Best Time to Buy - When Rates Are High, When Market Crashes, 20 Years Ago

If you can't see that a market has crashed, or can't stomach rates that have doubled since last year, and missed the boat 20 years ago, then you're not ready to buy, and may never buy.

But fortune favors the brave, because those who bought back in the 90s when rates were about 8.5%, were rewarded very handsomely whether they sold at the 2007 height, or kept the property, refinanced in 2005, then again in 2021, or ended up selling in 2021-2022 and used those doubled profits to buy a house of their dreams with a huge down payment in 2024. So while it's difficult to time the market exactly, you can indeed "play" the real estate market and win.

Buying Now Means Holding for 5 Years

Despite interest rates near 8%, prices have not come down much. If you're going to buy now, expect to hold for at least 5 years.

As they say in real estate, "the best time to buy real estate was 5 years ago."

How to Win the House in a Seller's Market

I normally HATE games in real estate. It just makes everything so much more complicated in an already complicated process. But sometimes, we do have to play, especially in a very competitive market. Particularly for single family homes right now. What a crazy past 18 mos, who knew real estate would be over 25% above 2019 prices on average? Pandemic pricing. 

Right now the ONLY way to win the housing bidding wars is to:

1. Pay more than any other bidder

2. Have the best terms (short escrow, all cash if possible)

3. Negotiate once you're in escrow (Hate this one, but it does work)

4. Get it before it hits the market (I personally love these, and lots of my buyer clients have had no competition because of this. The key is to be ready to bid ON THE SPOT if you like it).