Is now a good time to buy?
We are currently in neither a buyer’s or a seller’s market but with the continuous threat of rising interest rates along with the ever changing requirements to obtain a loan, I would recommend that whether selling an existing home or moving into home ownership from the rental market. Now is a good time to purchase. There has been much written about the millennials not purchasing a home because either lack of career direction or the fear of seeing the housing crash in their youth. The members of this group that do purchase a home ahead of their peer will likely be 5-10 years ahead in retirement savings and net worth by the age of 50. This is a direct product of the historical 5-7% appreciation long term. As you can see in the market report, the number of homes for sale is diminishing rapidly while the price appreciation has tended to lag a bit. This may be due to a lagging of appraised value or simply the overall condition of many of our homes with some degree of deferred maintenance.
Is now a good time to sell?
The same market conditions that dictate that it is a good time to buy also lend themselves to a good reason to sell if a move is anticipated in the near future. Nobody is able to predict exactly what the effect of a rise in interest rates will do to a less than stellar demand side with less than optimal buyer confidence. A rise it rates or a lull in buyer confidence has contributed to the spurts and sputters of our market over the last few years. This combined with the reluctance of appraisers to stick with or agree on a pricing trend along with the barrage of additional and many times pointless additions of criteria (such as requiring certifiable tax returns directly from the IRS on every file rather than simply prosecuting fraudulent loan applications which delayed almost every file this spring) lend themselves to stalls in the market. For now, the time is right as a seller so take advantage of it while it lasts.