Everyone is telling you to buy a house now, before prices start going up - do you jump now, or wait to see what's down the road?   This is a tough one and a typical question for most potential buyers, especially for first time home buyers in light of the upcoming end of the $8000 tax credit program.  (To qualify for the tax credit you must not have owned a home for 3 years and you MUST close BEFORE November 30, 2009.) 

Move up buyers, those who have likely sold a home in the under $200,000 price range to a first time home buyer capitalizing on the tax credit, are in the same quandary - should I buy now, or rent for a while until the market stabilizes?  Again, a tough question, but one you need to explore in light of today's great buys.

Since we would never know when the market has bottomed until AFTER it has, it's always difficult to judge when you should go forward with such a huge financial decision.  You can compare it to the stock market, if we all knew the right time to "buy low" and "sell high" - we'd all be on the Forbes list!

Right now we have the perfect storm in real estate:  low prices, low interest rates, and good inventory in most price brackets.  Why not buy now?  You may wonder if prices will go lower - are you willing to gamble on that happening?   In many areas of the Twin Cities prices are now stabilized, especially in those communities where there are low rates of foreclosures such as White Bear Lake, Grant, Mahtomedi, Vadnais Heights, Lino Lakes, North Oaks, Shoreview, Lake Elmo, West Lakeland and Stillwater.  Some communities in the NE Metro are still recovering from high foreclosure rates and may, or may not, continue to do so.  We've even seen home prices in some areas start to rise again! 

On the other hand, you could rent forever, not having to worry about maintenance, upkeep, or even property taxes.  But, are you willing to forego the benefits of home ownership:  tax benefits, likelihood of your equity growing in the future, likelihood of realizing a gain down the road when you go to sell, ability to do what you want with your property, actually owning it yourself?  Hmmm....

Up to you, but in my estimation you should call your Reatlor TODAY to at least explore the possibility and the benefits which should outweigh the negatives by a long shot!    Call today:  651-407-7864!