Is it a good time to buy a house?

Question

We are contemplating purchasing a house as our primary residence. We have been life long renters but fortunately now in a position where we can afford the downpayment and monthly mortgage even at the current higher rates. However the macroeconomic numbers and tech layoff news are making me uncomfortable. On the flip side the house prices have come down ~20% in my city. The prices might go up and outprice me from purchasing a house in a desirable location. Am I making a hasty decision in the current market?

codegeek · Accepted Answer

Regardless of the market condition and even your own situation, do not buy a house if you don't plan to live in for at least 7-10 years. Anything less, your risk is much higher in general.

willio58 · Answer

My understanding is almost always yes if you can afford it and want to own a house. If the prices go down, you can refinance and pay less. If the prices go up, you&rsquo;ve already bought the house so it&rsquo;s just free money.If you have a good emergency fund layoffs can be managed.

AnimalMuppet · Answer

Layoffs are concerning. How big a pad would you have if you buy the house? Can you live without income for a few months? (You have the same problem with renting, except that you probably have a bigger pad in that case, since you haven't forked out the down payment.)
Are you in a town with a strong tech sector? If you lose your job, how hard is it going to be to find another one? (Harder if ten thousand other tech workers are looking at the same time...)
Me personally, if after the down payment I had a big enough pad to ride out several months if I got laid off, I'd probably go ahead and buy. But I am not a financial advisor, just some rando on the net...

themodelplumber · Answer

We are looking at important MA breaches, an inverse H&S on the S&P (maybe), and potential/ongoing melt-up scenario in markets right now.
You are right to wonder how things will go, because everybody's wondering. You may indeed miss out on big moves if you wait. But also maybe things will stall out and take forever to move up again.
I'd go to localized specifics in your scenario. I'd look for comparative value in a specific home purchase, compare to averages or moving averages of prices _in your area_ and then decide what's a good value from opportunity to opportunity.
Identify your buy-in range, make some offers, see how things go. But I'd keep it very specific and buy something you like at what seems like a good price, all things considered.
I'd stay away from trying to call macro trends because there's not much traction there right now. It could help to look at historical price action in your city though.

more_corn · Answer

I&rsquo;d buy. Buying a house was the best financial move I ever made. If rates come down in two years you can refinance.

Is it a good time to buy a house?

Regardless of the market condition and even your own situation, do not buy a house if you don't plan to live in for at least 7-10 years. Anything less, your risk is much higher in general.

My understanding is almost always yes if you can afford it and want to own a house. If the prices go down, you can refinance and pay less. If the prices go up, you’ve already bought the house so it’s just free money.
If you have a good emergency fund layoffs can be managed.

I’d buy. Buying a house was the best financial move I ever made. If rates come down in two years you can refinance.