The time to buy a home is when you can! Trying to find the exact right time to buy a home is like trying to hit a moving target. So if you have reliable income and the price for the home and the interest rate is right… it is time!
Interest rates have been at historic lows for a long time now and still pretty much holding. We have seen some
Increase in rates over the last few weeks however rates are still great. The bigger issue now is that home prices are ticking up and seemed to be continuing to go up to date. It is reported that across the US that home prices have risen more this year than last year.
Still a long way to go to come back up to prerecession peaks and we are still down from the April 2006 peak.
So that is the synopsis on home prices which leads me to inventory issues.
After many people bought homes that one could say extended their personal debt limit to the maximum these buyers are now coming back to the market seeking less expensive homes that will meet their needs. The people I speak with can often afford a much more expensive home than what they are shopping for. I hear comments like…. If I lose my job, we can still make the payments and many similar remarks.
The point of this previous remark is very relevant because now you have many more people seeking homes in that sweet spot of 180k to 250k. As a result of this change in thinking inventory is very limited and this also makes it more difficult to find your home and it also makes prices go back up. If you find a home you like… DO NOT quibble over 5-10k as you will loose in this market. 10k equates to about 50 dollars per month and you will make your money back over the long term.
The days of double digit growth in values may not ever occur again so don’t buy a home like it is a commodity. A home is a place where you can normally expect the value to go up with inflation. A home is a place where your son gets his first dog and you teach him to play ball. The value of the home is living in the home and it is the last bastion of a hedge against inflation that the average working family really has.
If you can buy, now is time. Look around and see for yourself.
Mike Frakes is a Senior VA Loan Specialist at Creekside Mortgage, Inc.
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