Is This a Good Time to Buy?
If you’ve been listening to all the news reports over the past couple months, things sound pretty bad. But, when you compare the economic conditions of today with those from the late 70s and early 80s, the real estate market today is not that bad. In fact, it’s really pretty attractive.
Today, we have historically low interest rates, a large supply of inventory and, for first time home buyers, an $8,000 tax credit if they buy a home prior to Dec. 1, 2009. This makes for a perfect buying environment allowing buyers to get much more for their money than they could several years ago.
In the last couple weeks, we’ve begun to see more news articles about reaching the bottom of the housing market, interest rates having stabilized around the 5% level, and we’re beginning to feel the effects of the Federal programs with respect to easing availability of mortgage monies.
It could be that what we are experiencing today is a return to a more ‘normal’ real estate market. Is this a good time to buy? No one can ever ‘time the market’, so it really depends on you and your individual situation.
Some home buyers are staying away from the housing market because of a continuing belief that 1) things will either get a lot worse before they get better or 2) interest rates and home prices will continue to go down.
For first time home buyers, there may not be a better time to take action if you have been considering buying a home. Take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit available to you this year.
For others with good credit and financial security, this may be the best time to jump into the market to take advantage of the low home prices and low interest rates.
Is this a good time to buy for you? Assess your current situation and determine - for you and your family - if this is a good time to buy or not.