[cfIfan]

It seems we cannot win. You tell us you are right and we are always wrong and claim we dont give you good sources for our arguments. If you had actually taken the time to go to thread i had written and looked at the sources you would have found one of them to be CNN money. And i have no intention to argue the points with you because i thought your previous comments were ignorant and unwarranted, but not 2 months ago CNN were saying not to buy and you even cited them as a source in one of your previous posts/threads for not buying. What is the matter, you only refer to them when it suits your agenda.

The fact of the matter is we are in uncertain times. It is that uncertainty which is keeping prices as they are because if they were certain times, then we would know which way the market was going. It sounds to me like you consider the real estate market to be a short term investment and i would have to say i would consider you an investor not a homeowner. For people who are not interested in buying today and selling tomorrow now is a great time to buy. Why because they dont intend on flipping in 6-12 months time. They want it as a home, not a way to make a quick buck.

Some people dont want to live from rental property to rental property in a desperate hoope they may save $10,000 on a property. Some people have children and dont want to upheave them from schools constantly just to same some money which they might not even do.

However, you do make some valid points which i have addressed in previous threads, however, i would suggest how could anyone seriously consider points you have made, when you pose them in 1 liners without qualifying them, and insist on being ignorant. Alot of realtors do have a bad name, but for alot of us it is because of ignorant people who make sweeping remarks like yourself.

I am all for healthy debate, but at least have the courtesy of using some manners

[jbravo]

This is an easy argument.
In 2 years one of us will be wrong.
As far as desperate... I do not think so.... I do not sell Real Estate....
I believe that your advise is wrong, plain wrong.
What's more it's potentially VERY dangerous.


For everybody out there: there's a ton of financial calculators out there on renting vrs owning. I personally like http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/bu..._GRAPHIC.html?
you need to give them an e-mail address to use it, set appreciation to 0 unless you really do believe that prices are going up.
There really are a ton of these, use the one you like best and come to your own conclusions.
As to where is the market going in Fl?
Let's use the Realtors own numbers for prices (there are others)
Florida Association of Realtors :: Media Center

Then, for something REALLY special the actual inventory numbers:
http://www.miamire.com/statistics/MMI_February_08/statRpt%20Activity1.pdf (broken link)
There are 111,904 for sale properties by Realtors in South Fl!! And, this does not count FSBO.

____

[cfIfan]

I would suggest to the original poster, if you are interested take a look at a couple of articles i have posted them on another thread here, this is the link.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/orlando/299157-now-good-time-buy-florida-new-post.html

I would just say that the media is guilty of chopping and changing its mind. One of the articles i posted is a CNN article advising it is a good time to buy citing all the points i made a couple of months ago. Yet a couple of months ago they were saying wait dont buy, indeed some people (no names mentioned....lol) actually used them as a source not to buy.

I guess the media are keeping their options open or have realized maybe they are wrong and shouldnt have jumped on the negative band wagon. Take a good look at whats on the market though aswell because there are good deals to be had. But one thing i would say if you decide to rent for a couple of years like JBRAVO suggests and the market does follow the route i believe it will, not all realtors offered you bad advice, i guess it is really just a wait and see.

[jbravo]

Originally Posted by oceandreams94

Hello everyone, I need your opinions. We have now been in Palm Coast, Florida for 9 months and we still love it.
We are wondering whether we should go ahead and buy a home after our lease is up the 1st of July.
I have been in touch with a few realtors who of course say that it IS the best time to buy, and they have told me that since we would be first time home buyers that we can get a loan with no problem at all.
I see tons of homes for sale here, for pretty good prices.
We would actually prefer to buy the house that we are living in right now, and that would be our first choice, but I am not sure what the owner wants to sell it for.
So my question is, would you buy now or continue to rent for another year?
Will prices continue to fall or will they start to rise? We want to get the best deal that we can.

Here's my advise: do not listen to either me OR anyone else.
Make up your OWN mind based on your own investigation.

