Should I buy now or wait a few months ? I hear the housing market will drop next year.?

I was once at the same crossroads as a young investor and also a home buyer. So I inquired of an old gentleman that appeared never to sell any real estate, only buy real estate.

His remarks to me was the best time to buy real estate was 20 years ago. The next best time to buy real estate is today. Now that being said I have never had to ask that question again.

Even though the real estate market in some areas of the country is in some type of slump, it appears to be a real estate buyers market.

Therefore if I was a buyer, guess what I would be doing? I am at a loss when people on this forum as well as others indicae that this is a buyer's market, but I would wait.

You can never tell when the curve will swing the other way and turn into a sellers market. Guess what the gurus will be telling you then. I would not buy real estate you need to wait.

If the market drop, so be it. The stock market drop, but you don't hear about those that are in the stock market say well I guess I will no longer buy stock until the market change. Naw they continue to buy stock.

You should check your situation out, see what is available in your neighborhood, find out the prices, closing cost etc, after which you should make an intelligent decision.

Now one other thing, don't go out and sign a buyer's contract with a real estate agent. Do the looking and educate yourself first.

It does not cost anything to attend an open house or two on a Sat or Sun in the neighborhood you are interested in buying. The seller's agent will and can give you all the information you will need for the present.

If you have a few real estate buddies, now is the time to call in a few free markers.

Describing a better deal is always difficult, because once yo have settled on a property and closed a deal you will always hear of others that bought for less or got a better deal.

It really has nothing to do with you, except the circumstances surrounding the better deal or lower price could have been caused by a death in the family, divorce, a job transfer.

You need to make the best possible deal you can for a property that you find attractive and would want to reside in, right now.

Make sure you get all the proper inspections and appraisals before you purchase the property. Most of all use common sense. Don't let anyone pee on your leg and tell you it is raining outside. Most people get lemons and bum deals because they over looked the obvious and fell for the okey doke.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

The choice is yours to make. The future of the housing market is cloudy, as it always is.

Prices are low right now, and they may go lower. They ALSO may stabilize or go up. Why wait, if prices are already low ?

If you happen to buy at three percent more than you might in a few months, what's the big deal ? Three percent is NOTHING.

If you decide to wait around until the market has bottomed, you might discover that it is bottomed right now, and you're going to pay MORE a few months down the road.

I would wait until next year. In your other post you asked if you should use cash to buy or hold money back for other investments.

When you pay all cash you don't have the benefit of an unbiased third party ( appraiser ) to asses a true value and I wouldn't buy unless I was certain my deal was an awesome one. I'm thinking you are always better off keeping your chips on your side of the table. Ever notice how after you part with your money, nobody ever wants to give it back? Falling house prices will not help you when you've paid cash, even if you put a mortgage on it after you've paid cash, lenders won't give you all your cash back if something goes wrong, only a percentage of it.

all real estate business is local business.

where ever this is in northern alabama, what drives the economy and housing market there?

was there a big run up in prices over the past four years -- folk from Atlanta buying a summer place, etc.??

are foreclosures rising in the area? lots of for sale signs? houses stay on the market for months without selling? vacant houses?

if prices ran up in the area, my guess would be that they'll be coming down in a year or two. some areas run behind the trends from other places, some run ahead.

unfortunately, the locals who know best are probably the ones who are trying to sell you the house -- and they won't say what they know because they're all being paid by the seller.

still, lots of information is public. follow tax appraisals for specific single houses in the area from year to year -- it is public information. that tells you want the tax assessor believes was happening to prices.

other government officials will freely tell you if the real estate business is in trouble -- because the taxes collected on sales go into local budgets and they know if they're going to have to cut budgets -- or cut them again.

you can count the number of home sales reported per issue in back issues of the real estate newspaper -- probably free at the local library. [number is hugely down in my area -- easily less than 1/3rd the number per issue of only two years ago.]

GL

The market is beginning to stabilize so if you are ready to buy, now is the time to take advantage of this turn towards the buyer. Dont be afraid to enlist the help of a realtor, they work for a a reason! If you want to save money though, look for the for sale by owner homes, you will save on agent fees .

Remember all of the costs that go into a house... selling fees, insurance ($1200?), property taxes ($3000?), loan interest ($5000?), home upkeep, utility bills, etc... remember waiting isnt a bad idea... especially if you have a roommate... What is lost verses rent may be much much lower than buying.

housing is on its way down due to the week situation it is in.

houses will be falling for the next couple years.

although less expensive houses may have an increase.

and the high end houses will have the biggest lost .

also their are so many natural disasters that could totally change the market place.

hi, ur getting a house in Northern AL???? I live in Southern AL. yeah, thats what ive been hearing too, about the house market. im gonna by a house next year. around april. maybe u should wait too. good luck to you

The housing market is very shaky right now, that's true. But the reality is that a shaky market could go up just as easily as it could go down.

just a thought.

It is definitely a buyers' market now. I don't expect a turnaround until summer 2008, and even then probably just is certain areas.