10 Years from now, someone will be saying: “That house around the corner, I could have bought it for 1/2 that just a decade ago, and I could have gotten a 5% mortgage!” Each generation says pretty much the same thing.
My husband and I are kicking ourselves (still) for not having bought an apartment in Manhattan 30 years ago, in John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s building . The one we ‘almost’ bought was for sale for $40,000.00. I can only imagine what it would be worth in today’s market.
And… we wish we’d bought a weekend get-away on Miami Beach. 15 years ago there were plenty to choose from, literally for a song and a dance. We could have had a waterview pied-a-terre for $120,000.00 !
Our three kids wish we’d bought a summer cottage on the coast of Tuscany 20 years ago. Instead, we rented a different place in Italy each summer! A waterfront cottage would have been great for family vacations… and if we’d bought ‘way back when’, it would be worth it’s weight in gold now!
You can look at property values… dissect them under a microscope…. evaluate property sales RELEVANT to yours (the one you’re buying, or the one you’re selling) … and analyze the market and mortgage rates ‘ till we’re blue in the face. We can analyze what it will cost you… and what the “real value” is. We can always do CMA (comparative market analysis) and compile relevant sales for six months back … and take a peak at history… for whatever it’s worth. I can tell where to price your property to sell it in the current market, or guide you as to what to offer on a property, based on the ‘comps’.
Of more value perhaps is telling you this: Every generation says pretty much the same thing: Almost anything you buy …. ten years from now, it will cost more, and it will be worth more. If I can give you one piece of advice: Don’t worry so much about timing the (absolute) bottom of the market! The only way anyone really knows we’ve hit the bottom of the market is once the market has turned upward. By then, we’ve missed it! Grab the low mortgage rates that are out there right now. Once we move into the spring, the experts are predicting mortgage rates will go up … Many predict they’ll go up rather fast…
History is a good future predictor. When interest rates do go up, they tend do so quickly and dramatically. Is this the time to buy? For those who can, there are some amazing deals to be had. If you’re considering buying or selling real estate in Miami, please give me a call at 305 793-1365 or send me a note here.