When is the best time to buy?

Borrowers right now are showing some hesitancy, the talk of interest rate rises and property price drops are giving would be buyers some concern and many are talking of waiting.

But how do you know when is the right time to buy?

Put simply, you need a crystal ball to know exactly when is the right time – but there are some decisions you can make along the way, for example:

Do you think the prices will drop dramatically? What we are seeing is there are still a lot of buyers in the market and not a lot of homes to buy, this has the potential to keep prices stable for a while, and we haven’t opened for immigration yet…

If prices did drop 5% would this make a big difference to you? Of course, money in your pocket is better than not but if the property you’re looking at is $800,000 (for example) and it drops $40,000 would that make a huge difference to you? There’s lots of mixed reports of prices dropping in the double digits and this absolutely would make a big difference – but these predictions are coming from the same economists that predicted double digit drops in 2020 because of Covid, and look how well that tweet aged…this is more evidence of the “crystal ball” nature of the market right now.

Do you plan to keep long term or sell quickly? If your needs are more long term then outside of dramatic events like the mining boom/busts there’s a reasonable expectation that you won’t lose money on property if you’re in it for the long term. Of course, nothing is guaranteed. If you’re speculating on a boom then the timing is a lot more critical.

Do you need a place to live? Pretty simple, living in mum and dads house gets old quickly. If you’ve outgrown your current place then this elevates in priority.

Can you afford it? Bottom line – speculation aside – can you afford the property now and if there are some interest rate rises? For a lot of buyers the current repayments are cheaper than rent would be, if you could find a decent rental in the current market.

So you have a choice – polish up the crystal ball or think through your purchase more rationally and with a longer term view and hopefully the answer for you will…crystalise (sorry!)