{"id":18845,"date":"2022-06-27T12:14:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/?p=18845"},"modified":"2022-07-25T19:28:20","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T00:28:20","slug":"national-homeownership-month-tells-stories-of-triumph-areas-to-strengthen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/editorials\/national-homeownership-month-tells-stories-of-triumph-areas-to-strengthen\/","title":{"rendered":"National Homeownership Month: Tales of triumph, yet challenges linger"},"content":{"rendered":"

June is National Homeownership Month, a time that as an industry, we take stock of where we stand as a nation and how we can improve the path towards the American Dream. It has become more difficult than in the past – to address the shifting sands of that dream, the following editorial is penned by Bob Goldberg, CEO of the National Association of Realtors\u00ae, America\u2019s largest trade association:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

The thirteenth house that Kelly Johansen visited that day turned out to be the lucky one.<\/h3>\n

Alongside her Realtor\u00ae<\/sup> Michelle, Kelly spent an entire Saturday in the fall of 2018 touring properties across Northern Virginia. Like many Americans who have purchased a home over the past half-decade, Kelly felt the pressure of an immensely competitive market, particularly in one of the more sought-after regions of the country.<\/p>\n

Still, she didn\u2019t want to be rushed into a decision she would later regret. And she was willing to pass up the options that didn\u2019t feel quite right.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, after a dozen misses, their last planned stop of the day was the one that would change Kelly\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a quick look around, I stood in the living room and I just started crying,\u201d Kelly recounts today from that same room. \u201cI said,<\/p>\n

\u2018Michelle, this is my house. This is my house. I know it is.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAnd Michelle just told me, \u2018Don\u2019t cry, we\u2019re gonna get it for you.\u2019 It was a beautiful moment, and I just absolutely knew that this house was destined for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle, of course, was able to help her client close on the house of her dreams. Kelly has now lived in the Arlington, Virginia, townhome for almost four years. Here, in a neighborhood that once served as military housing barracks, she\u2019s built roots, community, and some significant housing equity.<\/p>\n

Before making the decision to buy, Kelly rented for nearly 11 years. She longed for homeownership, but as a self-professed \u201cterrible saver,\u201d she didn\u2019t think the goal was realistic. That was until Michelle helped her realize she could buy without bringing 20% to the closing table.<\/p>\n

As a single female, Kelly makes up a rapidly growing share of homebuyers in America.<\/h3>\n

The National Association of Realtors\u00ae<\/sup>\u2019 most recent Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers<\/a>, published in November 2021, found that 19% of all homes sold over the preceding year were bought by unmarried women. This is now the second-largest homebuying demographic in the U.S., behind only married couples.<\/p>\n

There are some 83 million property owners in this country. And countless others aspire to achieve their own version of the American Dream. That\u2019s been especially evident as home prices have remained steady while interest rates rise and inflation strains budgets for families everywhere.<\/p>\n

This and every June, America recognizes National Homeownership Month. <\/strong><\/p>\n

For NAR, it\u2019s a time to celebrate all of the life-changing, generational wealth-building opportunities that come with property ownership.<\/p>\n

We often tout statistics like the one showing a homeowner\u2019s net worth is, on average, about 40 times that of a renter. It isn\u2019t hard to see why, either. The typical U.S. homeowner accumulated nearly a quarter of a million dollars in housing wealth over the past decade.<\/p>\n

Still, thanks in part to a historic, nationwide shortage of available homes, too many aspiring buyers remain on the sidelines<\/a>. This six-million-unit gap is the consequence of decades of underbuilding and underinvestment, according to research conducted last year by the Rosen Consulting Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a result, many of those who are able to find and close on the perfect home can feel like they\u2019ve won the lottery.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a reality that isn\u2019t lost on Dorothy Edwards or her wife, Rachel Pryately.<\/h3>\n

The newlyweds relocated from Seattle to the East Coast last winter to be closer to their parents and siblings, finding temporary accommodations as they got acquainted with the area. Hoping to start a family, they knew the added support would be appreciated someday soon.<\/p>\n

Dorothy and Rachel sensed, however, that they needed to be settled in a community of their own\u2014with a home of their own\u2014before they\u2019d feel comfortable beginning the next chapter of their lives.<\/p>\n

Today, as they spend nights on the deck of their single-family home in Huntington, Va., hearing kids outside playing until after the sun sets, they know they\u2019ve found the perfect environment for a young, growing family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so lucky and privileged to be able to put down roots for our family in this way,\u201d Dorothy reflects today from their home just a few miles off the Potomac River.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuying our home and building community has kickstarted some of our life goals and has been so important with all of these upcoming milestones.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just such a happy thing. The process of creating a home together with my wife has been so sacred.”<\/p>\n

The fact is, however, that the act of becoming a homeowner shouldn\u2019t feel like such an extraordinary, exclusive achievement. It is, of course, a milestone in the lives of so many, and it\u2019s something that should be celebrated for everything it represents: freedom; financial security; safety; comfort.<\/p>\n

But this is where we are reminded that the work of ensuring homeownership is available and accessible to everyone in America still has a way to go.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe never imagined homeownership for ourselves,\u201d Dorothy says. \u201cWe didn’t think it was possible for us, so it was never a goal. But once we realized it could be possible, and with the help and support of our families, we went all in and landed in the perfect spot. We are so grateful to have gotten to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, both Dorothy and Kelly say they continue to encourage friends and family who are still renting to make the leap into homeownership.<\/p>\n

For Kelly, who works in the service industry, it can sometimes be difficult to convince colleagues – many of whom are reliant on tips and live paycheck-to-paycheck – that they too have the ability to manage and pay down a mortgage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super proud to be a homeowner, especially given this market,\u201d she says. \u201cAnybody I know who rents now I\u2019ll tell them, \u2018You\u2019re throwing your money away. For the same amount of money, you can have a mortgage.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I know personally they don\u2019t even need to put that much money down. I tell them, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, just have a conversation with Michelle and she\u2019ll hook you up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HOMEOWNERSHIP) Every June, America celebrates National Homeownership Month. It\u2019s a time to celebrate ownership opportunities, and see where to improve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":340926,"featured_media":17974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[2332,263,2311,1234],"class_list":["post-18845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","tag-featured","tag-nar","tag-national-homeownership-month","tag-real-estate-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/House-Fund.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/340926"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18845"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18866,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18845\/revisions\/18866"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}