DoorFly.com: Is Now The Best Time to Buy a Home?

This is an interesting question that certainly poses varying answers. In my opinion, yes! Home prices have fallen to an all time low. In our current state, home affordability has never been so appealing. If you’re in the market to buy, and not sell, than I believe you have a clear advantage in the market place as many sellers are facing difficult times in selling their home at an above market price. Not to mention many homeowners facing foreclosure risks as mortgage payments become more difficult to pay.

The flip side…. will the slumping housing market continue to fall before bouncing back up? If so, is now really the time to buy or should you wait until the housing market hits rock bottom and is on the rebound?

I will leave this question to the experts at CNNMoney.com, who wrote a great article regarding this subject. Here is what they had to say…

“Don’t time the market

But I don’t think all this necessarily means that you should put off buying until certain prices have bottomed out, assuming you’re planning to live in your house for, say, at least five years as opposed to flipping it.

Why? Well, for one thing I don’t think it’s possible to time the housing market any more than it is to time the stock market. Sure, you might be able to get a somewhat better deal by postponing your purchase. On the other hand, it’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to be able to catch the market just as prices are ready to rebound.

Buying a house isn’t something you can do at a moment’s notice. You’ve got to find the house you really want, settle on a price and get your financing. Your chances of timing all this to coincide with the market trough – even if you could call it – are pretty much nil. Besides, even when prices do eventually start to rise, no one knows how quickly (or slowly) they’ll climb.

Do some legwork

That said, if you’re really serious about owning a home, you’re actually in a very good position as a buyer right now. Prices have fallen substantially over the past year or so, which should give you lots of leverage to negotiate a favorable price. And since there’s no immediate sign of a turnaround in the market, it’s not as if you’ve got to rush into a deal either.

So don’t. Use this opportunity to do plenty of research in areas where you might consider buying. You can do that online these days at sites like Zillow and Trulia.

But don’t restrict yourself to virtual legwork. Drive around a bunch of neighborhoods, talk to homeowners and business owners to get a better sense of how the area is doing and what it would be like to live there, stop by real estate offices and banks to get the current pulse of that specific market. You may even be able to pick up bargains among foreclosures or by working with sellers eager to avoid a foreclosure.

At the same time, you can start lining up your financing so you’ll be ready to move ahead should you find a home you like at a price you’re willing to pay. Remember, lenders are more picky about making loans than they were during the real estate bubble, which means they’re requiring more information about your income, assets and expenses.

You don’t want a snag in the mortgage process to hold you up when you’re ready to close a deal. So get all your financial paperwork in order ahead of time and scout out lenders offering competitive loan rates, which you can do by checking out our Real Estate section.

Bottom line: Without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, no one can tell you when it’s the absolute best time to buy. But if you make a real effort to shop around and get a feel for the market, you can almost certainly increase your chances of getting a house at a price you can be happy with now and in the future.”

Article Source: The best time to buy a home – Written By Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor

As you have read, there is not a clear cut answer on when is the best time strategically to buy, except to be ready if the opportunity arises. With that said, when you are ready to buy, be sure to use DoorFly.com to find a real estate agent. DoorFly makes it very easy to locate a qualified real estate agent and to negotiate real estate agent fees. By obtaining a portion of the real estate agent commission, you will earn extra cash at closing all for just signing up. The best part…. it’s FREE for home buyers!