Is now the right time to buy a house?

With the economic conditions being uncertain still and the market coming back down a little bit from the record highs it hit due to low interest rates I always here people saying “Is it a good time to buy a house?”. This tends to lead people to talk about interest rates, pricing, locations and other economic indicators, however, no one really talks about the truly important part of the equation and that is their personal needs. Odds are if you are considering buying a house you have a need that isn’t filled. That could be all sorts of things from; your family size has increased or your looking to downsize. For some reason it seems that people put the economy before their own needs and for me it’s a bit of a conundrum.

My wife and I moved into our first house at the bottom of the market in 2016. We had that great interest rate and everything was great. We were happy. Then our daughter was born and a few other issues came along and we decided that we needed more space. So in 2020 we moved into a bigger house. Higher interest rate and all. Made a little money on our old house but we were happy. Then the weather warmed up and we quickly learned that the neighborhood wasn’t for us.  It was a little too “active”. This lead us to move into a different house which had a related living space for my in-laws. Along with this came another interest rate increase and higher taxes. At last, I was happy. I was the only one. The other three tenets weren’t  as excited about it as I was. My wife didn’t like the lay out, my in laws didn’t like their space but I was happy because every now and then my kitchen would just magically be clean. It was like I had kitchen fairies or something. Later on I learned that it was my in-laws cleaning it but either way IT WAS AWESOME!

This lead us to our current situation. We moved once again and now we have a variable interest loan, which we would have never considered before, but I think we are all finally happy. My wife loves our house, our kids feel like they are at home when they are there and I’m happy because I know I don’t have to move again any time soon! Let’s be honest moving sucks. This leads me to my overall point. Is it the right time to buy a house? I have no idea. I’m just being honest. If you go online you can find articles saying “Buy right now or you’ll regret it!”. You will also find articles saying “Don’t buy now because you will regret it!” I feel like the only person that can tell you if it is the right time to buy is you. It’s ultimately your decision. No one can make it for you.

You would be wise to make an informed decision. I’m not trying to say ignore everything and buy a house because you want to but I am saying that if your current situation isn’t working for you then don’t be afraid to explore your options. You might be surprised at what is available to you. Ultimately starting the process and not buying is better than sitting on the sidelines and not knowing. If it turns out you can buy a house then great! Let’s find you something that increases your quality of life and improves your situation. If it turns out that you need to wait a little longer that’s ok too. Either way shopping for a house should be fun and exciting but most of all it should be something that improves your situation. It should make you happy. At the end of the day it is your decision and you don’t need listen to any one that isn’t living your situation.