Buy now or wait?

When to purchase a home, is one of the most common concerns homebuyers have in today’s market.  The decision must be yours, but here are some things I suggest you consider when making your decision.

1. We know there are better buying opportunities available right now than were available a year ago.
2. I believe that in the long term, real estate values will increase, so if you plan to stay in the home for a while, you will likely come out ahead over the long term.
3. The only way you will know where the price bottom will be is with 20/20 hindsight.  There are no absolute indicators for housing bottoms, so don’t expect to feel 100% convinced that you are buying at the very bottom.
4. Not all types of properties or neighborhoods will bottom out at the same time.  The statistics we typically hear on the news are national averages and don’t address specific property types or specific neighborhoods.  Ask your Realtor for help in this area.
5. Don’t forget to include interest rates in your evaluation.  Yesterday, the Federal Reserve indicated that they are done lowering interest rates for now. Interest rates today are relatively low, but inflation pressures that may push rates up are looming in the background. The next move by the Federal Reserve could be to increase interest rates.  If home prices did happen to fall a little more, but you end up paying a higher interest rate, the higher interest rate may cause your mortgage payment to be higher, even though you may have paid a little less for the home.
6. If you are a first time homebuyer, saving money to make a large downpayment doesn’t seem to work very well.  For example, at today’s interest rates, saving an extra $5,000.00 for a down payment would only lower your monthly payment by $29.17 per month.
7. If you are selling and then buying a replacement home, you may sell for less today than a year ago, but with the help of a competent Realtor, you will also buy for less.  If you are buying up, you may actually come out money ahead in today’s market.

The decision is yours, but waiting may not be the best choice

Lou Auger, Summit Mortgage –   Email – Website