With interest rates are a ridiculously low rate, I have to wonder “Is this the time to buy real estate“?
Since interest rates are below 4.0% for both the 15 year and 30 year mortgage loans, I’ve started to unconsciously notice the houses and multi-family apartments for sale. For the multi-family units, I’m mostly looking at duplexes, although I would definitely consider a triplex building if I could find one selling in my area at a decent price (actually, I didn’t see any triplexes selling at all in my area). I might have to go out of my city to look for deals that are elsewhere, but still within a comfortable distance from where I live.
Alternatively, I’m also tempted to scale up to a larger primary home with more land. With the dip in interest rates, I could find a bigger home that would have a smaller monthly payment than the prior mortgage for the house where we currently live.
Actually, I’m considering both paths at the same time. Why not look around for a new house to scale up to, and buy investment property to boot. It’s a tempting way to go, but more than likely, I’ll choose one over the other. I think if I had more income rolling in monthly, I would take the plunge and pursue both, but since that’s not the case, I’ll probably choose the investment property if I can find a decent deal.
While not all conditions are perfect, from a low interest rate perspective, it seems to be a pretty good time to consider making such investments.
I’ll keep everybody updated on what path I pursue.
MR
I’m definitely seeing a rebound here in home sales. In the lower price points, things are selling like hotcakes. I think there are a lot of bargain hunters out there at present. Higher priced homes still aren’t selling and I think part of the reason is because sellers aren’t listing many of the properties at true market value.
Good luck. I haven’t found any real bargains yet (there are some, but it’s because the locations have major flaws to them and I think I should have the option to be choosy in this market).
Surprisingly, many of the good deals in my area have been goobled up. I took too long to look, but I’m looking now 🙂
As long as you can afford it and you consider the opportunity cost and risk of buying additional property, I think now is a great time to invest in real estate.
Yep, I agree. I’m going to take on debt to try to take this next step, but I think I’m ready now at this point in my life.
Both options you mentioned sound rather appealing. It is probably a good time to invest while rates are low and property prices aren’t too high. Just take your time with the decision to ensure you find something that suits your needs and is at a reasonable price.
I keep flirting with doing both at the same time. I would like a slightly larger house with more land. The rental property search is a given though.
I wish I would have went for a duplex but I really love single family homes. Hopefully next year I can find a cheap house to either flip or rent. The time is now!
I sooo wish I had bought a duplex 10 years ago. we debated on going this route, but the single family home won out instead. Still, it has been great living where I live, so it’s not too big of a loss of a great opportunity for me…
I think it has beeen an opportunity to buy for some time (6 months at least).
Good point and very true. I’ve been sleeping to the possibility of taking on debt to take advantages of such opportunities… but now I’m awake 🙂
You can buy a nicer place and rent out your old house. I think that’s the way to go for beginner real estate investor. You know your old house very well and know what will break next so you can budget accordingly.
Not a bad way to go too. I’ve played around with that idea too. Perhaps I’ll go back and revisit that approach.
House prices will continue to fall. The unemployment is still too high to support a rebound. Also the inventory on the books of the banks will take at least another two years to get worked through. When Bernanke signals a rate increase, that will signal the end of the downward cycles in housing prices. He is keeping the rates at 0 until the banks work through their inventory of homes.
Thanks for the info. That makes sense, especially in certain areas. It’s nice that Ben isn’t going to raise rates for a while 🙂
So true. We’re planning to buy a 3rd property next year, but we are refinancing one this year… so we’re still enjoying the low mortgage rates!
Very nice! I’m working on my first property this year. It seems like the perfect time to try my hand at it.
We got a few more years because it goes up. All I know is we’ll be buying one in the next year or two and it’ll be like picking cherries 😀
I’d like to try and buy property this year and next. This year being almost an experiment.
Given a choice, the investment property is a great way to go. I would love to purchase an investment property myself, but the timing isn’t right. Someday, though!
I’ve decided to start to look. There aren’t as many properties in my area as I initially thought though.
We decided to go the route of scaling up and using our current home as rental property. Since we are self employed, we were only offered a 4.375% interest rate and can’t find much competition, but that is still pretty low in my opinion. I’ll let you know how this all works out in September. 🙂
I think the path you choose is the best path of all. We don’t think we could get the rent out of our house that would make that worthwhile, but who knows, I could be wrong 🙂
With rates low and properties back down to more reasonable prices, it sure seems like much better time to buy! Thing is, at least where I live, it seems like homes keep hitting lower price points. I wonder if we still might see a better time.
That’s a possibility, I’ve heard that the 1st property bought is never that good of a deal for a real estate investor, so I thinking of taking the plunge as an education exercise. Of course, I’m hoping for cashflow and house appreciation, but who knows…
Now is the time to buy guys. 2012 is the year. The house market works like a roller coaster, up and down for 7-10 years each cycle. We are now at the lowest point of the roller coaster, so from here on the market should start to pick up soon. Good luck to everyone!