Is Now A Good Time To Buy?

Is Now A Good Time To Buy?

People ask me this all the time! I participate in the market actively, representing buyers and sellers, and also buying/selling several of my own properties each year. There’s lots of data, which can be manipulated and applied to support any argument. In short, people will believe what they want to believe!

An argument against buying:

It’s a seller’s market, baby. We have fewer homes available today than at any point since they started tracking. Check out the purple chart below to see that there has NEVER been a better time to sell. There are multiple offers happening all over the place and it's hard to win a bidding war.

Source: #dmarstats

Most houses are selling in a week or less. Single family home prices are 9-17% higher than last year (depending on your neighborhood). We could be in a dangerous bubble. It was cheaper last year and by waiting until more homes are available for sale, buyers will regain the upper hand and avoid overpaying.

An argument in favor of buying:

Yes, prices are up. Way up. But look below at this green chart! They are likely to go up next year too. In fact, they went up for 26 years out of the last 30.

Source: #dmarstats

If you refused to buy because houses are more expensive than last year, you would have missed out on buying in 1990. And 2001. And 2012. And every year except the historic once-in-a-century catastrophic financial meltdown, when prices declined from 2007-2010.

Even if you bought in 2007 (This was me!) the worst year ever to buy a house, you were even steven by 2012 and up over $200k by now.

Did I mention that mortgage rates are at historic lows? Factor in 3% interest rates, and monthly payments are comparable to 2019. And with a down payment, owning is cheaper than renting.

Don’t believe me?

-I have a buyer closing on her first property today. She’s going from $2200 rent to $1750 ownership. Monthly loan paydown is an additional $400.

-I sold a rental house in September. Rent was $2195. New owner’s monthly payment is below $2000. Monthly loan paydown is an additional $500.

So believe what you want to believe. Both of these arguments are valid and based on facts.

Got a house to sell? Please call me… I am buying. Watch me ride that green wave!