So what are you waiting for?
Well, I don't know about you folks but I sure do like the direction home prices are heading in. On Long Island the average home in Suffolk County has drastically dropped in value. Nassau County is just lagging behind but still dropping and Queens County has just begun to drop in price. I just love a good deal and there are quite a few to be had right now. Homes with basement apartments in Central Islip are now selling for below $300,000 when they had sold a year ago for $350,000. High ranch homes in Lindenhurst which had sold for $450,000 a year ago are now selling for $390,000. An attached brick townhome in Queens Village which had sold for $435,000 a year ago are now selling for $400,000. A large split level in south Baldwin which sold for $585,000 in 2005 is now selling for $490,000.
Yet there are not a lot of active buyers in this marketplace. Many buyers seem to be waiting on the sidelines for something else to happen. My advice is that if you can afford to wait a litttle longer and save up more money so that you can get a better mortgage then keep saving. If waiting won't help you save up any more money and you are tired of renting or living in your in law's basement apartment, then just do it! Take the plunge and start to investigate the housing market. You will never know what you've missed out on unless you begin educating yourself.
So I ask you, what are you waiting for? Jump in, cool off, the water's just fine.
posted by Bethany @ 11:20 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
That's easy. Rent a three bedroom, two bath single family house in Mount Sinai (Suffolk County), and pay 1700/month. The least expensive three bedroom, two bath is about $350k. Purchasing a house for $300k (including mortgage interest, lost interest on down payment, taxes, insurance, and tax benefits of owning) would cost about $2000/month.
I'd rather put $300 a month into savings.
Like I said, there is nothing wrong with waiting if you have no compelling reason to buy. However, historically speaking, in the long run, the $300 per month you are saving would be dwarfed by the equity you could be building if you purchased a home at a good price. That being said, in the short run, you may indeed do better by waiting for a more opportune time to purchase. Best of luck timing the market!
Those aren't good deals. Prices will fall for years and the only equity you will build will be in a negative direction.
That anonymous poster said that he would rather rent @ $1700/month rather than "own" @ $2000/month. The fact is even if it were the other way around $2000k/month to rent and $1700/month to "own" you will still be better off renting because the value of that house you are "buying" will continue to drop in value.
Real estate has a very long way to fall before we reach fundamental values. People just don't understand that it was cheap credit that ALLOWED people to pay those ridiculously high prices and with the cheap credit disappearing, it will be impossible for people to pay those prices; this is why prices will continue the downward trend for quite some time.
I happen to only partially agree with your comment that "real estate has a very long way to fall before we reach fundamental values". I have personally found some very good values in certain neighborhoods on Long Island. I happen to believe that purchasing a 4 bedroom 2 full bath wideline cape for $225,000 is a steal. Plenty of foreclosures are appearing on a daily basis and good deals can be found. Also mortgage rates are still near historical lows for people with decent credit and proveable income. All in all, deals are out there just like they were in 1990-1996.
Hey, thanks for wishing me luck. So far, my market timing is working out.
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