New England house prices? Is there ever really a good time to buy?

john k: New England house prices? Is there ever really a good time to buy?
I live in New Hampshire and I have been looking into buying a house. It seems to me that when house prices are low, interest rates are high, and when interest rates are low, house prices are high. Is there really a better time to buy a house compared to other times? Someone I know said we should wait because houses are not appreciating very well in the area right now, but, is this true? And is it better to continue renting? The prices in the area are outrageous at best, and I can’t believe that there is ever going to be a time when they are going to be lower. It seems to me that if appreciation continues at any rate, that ordinary people wont be able to afford a house at all. $ 200,000 plus for a small place seems crazy. Any input on this?

Answers and Views:

Answer by hardcorehatebreedchick
i live in MA and have seen the same thing in this area too 180,000 for a two bed room house its crazy i hear the way to do it is build yourself i wish you the best of luck

Answer by Jim K
Yes, prices are crazy. Just move out here to California. But, even if it’s not your dream house, the sooner to buy and start building equity and gaining tax deductions, the better.

Answer by jim
Don’t rent…That’s crazy. At least if you pay $ 200,000, you can resell it and probably make some money. You’ll never make money renting. The best time to buy is as soon as you can possibly afford it. You probably said the same thing about housing costs 5 years ago. If you had bought then, you’d be alot better off now. Forget about trying to “time” the market. And don’t forget that your federal taxes will go way down because you can deduct mortgage interest & property taxes. If you can’t afford a house, buy a townhouse or a condo. That’s how I got going. Do it now !

Answer by cassandra
I live in the mid-atlantic. In 1988, we bought a townhouse for 92,500. The neighbors had bought theirs the year before for 130K. The prices stayed stagnant, even as other neighborhoods rose, because our townhouses were older. However, as all the land along our highway exit got built out, the value of our townhouses was seen – close to the highway, but surrounded by woods, roomy inside, bigger yards, lots of open space. In 2001, we bought a neighbor’s townhouse for 116K and started renting out ours for 850/mo. In 2003, we sold the rental for 175K. In 2005, we sold the house bought for 116 for 325K. People tried to keep those prices going up, and some people bought at 350 – 370. (Lots of those homes were wonderfully remodeled, with the granite and hardwoods and upgraded baths people seek here.) Now, nothing is selling at all. Makes it hard to know what the value of those houses is, then, but around 300K is probably right.

Bottom line – as long as the neighborhood isn’t going to hell, isn’t majority rental property, isn’t near some terrible future development or landfill, then over time the values will go up. There will be temporary stagnations or even drops in value, but the trend is relentlessly upward. You want to get in as soon as you can – as long as you don’t buy at the top of the market. How to judge that? It’s a guess, but you can make it an educated guess. Best options, if you have skills or money to spare, would be to get a fixer upper. If you can get the worst house in a good neighborhood, you can increase its value even while the market is stagnant. As soon as you can, get a rental property and start reaping those tax rewards.

it’s not for nothing that the person you pay the rent check to is called the landLORD.