3 Reasons to Buy Your First Home This Year

Everyone aspires to own their own home someday, but most of us don’t move out of our parents’ home and into our first purchased house immediately. Apartments tend to be a more common starter home, or rented houses. Renting has downsides — as the months or years go on, you could be paying more for a rental property than you would for a purchased house. But because the initial down payment to buy a home is so much more than monthly rent, many millennials and young professionals put off buying their first home until the right time.

If you’re looking for the right time, 2019 may very well be it. According to the 2018 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends, millennials actually led the way in terms of home purchases in recent years, despite the stereotype of millennials not buying homes. Here are a few reasons why it’s never been a better time to buy your first home.

More Homes On the Market

Last year, and even in the beginning of this year, there was a fear throughout much of the country of a “housing bubble,” in which the demand for housing far exceeds the supply, causing prices to shoot upwards. However, more and more homes are becoming available in 2019, so you have a better chance of finding your dream home without a long, stressful house hunt or bidding wars. As more houses become available, there’s also a chance that the market will swing in favor of buyers again. Since housing market trends can be rather fickle, it’s best to jump on this when you have a chance.

Sellers Are More Open to Lower Bids

Again, in the past couple of years, this wouldn’t have been true. In a housing bubble, buyers are lucky to get the house they want by offering the asking price. There was often a chance of entering a bidding war and having to offer something higher. Now, as we move back into a buyer’s market, sellers are more open to lower bids, especially if the alternative is that their house stays on the market for a month or longer.

Mortgage Rates Are In Decline

Mortgage interest rates can be a daunting prospect for first time home buyers. After all, why not just pay rent if you’re going to be paying mortgage for what seems to be forever? However, towards the end of 2018, mortgage interest rates began to drop. 2019 started the year with an average 30 year fixed mortgage rate as low as 4.45%. Much like the housing market, mortgage rates can change quickly, so applying for a mortgage while rates are still low is a good thing to take advantage of.

Buying a house for the first time can be an exciting process, as well as an involved one. To make sure you’re prepared to enter the house hunt and find the house of your dreams, reach out to an expert College Station realtor.