Find the cost of a home in 20 years, assuming an annual inflation rate of 5%, if the present value of the house is $260,000.

What an outdated question! Housing prices have not been rising in the last several years.

clarification question: is this simple interest or compound interest? In other words, does it increase by a steady amount of money (so like maybe 2000 dollars per year) or does it increase by 1.05 of the money you have now? (so the next year would be 1.05, and the year after that would be 1.05^2)

Yup that is right Ms. Sue because of our bad economy...

inflation is an exponential concept, so the interest would be compound interest.

amount = 260000(1.05)^20 = 689,857.40

To find the cost of a home in 20 years with a given inflation rate, we need to take into account the effects of inflation over time. Here's how you can calculate it:

1. Start with the present value of the house, which is given as $260,000.

2. Determine the annual inflation rate, which is 5%. Remember that the inflation rate represents the percentage increase in prices each year.

3. Determine the number of years, which is 20 in this case.

4. Calculate the future value of the house using the formula for compound interest:

Future Value = Present Value * (1 + Inflation Rate)^Number of Years

Plugging in the values we have, the equation becomes:
Future Value = $260,000 * (1 + 0.05)^20

5. Calculate the Future Value using a calculator or spreadsheet.

Future Value = $682,576.44 (rounded to the nearest dollar)

Therefore, the estimated cost of the home in 20 years, assuming an annual inflation rate of 5%, would be approximately $682,576.