Is “now” A Good Time To Buy A Home?

“Real estate is the closest thing to a proverbial pot of gold.” – Ada Louise Huxtable

You’ve dreamed about it for as long as you can remember, stamping a structure, claiming a house as YOUR home. It finally feels within reach, you can almost see your family pictures on the wall, your splash of personality in the color palette, that vintage side table you found at a trading post years ago…and then, you turn on the news, you get on social media, the whispers are everywhere of what dire straits our beloved country is in.

So, it begs the question…

Is now a good time to buy a home?

The initial answer is: it depends (just what you wanted to hear, right?)

Let’s ask a few more questions:

1. Are you currently renting?

Statistics show that people who own a home have a net worth that is 40 times higher than those who rent. The reason for that is because the vast majority of someone’s net worth is commonly tied to real estate. With that said, owning a home can be a significant gain, not only to your net worth, but to your family’s financial security and future stability.

2. Do you already own a home?

If you are one of the lucky ones who has owned a home for an extended period of time, chances are you obtained an interest rate that is much lower than the current 7% +/-. If you are looking to sell your home and purchase a new one, the sacrifice of losing that lower interest rate is something that must be considered.

What is the payment difference? How much equity can you unlock in your current home?

3. What does a home mean to you?

There are many things in life that you simply cannot put a dollar amount on. When buying a home, it’s not a simple commercial property where emotions don’t exist. This is a very real and large purchase. It is the place where you will raise your family, it’s the door you walk through when you need to feel safe, it’s the space where you make lasting memories– these things are really hard to put a dollar amount on. While we will never advocate for you making a bad financial decision at the hands of your emotions, it’s worth weighing the emotions as well as the cost & risk involved when it comes to the things that matter most to you.

4. How long do you plan to stay in a new home?

The word “inflation” has been thrown around so much the last few years that it feels like normal household language. Instead of, “How was your day, honey?” we’re asking, “Did you catch the price of eggs today?”. Inflation is inevitable in our current monetary system, however, one of the great resources we have that can fight inflation is real estate. Why? Because while our government aims for a 2% inflation increase each year, real estate has a historical average of appreciating 3%-5%. In the last decade alone, we have seen that percentage closer to 5%-8%. Therefore, if you can lock in your payment, price, and interest rate for the long-term on a hard asset that historically appreciates, your asset will typically go up in value over time while you are paying for it at the lower purchase price.

In Conclusion:

As Real Estate Brokers, Agents, & Investors ourselves, in the state of Oklahoma, we are always proponents for purchasing real estate. However, it’s crucial that you look at all the factors, your budget, your job security, etc.

Currently, our country is seeing an immense housing shortage. In Tulsa alone, we have a shortage of homes that is estimated at just under 13,000. In the US today, that estimated home shortage is an astounding 3-8 million homes.

While simple Supply & Demand economics says when there is a shortage, you will often find higher prices, this shortage (barring any external factors- recession, war, etc.) does, however, say that while your home purchase price might be closer to a premium, the data does show us that your asset should continue to appreciate while the supply is in short.

Is now a good time to buy a home?

We would say “yes,” but we would also love to help you navigate that question to find the best answer for YOU and YOUR family.

It’s been said– The best time to buy a home was yesterday. The next best time is today!