Are we there yet?

For Prospective Buyers… the concerns are a bit different, yet we begin with a similar list of questions: Why do you want to buy now? Are you able to buy now? Realize that unless you’re making a cash purchase (buying without a mortgage) or have a well-heeled friend or family member providing the funds for free or below the historically low market rates, the cost of a home is in more than the purchase price. What we are looking at is Home Affordability, which in addition to price is impacted by mortgage rates, mortgage insurance (PMI/MIP) rates, seller concessions and federal (RESPA) laws and regulations governing the sale of real estate, just to name a few factors.

While the present environment seems like it couldn’t be better for the prospective home buyer… you still need to consider market conditions in your desired location, and perhaps the effects of doing some work to improve credit scores, lower Debt-to-Income ratios, or perhaps saving the money for a down payment… You see it’s really all about the net of all these conditions that determines if now is the right time for you to buy,

Will prices decline further? Perhaps… depends on the price range and location and your desires. Are you locked in on new construction, or are you interested in looking in a previously owned home… how about a real fixer-upper? Will the historically low mortgage rates drop further… Hard to see how they could. Will down-payment requirements increase… looks like a possibility! Will mortgage insurance rates go up again… maybe… the doorway to do so has been opened.

Anyone who tells you point blank the market is this or that without getting into the specifics is simply giving half truths… at best!

A final word for buyers: I am reminded of a conversation I heard at a local Circuit City twenty-five years ago… The customer who was looking at buying a PC asked the sales clerk; “Well prices are dropping, why should I buy one now… it will be cheaper next year?” I smiled a bit inside as I heard the clerk’s response… “”you’re probably right… but think of the opportunity you will have missed to have the use of a computer while you’re waiting for the prices to quit falling” I’ve often wondered if that person ever bought a PC? I know one thing for sure: We will never know where the bottom of the market is until the bottom has passed us by. But is that really why anyone buys a home?

So we’re off to the beach… the girls are asking: Are we there yet? Poppy responds: “No…Not yet… but just imagine how much fun we will have when we get there! Tell me: What do you want to do first?”

May the market be with you!

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