Does this sound familiar? You and your spouse are sitting around the table enjoying a family dinner with your in-laws. Doesn’t matter why, just that you are. When you decide to announce that you and your significant other have an announcement to make. You’re finally ready to buy a house! Instead of the pride and excitement you two expected to hear, there’s silence, followed by hesitant questions. All seemed to be aimed at discouraging you from buying a house. If that scenario, or a variant of it, does sound familiar. You’re not alone. It seems like anytime someone decides to buy a house, someone is trying to tell you why that’s a terrible choice. Even by just how they ask you “is now really a good time to buy a house?” Let’s look beyond the dollars and cents to look deeper into why the answer to that question is usually yes.
Why Do You Want to Buy a Home?
Whenever you start looking for a home, this is the first question that you should ask yourself. List out all the reasons why you want to buy a home, think hard about them, consider why you can only achieve them in a home that you own. Do you need more space? Do you want to live closer to where you work? Are you just ready for your forever home? These are only a few good reasons to buy a home and there are many more. If your reasons to buy a new home hold up under harsh scrutiny, then market conditions are irrelevant. Those reasons to own a home will still exist when there are high interest rates and low interest rates. All the while home prices are likely still climbing higher, and you’re losing precious time.
Interest Rates are a Relative Neutral in Homebuying
The operative word in this section’s title is relative, before you sharpen your digital pitchforks, please take a deep breath, and read on. Like with most other markets, growth in the Real Estate market does not look like a straight line; instead, it looks like a rising roller coaster. There are peaks and valleys in the value of homes, land, and all the other factors that go into homebuying but generally it moves upwards. These peaks and valleys also apply to interest rates, meaning there will be times where interest rates are low again. Once you own a home that you intend to live in for an extended period of time, there will be opportunities to re-finance to a lower interest rate if you practice good fiscal discipline and stay on top of regular home maintenance.
Homeownership is a Long-Term Game
Let’s build on the thought from the previous section, your answers to the question “why do you want to buy a home” are likely to have something in common. They are all dreams for your life that happen over a timespan of years. Buying a home for yourself or your household shouldn’t be a decision thinking about your future in one year; at minimum it should be a decision made considering your future in five years. Five years is a long time to think about, and so much could change. Do you want to experience those changes renting and having to move from home to home each year? Do you want to be in a home that does not meet your current and future needs? Or do you want the stability, security, and comfort that only owning a home can offer?
Make no mistake, we at Garbett Homes are aware that the current homebuying market is full of challenges. The previous market with extremely low interest rates had challenges too. The next housing market will also have its own challenges. So, is it a good time to buy a house? YES. If you want to buy a house and are in the position to buy a house, buy a house. Make it the home that is all your own. You deserve to live somewhere that makes you happy, comfortable, and can fulfill your dreams for a long period of time. No matter what you decide worries and challenges will come your way. So you might as well have them in a space you enjoy. And if you’re looking to start your search we encourage you to check out our communities in Midvale, Murray, Salt Lake City, Millcreek, and Wasatch County. We look forward to seeing you soon!