Absotively, posolutely!
First things first. It’s pretty much ALWAYS a good time to real-estate. But know this all you would-be Mort Zuckerman's out there. There are two BEST times to buy real estate:
1. When REAL ESTATE is on sale:
This means that prices are weak, or you can buy the property at a real discount. This does not mean when a property is listed at an inflated price then discounted later. It does mean when a property is listed at fair market value, you are able to negotiate for maybe a fairer market value. Fairer to you. Or maybe the property needs some work. Handyman's special as they say. Then you can buy it and ‘tweak’ it. You know, renovate it. Change its use. Or add value some other way.
2. When MONEY is on sale:
Historically, interest rates have hovered around 8%. They have been much lower for the past few years … but, remember when they hit 15%? When interest rates drop below 6% money is ON SALE! This means that you can afford a much larger mortgage payment. This means rents can even be higher than your mortgage payment.
Usually, property prices and interest rates work in opposite directions. Money is cheap, real estate prices go sky high. Money is expensive, real estate costs drop. Right about now, maybe for the first time in living memory, BOTH real estate and money are both ON SALE! Yowza! Yowza! Yowza! The big double whammy. Take advantage. Take advantage now! Do your
research. Do your due diligence. But, take advantage. And don't forget, tell 'em Mr. Dynamite sent ya!
research. Do your due diligence. But, take advantage. And don't forget, tell 'em Mr. Dynamite sent ya!
2 comments:
You're right, of course. But there are mitigating factors in buying real estate:
1) Always take neighborhood circumstances into account. Are the demographics shifting up, or down? Are neighbors investing? What about circumstances in adjacent neighborhoods? Is the neighborhood about to become flooded with product (i.e., a development going up)? If not, why not? If so, is it reflected in the price (i.e., usually - but not always - DOWN)?
2) How fiscally sound is the community? You can make money despite a corrupt government, but Hoboken's situation is off the scale. And then, there's the fact that the entire state is likely to follow suit, and collapse under the weight of over $100 billion in debt (including unfunded pensions). Jersey may simply stiff the unions, but there's no sign of it yet.
If you want to buy in Jersey: WAIT. Better days are still to come. In other parts of the country, in other situations, the time may be now or may be sooner than Jersey's time. It's your money, do your homework!
hey snitch!
thanks for stopping by. there's a great article in the NYT about hoboken real estate.
"HOBOKEN was often held up as the prime example of the booming real estate market, and now it appears that the city is showing that it can hold its own in a down market, too."
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