To Buy or Not to Buy
We rent a two-bedroom in Park Slope for over $3,000/month. We have $120K sitting in the bank ready for a down payment and could easily make a payment of up to $4,500/month. We could afford to buy an apartment, but we are in no rush as we live comfortably now. When we do buy, we…
We rent a two-bedroom in Park Slope for over $3,000/month. We have $120K sitting in the bank ready for a down payment and could easily make a payment of up to $4,500/month. We could afford to buy an apartment, but we are in no rush as we live comfortably now. When we do buy, we are looking for a 2 bedroom w/ outdoor space. What are your thoughts about the market – should we hold off and sit tight until the market falls further, or should we jump in now? Is there a general sense it still has up to 30% to fall?
To Buy or Not to Buy, or To Be or Not to Be:
That is the question.
Hamlet had this problem: He was both depressed and phlegmatic. Ill from depression, things didn’t seem to matter. Somewhat paralyzed by being phlegmatic (is that the laid-back trait?), it didn’t seem to matter. So why not do nothing after all of that agonizing?
Well, this is a little different scenario. I agree with “Landlord,†the very first poster. From what I hear our dollar is dropping with each breath we take. Money is being printed with no back-up at all. Landlord seems to think there is a time period of 6 months to wait.
There is much good thinking in these posts. It sounds like a balancing act and it is one.
Then there is the unknown factor that well, we do not know. So we scratch our heads and guess and try to do the very best we can.
Brownstoner poster, Jebby, wrote a couple of days ago that he just bought a house, thinking that his money was safer in property than it was in the bank. That is the wisdom I hear from people who are thinking this over. By the time we wait to buy, our money could be worth significantly less, yet we seem to want to wait a little longer. Jebby didn’t wait, he took action. That was his thinking.
Here is another financial web site: moneyandmarkets.com
There are newsletter archives.
I just can’t stand illogical thinking. Sorry, Miss Muffet. I hope you find a nice place.
I also could not agree more with lechacal, who clearly has made the same bets as I. Man, I really fell off the wagon today. Back to work – gotta make the donuts to buy my house when the price is right!
Mopar – sorry, you’re just wrong. My thinking is not magical – with each passing day, with each new price cut, even in the prime areas, more evidence mounts. I don’t quite get the bitterness I perceive in your posts, but I could not be more confident that my bets are good ones. And by the way, I don’t need a fancy house, but yes, I am counting on further price cuts to come and that is why I have not bought yet.
Hear is my advice – listen to lechacal and Heather – they are right on the money.
Oh, sorry, $1.5.
Exactly, Miss Muffet!!! There are some people living in Park Slope who are not rich. They bought in 1971. Or 1997.
You said “nice” townhouses — the ones that cost $2 to $3 million. They are not falling 50 percent to $1 million. I’m guessing the house for 1.3 million wasn’t nice enough. If it was you would have bought it or it would have been $2 or $3 million to start with.
I know you have school-age children and that is why you are tied to the area. You are going to have to compromise on something — the house, the location, or the schools.
At least stop the magical thinking “because this is what I can afford, prices MUST come down. It’s only logical.”
You are competing with millionaires in Park Slope, not average Americans.
And in any event, at 1.5, that house is just sitting…
Yes, one of the brokers told me. I agree that the layout was not ideal, but in years past, that did not prevent houses like this from selling for much more…