Now that the "bullet-proof" Seattle housing market has started to loose steam, a lot of people have asked me if it's a good time to buy a home. Here are my 2 cents about this topic – pls take it for what it’s worth.
IMHO the Seattle area's home prices started going down only a few months ago, and it has a few more months to shed prices (some say it has up to 15 more months of decreasing prices, based on trends in other cities). From an investment perspective -- I’d wait till the end of the next summer to see how things turn out (unless the prices show signs of a increase). At the very least, I’d at least wait till the end of this summer & then make a decision – since, seasonally late-Aug/September has the highest inventory.
Housing prices don’t swing as quickly as the stock markets – so, I think there will be some clear signs of a broad price increase before the market turns around.
When the price of a home is going down – the money lost on interest+maintainence+loss-of-value is much higher than the money lost on the rent. Check out the rent vs buy calculator to see if buying makes sense for you.
And, of course, check out http://www.seattlebubble.com/ and for another perspective on this topic.
IMHO the Seattle area's home prices started going down only a few months ago, and it has a few more months to shed prices (some say it has up to 15 more months of decreasing prices, based on trends in other cities). From an investment perspective -- I’d wait till the end of the next summer to see how things turn out (unless the prices show signs of a increase). At the very least, I’d at least wait till the end of this summer & then make a decision – since, seasonally late-Aug/September has the highest inventory.
Housing prices don’t swing as quickly as the stock markets – so, I think there will be some clear signs of a broad price increase before the market turns around.
When the price of a home is going down – the money lost on interest+maintainence+loss-of-value is much higher than the money lost on the rent. Check out the rent vs buy calculator to see if buying makes sense for you.
And, of course, check out http://www.seattlebubble.com/ and for another perspective on this topic.
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