Just go ahead
Ever since I was young, I’ve never been the biggest fan of animals. One main reason being my allergies to their fur. But one day, early last year, I found myself adopting an abandoned dog. It was such an impulsive decision and I hadn’t given it much thought. I had told myself that if I were to ever adopt a puppy, it would be a necessity that it be hypoallergenic for the sake of myself. However, this dog I had adopted shed so much more than I thought it would, so it left me no choice but to take medication every day. Being the abandoned dog it is, it was very wary of the grass, so I thought I had to keep my walks with the dog short. Even though the dog is scared and unsure of its surroundings, curiosity makes a walk that shouldn’t even take 30 min become an hour long. This becomes especially true when we encounter other dogs on the path.
Everywhere we look, we can find ideas or concepts that can be very confusing.
One of the most confusing things can be interest rates. In order to go along with the inflation of the economy, it is necessary to raise the rates of interest on the market as well. However, if the rate of interest is raised too high too quickly and recklessly, the economy will fall into a recession. Therefore, rates of interest go up one day and stay that way for a given amount of time which also explains why mortgage rates can be over 6%, then fall to 4%, and go back to 5% in the span of a short time. The direct impact on mortgage payments and rates is one of the many reasons why the changing in interest rates leaves a huge impact on the real estate market.
Fortunately, the real estate prices in the DMV area have not changed very much
Though the number of sales in real estate have decreased, whenever a new house with good value becomes available, there are many offers and the competition becomes fierce. However, this doesn’t mean that the real estate prices in the area have not changed at all. There are still some properties that have risen and dropped significantly in the last year. But there is one fact that is quite important: converting real estate into cash is not an easy thing to do. Once you buy a property, it isn’t easy to sell it and expect that money to become cash. Stocks, for example, is something you can buy and sell quickly and easily pretty often, but real estate takes a significantly longer time.
Going back to the metaphor of walking my dog:
there is always a goal. Sometimes my dog likes to go forward, then turns back, hesitates for a bit, and goes again. Same thing with the real estate market. Although we always want to move forward and on an upward trend, there will be times when it goes backward and plateaus. However, the overall big picture shows real estate prices on a steady incline.
If you need a house, don’t hesitate to buy it.
Though the prices look like they're not gonna decline anytime soon, interest rates have a good chance of increasing. Of course I can’t say for sure what the government will announce, but it is a reality that interest rates will rise slowly or rapidly. So even if the price of the house is steady, if the interest rate increases, so does the monthly mortgage which will eventually lead to the consumer paying more. A wise decision would be to begin the planning process to buy a house and have a more comfortable mind in the long run.