Buying a Home in Savannah To Live In or As An Investment?

There has been a lot of talk in the past few years about real estate as an investment. In most instances real estate is bought primarily as a place to live, with the investment aspect as a secondary concern.

This is probably the most reasonable way for most people to look at real estate. When real estate starting going up in price in the last few years, I think it made many recent buyers think about investment more than past buyers thought about investment when buying a home. Now that housing prices are cooling, or dropping in some areas, there may be a re-evaluation regarding motives and expectations.

It is highly likely that, over time, home prices will rise, but that is not a given, and for the normal purchase the appreciation will probably not be enough, factoring in inflation, for home buying to be considered a primary investment strategy. I think the concentration on “investment” will be tempered for years to come, and buyers will return to looking at home ownership in more traditional ways – a place to live and enjoy and transform into a style that is personally pleasing and individual.

To me, the joy of owning is in the transformation of my living space to match my needs and esthetics, a creative statement, of sorts, of who I am.

This doesn’t mean that real estate is no longer a good choice of investment, it just means a whole different strategy is involved in investment than in normal home-buying for living purposes. It still makes sense to buy a property at a good price in an area undergoing renovation, if the prospects of change look strong and value can be added, but you might not want to live in this property until those changes take place. So, the separation of investment and living may return to what they were before – investment is one motive with its own strategy and buying to live in and make a home is another strategy altogether.

A couple of years ago people were buying just about any property then finding it appreciate strongly in six months to a year, but I am afraid that party is over for awhile. If you are looking for a property to make a home, then the investment factor is secondary. In Savannah, you still ought to get around 3-5% appreciation in most areas, but you won't see great increases in short time frames.

Also,, there are still good investment opportunities in Savannah, if that is your goal, but finding great investment returns in any old house you buy is probably not going to happen for some time to come.