A Good Time To Buy A House?
A Good Time To Buy A House?
Not only could this be a good time to by a house but it may be the best time in years. For some reason home buyers seem most interested when prices are high. But just as we all like to see a “20 off” sale on our favorite consumer items or groceries we should be more interested in buying a house when they are selling cheap. That’s right now.
Of course if you already have a home you might hesitate to move up to a larger one now. Given the number of people in over their heads on their mortgages it makes sense to be cautious. But if you are hesitating because you don’t want to sell your current home at these lower prices think again.
Let’s suppose you have a home that you owe 90000 on which was worth 180000 just two years ago. Maybe values have dropped by 20 in your area of the country since then so it’s now worth 144000. It might seem that this is a terrible time to sell. On the other hand if you had plans to move into a larger home at some point this may be the best time.
For example suppose a home you’re looking at is selling for 200000. It would have likely cost you 250000 just two years ago. That’s also what it will likely cost if you wait until your own house is back to a value of 180000. Does it really make sense to wait to get 36000 more for your home if it means paying 50000 more for the next one? Not at all.
Now if you have the financial means you might want to buy the new home now without selling your existing house. You can rent out your current house and wait for better times when you might get more for it. But if you need to sell to buy now is the time.
Not since the Great Depression has there been such a steep decline in the prices of homes. You can call it a crisis or as the federal regulators say a “correction” but it just as meaningful to call it a “sale” so yes it’s probably a good time to buy a house. Of course there is no guarantee that we have reached the bottom on prices but at the very least you know you are paying substantially less than you would have a couple years ago.
What if you’re a first time home buyer? Well as pointed out above it makes sense to buy something when it’s on sale including a house. In addition interest rates are still low as of late 2008 . And although it’s tougher to get financing now this isn’t all bad. You can feel safer knowing that banks and other lenders are no longer allowing borrowers to get mortgages they can’t afford.
Houses on sale interest rates still near alltime lows and lenders no longer pushing mortgages that get you into trouble this may be the best time to buy a house.
About the writer: Copyright Steve Gillman. To see a photo of the house we bought for 17500 and get a free ebook on how to buy Cheap Homes and a free real estate investing course visit: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com
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