Deciding on buying in Mill Creek
I have been watching the market for close to an year now. At this time, I'm thinking that I should buy...I've been looking at various new construction in Mill Creek area like Pacific Ridge, WoodCress, Camwest, etc.
Is it a good time to buy now? Did anyone buy in Mill Creek area recently? If so, have you got a good deal?
I believe Synthetic has good knowledge in this area. Synthetic, can you please help?
Is it a good time to buy now? Did anyone buy in Mill Creek area recently? If so, have you got a good deal?
I believe Synthetic has good knowledge in this area. Synthetic, can you please help?
Comments
There are lots of good reasons to buy, such as having a nice place to live, etc. However, I would strongly advise against buying right now unless you are confident it wouldn't bother you that much if your home lost 50% of it's value in the next 4 years. If such a price drop wouldn't be a big deal to you, then go right ahead and buy a home.
However, if a loss of 50% in value on a home you buy today would be a significant problem for you, then you might want to look at renting for a few years. We are on the cusp of a great real-estate bust. The great global credit bubble has just burst, and the fall-out is just now beginning to spread. Already lending criteria have been tightened significantly, but it is bound to get much tighter over the next few years making it very difficult for people to qualify for mortgages. This is a good thing, of course, for those who have savings and great credit (i.e. because homes will be cheaper).
Anyway, I really don't want to discourage you from buying a home right now. Homes shouldn't be viewed as investments anyway. And if you are pyschologically (and financially) prepared to deal with a possible 50% price drop by 2011, then you are likely in good shape to buy.
Run some quick rent vs. purchase calculations and I think you'll get your answer rather quickly. There are tons of nearly identical properties in Mill Creek that I wouldn't feel any pressure to pull the trigger.
I identified few houses, which I can afford to buy; but waiting for the dust to settle down. But noticed that slowly one by one the houses are being sold...makes me to wonder what I should be doing?
Wait for some more time as there is still good size of inventory, or jump in and buy. I'm really confused.
Here's the bottom line in my opinion. Housing prices are certainly not very likely to go up any significant amount in the next year or two. But they may come down a very significant amount. There is very little risk that you will be priced out, but a pretty good chance you will loose tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars by buying now. Wait- you have nothing to loose really, and much to save.
Sure, if you view purchasing a home strictly from an investment angle, it might not be the best of times to buy right now. But people buy homes for many more reasons than possible wealth creation. For all we know this chap who wants to buy in Mill Creek is a multi-millionaire who just wants a nice home to place roots, and raise his kids up through High School. Maybe he can buy a $600,000 house for cash, with more savings still left over. In this case it might not phase him one bit if his house dropped 50% in value over the next few years.
It's kind of like buying a car. Some people like buying new cars even though they depreciate a tonne. Who cares if you have enough money to afford it?
If the above was the case, then I wouldn't be a regular at Seattle Bubble!
I can afford a decent home; but if waiting can push me to next level for the same money, that would be a wise decision.
But when I finally buy the house, I want to donate some money close to $500 to Seattle Bubble. Following this site has definitely paid me off...or else I would've bought an overpriced house 6 months back.
Thanks Seattle Bubble and all members!
When you have politicians at all levels (city, state, national) proposing bailouts (which won't really fix anything, but merely slightly delay the inevitable), you just know we are screwed!
So if you find something you like later this year, can afford it under various 'worst-case' scenarios, and can afford to take a 10-20% (my own WAG) loss if for some reason you end up needing to sell sooner than planned and you are OK with that, I'd go ahead and pull the trigger. As has already been mentioned, there are many reasons, tangible and intangible, why one wants to be a homeowner (I am one, but only because I bought 10 years ago before prices went skyward). And if you have a family and/or lots of stuff, moving can be a huge pain, so renting may not be ideal from a stability standpoint (it can be, but depends on the situation).
The important thing is that you go into the transaction with your eyes open. I'd recommend reading all of the paperwork that you sign also--I spent close to two hours reading through all of the fine print on my loan before signing (I can't believe all of the things I'm not supposed to do, like keep any gasoline on the premises, guess I'll buy a goat for the lawn, oh, as long as the goat stays outside
Oh, it's better than that. You also have them saying no one should be afraid to buy, there's no problem, go call your real estate agent, and get shopping! (Because we really need the tax revenues!)