[muta]

Is it a good time to buy a house?
I'm looking in the NYC area.

[incyphe]

Definitely not in NYC. I would stay away if you don't already own a house that you're looking to trade up.

In fact, I wouldn't begin bother shopping until at least 2011. Prices are still sky high and they will come down. But it will be slower than other areas.

[HERMIT]

Listen to incyphe, he's a smart man.

In fact, he helped this one soompier actually find a house in Jersey that was in a nice golf course community.
The guy was so happy. He bragged that from his balcony he had great views of the third, fourth, seventh, and thirteenth fairways, the windmill, and the clown's mouth. incyphe practically helped this dude live the dream.

[Prot]

If you really wanna look, you should check around the queens area, though I honestly cannot see any of these housing prices go down, NYC as a whole has been continually rising in price exception of 9/11 which caused a lot of manhattan locations to go down in price.

[halp]

yes it's a good time now. buy me a house too. i'm in nyc.

[xenojoey]

it's the perfect time to buy a house
feds cut rates to nearly 0%
if you can afford it, you should definitely buy a house
it'll be worth a lot more in 2 years

[watcher]

it's the perfect time to buy a house
feds cut rates to nearly 0%
if you can afford it, you should definitely buy a house
it'll be worth a lot more in 2 years

really depends on the local market. however, few markets have the type of demand and right buyers to keep real estate values increasing, let alone keep afloat. even manhattan has shown a few cracks here and there in the current economy.

in most places, you wont gain any equity in the next couple of years, and unless you have extra cash in your pockets for renovations here and there, the value of your home will not rise much, if at all. there are people right now that have bought homes recently and are already suffering from negative equity.

with unemployment on the rise and the struggling economy, there will be less people to buy up houses as well as many more who will have to forclose or short sale their homes. these will further bring down home values in many areas.

i'd agree with incyphe and tell you to wait. 09 wont be too promising a year. we're gonna keep sliding and home prices keep falling. and despite near 0% interest rates, mortgage rates for 30 year fixed loans hover in the 5~6% category in the larger cities like LA and NYC. some major banks go up to 6.5%. you can take advantage of ARMs, but those are sorta part of the problem we're in today, and interest rates will climb back up long before you finish paying off your mortgages.

start shoppin in 2010 and if you really like somethin and you can afford it, bite on it. if somethin causes you to hesitate, keep your options open. real estate wont pick up for a long time in many places. not until unemployment decreases and the inflated prices are adjusted to what people can afford to buy.

[JDM6]

I'm not sure what the market value is in NY, but it's a great time to buy in my area. Especially if you're looking to invest. Properties are dirt cheap now, and when the market bounces back up in a few years so will property values.

My friends father recently bought a new house, but he's having one of his son's stay at the old house until the market is back up before he wants to sell it at the price he wants it for.

[papabear]

Houses make poor investments. Part of the reason why there was a bubble in many areas is because of that kind of thinking.

[dahanizzle]

forgive me ignorance, but where did 2011 come up for the year to start purchasing a house? just curious..

[Wayves]

There are a lot of smart people who are predicting that the economy is going to pretty much suck through 2010. Housing prices are going to drop further, and won't rebound quickly. 2011 isn't a bad estimate.

[Pogichinoy]

Houses make poor investments. Part of the reason why there was a bubble in many areas is because of that kind of thinking.

IMO Houses/Property make great investments, but like other investments, there are good times to buy and sell. The bubble in question was a risk that everyone took into account, and where many people got caught in.

Don't let it deter you from buying/investing in property, as these types of crisis' happen every decade or so.

[papabear]

The bubble in question was a risk that everyone took into account, and where many people got caught in.

Not at all--many were ignorant that such bubbles existed.