Your Real Estate Market A, B, C's

When I am working with a first-time homebuyer, I am often asked if I believe their new home will ever be worth less than its current value. I do my best to communicate that I do not know the answer to this question because nobody does!

I understand why buyers ask; but I also find it a bit peculiar. For example, if you are renting a home, you don’t know when the landlord is going to raise your rent. Or if you own stocks, you don’t know if or when the value will rise or fall.

Although it makes sense to think about the value of the home you are purchasing and how it may change over time, it is more important to know that you can make the payment every month. If there were clear signs that the housing market was overheated and/or that home values were out of control, you might wait to purchase to see how things play out. However waiting on the market rarely makes sense because most of us cannot tell when the market is overheated; and most who say they can tell are just speculating.

The fact is, most of the time we don’t know when the market has reached the top, or when a downturn will occur. Surely there are signs to consider but with the housing market, the signs are subtle. A similar example is when investors sell off stocks to try to sell at the high and/or buy at the low. It is a gamble, and even institutional investors rarely time this just right. Statistically, when a recovery occurs in the stock market, you will miss out on 30% of the gain if you don’t own that stock in the first 5 days of the recovery. But who can tell when it is the first 5 days??? No one can.

My suggestions are as simple as A, B, C:

*Advisement – trust the advisement of a licensed real estate professional and loan officer. (Like me!)

*Buy what you can afford today.

*Common sense – trust your instincts and use common sense regardless of market speculations.

As long as you can afford your payments and make your payments on time, you will always gain equity by paying down the loan. This will inevitably position you to endure any possible downturns in the market.

I am here to answer your questions and simplify the process so call me today to get pre-qualified on a loan.