wait to buy?

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by bbnetworking

I say don't just concentrate on the low-interest rates. They are directly connected to the house price.

do you think when the interest rate goes to 7-8 %, the house prices will remain the same, that's not a rational thinking.

interest rate and house prices are like a see-saw plus how well the economy is donig.

explain the late 80's then

[mdwfa2001]

5-10K..LMAO...even a 500K house dropping 20% is 100K in a year or two. plus calculate all the costs of ownership. Its peope like this that have been brainwashed into thinking that everyone should have a house, the reason we are in this mess in the first place. The fact is it is not affordable for most and that it self says theres still a long way to go.

[mdwfa2001]

Originally Posted by HalfFull

Wouldn't your advice have been the same 3 years ago? And someone could have seen their value fall quite a bit since then.

Buying is often a great idea and I agree timing is probably good now. But it shouldn't be overly influenced by fear of rising interest rates or missing the bottom or getting an interest deduction. There are many responsibilities and unforseen costs with ownership that always need to be considered.

finally an educated consumer here.

[taha-nj]

Originally Posted by mdwfa2001

finally an educated consumer here.

I tend to agree. I have already seen dozens of houses that were purchased back in 2009, and have not hit the market at a much reduced valuation... although I also agree with other posters' remarks to the effect that if you have the money to buy in Westfield, Princeton etc. home values have held up rather well.

For relatively young first-time home buyers like myself an additional concern is trying to gauge which way certain towns/neighborhoods are headed down the road. An affordable, and for the most part safe place, like Ewing could become as bad as Trenton within a decade. Ditto for many areas surrounding New Brunswick...I believe this is already happening in parts of Franklin Twshp.