IS IT A GOOD TIME TO BUY OR SELL A HOUSE NOW OR WAIT? 
 

Are you considering buying or selling your home but think it’s best to sit out today’s volatile real estate market? You may want to think twice. 
As far back as the summer of 2021 I heard people saying they were going to sit out the crazy real estate market because they didn’t want to overpay. What most of those people didn’t take into account is that with the low mortgage rates at the time, their purchase was actually being deeply discounted. Today’s mortgage rates are over 7%, in 2021 they were around 3%. What does that mean? If you purchased a home in 2021 with a $400,000 mortgage at 3% your average monthly mortgage payment on a 30 year note would have been around $2350. Today, at 7%, that monthly payment would be about $600 more, almost $3000 per month.
So does that mean that you missed your opportunity to buy or sell? Actually, it appears to be quite the opposite case. Here is what noted personal finance and real estate guru Dave Ramsey says:

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“I do not think this is a bubble. And that would be the only way it (home values) would go down. I think the craziness will slow and the rate of increase in prices will slow, but I don’t think this is a false bubble that is going to course correct and house prices are going to go down dramatically anytime in the next decade. What that means is as you step out of the market, every day you wait to get back in the prices are going up for the rest of your life. So it’s a good idea to sell now AND buy now. Nothing wrong with that because it’s an even swap. You’re going to get the benefit of the heated market on the sale and you’re going to have the problem of the heated market on the buy.” 

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If you look over my blog and social media posts over the last year or so you’ll see that this is exactly in line with what I’ve been telling my followers and clients. Don’t sit on the sidelines and wait. Prices should not be dropping, just the rate of increase will slow down. If you are concerned with the higher mortgage rates, there is a silver lining to that as well. The competition for a home is not nearly as fierce as it recently was. Also, be assured that at some point in time RATES WILL COME DOWN! When they do you can refinance. But don’t let higher interest rates deter you from pursuing the home of your dreams OR from listing your home for sale, especially if you’re looking to sell AND buy.