, but mostly I just love the economic section. In one issue, the economist said that our economy took 50 steps forward and now we are up in arms about taking 2 steps back.