Quote:
Originally Posted by Mecinoid
Not so sure a house is a great investment right now. If they start going back up in price then.... step in. Otherwise, why ride the rollercoaster down. Not sure the ride is over yet. 
This comes from someone that owns a house... out of work and has to stay working in his area because to sell his house in a bad market would be a poor move. I know it's relative... But, selling and not having enough left for a down after real estate commisions etc... is killing Americas ability to adjust to the circumstances we are in.
I mean, I'd take a job and live in Oklahoma and live for a lot less than Cali if I had a chance. I'm stuck fighting for the last scraps here in Cali and it isn't any fun I'm telling you. |
This is definitely a tough market. Housing prices are only one of the reasons why it might not be a good time to buy. Are you sure that the market has bottomed? There's a glut of inventory on the market right now and they keep building new homes... are prices going to rise anytime soon? Might they even fall further?
And like in your situation, you don't want to be tied down to a certain area because you can't sell your house. There are a lot of people that would be able to get a job in another city or state but they can't because their home has anchored them and they can't afford to put it up for a firesale.
And there are people who might be fresh in their career and don't know if they are going to stay in their particular location for long. If I think I'm only going to be in DC for a few years buying a home might not be worth the risk.
Then of course there are people who are perfectly content with the apartment lifestyle. They don't want to be responsible for their own maintenance. Maybe they want to live close to where they work and buying a house that close to the city is just not in the cards financially. As an example, if I wanted to buy a house in the same area where I rent, my mortage would be double what my rent is. I don't want to take on that burden, especially if I am not comfortable with the housing market right now and if I am not even sure if I'll be in this area in the next 5 years.
There are plenty of reasons
not to buy a house, just like there are plenty of reasons to buy one. So there's really no right or wrong answer and whether you own a home or not certainly lends nothing to your "credibility" as an "adult."
See what you did, ken? Epic derail. Now bring us some charburgers and cheese fries.