ARE YOU GOING TO LEAD OR CHASE THE MARKET?

The old saying of buy low, sell high is something everyone is thinking about today as prices seem to have stabalized a bit.  BUT, have we hit the low yet?  There is no way to know this answer until it’s too late.  Today is a great time to buy a home and is certainly not a bad time to sell if you price your home properly.  We still have historically low rates…you can still lock in a 30 year loan for under 5% interest.  As the economy improves and mortgage banking reforms are put in place, this may be the best chance you have to make a real estate investment. 

Remember, that the COST of a home, not the price of a home is what you want to pay attention to as you make your decisions.  Your interest rate is one of the biggest factors in the final cost of your home.  Assume you purchase a home and take out a $150,000 mortgage at 5% today.  Your monthly payment would be $805.50.  BUT, if you wait and interest rates go up just 1%, your monthly payment would be $900.  This $95 change in monthly payment could mean that you would have to settle for a home in a lower price range and obviously less desirable to you. 

This is good information to keep in mind as you analyze whether you want to sell now or wait until the price of your home recovers to pre-2009 prices.  First of all, all experts expect the market to slowly recover, not rebound in great leaps.  Secondly, if you wait for the market to recover, you will also be buying your home at the higher prices and most likely higher interest rates. 

If you would like to discuss your particular situation and develop a strategy to make the best of this great market opportunity, give me a call so we can get together to discuss.

Tags: buying, Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs Home Sales Market, Housing Market Trends, Omaha/Council Bluffs Residential Real Estate Consulting, Southwest Iowa Home Sales Market

Posted on Saturday, March 26th, 2011 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Buy a House, Homes, Housing Market, Questions and Answers, Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.