Published May 2005

Sponsor’s Message:
Housing plays a unique role
in improving wealth

By Barb Lamoureux
Business Women 2005 Sponsor

When I bought my home 25 years ago, the asking price was $64,000 and interest rates had just gone down to 14 percent. A few years later, I refinanced at a 10 percent interest rate and thought that was a great deal. Over the years, I have put a lot of improvements into my 1912 home and have seen its value increase by 400 percent and my interest rate decrease to just under 6 percent.

During the 1990s I had accumulated a comfortable retirement nest egg. Then the 2000 downturn in the stock market wiped it all out, including some of my original investment. My projected retirement date fast-forwarded to age 85! That same year, I used some of the equity I had accumulated in my home to buy a second property.

My retirement account is still not back to the pre-2000 levels, but my equity in my rentals has tripled. Yes, I have to supplement the payment each month, but to me, it feels safer putting my money into something I can see and touch and somebody else makes the payment.

Homeownership is unique in that it provides shelter in addition to being an investment that yields a financial return as values rise. Housing wealth has a more immediate impact on consumer spending than stock wealth and has sustained our economy since the beginning of this decade.

The dynamics of the buyers are changing as well. While the home buyers’ market is still dominated by married couples, the single female buyer accounted for 20 percent of all home buyers in 2004. In fact, women are now outpacing men 2-to-1 in first-time homeownership.

Increasingly, women are reacting to low interest rates, improved lending options and the quest for a sound independent investment. Besides tax breaks and profit margins, women are now more able to dictate exactly what they want and where and how they intend to live.

Women’s priorities throw a modern spin on traditional ideals of security, independent control, freedom, quality of life and, more important, a sense of community. Because women traditionally earn less than men in the job market, owning a home can put their accumulated wealth on an equal footing.

Homeowners are more transient today — the average homeowner moves about every five years. Homes are not for life any longer, rather for life stages. At Lamoureux Real Estate, we can provide answers to all the questions you may have about making a move, whether it is buying a home or selling your current one or purchasing a second home. The advice is free! Come visit our lovely new office at the entrance to North Everett’s historical district on 19th and Wetmore, or call us for help in “improving your real estate experience.”

Barb Lamoureux is the owner/broker of Everett-based Lamoureux Real Estate. A Certified Residential Specialist, she can be reached by calling 425-356-7975 or by sending e-mail to Barb@LamoureuxHomes.com. Her business can be found online at www.LamoureuxHomes.com.

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