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I would get a realtor and start looking in your price range in Mt. P and see what you can get. You and your wife may or may not like it and want to try looking somewhere else.
Jeremy,
RENT something in Mt. Pleasant for one year.
Buying and selling is expensive, especially selling, and you are moving to an unknown place.
You will have a year or two to decide where you want to live, not a home to sell because you bought
and you don't really like the area you bought in.
Rent, you can always buy.
Stay around family when you first move down, your wife is going to need that emotional support.
It's not easy being a new mom, and then moving to a different state and environment, well, lets just
say it will make the move smoother for all of you.
Or prices go up even more next year once the lease would be up...
Even if you don't subscribe to the same theory that I have (that we are in another housing bubble), odds are very much against prices going up by enough for the OP to cover realtor fees and closing costs they pay when purchasing the place if they sell in one year. At such a short timeline it just doesn't add up.
I am actually on board with people renting for a year. There are too many locations and traffic nuances to buy something prior to living here (And obviously selling a house after one year would probably never be economical in any environment). I mostly disagree that there is a bubble that would burst in the next year or 2.
Renting first is a two-edged sword. Moving itself takes quite a bit of time, effort and expense so renting first automatically incurs that downside.
Also, prices are currently rising and if they continue this trend and at this rate (~5% per year) you could end up paying $15k to $20k more for the house you're looking for. Of course prices could also drop, but that is not the short term expectation of nearly anyone who follows the housing market that I know of. (Scuba Steve aside ) I'm not just a Realtor sugar coating my words either... I'm not selling any of my properties and in fact just bought another in June. I don't believe we have a bubble and I think the market will rise for the next few years at least.
Now having said that, I do think renting is the better option if you really can't seem to figure out which area works best for you. Yes, it might cost more and be more trouble but Scuba Steve's right; it would still be less expensive and easier than a mis-step that would have you re-selling in a year.
So if you research the area, visit the neighborhoods you're considering and can feel fairly confident in your choice, then buying now would probably be the better choice. If you can't get that "this is it" feeling when you visit, then renting might be for you. When making that decision, don't forget to look at the price of rentals.
Slightly OT: From what I remember shortly after the music stopped last time there weren't large price drops immediately. IMO, and feel free to bump in a year for comedy if it's horribly wrong, is that things will be stable to slightly negative YOY this time next year and the US economy will be in an (official) recession. Rates are already low enough so they realistically can't be dropped much, if at all.
I go along with those suggesting a years rental. You will make a much sounder choice or where to buy/live after having a years experience living in the area. As you are leaning toward MTP, I suggest renting there.
My suggestion would be to live fairly close to where you work. I love Mt. P but I prefer that my husband have a shorter commute than live in Mt. P. There were also neighborhoods in Summerville that I was sold on but never found that house that felt like the right one. I found a house in an established subdivision in Goose Creek. Our house was built in the 80s so the renovations are cosmetic. My husband has a 10 minute commute to work....priceless. We live close enough to the beaches, shopping, and downtown Charleston so we have a nice quality of life.
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) I'm not just a Realtor sugar coating my words either... I'm not selling any of my properties and in fact just bought another in June. I don't believe we have a bubble and I think the market will rise for the next few years at least.
