How long you will wait before buying home? (appointed, real estate)

[knight72]

I was wondering how long should I wait before buying our first home since home prices keep going down. People saying prices will keep falling for next 10 years. so should I wait 10 years. I am so lost. Please help

[Robin2007]

Well...I am selling here and hope to start building shortly after we sell. We probably won't lose to much more here since we weren't inflated to begin with and as things get bad in the North and West Coast more people will flock to the Southeastern states...especially as more and more people Telecommute or work in Sales.

[Native_Son]

Originally Posted by knight72

I was wondering how long should I wait before buying our first home since home prices keep going down. People saying prices will keep falling for next 10 years. so should I wait 10 years. I am so lost. Please help

People also say we didn't go to the moon, 9/11 was a government conspiracy and the CIA killed Kennedy.

Buy if it's affordable and a situation you are comfortable with, rent if it's not. If anyone had a crystal ball they would be filthy stinking rich from selling the information to the rest of us.

From my experience, the only houses that are losing value are the ones that were overpriced two years ago and new construction attracting first-time buyers who don't quite understand the responsibility of keeping up their lawns and making mortgage payments on time.

[knight72]

Its look like my other half ( not sure if its better one) have crystal ball. She was showing me some data and graph from japan land price it shows that land prices keep doing down for more then 10 years. We all tend to predict future thats is not in our hand

[sheenie2000]

I know it's a tough question, I have been toying with this as well. Personally I think we'll have a Japan style recession/bust where they had 19 years of a downward spiral. It might not be that long here but it'll be a slow decline here. Comparing the US and Japanese Housing Bubbles | Seattle Bubble — News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area.

But how long does one wait before buying, one doesn't want to wait forever.

If you can buy in cash, that's the best thing or a huge chunk down to hedge against the downturn. If you can't pay in cash you should have a good emergency fund (at least 8 months-1 year) also since there are many job losses occurring.

I'm in the same boat as you, kinda lost. I know a lot of ppl on this board will say 'it's a great time to buy' but we don't know that.

It reminds me of this graph: Google Image Result for http://www.ushousingupdate.com/japan%20housing%20crash%20vs%20us%20big.png

[knight72]

Originally Posted by sheenie2000

I know it's a tough question, I have been toying with this as well. Personally I think we'll have a Japan style recession/bust where they had 19 years of a downward spiral. It might not be that long here but it'll be a slow decline here. Comparing the US and Japanese Housing Bubbles | Seattle Bubble — News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area.

But how long does one wait before buying, one doesn't want to wait forever.

If you can buy in cash, that's the best thing or a huge chunk down to hedge against the downturn. If you can't pay in cash you should have a good emergency fund (at least 8 months-1 year) also since there are many job losses occurring.

I'm in the same boat as you, kinda lost. I know a lot of ppl on this board will say 'it's a great time to buy' but we don't know that.

It reminds me of this graph: Google Image Result for http://www.ushousingupdate.com/japan...20us%20big.png

Look at first graph on Comparing the US and Japanese Housing Bubbles | Seattle Bubble — News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area.

Us line is closing up very quickly with japa line. So it shows that bupple might not last that long. Need to learn how to read graph!!!!

[MysteryMT]

I was a little disappointed with the options. I'd be a first time home buyer and would be looking to purchase before December 1st of this year. If I don't make that window, I'd probably hold off til end of 2010.

I don't understand how indefinitely is even an option? Is that included for ppl who are in their dream home or house they are going to retire in? Or for people who are just never going to buy a home and intend to rent forever?

[Bideshi]

When the average cost of a local house is equal to two and a half times the average annual local wage, I'll consider that the market has corrected to the historical average level. Then I may buy. It will also depend on the tax burden at that time. The states are broke and property taxes can only go up. A lot.

[gkleoni1]

I think the choice to purchase should not be based on if we have bottomed out but on your own situation. If you have a good sized down payment, not necessarily 20% but closing costs plus at least 7%, if you also have a substancial saving account in addition (4 - 8 months worth of your monthly needs), if your payment is within you means (extra money each month & you can still put a good amount toward retirement) and if you are planning on staying there for at least 5 years then I say BUY NOW. Someone said it before, who cares if the home you bought for $200K goes down in value to $180K. It only matters if you plan on selling while the home is still valued low. I know a lot can come up, life is not predictable but you have to live somewhere...

[JanuaryGirl]

I think people have lost sight of the fact that a house is a place to live. It's not an investment. It depends on how long you plan on staying, how much money you have to put down, and how much you can afford per month. We bought our first house last summer. Of course we could have waited a few months and maybe got it a little cheaper. Maybe we could've waited ten years and got it a lot cheaper. But, we were more concerned with a)is it a good place to live b)can we easily afford monthly mortgage.