If reading tarot cards and polishing a crystal ball worked and was able to show me the future, I’d be a very wealthy man. It seems pretty clear to me that without a time machine or a portal to the future, I will never be able to properly answer the question, “Is now a good time to buy?” All I can do is look at what history has shown me, rely on my professional experience, look at the current data trends, and do my best to answer the question. Which is almost always yes!
Consider this, for the last 10 years there has been an average of 5,500 sales per year of single-family homes (excluding condos) – all on the Island of Montreal. There were 6,000 single-family home sales in 2020. I have yet to hear a buyer ask a broker, “Is now a good time to buy?” And the broker responds with “No, you should wait 14 more months.” The answer is always going to be yes.
I have said this time and time again, the best time to have bought a property was 5 years ago. In 5 years from now, the best time to have bought a property was today. In that time, you will have created equity in your home and you will have paid down more of your debts. You will also benefit from the properties market value increasing, ust that alone is a great reason to buy now. Your future self will thank you.
Back to the matter at hand, should you buy now? Great question. The best way to fully answer the question is to break it up into its parts.
Should you buy now?
Now means today. Now means, the information you have at this point in time. Should you buy now? “No time like the present”, always comes to mind as a response. Seems cliché, and it is, yet it’s also true. So, should you be considering now the right time to buy a property in this current market? The short answer, with no justification or evidence is yes, you should buy now. Inventory is low (less than 1,200 single-family homes for sale on the entire Island of Montreal). Home prices are up 15% from 2019 to 2020 and so far, up another 9% from the end of 2020 to the start of 2021. Finally, there are bidding wars on every property you visit because there is 1 buyer for every 1.33 homes. Whereas in 2015 there was 1 buyer for almost every 2 homes. You have all the information you need today, to make an informed decision about the purchase you plan on doing…today.
If you want to wait 6 months, then in 6 months make the decision with the information you have then. If the information you have does not meet your needs, or is incomplete, then it would be wise to gather more information to be confident that now, is a good time.
Looking at the data, this trend has been doing this for the last 10 years. And every year, buyers are buying.
Should you buy now?
What can you control when thinking about if now is the right time to buy? Job security comes to mind, money in savings or investments, future plans – personal and professional. Planning on having kids? Are the kids planning on moving out? Big expense coming up soon? Maybe a wedding, a new car, or hiring a long-term care giver. Home ownership sometimes doesn’t meet everyone’s lifestyle. Perhaps you like to travel for long periods of time, maybe you like to change jobs frequently, or move often. You can also be approaching a certain milestone in your life and in your career where you need to consider using your investments as a source of income.
These are the questions you should be asking yourself. When is the right time for you? Not, is it the right time to buy in this market? These are the things you can control. These are the reasons why you should or shouldn’t buy a property. The point is to decide on whether you should or shouldn’t buy based on what is going on in your life, with the things you can control.
The market will continue to act as volatile with or without your evolvement. Homes will be listed and sold every day, prices will go up and down, and banks will continue to give out mortgages. The decision on whether you should be participating should solely lie with you and where you are in your life.
Richard Sholzberg