Should you buy a home now or should you wait? That’s a big question on many people’s minds today.
If you’re able to buy at today’s rates and prices, focus your time on homeownership, rather than on timing the market.
The Downside of Trying To Time the Market
Trying to time the market isn’t a good strategy because things can change. Here’s an example. For the better part of this year, projections have said mortgage rates will come down. And while experts agree that’s still what’s ahead, shifts in various market and economic factors have pushed back the timing of when that’ll happen. Here’s how that’s impacted homebuyers who’ve been sitting on the sidelines. As U.S. News says:
“Those who put off buying a home during the past few years as they were holding out for lower mortgage rates have been left out of the market . . . mortgage rates have stayed higher for longer than previously expected, keeping monthly housing payments elevated. In other words, affordability didn’t improve for those who chose to wait.”
The Proof Is in the Pudding: How Homeowners Benefit from Rising Home Prices
Delaying your plans also means missing out on the equity you’d gain if you went ahead with your purchase today. The potential equity gains that are at stake may surprise you.
To give these numbers context, let’s take a look at a breakdown of what you stand to gain once you buy. The graph below uses a typical home’s value to show how a home could appreciate over the next few years using those HPES (Home Price Expectations Survey) projections:
In this example, let’s say you went ahead and bought a $400,000 home at the beginning of this year. Based on the expert forecasts from the HPES, you could gain more than $83,000 in household wealth over the next five years. That’s not a small number.
The Advice You Need To Hear If You’re Ready and Able To Buy Now
Right now, you may be focused on what’s happening with mortgage rates and how those impact your monthly payment. Prices are expected to continue climbing, just at a more moderate pace. Higher home prices mean higher monthly payments. If you’re ready and able to buy now, you have to decide: is it really worth waiting?
As U.S. News Real Estate sums it up:
“There’s never a one-size-fits-all answer to whether now is the right time to buy a home. . . . There’s also no way to predict precisely what the market will do in the near future . . . Perfectly timing the market shouldn’t be the goal. This decision should be determined by your personal needs, financial means and the time you have to find the right home.”
Bottom Line
If interest rates come down, refinancing your mortgage is easier than you might think. Marry the house, date the rate: focus your time in the market to find your dream home. To get the ball rolling and set yourself up for long term equity gains, let’s connect to make it happen.