Millennial Money: Prepping to Buy a Home or Invest in 2023?
It has been quite the year. In 2022, we’ve lived through high inflation, stock market lows, housing market frenzies and ongoing Federal Reserve rate hikes. Although we don’t have a crystal ball to predict what will happen to the economy next year, we could use this year’s events as a guide: Things may continue to be rocky.
If homeownership and investing are on your 2023 goals list, here are some questions to ask yourself before whipping out your spreadsheet, money apps or notebooks.
What Am I Willing to Sacrifice in Terms of Space?
Whether you have a goal of buying a new home or renting a new place next year, there’s a lot to consider. For instance, 30-year fixed mortgage rates went from an average of 3.45 percent in January to 6.90 percent in October thanks to inflation and Fed rate increases. The Fed has already raised interest rates 75 basis points four times this year. This, coupled with housing shortages, has driven the national median price of homes above $400,000 for the first time, according to the National Association of Realtors….