Buying a house has never been cheap. Since 2011, the average price of a house in the U.S. has more than doubled — rising from $176,000 in 2011 to $358,000 in 2022. Yikes.
While recent months have seen home prices dipping for the first time in over a decade, it still might not be the best time to get a great deal on your dream home. Or any home, for that matter, as inflation, growing student loan debt and high interest rates have made the dream of homeownership more challenging for each generation.
I want to add one thing, that a Housing Counselor is a great resource for first-time homebuyers. They can work with people at all stages of home buying, from the steps needed to get your credit score up, how much (and how) to save for down payment, different types of loans, support through the purchase process, and post purchase assistance. HUD certified Housing Counselors often offer free or lower cost assistance, depending on the agency. I utilized one! In addition, a homebuying seminar will offer some of this information in a more generalized group presentation. VERY very useful!
I have to add another consideration, especially if buying outside of a subdivided community and purchasing in rural areas, commercial areas, or large tracts of property. Get a land survey. Everyone hates to lay out the cost and most of the time there are no issues. But when there are problems, like lack of legal ingress and egrees to your property, a building nextdoor over the property line, or your future home being in the wrong place, flood zones requiring additional flood insurance…those things will be disclosed on a current survey by a licensed surveyor. If you are financing and obtaining title insurance, those entities will likely require a survey. However, many will just accept a previous survey done by a previous owner, saving you the cost. The problem with doing that, is you, as a new buyer, will be excluded from protection of title insurance. Many title insurance companies will not tell you that. So at the least, ask an attorney or the title company. If you pay cash for real estate, the decision will be yours. Things don’t go wrong often, but when they do they go wrong big!!!
Absolutely right, @kellyfromkeene. My first home purchase was a HUD home back in 1990. I remember my family and friends frowned upon my going that route because they said all HUD homes would be trashed. It was a townhome purchase (non-trashed and in a neighborhood I never would have been able to afford normally). A guy I worked with at the time and who was already buying homes and apartments as rental income in the Baltimore area is the one who talked me into it. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because that first purchase allowed me to pivot later for my next home. The HUD counselor was very helpful walking me through all the steps, especially considering I was a contract worker and never thought someone like me would even be considered.
