The answer to that question might depend on your perspective. Since a home purchase is hardly an “impulse buy”, requiring a large chunk of cash (and often a loan to get that cash), one might argue that ANY real estate purchase in an investment. So your perspective might be more dependant upon your intended use of your purchase, or at least the PRIMARY use.
Are you planning to live in the home for 2 to 5 years, or more? If so, then we can probably assume that your primary purpose for the purchase is as a home, even though you do expect to profit from it. Conversely, if you plan on living there a very short period of time, or not at all, we would call it an investment.
Why are we making a fuss over this one question? Because it makes a fundamental difference in what you expect from your purchase. And that makes a big difference in what should be your selection process. It might even make a difference in whether the market is considered to be in a favorable condition or not.
OK…so is it a good time for investing? According to market watch indicators and a recent survey by GfK Custom Research North America, it is. And respondents feel that the next two years will continue to be favorable. While 8.6% of typical home owners plan to purchase within the next 12 months, 1/3 of the investors said they also plan to buy within that time frame. Add 9.1% of homeowners and 28% investors for the 12-24 month period and we have a large majority on potential buyers that think now is a good time the purchase.
There were some interesting shifts in attitude expressed in that survey also. Over 50% of investors plan to hold their property five or more years, only 11% plan on selling within one year. Nearly 60% have found repairs and maintenance to NOT be a problem, and 42% plan on doing the work themselves. More than 65% said they don’t anticipate repair costs to exceed 20% of their purchase price.
Is this for you? Questions about YOUR best action? Contact us today for your free, no obligation consultation.
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