Good time or wrong time to buy? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: home, buyer)

[Olive2Bgeeky]

Thanks all! I've tried to click on all your 'rate this post positively' button in appreciation of you taking the time to reply. LOL!

I've decided one's mind plays terrible tricks on ya. If the property is priced too high, you walk away...if it seems too low, you wonder what's wrong with it. You can't seem to win, hey?!

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Buy something that you like, can afford, in an area that you love and you will be fine. For me I love the Surprise area. I like reading in here when people tell how much they love where they are living. They should love the area that they are in, why else live there? Maybe some made mistakes when they purchased a place and are now stuck with it. That is sad to hear. For us a house is a home, a place to live in and enjoy. Sure it is an investment, but my feeling is that most of us should realize that we need a place to live and that should end it. Have a happy day.

[artvandelay]

I may get slammed for this, but if you don't anticipate your usage to be more than several or more weeks a year, then why not find rentals and stash your money in a non-housing investment? Just a thought, as I see LOTS of people whose real estate investment becomes a prison for them. Sometimes it's better to keep your freedom and mobility. Phoenix/Scottsdale are never without ample rentals.

[Beena]

4 out of 5 realtors say that now is a good time to buy.

The 5th one hung up her license and went back to the restaurant.

[JoePAz]

Originally Posted by Cognito

Hi all!

I know nobody knows for sure the future of the market but we are thinking about buying a one bedroom condo we saw in Scottsdale. It would be an investment and a place to escape several or more weeks a year. So, is the timing okay, you think or are we still headed downward for a long time to come?

I'd love to hear your opinions! The whole process can be a bit nerve-racking! Or should that be nerve-wrecking?!

Thanks!

How long do you plan to keep it for. I am staring to think now is a great time to buy if you plan on keep it for 5 years. Flipping it or trying to turn $$$ in a year may be tough, but I have feeling were are either at bottom or within a 2-3 months of it. If you look back in 5 years and see that you bought in early summer '08 you may consider yourself quite lucky.


Still if you are not up for the long haul it IS a risk and shorter the term the bigger the risk.

[Olive2Bgeeky]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

I may get slammed for this, but if you don't anticipate your usage to be more than several or more weeks a year, then why not find rentals and stash your money in a non-housing investment? Just a thought, as I see LOTS of people whose real estate investment becomes a prison for them. Sometimes it's better to keep your freedom and mobility. Phoenix/Scottsdale are never without ample rentals.

Well, I won't slam you! Only because you are too far away! Just kidding! I'm not interested in renting someone else's place. I've never been a good traveler so I'd do best in my own place. As far as investment purposes...Real estate has always been a good investment until recently. We've lost enough money in the stock market for our taste, so we might as well try something else, I figure. Besides that, hubby retires in 6-7 years so it's an investmest in that way, too. Make sense? Hope so!

[country pride]

With this recession affecting everyone everywhere, chances are youre better off to buy now, because its probably going to start picking up real soon and who knows how many years, or even decades, one will be able to afford anything once things start climbing again.

[wsugrad03]

Thought I'd share this.

CNN Money top 10 housing markets set for steep loss.


Money magazine is predicting Phoenix to experience a 18.3% loss over the next 12 months. The forecast to hit bottom is Oct-Dec 2009.

On a positive note, they're forecasting a 60% gain over the next 5 years, which should put us back at 2006 prices. Of course, take this with a grain of salt. I think most of this is derived from the S&P Case-Shiller index, which is pretty legit in a general sense. Of course, certain parts of Phoenix will probably remain strong. I think we know which areas....

[borborygmi]

The above poster beat me to it- I was going to post a link to this very article.

CNN Money has Phoenix pegged as one of the top 10 markets likely to experience big time losses in the near future. They don't forecast Phoenix's RE market to hit bottom until sometime in late '09- and I don't disagree, considering the next wave of exploding ARM's which has yet to hit. I wouldn't buy in Phoenix for at least another year, personally- even if I were planning to stay long-term.

[Huckleberry3911948]

1 like 1 bedroom condos a lot. wait 4 months.