Why 2014 is a good year to buy a home
If you didn't buy a home in 2013, you may be kicking
yourself now. Home prices climbed
nationally an average of 13.6 percent in the past 12 months, according to
Tuesday's release of the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price
index.
Don't make the same mistake in 2014, suggests Benjamin
Weinstock, real estate attorney and partner at the firm Ruskin Moscou
Faltischek in Uniondale, N.Y.
Market forecasters predict that 2014 will be another year of
gains for the real estate market, even though the rapid pace of sales in 2013
cooled off a bit at the end of the year. On Dec. 30, The National Association
of Realtors said its pending home sales index, based on contracts signed last
month, rose 0.2 percent in November, below the 1 percent rise forecast.
Home prices are expected to rise about 5 percent next year,
says Weinstock. Higher mortgage rates will dampen the pace of both sales and
price gains, but not bring them to a halt. The average rate on a 30-year fixed
mortgage is expected to rise from 4.5 percent to 5 percent in the next year.
Even aside from expected price gains, buying a home is
almost always a good investment in the long run. Tax benefits are not to be
overlooked.
"When one rents, at the end of the year he or she has a
pile of 12 cancelled rent checks. However,
the homeowner has a pile of 12 cancelled mortgage checks that are nearly fully
tax deductible in most cases.