People are always asking me if it is a good time to buy or sell. My answer is usually, "Well, do you need a place to live or do you need to move?"
I have a lot of buyers that are really nervous about buying for fear the market may go down. I also have sellers that are afraid to sell because they are hoping it will come back up.
Guess what? Both may happen. Real Estate is a cycle that will always come up and go down. We had a huge upswing in years past and now are in the downturn.
So what is a buyer to do? Well, you have a lot of options right now. One thing it is really tough to do is to find a home for your family AND buy at the very bottom of the market. Many buyers tell me that they want to be at the very bottom. My name may be Cristal but unfortunately; I have no crystal ball. One thing I can tell you is that starter properties are now affordable and often times I am seeing buyers get into one for right around what they are paying in rent!
It is really tough to know where the bottom is and it is very likely that you will not even know we have hit it
until the prices start creeping back up and the inventory starts to diminish. Then the race is on!
So, here are my questions to you as a buyer:
- How much are you paying for rent?
- Where is all the money going?
- Do you like the home you are in now?
- Do you need to move?
- Are you looking long term?
- Will it matter in 10 years when you are 1/3 of the way through your mortgage?
These are just some of the things to think about. Regardless if you buy now or later, you may miss the bottom. Why not start putting some of what you are paying on rent towards paying off a home of your own?
And Sellers? There are lots of people buying now if the home is priced to sell and shows well. People are selling in this market for a variety of reasons and if you would like to know more about how this may (or may not) benefit you; I would love to answer any questions you may have. It is all about what your needs are and what works best for you.
Cristal Drake - Fullerton Area Realtor - Re/Max North Orange County - 714-423-7525
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Cristal - if anyone has a crystal ball it should be you !! : ) Great post. The funny thing is though about waiting for a bottom is that by the time it gets here it will be gone. Then, all those buyers will be in an appreciating market with less properties to choose from and less negotiating power for both sales price and for repair concessions, not to mention the probability of higher mortgage rates ! So, as you said, the best thing for people to do is to just focus on their goals for their personal lives and take advantage of the lower market prices if they can.