Housing Market Continues to Confound Experts

Housing prices throughout the United States continue to rise, with recent data showing that prices increased nearly 7% from a year ago. That’s the fourteenth consecutive month of price increases, an incredible run. And while that will eventually have to come to an end, when will that happen?

For more and more Americans who want to buy houses, the rising cost of housing is keeping them from being able to live the American dream. A combination of rising house prices and rising interest rates is keeping many buyers on the sidelines, particularly younger families who may not have enough money saved up for a down payment. That is causing home sales to decline, which in turn may have led to a slight short-term downturn in mortgage rates recently.

But it will take more than just short-term dips in mortgage rates to entice buyers back into the market. With prices having increased so much already, it’s only a matter of time before they fall again as the bubble collapses. Many potential homebuyers who remember the last financial crisis don’t want to be caught buying at the top of the bubble, paying exorbitant prices for houses that will decline in value while potentially being locked into a very expensive mortgage.

For many who want to buy a house but are put off by the high prices, this is the perfect incentive to save and invest. Building up savings to afford a larger down payment will pay benefits in the future through reduced monthly mortgage payments. And while stock markets are also as overpriced as houses now, there are still plenty of safe, productive investment opportunities that homebuyers can take advantage of if they don’t want to hold just cash.

Whether they choose to invest in physical gold or invest in gold through a gold IRA, potential homebuyers can harness the power of gold to continue to grow their savings until they’re able to buy a home. Putting money in stock markets at their current high levels is almost a guaranteed loser once stock markets correct. And once markets correct, gold will take off once again as it normally does when stocks tank, benefiting those investors who had the foresight to make the decision to invest in gold.

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