Is it the Right Time to Buy a House?

Renting or buying in this economy with this housing market.

pros and cons of each?

any and all opinions welcome.

Depends on the area, some markets are still sliding.

For the right deal I would say yes, and there are some good deals out there. Just make sure to find a good home inspector, there are a lot of very damaged foreclosure homes that were not properly winterized.

in georgia i’d say the right time to buy is right now if u can find the right house in the right neighborhood. i know prices in atlanta have been steadily increasing from the low point so its safe to say its a buyer’s market… i know there’s a ton of condos previously priced at 250k+ selling for 130k (which just goes to show some of the inflated prices back in the housing boom)… i’d check zillow.com they have a history chart that charts the price for the last 5 years… it tracks the house price, region’s avg price and city’s price (i believe)…

I would say, now is not the time to look at personal real property as an investment. (Unless you flip houses for a living, etc etc etc…)

If you buy, buy a home and treat it like a home. Put money and “sweat equity” into it. Enjoy the responsibility and providing a home for your family. the market is the market. Interest rates are still pretty low, but will go up sooner rather than later. It will normalize eventually (god willing :))

So, should you buy now? Yeah if you get a good deal and are looking for a HOME. But if you are looking at this like an investment, no don’t buy.

But this is all just my opinion. I have a bunch of clients that do R/E for a living, but I don’t do it myself.

im in northern cali…north of sacramento.

i am looking for this to be my HOME, not an investment property.

I guess I am not totally sold that the bottom has not been reached and I wont be buying a 300k property that in a year will be worth 250k.

also, getting our current home sold and closed at the same time as closing escrow on a new home is at this time iffy…

but I wonder if I rent…will I be looking at much higher interest rates next year?

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
I would say, now is not the time to look at personal real property as an investment. (Unless you flip houses for a living, etc etc etc…)

If you buy, buy a home and treat it like a home. Put money and “sweat equity” into it. Enjoy the responsibility and providing a home for your family. the market is the market. Interest rates are still pretty low, but will go up sooner rather than later. It will normalize eventually (god willing :))

So, should you buy now? Yeah if you get a good deal and are looking for a HOME. But if you are looking at this like an investment, no don’t buy.

But this is all just my opinion. I have a bunch of clients that do R/E for a living, but I don’t do it myself. [/quote]

solid advice. I would also add (which is basically what you are saying anyways), it’s a great time to buy, IF you’re “ready” to buy. Do you have the funds? do you have a stable job? do you have cash reserves, because we just bought a house and it’s amazing how much we’re spending just to furnish and get other odds and ends going from renting to buying.

A Horse? BUY IT!

[quote]Hallowed wrote:
A Horse? BUY IT![/quote]

[quote]WormwoodTheory wrote:

[quote]Hallowed wrote:
A Horse? BUY IT![/quote]

ahahahahaha!
Hilar.

Interest rates are historically (artificially) low. Home prices have been hit hard and have adjusted. Given our current policies, I’m not sure if we’ve reached a “bottom” or not. There’s a lot of shit that could go down given the state of the economy. But look at it this way, if we reach a state of hyperinflation, at least the mortgage you owe can be traded for a loaf of bread! LOL

Historically, home ownership has proven to be a good long term investment. Achieving home ownership by leveraging your money as greatly as you can now (3.5% down and a ~5% rate) seems like a good idea in my book. Remember, people were buying homes when rates were 17%… And even if real estate takes another hit in the short term, real property will always be a finite commodity and will eventually appreciate. The market is the market and hindsight is always 20:20. No one can “predict” when the “best” time to buy is. Beans gave some very solid advice up there: buy your home and treat it like a home with a long term plan in mind. Pay your mortgage on time. You can’t go wrong that way.

I would look at some ways of making an extra payment a year or paying down the interest early with a bi-weekly program or something. If you look at the total price you pay for a home if you make every single payment on time for 30 years it’ll piss you off no matter HOW good your rate is.

just my .02

Renting is dead money, irrespective of economic conditions. There can obviously be a time and a place where it is necessary but the net result is you will just be lining some one else’s pockets by paying off their mortgage.

An estate agent told me recently that as soon as the economy starts moving again (if LOL) then interest rates will start creeping up, causing prospective purchasers to panic and not buy, plus a lot of people who are on interest only mortgages in the UK will not be able to afford their repayments once interest rates start to rise again.

The biggest question is: Are you confident that if you find the right home you will be able to make the repayments? especially if/when interest rates rise…

We all need somewhere to live, and God isn’t making anymore land, so if you are confident you ca afford to buy and you see a deal that is right for you I say go for it. In London where I live there is a baseline property value which property never seems to drop below, and if prices drop so fucking low that property isn’t worth jack shit the last thing we’ll be worrying about is making mortgage repayments!

update.

closing on a property may-5.

talk about insanity…this property was built at the peak of the bubble out here (2007) and I am buying it for less than half what it’s original price was. insane.

RENT. Housing prices are going nowhere but down. Interest rates cannot stay low for much longer, and when they go up, they are going to go way up. The only reason to buy is if you plan to live there permanently and have no intention of selling anytime soon.

I hope all goes well for you.

I closed on my place at this time last year. The housing market here wasn’t nearly as volatile as some places, but I still managed to get the place at a significant savings and a fixed interest rate that probably won’t be seen again for a long time.