I wanted to talk real quickly about buying a house and waiting to buy a house until next year. Here's my personal thought on waiting to buy a house next year. Straight forward. You are missing out on a lot of equity when you don't buy today. Now, there's definitely a bad time to buy a house and a good time to buy a house. The best time is going to be obviously when prices are low and you are in a buyer's market, not a seller's market. Well, when you're living in a city like Colorado Springs, and just from personal experience on our market, Housing has gone up about 17% compared to last year.
Equity in Colorado Springs
Every year we gain equity. When we first bought our house we bought it for $285,000 back when we thought the market was hot. Multiple offer situations and it was just the beginning of what the Colorado Springs market has exploded to now. Our home is a six bedroom house, three bath, and we bought this house back in 2017. So, now here we are in 2021 and our house is valued almost half a million dollars. I mean, I knew that it would get there eventually because our city is growing so fast. We're compared to the Denver market. But we got there a lot quicker than I expected to. My neighbor's house sold for $499k. My other neighbor for $484k. So, we have a ton of equity in our house. Had we waited, we would not have been able to afford to buy this home year later in hopes of a crash or lower prices.
Owning a house in Colorado Springs
If your ultimate goal is to buy a house and you want to stay or move to Colorado Springs, now is a great time to buy. Rates are under 3%. The rental market has gotten really crazy and so a lot of times people are paying more for rent than they are for their mortgage, taxes and insurance included. I work with nonprofits to help get your costs as low as possible with no down-payments or private mortgage insurance. I also work with lots of other lenders that give out money at closing with great interest rates, great deals even if you have bad credit. If you can find something and get into something where you're paying less than rent or just about the same as rent then it would make sense for you to buy a house.
Reasons not to buy a house in Colorado Springs
Moving in less than 5 years
No savings plan
No budgeting plan
Prefer landlord management and repairs
High debt
Unreliable income
I know a lot of realtors will say it's always a great time to buy a house. It just depends on your situation. How do you see yourself in five years? Where do you want to be in 5 years? Can you afford the house? Are your finances in order? I've been owning since my early twenties and it's always been beneficial. I've always made money when I've sold my houses. I've always gained equity. Unless there's some sort of crisis or catastrophic event or something like that, obviously that's going to affect your equity. But, generally speaking, stepping out and buying a house, finding a home within your budget (something that you can afford) is always a great idea. It's a good investment. You can buy something and just start a business with your friends or get a four plex and the four of you guys can go in, build an LLC together...there's so many different things that you can do to let home ownership benefit you in the long run.
Is Home Ownership Right For Me?
There are several factors that go into knowing for sure if you should own or not. With so many different loan programs out there, you're sure to find a loan that works for you. However, people who are good with their finances, have budget funds or as Dave Ramsey would call them, emergency funds, sinking funds, savings accounts, etc., are more likely to succeed.
Things to consider when buying a house...
Emergency Funds
Sinking Funds
A Solid Budget (download my free tool)
"House" Fund (for repairs and upgrades)
Good spending habits
Remember, we want to be good stewards of our assets, including the home we live in.
Feel free to reach out to your local real estate agent!
IRIS BURTON
BROKER ASSOCIATE
RE/MAX® INTEGRITY Colorado Springs, CO REALTOR®
irisburton@remax.net
719.231.9290