Economy Starts With Real Estate?

OK so let's examine this.

I read a blog with an interesting point of view the other day. Most of the points seem very valid to me. Our economy is driven by many things. It is my belief that it all starts at spending. There is no doubt that the purchase of a home catapults one into a spending spree.

I have a friend that recently purchased a home and they have spent thousands in changes and upgrades in the few months they have been there. With many more projects planned on the 80 year old house they are economy drivers in their small community. My wife and I are looking at purchasing a home closer to my son's school. In the homes we are looking at there is work to be done. New kitchen here, detached garage there. We are recession busters!!!

Where this previous blog looses me is the innuendo that real estate agents are the ones driving the economy. If all of the real estate agents were to disappear off the face of the earth does that mean our world would end as we know it? People would not be able to buy or sell another property? That without these precious soles that the great unwashed would not know how to proceed with the transaction? It would be like cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!



Why should I spend 10% of my hard earned equity to pay for them to go to school when I could use it to send my son to school? As a home seller I know that by keeping as much of the equity I have in my home as opposed to floundering 10% to an agent I can stimulate the economy in either one of two ways. I can afford a more expensive house (or one with more potential and fix it up) or the other side is have a smaller mortgage going forward which will allow me more expendable cash or savings. Just think now when you look at your mortgage what an extra $10,000 off of that would do for you long term. Now I am not saying that you can take $10,000 off your mortgage but you sure can avoid adding it on.

That leaves me with one question. How much will you add on your mortgage before the day comes when Felix moves in with Marmaduke?