How Homeownership Benefits Communities, Families, and Individuals
Why buy a house? Most people see buying a home as a personal decision, one that impacts their future and perhaps that of their families. That is true, but ownership goes further. It also impacts communities.
When making the decision to buy a home, always focus on the individual value and benefits it can offer. Yet, on the grand scale, it’s worth taking a closer look at why owning your home is helping to support a healthy community.
Homeownership Supports Community Stability
Research conducted by Habitat for Humanity has found that individuals with residential stability experience increased life satisfaction, engage more frequently with their community, and achieve better educational outcomes for their children. It also helps boost physical and mental health.
Owning a home, the organization found, was associated with a decreased risk of residential instability. The organization found that renters move about five times as often as those who buy a home. They only stay in their residence about one-quarter of the time that homeowners do.
What Does Owning a Home Do?
Owning a home can create a marked improvement in the quality of life of individuals. It creates a sense of financial freedom, builds financial stability for families, and contributes to long-term generational benefits. Consider a larger view. Owning a home can lead to the following community benefits:
- Improved economic growth: Communities with higher percentages of homeowners have a more stable economic landscape. It aids in contributing to higher property values, which helps attract new businesses to the area. That creates local investment.
- Better civic engagement: Homeowners are more committed to their community. That means they are more likely to get involved in the schools, community volunteer programs, and the local political scene. That ensures the community’s decisions, growth, and change focus on what’s most important to those who live there.
- Better outcomes: Communities with a higher number of owners than renters often have lower crime rates, better public assistance numbers, and enhanced property maintenance and improvement over time, according to data from the National Realtors Association.
Supporting Homeownership Means Educating and Starting the Conversation
Exploring the benefits of homeownership to communities, families, and individuals demonstrates the value of investing. Having the right partner to help fund that economic objective and achieve that long-term growth is more complex.
At Southern Trust Mortgage, our team is here to help you make the best decisions for your future. We work with consumers, real estate agents, and others to support the goal of growing healthy communities one mortgage at a time. Contact us to learn more.
