Buyers: Don’t Fixate on the Price—Fixate on the Monthly Payment

Buyers: You’re not buying a home. You’re buying a monthly payment.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

For those thinking about purchasing a property in the near future, let’s take a moment to look at what’s happening in our local real estate market.

Right now, inventory is growing, which is good for buyers, because having more choices means two things:

1. You’ll have 20% to 30% more properties to choose from than you did just six months to a year ago. 
2. The increase in available home options equals increased competition between sellers, which means the overall demand for properties falls.

As a buyer, you’ll also need to be aware of the fact that interest rates are at a 15-month low, meaning that you’re sitting pretty at the moment. If you speak with a lender and you feel comfortable with the monthly payment, my recommendation is to pull the trigger. Make it happen; based on prices and interest rates, there’s no better time to get into the marketplace than right now.

If the monthly payment doesn’t make sense, then buying that home doesn’t make sense.

But the main point of my post today is to reframe the discussion around homebuying: You’re not actually buying a home, but rather a monthly payment. Very early in my career, one of my mentors told me that the price of a home is a one-time thing, but your monthly payment is an every-month thing. Many buyers become fixated on the price of a home, but what if you could get the same property with a better loan and save money each month you make a house payment?

Even though buying a home right now presents a great opportunity, you still need to speak with a lender first so that you understand what type of loan you’ll be getting, how much you’ll need to put down on a home, what your closing costs will be, and most importantly, what your total monthly payment will be. Knowing these things ahead of time will allow you assess how comfortable you are proceeding with that transaction. As a buyer, don’t become fixated on price. Price is a guideline for us to show you homes that fall in the range of your ideal monthly payment. At the end of the day, if the monthly payment doesn’t make sense, then buying that home doesn’t make sense.

If you’re thinking about buying a property and would like us to help you find the best one money can buy, feel free to give me a call or send an email. I love to educate people on how to find the exact kind of home they’re looking for.