Obviously this is a question that lots of people ask as we all want to know the best time to buy a house.
Sometimes the advice would be “now” but others would say that you should wait. If you look at how house prices have increased over the years then you would say that you should have purchase last year or before that.
But without a time machine it’s hard to go back and change your mind.
You may see people offering advice on this subject, but always remember that ultimately it is your decision and it’s you that has to live with whatever decision you make.
You therefore should consider your options carefully, but be comfortable with your decision.
Of course you cannot go back in time (pretty sure anyway) so that means your choice is to either buy now or in the future.
Buy Your Home Now
You may want to buy a house now but have heard people say that it’s not a good time to buy a house and that make you nervous.
The good thing about buying a house now is you know what the house values are right now and can therefore calculate the repayments based on what deposit you have and the interest rates being offered by the banks and other lenders.
If you want certainty then the best time to buy a house is now.
The same can be said when you are buying almost any item; however people like to know the best time to buy a house because it is such a large financial decision … often buying your first home will be the first truly large financial decision that you will make.
But buying now is not the only option.
You Could Wait And Buy Later
The other option is to buy later.
This can sometimes be a prudent thing to do as it gives you more time to get prepared and possibly house prices might go down.
This means that you have more time to save the deposit and research options.
You could research your options using online courses for first home buyers and gain more knowledge to make better informed decisions.
While you wait you may find that house prices drop and therefore you can either spend less on a house or get a better house, but you do run the real risk that house prices could increase and therefore you either need to spend more on a house or get a lesser house.
Waiting could also mean that the banks and other lenders change policy which could either make it easier or harder to borrow the money that you require.
Get Good Advice Today
I recently gave advise to a first home buyer on a Facebook Group called the Kiwi First Home Buyers Group.
The advice was based on years of experience and personally buying houses.
Without the help of a crystal ball … I would generally suggest buying now rather than waiting. If you buy now you can crunch your numbers to ensure that you can afford the house so you know what you are in for. Sure prices may go down a bit in the short term, but as long as you do not need to sell then the house value is just a feel good factor. The other option is to wait and hope that the prices fall, but what if they don’t fall?
I’ve purchased previously when people were telling me that prices would fall, but they never really did so I was happy that I hadn’t taken that advice. Best advice is to do what you’re comfortable with as it is you and only you that has to live with the decision.
Stuart Wills, Mortgage Adviser
For questions like this the best advice should be to make your own decision as it’s not something that anyone else has to live with or deal with the financial consequences of.
But you should also avoid procrastinating and make a decision on the best time to buy a house that’s going to work for you.