[quote=wallers]ok thanks everyone! great info. I think I am going to rent and see how this all plays out.
From all the info here and everywhere generally speaking it seems prices will either remain somewhat the same/maybe a bit up for sometime and things will trudge along or go down. So financially it might be prudent to wait and see with minimal risk of a continued large price increase (buy now or be priced out forever!). Plus there is the possibility of staying calm and being rewarded for waiting for lower prices.
On the personal side I like being a homeowner. But if I can’t get what I want perhaps than maybe it’s not a great idea to buy anyways.[/quote]
I think the bottom line for a lot of people to also consider is if you don’t own ANY property, then buying something you can easily afford to LIVE in is not the dumbest thing in the world. You have to live somewhere and like the poster who bought for 330k and her house is now worth 550k or so, whatever the equity is worth shouldn’t matter if you can afford the payments and are long term.
There are way too many variables within the housing market alone as well as way too many variables in each of our lives. You can wait a long time, but say you are in your early 30s, married and have 1 kid with 1 on the way and you want a stable environment to have them grow up. Sure, you can say it’s overvalued and it will revert, but what if that takes 20 years, or 30 years? By then, you’re 50-60+ and looking to retire. Ultimately, it’s just money and again, that 1st home to live in shouldn’t matter as much if the payments aren’t that bad. Also, some areas never stay down forever. I know all the properties my parents bought in the bay area are higher then they paid when they bought. I believe decent places in NY is the same and most of coastal CA.
Sure, you can rent, but it’s nice when you know your housing payment for the next 30 years and no landlords possibly kicking you out with a month notice cause their kid is coming back from college, etc…or the constant rent increases.
Another thing I have mentioned is all the time you waste here or any housing forum (I wasted tons more prior to buying) is a waste of time. I simply love not caring or having to worry where housing prices will go.
Also, I think only certain areas had a lot of investors. In a lot of the higher end or at least over the 600-700k markets, I really don’t see people buying to flip or rent homes out in that price range. It’s all families here (4S/Del Sur).
