Buying a home is the most important decision many people will ever make, starting with the fact that buying a home is often the biggest investment of a lifetime.

Because buying the right home, at the right price and on the right terms is dependent upon many factors, it's important to work closely with informed, experienced and dependable housing professionals every step of the way. When you rely on the right housing professionals to guide you through what can become an extremely complicated and occasionally challenging transaction, your new home dreams will become a reality.

As people across the country are asking if now a good time to buy a home, you'll find the answer a resounding "yes," especially here in northwest Indiana.

"There has never been a better time to invest in real estate," Celeste Zajac, a northwest Indiana account manager for Ticor Title Insurance™, said. "When you consider the supply of homes available at reasonable prices right now, along with the fact that interest rates remain at historic lows, there are definitely some incredible opportunities for buyers out there."

According to the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors® (GNIAR), buying a home is always a good investment. In fact, the GNIAR Multiple Listing Service shows the median selling price of a home in northwest Indiana has increased 22.5% since 2000. When you combine equity accumulation with the tax benefit of deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes, buying a home for the long term is one of the best investments you can make.

A licensed real estate agent for the past 15 years, Zajac is an active member of GNIAR as well as the Building Industries Association of Northwest Indiana (BIA), the Indiana Association of Mortgage Brokers (INAMB) and the Indiana Mortgage Bankers Association (IMBA). While each of these professional associations has its own unique agenda and focus on the housing industry, she has found that there are some very significant areas where they overlap.

"There has been some discussion over the last few years on how to get all of the people involved with the housing industry together," she said. "The current market gives us an opportunity to show the people of northwest Indiana that we're all still here, doing business as usual. We formed the Northwest Indiana Housing Alliance (NWIHA) so we can all work together for the common good and accomplish greater things through our combined efforts."

For starters, the NWIHA will focus on 2 primary initiatives, according to Zajac:

1. To provide consumers with the resources and information needed to purchase the home of their dreams.

2. To help stabilize the housing market with all of the participating associations working toward common legislative goals.

Despite the trend towards consolidation in many business sectors, members of the NWIHA continue to provide valuable services for consumers through their chosen housing industry-related fields. Their affiliation with the NWIHA allows them to stay abreast of the latest developments and hone their skills based on the current environment.

For consumers, the NWIHA will serve as a virtual clearinghouse of resources and information designed to help you successfully navigate the home buying process. It will help save time and effort so you can maintain the balance of your everyday life between family needs, professional pressures and personal goals while pursuing the home of your dreams.

While the NWIHA will primarily focus on issues directly involving northwest Indiana at the state level, members will continue to keep a pulse on the national housing front via their original professional association affiliations.

For example, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is the largest professional trade association in the country, representing more than 1.3 million residential and commercial Realtors® involved in all facets of the industry as brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers and counselors. NAR advocates policy initiatives that foster vibrant communities in which to live and work.

The BIA is affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) which helps promote policies that make housing a national priority. Since 1942, NAHB has strived to create an environment where all Americans have access to the housing of their choice and the opportunity to realize the American dream of homeownership, builders have the freedom to operate as entrepreneurs in an open and competitive environment, and housing and those who provide it are recognized as the strength of the nation.

One of 50 state affiliates with the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), INAMB joins more than 25,000 members to promote the industry through programs and services such as education, professional certification and government affairs representation. NAMB members subscribe to a code of ethics and best lending practices that foster integrity, professionalism and confidentiality when working with consumers.

IMBA also closely interacts with the national MBA and over 2,400 member companies. Representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 370,000 people in virtually every community in the country, MBA invests in our communities by ensuring the continued strength of the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets, expanding homeownership and extending access to affordable housing to all Americans and supporting financial literacy efforts.

For more information about the Northwest Indiana Housing Alliance, go to www.nwihousingalliance.com.