I love my iPad. And one of my favorite apps is Zite. If you don’t have it, get it! It pulls articles of interest to you and essentially creates a daily online magazine with sections of interest to you. And what’s really cool about it is that it doesn’t only pull content from mainstream outlets, but allows me to read “off-the-beaten path” articles or blogs I might not have found before.

My “real estate” section routinely pulls blog posts from an outfit called The KCM blog. Yesterday I saw this great post and thought I’d share it. As a math guy, I loved the simple presence. The author broke down the National Association of Realtor’s estimate for annualized home sales for 2011 and determined that nearly 14,000 homes are being sold every day.

I’d like to break it down a little more. With 22% of all August sales being to investors, that leaves 10,749 homes being sold every day to “regular” people. Those with a lifestyle need. Births. Marriages. Job promotions or transfers. A myriad of other reasons.

Why is that figure important? Because it showcases that those with a lifestyle need and the financial viability to do so ARE buying homes. They are taking advantage of the lowered – yet correcting – prices, increased inventory affording choice and all-time low mortgage rates. These nearly 11,000 “regular” homebuyers a day are really smart.

I know there are many, many people who would love to enter the home buying process today but can’t. The economy is tough, unemployment is high and consumer confidence is low. And, I know, we as people are almost pre-wired to follow the herd.

But in homeownership today, I caution you to make sure the herd has your individual best interests at heart.

No matter where I travel and no matter how many people I meet – both inside and outside of real estate – I continually hear stories of people who just bought a home. These people looked at their individual situations and made the determination that was OK for them to be an active participant in the home buying process.

Is it home ownership for everyone today? No. But for nearly 11,000 “regular” people a day it is!

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.