90 percent of new home owners are happy with their home purchase, according to a poll by Bankrate.com. It is refreshing, to hear that the overwhelming majority of people are still happy to be home owners.
According to the “Social Benefits of Stable Housing” paper released by the National Association of Realtors, there are many reasons that home owners are happy about their recent home purchases. Pride of ownership and a sense of stability are important to a person’s happiness and self esteem.
Only 9 percent reported being upset that they purchased a home.
Reasons were cited like being upset because they couldn’t sell, or that they could no longer afford their mortgage payments. While the reasons seem very logical in the current context, it is surprising that so few new home owners feel this way. Approximately half of the 9% that regret purchasing a home fall into the category of “unable to sell” or “unable to afford.”
The poll was conducted by Princeton Research Associates of over 1,000 randomly selected adults.
Are homeowners being educated by the current times?
Probably. The poll also found a dramatic drop in the number of people that didn’t know what kind of loan they had. A few years ago, 26% of homeowners did not know what type of mortgage they had (fixed-rate, adjustable, etc.)
Today, only 8% of borrowers don’t know their loan type. The majority of borrowers have a fixed rate loan, which is also the most popular loan type among higher income families.
There are many possible reasons for this increased awareness. For example,bankrate.com mentions that homeowners were likely to find out what kind of loan they had once the economy took a downturn so that they would know their options.
I think that home owners are taking ownership and “borrower-ship” more seriously than ever. The potential risks of home ownership are broadcast to us from every direction- in the news, in politics, in the neighborhood. We know: this is not a decision to be taken lightly.
Homeowners are careful, educated. The result? They are happy.
