Here are three things to consider if you’re thinking about buying a home.
Is right now a good time to buy a home? There’s a lot of emotion wrapped up in this question, but I always like to look at the facts, break them down, and use them to make an informed decision. Here are some things to consider if you’ve been waffling over this question:
1. Your exit strategy. If you’re looking to buy a house soon, what’s your exit strategy? If you have no foreseeable plans to move out of that home for the next several years, your plan matters. Markets cycle up and down, so even if you did buy now and the market were to correct, it will still come back up, meaning you’re not forced to sell at a certain time. That way, you can sell when the market cycles up. Right now, we are on one of those up-cycles, but because of several other factors, that doesn’t mean you should be afraid to buy.
2. The local market conditions. Right now, the U.S. unemployment rate hovers around 8%. Conversely, the unemployment rate in Maricopa County is only 5.9%, which is much healthier than the national average. Here, there’s job growth, corporate tax cuts, and a lot of big companies coming into the area. More than just your county, you also need to look at what’s going on in your specific city and perhaps neighborhood. It could be that the house you’re selling has a lot of demand with very little supply, causing you to max out your purchase price, but the one you’re looking to buy doesn’t have as much demand with a decent amount of supply, meaning you can get a good deal.
“I always like to look at the facts, break them down, and use them to make an informed decision.”
3. The affordability index. Right now, the index says that across the country homeowners had equity appreciation of 6.6% in the second quarter alone. Granted, it went down when COVID hit, but it bounced right back up. Again, be sure to look at your local market. Year over year in Arizona, we have an appreciation rate of about 16%, which is amazing.
Without question, now is a good time to sell across the board. If you’re looking to buy, it’s still a reasonably good time. Given the local economic conditions, that’s probably not going to change any time soon. Soon, snowbirds will begin traveling down here to purchase, and the weather will be perfect.
If you have any other questions about buying homes or other real estate topics, please reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.