Yes, I’m still beating the drum…homeownership is a smart move for those who qualify.

Here is a cool chart that illustrates housing prices from 1991 thru 2010 and has been adjusted for inflation.

The data, broken down, reveals that purchasing a home in 1991 led to strong real property value gains. If you were a home buyer in 2000, those gains were around, but favorable markets shift to the Northeast and Mid-Northwest. Keep in mind that while we saw property values skyrocket post 2000, we also saw them fall off a cliff. This chart takes that full time period into consideration.

If you look at the chart that encompasses 19 years, it clearly demonstrates that buying real estate and holding over this length of time provides real gains for most states.

Montana clearly is the consistent “winner”…who would’ve thunk it?

As I’ve mentioned before, home affordability is at its best since 1963. Were you born yet?

If we look back 48 yeas to 1963 the average price of a home in North Texas was a whopping $18,700…can barely buy a car for that these days. Incomes were around $6,200 unless you had a college degree, then you might average $9,700….that is annual income! Had you bought that home back then, the value today based on historical home appreciation rates would be $247K.

Take that same concept and apply it to today – a home price of $200K and fast forward only 30 years, using the 48 year average home appreciation rate – you’ll have a home value of almost $1 Million. Plus you get to live there…not bad, eh? If you extend the time line out to 48 years, at the same average home appreciation rate, you’ll have a value of well over $2 Million.

If you are considering purchasing a home, this is very likely the best time to do so.

Elizabeth Rose