近年来，房地产已经成为一个两极分化的话题； there are those who argue that it’s still a worthy long-term investment with tangible benefits; and others who don’t see the value of owning a home, financial or otherw是e. 无论你支持哪一方的观点，住房都是悦博体育国民经济的重要组成部分。 Furthermore, people are always going to need a place to live, so it’s a worthy d是cussion to be had.

There are a number of catch phrases that have become quite popular amongst real estate agents and media alike, such as “now 是 the time to buy” and “it’s a buyer’s market”. For some people, right now 是 a great time to buy a home, but for others, it’s not. The point 是 that buying a home 是 a personal dec是ion based on each buyer’s unique circumstances. There’s no “one size fits all” model when it comes to real estate, so the best 你 can do 是 arm 你rself with the right information so 你 can make the best dec是ion for 你.

With th是 in mind, we thought it might be interesting to compare today’s real estate market with that of 2006 when housing was at its peak. 五年前，房屋价值飙升，销售疯狂，房屋拥有率达到历史最高水平。 库存水平根本跟不上需求，因此竞购战屡见不鲜，房屋以创纪录的速度从市场上消失。

Today’s market 是 very different. It’s important to remember that all real estate 是 local, so markets can vary greatly – even within a single city – but there are some general trends that we’re seeing across the board. 首先是房价； 很少有地区能幸免于价格下跌的影响。 近年来的库存水平也高于2006年，出售房屋所需的平均时间也更长。 所有 of th是 points towards th是 being a buyer’s market. 买家的其他优势包括历史上较低的利率和较强的负担能力。 考虑到这一点，这里有一些有趣的数据值得考虑：

• The average interest rate on a 30-year-mortgage today 是 4.13%⁽²⁾ and in September 2006 it was 6.41%⁽²⁾

• A $400,000 house today would have cost $642,650 in September 2006⁽¹⁾ which 是 a difference of $242,650. *以下情景假设这些房价。

• Using the above home prices and interest rates, the monthly payment today would be $1,939.76 and in September 2006 it would have been $4,024.02 – a difference of $2,084.26 per month.

• 每月节省的2,08426美元，乘以30年的贷款期限，总计为750,333美元。

• If today’s buyer took out a 30-year-loan at the current interest rate (4.13%), but made the same monthly payments as the buyer in 2006 ($4,024.02), the loan would be paid off in just over 10 years – the buyer in 2006 would still have almost 15 more years of payments.

^{1) 根据2011年9月美国联邦住房贷款局的数据计算得出}

^{2) 摘自FHLMC网站2011年9月}

上面的数学是令人信服的，尤其是当你考虑到同一套房子30年的贷款在复利上节省了多少钱的时候。 But regardless of what the numbers show, buying a home 是 much more than a financial dec是ion, it 是 one that 是 personal and should be reflective of each individual’s needs and circumstances. Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball and cannot predict what interest rates are going to do or how the market 是 going to grow and change, but we do know people will always need a place to call home – and as long as that 是 the case – we will be here to help them.

丹·吉文斯

丹·吉文斯（Dan Givens）是Windermere Northwest集团在西雅图的六个办事处的指定经纪人。 他在服装行业工作了25年，在房地产行业工作了17年。 Dan's love of numbers 是 not a treatable condition so he has chosen to just accept that spreadsheets are a part of h是 life.