Lately, many folks I speak with, work with, and encounter express reticence and skepticism about the current state of economic affairs, and how that is influencing their position regarding Real Estate transactions.
These are scary times, indeed. Uncertainty seems the word of the day. The public health, the stock market fluctuations, unemployment figures, are all causing unrest and upheaval in the industry. Nonetheless, families still come into being, divorces happen, people still make the leap of faith and exit abusive relationships, people do still die of other natural causes, and opportunities do present themselves. At the end of the day, we all still need someplace to lay our head. In short, life still does go on.
We are currently presented with a combination of factors that make buying and selling, NOW, a great opportunity. Interest rates literally cannot get lower. Financial institutions are Very eager and keen to fulfill transactions. Fuel is practically free. Inflation is at near zero (thank God!!, but more on That in another blog!). And, as said earlier, we still need a place to lay our heads.
To folks that say, “Well… I’m just unsure. I think I want to wait this out, see how things evolve.”, I reply: I am convinced that the current excellent buying and selling environment will not last. Prognosticating, I see, at Best, the continuation of a strong market. A not-good scenario involves the introduction of inflation, increasing fuel costs, a continued economic shutdown, and freezing of assets. A “Worst-Case” scenario involves complete socialization of our culture, nationalizing our industries, freezing of bank accounts, and civil unrest. And we Still need a place to lay our head!!
I predict a volatile and changing American landscape. Even if the “Worst-Case” scenario, above, were to come to pass, you’d still be Harry and/or Harriet Homeowner. However, if Anything Other than continuation of our current unprecedented state of economy were to come to pass, it will become horribly difficult to Become a homeowner! So, here we’ve got the confluence of several factors that make Now a golden opportunity. At very best, those factors will not remain in place another six months. The only sure thing is Change. And change from where we are now (be it to one of continued hardship to actual full-on Socialism) makes the prospect of buying and selling, except in the most rare of circumstances, a very long shot.
In my opinion, the only sort of buying I’d be more cautious about Now, is buying with the eye to flip or resell in six months or a year. Because, we now live, as the Chinese Curse says, “…In Interesting Times”. The Future is less sure than ever, and the present far eclipses what may come next, in terms of favorable influences.
So Let’s Go Find Your Next Home!!
