buy a house now or wait a few years?

[jdd2855]

Buy, buy, buy! Interest tax breaks, appreciation, and peace of mind.

Oh, and don't trust any financial advice from anyone on ODT or any other forum...

 

[mfoster]

I say if you can afford it,get it.

 

[HKMurkure]

I will throw my current experience in the mortgage industry. People are buying, lots of people are buying right now, at least my coworkers and I are busy with purchases. There is a mini-refinance boom going on right now too. Here is what I hear when speaking with agents and buyers. Though prices are a little high right now, people are willing to negotiate to sell their homes. We are seeing sellers completing necessary/unnecessary repairs before closing and seller paid closing cost are on almost every transaction.
Rates are low and loan programs are currently a little more flexible (not like last decade) on your debt to income requirements. Next year, it is expected to have additional regulations go into place that make debt to income restrictions more stringent. So, you have buyers who are getting into their homes now before these restrictions go into place.
Also, buyers are not willing to part with all their cash from the sale of their home. I have seen buyers not rollover all their equity into the new home. They are keeping cash in their control (savings, etc) rather than having it out of their control in their homes equity. When the downturn happened last decade, not everyone was upside down, but it felt like it because many could not access their equity as lending dried up.
Add to this that rates are stupid low right now. Seriously, they are stupid low. And mortgage insurance rates are also low. So, if you do not have 20% down, you have to pay mortgage insurance. There are mortgage insurance options that allow the mortgage insurance payment to be added to your rate (slight increase) or pay every month until a certain period of time. But I have seen those premiums come down sharply too. So, buyers are opting to reduce their debt structure from the proceeds from their previous home and finance more at a lower rate, fixed over 30 years.
There is no perfect solution. Speak with a licensed LO (MLO), find out your options, determine if it suits your needs and pull the trigger if it works for you. You could guess wrong and buy a home with the market tanking shortly after. The value of your home only really matters when it is time to sell though.

HK

 

[Kman]

I can't think of a reason not to own your own home. If its a boat, camper or similar toy, rent rent rent!! What I don't understand anymore is buying a $70,000.00 truck. Soley to drive around/pose in and not use it for work, towing or carrying heavy loads. I do chuckle when I see what people drive and remember that over 90% of vehicles are financed. I will finance if I see 0% promotions.

 

[Morgan]

Buying is always better than renting. I will say, the market is INFLATED. I just sold a house for 10x what I bought it for 8 years ago. If you're looking for a long term hold, go for it. If you're looking to flip and make 25+%, wait till the next recession. Just my 2cents....