Tuesday, September 17, 2024
I’ve been thinking about houses vs. homes and our unique role in the process of alchemy that morphs a basic financial decision to invest in real estate, into the foundational place where many of our most cherished memories are made and revisited for a lifetime. It’s a stressful yet enchanting process buyers go through, and we’re often the first people to help a house transform into a home in the minds and hearts of the buyers we serve.
Do you watch the house-buying shows? I’ve never been bitten by that particular bug, but plenty of people have, gauging by their continued popularity. I’ve noticed the New York Times has started a print version in their The Hunt series, which features prospective buyers comparing housing wish lists against available subject properties. The end of each article reveals which home they chose and why.
While shopping, the inventory is referred to as a house, or property, or with even more barebones descriptors like “a 1-bedroom condo” or a “2-bedroom co-op.” Yet by the time the reader reviews the selection each buyer made, the description has shifted, and the property becomes referred to as “their home.”
I think the closing signals the beginning of that shift; I believe that’s the first moment that a buyer starts thinking of it in terms of “this is my home.” This moment, the instant those keys are placed in their hands, is when the buyer realizes all the hoops have been successfully jumped, and they’re crossing a figurative and literal threshold – becoming a homeowner. Even the expression on their face shifts. You’ve seen it before and so have I. It’s something special. We should remember to celebrate it.
I hope it’s never lost on you what an integral part you play in that magical process. Of how wonderous it is that in our society, any qualified buyer can become a homeowner, no matter if you have the “proper family pedigree” or not. You don’t even need to know anyone in high places.
Homeownership is not only an investment in a community, but in an individual’s future as well. It’s the way generational wealth can begin to accumulate and be handed down. It’s how a young family puts down their first roots, and the place their children’s memories will return to even as they become senior citizens and their memories begin to flicker. Everyone remembers home.
Homebuying signals hope and a plan for a future. We all know that some plans evolve as expected and some do not. But home is where it all plays out, where we dream, process, seek refuge and strengthen our ties that bind.
Home is a magical thing, in a spectrum broad enough to encompass both an economic foothold as well as the dreams and goals for a family. Helping shoppers become buyers and buyers become owners is at the heart of what we do. Even better? We help them do it confidently. I don’t know about you, but for me, that reality never gets lost and never gets old. Thanks for what you do.
Until Next Time,
Mary Schuster
Chief Knowledge Officer
October Research, LLC