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Here Are Some Fun and Little Known Real Estate Facts to Enjoy
When you’re looking to buy a home or sell a home, you might find that you’re spending a lot of time on the “interwebs.” You may be doing research on market statistics, neighborhood information, mortgage rates, real estate professionals, and brokerages in the area. Following are some lesser-known real estate fun facts that you might not come across in your day-to-day surfing.
Almost 30 percent of Americans own their home free and clear of a mortgage loan. That’s approximately 21 million households.
In the United States, there are five times as many vacant houses as there are homeless people.
Warren Buffet is one of the richest men in the world, and he still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 in Omaha, Nebraska. He paid $31,500 for it.
In 2009, there were more foreclosures in the United States than there were marriages.
In Scotland, homeowners paint their door red when they pay off their mortgage.
In the United States, if you see a winged eagle over the door, it may mean that the homeowners have paid off their mortgage. The eagle symbolizes “freedom” from the mortgage payment.
A homeowner’s net worth is over 30 times greater than that of a renter.
Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was a Great Depression era gangster who was viewed positively by the public. When he robbed banks, he would destroy mortgage documents, which freed many citizens of their debts.
Think your house is too small? The typical home site in many developing countries is 75 square feet.
According to the Aspiring Home Buyer Profile, conducted by the National Association of Realtors, in 1981, a typical first-time buyer purchased a 1,700 square foot home, costing $70,000 ($201,376 in inflation and adjusted dollars). In 2006, at the height of the market and before the “burst of the bubble” and the era of McMansions, a typical first-time homebuyer purchased a 1,815 square foot home, costing $214,000. In the 2016 survey, purchased homes were 1,650 square feet and cost $182,500.
Eight out of 10 non-homeowners indicate that owning a home is part of their American Dream.
Being unable to afford to buy is the number one reason non-owners list as to why they don’t.
The average mortgage down payment for homebuyers has been six percent for first-time buyers for the last three years running.
Those in the business point out that unrealistic expectations about how much of a down payment is necessary to purchase a home have kept credit worthy borrowers with manageable levels of debt from exploring the prospects of buying a home.
Ninety percent of those that responded to the 2016 National Association of Realtors Survey indicated that they worked with an agent to buy or sell a home, rather than go it alone.
Some doorknobs disinfect themselves, including lead, iron, silver, aluminum, and copper. The best material to use for a self-disinfecting doorknob is brass.
Do you like older homes? You may want to visit the Henry Whitfield House in Guilford, built in 1639. It’s listed as the oldest surviving stone American Colonial house in New England, and has been a museum since 1899.
Connecticut has the reputation for being an expensive place to live. Adding to that reputation is the most expensive house listed in Connecticut at $49,895,000. Located in Greenwich, it was built in 1916 and sits on 40.26 acres. It has nine bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, four half bathrooms, and 17,603 finished square feet. The estimated monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance with a $10 million down payment, would run you around $243.930.
Almost 30 percent of Americans own their home free and clear of a mortgage loan. That’s approximately 21 million households.
In the United States, there are five times as many vacant houses as there are homeless people.
Warren Buffet is one of the richest men in the world, and he still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 in Omaha, Nebraska. He paid $31,500 for it.
In 2009, there were more foreclosures in the United States than there were marriages.
In Scotland, homeowners paint their door red when they pay off their mortgage.
In the United States, if you see a winged eagle over the door, it may mean that the homeowners have paid off their mortgage. The eagle symbolizes “freedom” from the mortgage payment.
A homeowner’s net worth is over 30 times greater than that of a renter.
Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was a Great Depression era gangster who was viewed positively by the public. When he robbed banks, he would destroy mortgage documents, which freed many citizens of their debts.
Think your house is too small? The typical home site in many developing countries is 75 square feet.
According to the Aspiring Home Buyer Profile, conducted by the National Association of Realtors, in 1981, a typical first-time buyer purchased a 1,700 square foot home, costing $70,000 ($201,376 in inflation and adjusted dollars). In 2006, at the height of the market and before the “burst of the bubble” and the era of McMansions, a typical first-time homebuyer purchased a 1,815 square foot home, costing $214,000. In the 2016 survey, purchased homes were 1,650 square feet and cost $182,500.
Eight out of 10 non-homeowners indicate that owning a home is part of their American Dream.
Being unable to afford to buy is the number one reason non-owners list as to why they don’t.
The average mortgage down payment for homebuyers has been six percent for first-time buyers for the last three years running.
Those in the business point out that unrealistic expectations about how much of a down payment is necessary to purchase a home have kept credit worthy borrowers with manageable levels of debt from exploring the prospects of buying a home.
Ninety percent of those that responded to the 2016 National Association of Realtors Survey indicated that they worked with an agent to buy or sell a home, rather than go it alone.
Some doorknobs disinfect themselves, including lead, iron, silver, aluminum, and copper. The best material to use for a self-disinfecting doorknob is brass.
Do you like older homes? You may want to visit the Henry Whitfield House in Guilford, built in 1639. It’s listed as the oldest surviving stone American Colonial house in New England, and has been a museum since 1899.
Connecticut has the reputation for being an expensive place to live. Adding to that reputation is the most expensive house listed in Connecticut at $49,895,000. Located in Greenwich, it was built in 1916 and sits on 40.26 acres. It has nine bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, four half bathrooms, and 17,603 finished square feet. The estimated monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance with a $10 million down payment, would run you around $243.930.
