Buying real estate is widely considered a safe investment compared to other popular investments. However it has highs and lows too, like every other market. The right time to invest in real estate is by looking at the history. For example, from 1988 to 1994 the prices went ten times higher and the market was at full swing. While in 2002, there was seen a massive reduction in the price hikes. Though the returns are mostly positive. Predictions regarding the buying and selling of property may not work always.

Secure property in hands leads to peace in mind. The cardinal rule of real estate is, one’s first investment should be in one’s own home. Not limiting to residential properties, you can also invest in office spaces, towers, markets etc. Instead of being totally tied to your own income, you can also avail traditional commercial real estate loan.

We now have an ease of researching properties online and the ability to get rent checks direct-deposited electronically, thus there are far fewer headaches. You should not put all the savings into one or two properties, but in a diverse field. Investment involves financial planning and strategy. Rental yield, which is the amount of rent paid per annum over the cost of buying a property, is also a factor that determines the level of demand, for both end users and investors.

Certain factors need to be kept in mind to know whether it’s a good time to buy/sell for home owners:

Time Horizon to Stay

How long do you plan to live in or own the home? Job security, pursuing education or a career change can be big influences. A longer time frame gives more opportunity to realize price appreciation on the home, to offset any transactional costs.

Funds to Pay

Upfront costs include the down payment and closing costs, but money should also be set aside for an emergency fund or post-transaction cash. If you don’t have enough money, meeting a financial planner could help.

Buyer’s Interest

There is always an end user interest, but what buyers wait for is reasonable and affordable price. Affordability is also affected by interest rate or increase in income.

Get a Better Bargain

Smart people buy when the market is weak and sell in higher prices. But the buyers should always bargain hard for a better price. Experts recommend opting for under-construction flats over ready procession ones, as the discounts on the former go up significantly.

Real estate is a good, long term investment. Be sure to review your specific situation with subject matter experts to see if you are well-positioned to buy a home.

If you do decide to invest, meet with a trusted local real estate agent who can help you navigate the ever changing landscape of the real estate market. They often know when properties are about to go on the market and may have a lead on a short sale property that can be a great buy.

Anyone who has worked in the real estate market for the past year has probably been cautiously optimistic going into this next year. 2016 was a big boom for almost everyone in real estate sales, for buyers, at least. The question is: are there any indicators out there that could project that this trend will continue, given outside factors like foreign investors and the new presidency? Let’s take a look.

Real Estate Prices

The real estate market has seen month after month increases of home prices, bringing them back to “normal” before the recession hit, according to all the top real estate analytics agencies. The middle of 2016 saw the national median real estate prices for home and condominiums reach over $225k. This was actually the 52^nd month in a row of price increase, which continues into the new year. Will this trend continue?

Appreciation Values

Overall price increases are of course great news for the real estate market, but if we want to know whether this trend will follow for another 12 months, we’ll need to investigate further. Looking at the home appreciation values, we actually see a bit of a weakening for the upper-end of the housing market, like NYC and San Francisco, who are seeing a decrease of appreciation of around 5-10% each year since 2013. If you look at lower-end markets, like Denver, Oklahoma City, or Dallas, you’re seeing the opposite, where appreciation values have climbed 10-15% from the previous year.

What these two tales of home appreciation prices tell is that, yes, the market growth is stabilizing, but that doesn’t mean you won’t continue to see excellent sales opportunities in the real estate market for 2017.

Normalized Growth is Better

While those big price tags were surely a feast for the eyes for the past year, the normalization of the housing market is a welcome change for industry vets. Things get a bit more predictable and that means sales will become a bit more reliable. Fear of a potential volatile downswing is always something on the minds of real estate marketers, leaving them scrambling to adjust and recover. Now that we have a good set of indicators that tell us to expect a steady, yet more subdued growth, real estate jobs can take a little breather and work on optimization and focus on edging out their competition, for example.

As parting advice, we suggest playing things safe with the market for the next year, nothing is set in stone, so take advantage of this slowdown to prepare for any signs of road bumps, such as credit limitations or other affordability obstacles.

The mid-to-high priced real estate market for homes should expect to see more competition and higher prices, which isn’t really news to most, but it is one thing you can at least count on in the upcoming year.

“There’s a lot of demand right now for moderately priced houses that appeal to both first-time buyers and baby boomers who want to be in a right-sized house for aging in place. Across the country, most markets don’t have enough houses at or just below the median price in that market,”

Tag Archives: Rising Real Estate

Real Estate: The Rising Market