I'm beginning work on a pro / con feature that asks: Is now a good time to buy a house?
The ideas for the "pro" portion that come to my mind, and I'm no home-buying expert, are:
1) Deals exist.
2) The feds might extend the tax credit for first-time (and longtime, I just learned) homebuyers.
3) Interest rates are at historic lows.
The ideas for the "con" portion of the story that come to mind are:
1) Now's not the time to extend yourself with house-sized credit considering the shaky economy and job market.
2) Although the business sector and national economists would disagree, it might be smarter right now to pay down debt and save than it is to spend. (I understand full well that our economy is based largely on consumer spending, but I'd rather be a stable consumer who can first afford to spend).
3) Given the likelihood that the national unemployment rate will exceed 10 percent next year -- and consumer spending might take a further hit -- other unforeseen bumps might be on the way.
Again, I'm no expert. What are your thoughts?
Thanks for the help,
Gabe Semenza / Advocate public service editor
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A few additional cons are: 4) Employment/income is rarely guaranteed, 5) House values may decrease after the federal tax credits stop, 6) mortgage payments increase each year with increases in insurance rates and property taxes, 7) since Standardized Deduction on federal income taxes, it is a rare case that one can deduct the mortgage interest and taxes paid during the year, 8) owning a house can create problems if you need to rapidly move for employment reasons, and 9) owning a home is time consuming, regular maintence and repairs are required to maintain home value.
October 30, 2009 at 11:46 p.m.