Every so often I get some really great questions about the real estate industry and this makes me feel vindicated for having chosen to play a little bit of a different role in the real estate industry. I definitely love to think of myself as an insider representative of the people at large, exploring opportunities in the real estate market with those people to whom the industry is ordinarily closed off.
This time the question I got was the rather open-ended one of when the best time to buy property is, albeit it was phrased in a number of different ways. So when exactly is the best time to buy property?
When you’re not desperate for a place to stay
The absolute worst time you can ever choose to make a property purchase is when you’re in urgent need of a roof over your head, like perhaps if you’ve had to relocate to a new city or state in which you’re starting a new job. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which is the small matter of completing a property purchase actually taking a lot longer than you’d think, so if you need to move in urgently you probably couldn’t in any case.
The other reason is that you’ll likely be taken advantage of. Sellers represented by their real estate agents capitalize on desperation and urgency in their knowledge that you’re very eager to close a deal. That’s when you’re very likely to go over budget and fork out a little extra for a property you could have otherwise gotten at a fairer price.
When the market appears to be quiet
Have you ever heard the phrase “It’s currently a buyers’ market” bandied about by realtors showing you a property? This is definitely not a good time to buy since what that means is that the market is hot and buzzing. The supply-and-demand principle is at play at this particular time and since there is a huge demand, the supply will always be made to appear scarce, whether it is or isn’t.
Rather look to buy when the market is quiet, so quiet in fact that you should even enquire about the availability of those properties which aren’t even visibly marked for sale. That’s how the best deals are had.
After the first wave of the post-boom housing market depression
If the property prices in a certain area witness some kind of boom as a result of something like some major economic activity, that doesn’t necessarily translate into tangible value for you specifically. So what if the property is listed in a fracking town if your very existence has absolutely no connection with that industry?
Wait for the second wave of the post-boom depression though as that is when the property prices start to really normalize according to what they’re really worth, during which time you can find yourself a sweet deal. This is especially true if you’re simply looking for a place to call home or indeed if the property you’re looking to buy is perhaps a second property you want to add to your assets portfolio.
