'Buy Real Estate Today', So Say the Experts

Where are all of the buyers?  There has not been a more prime time in the last 20 years to purchase real estate than right now, and following is reasons why:

If you have taken care of your money and credit, like our parents and grandparents had to, and you find yourself with a credit rating nearing 800 and a savings account with a positive balance then you must purchase real estate today.  You are exactly what the banks are looking for to lend money to.  Any lender will give you money and charge you practically nothing to use it for the purchase of real estate.  Most of the population who currently own homes are paying between 5% and 12% interest on loans on properties of which the values have decreased to the point that equity is now a rarity.  You would not be one of these.

Housing prices have already bounced off the bottom.  All statistics are showing that housing prices throughout the Midwest, the state of Ohio, Allen County, and Bath Township have begun to increase slowly over the past 10 months.  Because the prices are creeping up and not jumping, you can purchase at, or nearly at, the very cheapest prices possible.  Sellers call this stealing because a lot of them are covering losses to get out of their mortgage loans and you are purchasing with the opportunity at instant equity.  Buy a $100,000 house today and with the current rate of market increases you will have a home worth $100,400 in 30 days and will have paid less than $400 in interest on your loan.  You are ahead by about $70 in the first month!  The majority of home sellers today are paying $420 per month on a mortgage loan of $110,000, for a home worth $100,000 and are losing $70 per month plus $10,000 in equity.  If they can hold on for another 3-5 years, then they will begin to see the light and start making money on their investment in real estate.  Buy today and you're ahead on the investment by 3 years.

Be picky.  Housing inventories are still high.  You can be a little choosier than buyers of the past got to be.  Your parents and grandparents would enter the housing market and purchase a home in the area that they liked and would settle for a small pantry, highway through the backyard, or half of the square footage than what they really wanted because there was not a whole bunch houses to choose from.  There are buyers today who are insisting on sellers painting the whole house (paying a contractor at closing to have painting done) so buyers can move right in and begin living in their new home.

The experts in the housing industry agree.  Meg Hudson, President of the Ohio Association of Realtors says:

“Today’s real estate market, perhaps now more than ever before, makes it clear that all real estate is local…with variations in every community and street, and even amongst the various property types,” Hudson noted. “Most importantly, today’s buyers and sellers realize that despite these complexities and nuances, property ownership is a wise, long‐term investment.”


“It really is a great time to buy,” Hudson continued. “When you look beyond the headlines and take a closer look at current conditions – interest rates at historic lows, prices displaying signs of stabilization, sellers that are more realistic in their expectations – you gain a better appreciation that the desire to own a home remains the foundation of the American Dream.”

To get started on finding housing, discussing your financials, or planning on getting the most out of your current housing investment, contact me.  I will sit down with you to find out where you are at and help you make a plan to get where you want to be in real estate.