Anyone who has been around long enough knows the answer to this old trick question. The answer is of course…

It’s always the right time to buy property!

Consider the following scenario’s.

Scenario 1: The market is booming!

Negative approach

• “I might pay too much and then the market will fall right when I’ve bought at the top!” True, the market could tank and you could lose 10 – 20% in a year. But then when do you buy? Can you pick the bottom of the market too? Since property generally moves in 7 – 10 year cycles, you have a long wait ahead. Add up all the years of dead rent money (if you’re buying to occupy your first home), or the lost rental income (if you’re buying as an investment). 8 years of renting, moving, inspections etc… just so you don’t lose a few grand and get to say you weren’t suckered into buying at the top. Go ahead, add up your dead rent money plus a few hours a day – at your rate per hour – for all the frustration you feel over 8 years of missing out and be honest about what that number is. It’s a fair chance that’s it’s significantly more than the loss you might have avoided. 

Positive approach

• Who is old enough to remember way back in the 1980’s when you could buy an average house well under $80,000 (in Australia). That was at the ‘top of the market’ too! Yet here we are today, and the average home is around 8 – 10 times that price (again, depending on where you live). If you are always fearful and trying to ‘time-the-market’, you might have to get used to sitting by and watching others get rich. Just buy and hold. It’s worked for so many of the wealthiest people that it’s beyond debate. We have clients who have held the same properties through real estate busts and 16% bank interest rates. They not only survived, but generally thrived because when the market bounces back, it does so with a vengeance!

Final thoughts

Conclusion