06/27/2024
June is National Homeownership Month.
If that doesn't exactly fill you with excitement, we get it.
Owning a home is an incredible personal goal to have, but there's no doubt that external factors have made it more challenging than ever before.
Things like:
• The rising cost of childcare: In 2023, the average weekly cost of daycare in the US was $321, up from $284 in 2022.
• The escalating cost of food: Food prices surged by 2.2% in February 2024 compared to February 2023, with restaurant prices rising even faster at 5.1%.
• Elevated interest rates: Mortgage rates averaged 2.96% in 2021, but by October 2022, the 30-year rate had skyrocketed to 7.08%, marking a nearly 400 basis point increase in just ten months.
Although it's aggravating to know you can't control the price of childcare, gas or groceries, it can also be liberating...
Because we can turn our attention to the things we can control.
Things like discretionary spending and saving where possible.
This might mean temporarily having a roommate to share rent costs, opting for a more affordable car, treating dining out as a treat rather than a routine, or sticking to a grocery list to curb unnecessary spending.
There is no doubt the path to ownership is a steeper climb these days. To help our first-time buyer clients make meaningful strides toward their goals, we created a complimentary resource for gaining clarity on income and expenses.
Comment "budget" to grab our tracker!
