Timing Isn’t Everything (or is it?)
Timing isn’t everything, it’s the only thing! Whether your timing is planned or sheer luck nothing has the positive impact that good timing does.
Let me explain. The difference between making money and losing money in the stock market is in large part predicated upon when you buy. Hence, the old adage “buy low and sell high”. The general public usually lacks the inside information that stock market movers and shakers do making it hard to take advantage of timing the market. The housing market is different. The housing market is far less volatile than the stock market. Pricing moves at a slower pace but the same principals of timing apply. The fact that most buyers are leveraged an average of 10 to 1 or higher in their home mortgage loans dramatically effects the return on their home investment thus making timing just as important as it is when buying stocks.
Today is such a time when home buyers can take advantage of great timing if they have the courage to act while others are frozen in place. Interest rates and inflation are at historically low levels and the economy is starting to rebound. Home mortgage interest rates and inflation will rise as soon as the general public awakens from their slumber and starts to re-enter the housing market again in mass.
What about the risk involved in making as huge a commitment as purchasing a home? Home values have been much more consistent than stocks over the long haul. Over the last few years of declining real estate values the Kansas City market has seen very little depreciation in overall values. When you factor in the mortgage interest tax deduction, the loss of home value becomes almost negligible. Most importantly your home is not just an investment. You have to live somewhere don’t you? You have at the very least a rental payment. Why not enjoy the lifestyle you want now? It will truly never be less expensive than today to buy a new home. Do you have the courage to take action when you know the timing is right?
