Re:In January, there were more real-estate agents than homes...
by sangnoir on Monday March 22, 2021 @04:03PM
(#26546101)
> Overall it's a wash and you don't gain/lose for buying in a low/high interest rate environment.
You can't paint with such a broad stroke without crunching numbers - I think the better, but less satisfying answer is "it depends". It depends on the specific market and pricing dynamics (past and future), as well as on the length of the mortgage term and how high interest will go in the future - which is hard to know beforehand. Further complicating this are objective factors such as flexibility (of renting), and how much you're willing to pay for it. Buying a house is huge time-sink: expect to screen hundreds of houses and actually viewing dozens of them. Then you have to put together an offer quickly. If you're unlucky, your offer may be tied to some other buyer and the seller may ask you to write a motivating essay on why they should sell you their house - which I find insulting and time-wasting.
To GP: you need to write down actual figures and work it all out for best & worst cases - estimates are fine. When you are done, pick a path you are comfortable with.
You can't paint with such a broad stroke without crunching numbers - I think the better, but less satisfying answer is "it depends". It depends on the specific market and pricing dynamics (past and future), as well as on the length of the mortgage term and how high interest will go in the future - which is hard to know beforehand. Further complicating this are objective factors such as flexibility (of renting), and how much you're willing to pay for it. Buying a house is huge time-sink: expect to screen hundreds of houses and actually viewing dozens of them. Then you have to put together an offer quickly. If you're unlucky, your offer may be tied to some other buyer and the seller may ask you to write a motivating essay on why they should sell you their house - which I find insulting and time-wasting.
To GP: you need to write down actual figures and work it all out for best & worst cases - estimates are fine. When you are done, pick a path you are comfortable with.