So what’s happening now? Is this a good time to buy? Are prices falling or has the market evened out?
One of the many things I like about being an agent at Prudential Grand Valley Realty is that we have offices in both K-W and Cambridge. I’m currently selling a home in Galt. I’m also helping some newcomers to Waterloo Region find their new home. They’re looking at homes along Townline Road in Cambridge as well as neighborhoods like Doon in Kitchener and Beechwood in Waterloo. Being at Prudential gives me the flexibility and resources to help more people.
That said…
I’m not sure why the Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge housing market went nuts in the first five months of this year. Prices rose in Waterloo Region an average of 10%. That’s not healthy. That’s not normal. It was a sellers market, for sure.
Was it the impending doom of the HST that drove so many sellers to list their home? Were they profit-taking with the rising prices? Was it the low interest rates that interested new buyers? Was it Waterloo Region’s strong economy? I don’t know, probably a combination of these things and others.
I do know that the market corrected itself a little bit over the summer. Houses sat longer on the market, prices edged downward.
So what’s happening now? Is this a good time to buy? Are prices falling or has the market evened out?
I get asked these questions all the time.
I always say this, “Now is always the best time to buy”.
I’m not saying that because I’m a Realtor.
I’m saying it because I believe it to be true. Let me explain.
If you already own a house, then it doesn’t matter if prices are rising or falling because assuming both houses are in the same region they are both riding the same wave. Makes sense, right? If you’re selling high, you’re going to be buying high. Unless you’re going to sell high, rent and wait to buy low. The market is the market.
But let’s say you’re a first-time buyer. You want to wait until prices have bottomed out before buying, don’t you? Unfortunately once you realize prices have stopped going down they’re already going up. You best be watching the market very, very carefully and be ready to strike with absolute clarity.
But, waiting to buy a property for as low a price as possible is only small part of succeeding in homeownership. Most of us want to have our mortgage paid off before we retire. That’s the goal. That means we really should get into the market as soon as we can. That way we start building up equity, and stop paying rent.
Interest rates came down again last week. There are currently some excellent mortgage rates available. There are always opportunities, sometimes more that others. There are some houses on the market in Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge with motivated sellers who listed in late May, exactly the wrong time as it turns out.
Waiting till spring is a great “plan B”.
