Can You Really Time the Market?

According to a Realtor Mag online article, prospective home buyers and still at bay about stepping out a buying a home.  The article suggest that prospective home buyers are attempting to “time the market” for the perfect time to buy a home.

What is Timing the Market?

For clarification sake, “timing the market” simply means that one is attempting to wait for peak times to make a purchase. Some may be waiting for interest rates to decrease.  Others may be waiting for home prices to come down.  While in the case of sellers, they may be waiting for their home values to increase before putting their house on the market.

Is Timing the Market Replace the Word “Fear?”

When you think about it, both buying and selling a home are very big deals with major decisions involved.  As major decisions go, they have a tendency to incite a little bit of fear or anxiety in all of us.  However, let us look at why “timing the market” is mythical.

1. Given that during 2007 – 2012, homes prices were lower than we will probably ever see again in our lifetime.  The same holds true for interest rates as the low interest rates were designed to encourage home buying and for the savvy home buyer and investor, they took full advantage of the low rates and low home prices.  Did they time the market?  Heck no!  Nobody saw the mortgage meltdown and housing crisis coming.  But what savvy home buyers and investors did, was to take advantage of all time low interest rates and housing prices.
2. The “market is a turning.”  So what does that mean for the homebuyer?  For one thing, it means that market values are increasing and had you bought a home when prices were lower, you would be well on your way to a healthy equity position.   If you have been paying close attention to the market (which of course you have if you are trying to time the market), you already know that home prices are rising and so are interest rates.

Given the #1 and #2, I have to ask, if you are attempting to “time the market” it just begs the questions, exactly what conditions are you waiting for?  Given the current climate of the real estate market, interest rates will continue to climb and so will home prices.

It would appear to me, that home buyers would fair far better by taking advantage of still low interest rates and home prices as opposed to higher rates and high home prices.

Charita Cadenhead is a licensed Realtor® in the State of Alabama since 2006, serving the Metro Birmingham market.  In 2007, she founded Bham WIiRE (Birmingham Women Investing in Real Estate). Bham WIiRE consisted of women interested in real estate investing, but later the focus expanded to include all women interested in any aspect of the world of real estate.  She is co-author of the book “Sell Your House Fast for the Right Price”, and has been featured on NuWire.com.  She is an avid blogger on ActiveRain.com with nearly 1300 posts to date,  including a great number of featured posts.

Whether you’re looking to buy real estate your sell your existing property, call or send me and email today, so we can discuss how I can best serve your Birmingham-Hoover Metro area real estate needs!