I do suggest the following tools:
There's a ton of financial calculators out there on renting vrs owning. I personally like http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/bu..._GRAPHIC.html?
you need to give them an e-mail address to use it, set appreciation to 0 unless you really do believe that prices are going up.
There really are a ton of these, use the one you like best and come to your own conclusions.

Although there is data about house prices from different sources, here are the Realtors own numbers on prices:


(This is not confidential and is public)
Florida Association of Realtors : MLS Statistics for February 2008 (http://www.miamire.com/statistics/statistics0208.html - broken link)

Then, for something REALLY special look at the actual inventory numbers:
http://www.miamire.com/statistics/MM...0Activity1.pdf (broken link)

There are 127,254 for sale properties by Realtors in South Fl as of 03/01/2008!!
And, this does not count FSBO.


There is a ton of unbiased information out there, if anyone asks, I'll post links.


_

[sunrico90]

Here is the original post: Hello everyone, I need your opinions. We have now been in Palm Coast, Florida for 9 months and we still love it.
We are wondering whether we should go ahead and buy a home after our lease is up the 1st of July.
I have been in touch with a few realtors who of course say that it IS the best time to buy, and they have told me that since we would be first time home buyers that we can get a loan with no problem at all.
I see tons of homes for sale here, for pretty good prices.
We would actually prefer to buy the house that we are living in right now, and that would be our first choice, but I am not sure what the owner wants to sell it for.
So my question is, would you buy now or continue to rent for another year?
Will prices continue to fall or will they start to rise? We want to get the best deal that we can.



If you want to discuss Realtors concerns, this is NOT the place. So answer the question or don't post.

[oceandreams94]

Thank you everyone for all of the info! We still arent for sure what we will end up doing. We are just tired of renting and moving around every year or two and we really love this area. But we arent even sure how much of a loan we would qualify for and we do not want a high mortgage payment.

[jbravo]

Originally Posted by oceandreams94

Thank you everyone for all of the info! We still arent for sure what we will end up doing. We are just tired of renting and moving around every year or two and we really love this area. But we arent even sure how much of a loan we would qualify for and we do not want a high mortgage payment.

Good luck, I'm sure you will do well.
Would definitely speak with your bank (and others) and get an answer to what
you could afford.
You'll do fine, do your homework, you have time.


_

[rocketman10]

Oceandreams94...after all that everyone has posted and all you hear in the media or whoever, do your own research and go with what is good for you. We've been in Palm Coast for 11 yrs now when prices were low and then skyrocketed. They have definitely come down in this area compared to what they were. Whether it's the bottom or not, who knows. South & SW Fla are a whole diff ball game compared to NE Fla.

As a first time homebuyer check with the county for the SHIP program, maybe your eligible. I don't know all the details just know it's supposed to be very helpful. Hope you can figure it all out and all works in your favor whether renting or buying.

[Agnes]

In my opinion, if you love the area and want to stay, then think about buying. As long as you buy what you can afford, in a neighborhood that you are happy in, then it won't matter whether prices go up or down - you will still be able to pay your mortgage and your bills. If you can't find something you can afford in a good neighborhood, then you may want to wait or consider another area.

Buy what you can afford and don't worry about the rest!

[58robbo]

Originally Posted by oceandreams94

Hello everyone, I need your opinions. We have now been in Palm Coast, Florida for 9 months and we still love it.
We are wondering whether we should go ahead and buy a home after our lease is up the 1st of July.
I have been in touch with a few realtors who of course say that it IS the best time to buy, and they have told me that since we would be first time home buyers that we can get a loan with no problem at all.
I see tons of homes for sale here, for pretty good prices.
We would actually prefer to buy the house that we are living in right now, and that would be our first choice, but I am not sure what the owner wants to sell it for.
So my question is, would you buy now or continue to rent for another year?
Will prices continue to fall or will they start to rise? We want to get the best deal that we can.

if you're buying you may as well do a little research!

Real Estate in South Florida: price reduction

Real Estate in South Florida: low ball offers are a good thing

Real Estate in South Florida: A real eye opener.

USATODAY.com - Bubble or not, high home prices can hurt