Yes, for many that is the question. That is also the question posed by many buyers wondering if now is the best time to buy. I have not had the time to drag out my old fortune teller machine, dust it off and drop in my dime , but I have been reading a whole lot of interesting research and articles that all seem to point to – Now is good. Let’s look at a few market indicators that could affect both selling and buying behaviors.
- 1) Mortgage rates are on the rise. Last I checked FreddieMac showed a 3.59 percent- highest its been since March. Up from those record lows of 3.30 percent awhile ago.
- 2) Unemployment is down again. Which may have prompted Bernanke to tell Congress recently that the stimulus efforts would be scaled back if the employment outlook sustains and continues to improve. Why does that matter? It does if you are watching interest rates rise.
- 3)National Association of Realtors claim home prices rose 11 percent since April 2012 and continue to show signs of marked increases.
In a nutshell, home prices are at record highs since 2008, mortgage rates are rising and the employment outlook is improving. If I were a homeseller sitting on the fence pondering selling, I would say NOW would be a good time to sell. On the other hand, if I were pondering purchasing a home, although home prices are on the rise, those mortgage rates are still looking pretty good at 3.59 percent, I would say NOW is a good time to buy too!
For those overly analytical fencepost sitters, I agee that IF you sell your home and purchase another home you may be losing that lovely 3.25 percent rate you got last year, but gaining a 3.6 to 4.5 percent is still much better then the 6 percent we all thought was WONDERFUL in the not so distant past. It is all relevent. Perhaps you may be having a hard time justifying paying $50 – $100k more for the same size home you did 2 years ago. Well, true as that is, it is also very true that you are most likely walking away with a nice equity score. Good for you!! When you look at the bigger picture, that nice equity score may give you more purchasing power and the mortgage rates are still considerably LOW . So what are you waiting for??? Jump off that fencepost …NOW is as great a time as any.
Now……………..what to buy? Good question! I can help you with that!
~Destyn
Destyn2SellAZ 