Should I Buy a House Now or Wait?

While many home shoppers may be convinced that this is a terrible time to buy, quite a few housing experts believe the current market could be hiding a window of opportunity.

Five reasons that buying a house now makes sense:

• You can buy a house now and then refinance later.
  Home prices are probably heading up.
  There’s less competition.
  Inventory of homes is on the rise.
  If it’s the right time for you to buy a house, then it never makes sense to wait.
• High interest rates may work in your favor by reducing competition. With fewer buyers in the market, you may be able to negotiate a better deal on the purchase of your home.

All-cash buyers benefit from less competition while avoiding the burden of large interest payments. A record number of homes were purchased by all-cash buyers in September. Older Americans who have a lot of equity in their home or own their home free and clear can essentially cash out and buy their next home with cash.

Days-on-market figures are way up, giving buyers more time to make an informed decision.

Deciding whether to buy a home now or wait depends significantly on where you want to call home. Real estate is hyper-localized and can vary greatly from one market to another, even within the same state.

In many cases, homes put on the market in the fall and winter months are sold by people who need to sell rather than those who want to test the market.

The decision to buy a home should be based on whether it’s the right time for you, both personally and financially.
Do you have excellent credit?
Have you saved enough for a down payment?
Are you planning to stay in the home for a while?
If you can answer yes to these three questions, now is the time to buy.

Talk with an experienced local real estate agent to determine whether you should buy now or wait until the market is more friendly to your bank account.