Is Now A Good Time To Buy A House?
For many years it’s been a seller’s market in Michigan and it currently continues to be a seller’s market. So most people know that it’s a good time to sell a house but is it a good time to buy a house?
I’d say it depends on the buyer. We could be headed towards a buyer’s market but many real estate experts have been discussing the market shifting to a buyer’s market since 2016 and so far in Michigan, it continues to be a seller’s market with home values increasing. So after 7 years of expectation of a buyer’s market coming soon, I think it’s time to look at buying a home differently.
I think people who are ready, willing and able to buy should continue to look for a home. These are people that are in the right financial position to do so, they are mentally ready to purchase a home, their credit scores are where they want them to be and they know where they want to live for years to come.
If the people who fit this criteria are considering buying a home view buying a home as a place they enjoy living in and aren’t expecting to sell the home anytime soon, then it may be best for them to continue looking for a home right now because they just might find the home they really want.
However, people who don’t fit this criteria and view buying a home as an investment, their thought process of the investment will likely get in their way of moving forward on a home that may be perfect for them.
A lot of buyers have been playing the waiting game. They’ve been looking and/or wanting to buy a home for years but haven’t done so because they don’t want to compete for a home or they don’t want to buy at the top of the market. These are valid reasons not to buy a home right now but how long will buyers play the waiting game?
When we consider that there are a group of buyers that either want to downsize or upgrade from their current home but haven’t due to it being a strong seller’s market and then a group of first time home buyers continuing to rent due to the seller’s market, it appears that something catastrophic would have to happen for the market to shift. This is because until we have more sellers than buyers, it will continue to be a seller’s market.
So how do we get to more sellers than buyers? I’d say either the interest rates have to continue to increase to a point that eliminates a lot more buyers or a lot of people would have to be in a position where they need to sell their house or a combination of both. With that being said, do we know when this is going to happen? No. It could happen this year, next year or many years from now and if it’s a buyer’s market, this means the prices will likely be lower but the interest rates will likely be much higher so what a buyer thinks he or she would be saving, likely would be eaten by interest.
This market is missing the inventory of the sellers looking to upgrade and downsize and I think it’s important for those buyers to understand that the market they sell in will be the market that they buy in usually. So would these buyers rather be in the position to get the most money they can out of their home and sell it fast and then compete for their next home or do they want to get to the market where they may need to do work on their home to get it sold for less money and take more time to sell and then buy a home they want with likely no competition?
Regardless if it gets to a buyer’s market or continues to be a seller’s market, finding the right home can’t be timed by the market even if you built one (unless you already own the land you intend to build on completely from scratch.) so I think buyer’s need to start making decisions on whether to buy a home or not based on if they’re ready willing and able and if there’s a home for sale that they want to buy instead of choosing to buy based on the market trends.
This has been “Is Now A Good Time To Buy A House In Michigan?” by Patrice Henderson of Designed Living Real Estate. Be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel for all your real estate tips, home tours and advice.
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