Buy Now!

Based on being a "natural contrarian", Brett Arends is giving the buy sign for housing.  He's not suggesting that homes have bottomed in every market, but does believe it's a good time to look in many, especially since mortgage rates remain extremely low.

Needless to say each purchase / deal has to be evaluated on its own merits, but I do agree with many of the points that Arends makes.  Even if homes haven't quite bottomed in your market, most likely they have already tanked from boom highs.  Furthermore, the glut of inventory is your friend as a buyer.  Even if homes in your market stand to fall another 10%, what value does this create for you if interest rates move a point higher and tightening supplies force you to submit a strong offer to compete against other competition?

In our own experience in the Phoenix, AZ housing market, it has been tougher to find our opportunities this year due to the huge increase in investor activity.  Even though values have trended lower in some segments of the market, the increased competition has led to higher purchase prices, a decrease in negotiation leverage, and smaller operating margins.

As always, run the scenarios before you make a blanket assertion on whether or not it's the time to buy, since value is not always what it appears to be!