Buying property...question?

[Mike AI]

Aeon, as long as you are not looking for a short term investment and you are going to stay in the condo for at least 5 years it would be a wise move.

Interest rates are still at historic lows, and can only go up.

It would have been wiser to buy property 3-4 years ago. There is probably a housing bubble ( especially on condos in places like Miami, and other big cities) in some places, so it depends on where you are buying.

Even where the "bubble" is worst, there will not be a total collapse like stock market, it will jsut lead to flat pricing for awhile, and some of the condo towers slated to be built the next few years will not be built.

[Hell Puppy]

If you're gonna LIVE in the condo, then it's a no brainer to buy. Rent is money flushed down the toilet. Even if the condo doesn't appreciate as quickly as a house, you're still gaining equity as you pay it down.

There really are no hidden secrets other than the fact you own it, so you're responsible for the maintenance. But the advantages are enormous, anything you add to it improves value, you can deduct the interest from your taxes, etc. It's no different from a house in those regards.

Now if you're buying for an investment, it's all about price and location. And I'd lean more toward undeveloped property at this point. I agree there they may be a bubble forming on the housing market. Housing prices have been steadily going up up and up, to the point that in many regions a brand new house is not affordable to the average blue collar family. Meanwhile, low interest rates and hellacious deals from the banks have had people buying more house than they can really afford.

All this adds up to bad news if the interest rates go up. A lot of those ARMs are gonna come home to roost and there's gonna be a glut of housing on the marketing and prices will drop.