Skip to main content

Is Now a Terrible Time to Buy?

 If you ask the average person right now (your neighbor, your mom, your co-worker), they are likely to tell you you'd "be crazy to buy right now". I hear this often. And its not just your neighbor or co-worker - most Americans think right now is a bad time to buy a home - 79% in fact, according to a recent poll. 

Photo by Jimmy Dean on Unsplash


And for the average person in our greater Philly market, thats probably true. Rates are still incredibly high at 6%+ (in comparison to the 3's and 4's we had been seeing). 

But what it you WANT to buy a home? What if you had been waiting and hoping to buy in 2021 and 2022 and it just wasn't happening? Should you sit it out? 

Well I think that greatly depends on your financial picture.... 

- Do you have a house to sell? Will you benefit from that sale, better balancing the higher cost to purchase? 

- Do you currently rent? Is that rental rate particularly high and costly based on the continually rising rental rates? 

- Do you have to pull money out of lower-valued investments in order to purchase or is your cash to purchase sitting in a bank account? 

- Are you looking to purchase in an area that is still seeing high levels of interest and price growth or are you flexible? 

For instance, someone looking to buy their forever home on the Main Line may still be facing high rates and competition. Yet, a Philly first time homebuyer might have some flexibility if they choose an ARM loan at a lower rate, or might be able to take advantage of first-time homebuyer options, or get out of high rental rates and into a home that will likely increase in value with a plan to sell in 5-7 years. 

And for those downsizers who are thinking of moving out, their homes will still likely sell, and they can move to a less-expensive condo or one of the new construction townhomes and buy investments while the market is lower. 

It just depends on where you are at and what you want. Every market has perks for some buyers vs others. The good news for all buyers who do decide to buy is that while we might see a few years of stable prices and declines in certain areas, the fact is we still have a huge supply and demand issue that won't get fixed with rising rates. Builders won't be able to build as much with higher rates only furthering the supply and demand problem. Further, for residential home owners, many wont' give up their current low interest rates or recent covid-era home renovations so the average homeowner who doesn't have to sell likely won't for a few years, further hurting inventory. So if you can get in to real estate now, its still a great long-term investment (or short term in certain areas!). 


More reading... 

Realtor - Homebuyers, Take Heart

Signs the Market is Turning Buyer-Friendly 

Unpacking the Housing Market (30 min video) 

Recession Risks 

Vanguard Chief Economist's Opinion on a Looming Recession 

If you subscribe to WP - 5 Reasons to Wait to Buy a Home 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accessibility in Good Design

 I've been impressed lately with some of amount of accessible design features I've seen around as of late. By "accessible design", I mean home decor, renovations and design that is accessible to those with a physical impairment or disability.  First I noticed that back in March, Better Homes and Gardens did a great feature on a home designed with a wheelchaired child in mind.  Yes, it was a rancher and mid-century modern in design so it leant itself to move open-flow and clean line design. But even if this isn't your style, there were some great ideas here!  Check it out here  Then I saw Southern Living did a great home build with "adaptive design" in mind. This was a great feature because it reviewed new construction and slight changes in thinking to make just a welcoming, easy access home for all guests.  As noted in the article,  " If you’re going to be a good host, particularly from the Southern point of view, where we’re all about hospitality, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

All About Green!

 Bright white and moody colors will likely never go out of style but we are seeing more and more mid-tones come back on trend (last time mid-tones were cool were probably around 2000 when Pottery Barn was THE word).  One of the ones I am seeing most often is a gray-green. Its a friendly color that pairs well with more modern tones (think the grays, blacks and whites we have been seeing) but warms nicely with wood tones and natural materials.  Apparently SW sees this too as their color of the year (and the month of Jan) is Evergreen Fog.  Want to see some of the best ways to use it?  Loving these cabinets in green!  Again, working well hear with both bronze/black and earth tones  Love this more traditional-eclectic look. Looks much more saturated in a dark space!  But also a great pairing for a mid-century boho look  Great combo color - bold but not overly so. Here looking more truly green against the dark blue Whatever your style, this is ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Those pesky extra rooms...

Ok, its a pretty first-world problem, but there plenty of people who live in suburbia (or even in the city!) who have a room or two that they just don't use. Often, its a formal dining room or extra bedroom, but if you are the owner of such a room, you may wonder why you are paying for so much unused space! Today, I'm walking through some of the best uses of dead space in your house and how to make it you new favorite room! The Formal Dining Room This is the most commonly "complained-about" space in the suburban home. While we still like to entertain, a lot of people aren't crazy about a whole, extra, (often large) room thats only used on a handful of occasions throughout the year. Unless you have family dinners there, this is likely a space that you are taxed on & heating that sits vacant 350 days of the year. One of my personal favorite ways to reuse this room is to use it as a craft/workspace. The room can keep a large dining table and chairs that ...
1 comment
Read more