"It's Time to Buy That House"

October 27, 2011


"It's Time to Buy That House" was the headline for an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal's Saturday/Sunday edition of October 15-16, 2011. Obviously it caught my attention since I am a real estate sales professional. The gist of the article is that prices of houses have come down to a level that is making a purchase competitive with what a renter would be paying in monthly rent.
What makes this time a great time to purchase a home is not only the affordable prices but the historically low interest rates that are available for 30 year amortized loans. Also, as long as the FHA down payment requirement remains at 3.5 percent of the purchase price, a buyer of a median priced house in our market would only need approximately $7,500. Of course there are other cost s in purchasing a home such as loan origination fees, mortgage insurance, escrow fee, title insurance and homeowner's insurance.


Buying a home will probably be a person's largest purchase, we all need a place to live. The writer of this piece makes the point that right now you might be able to purchase a home and actually have lower monthly payments than the rent payments you are presently making.