Curtis

Where is the bottom?
I just made an offer on a home in Sebastopol. Here is my reasoning: I sold my house in the SF peninsula about 3 years ago, close to the peak of the market. I started looking one year later. After two years of slowly looking I am starting to see lots of activity in Sonoma in the REO and forclosure market with multiple offers on houses in the 300-400K range. I found the perfect house for us in the Sebastopol's best neighborhood. It would have been 900-950 three years ago. It was listed at 799 and I am offering 700. Where is the bottom? I don't know. I do know that those that say they can always sell at the top and buy at the bottom are liars. Your goal should be to buy close to the bottom and sell close to the top. I know I could wait a year and save 25K, but this house might not be available and 25K works out to 2K per year for the 10 years I plan to live here and if interest rates rise, I will have missed out on this house and not saved a penny! I think the time to buy is between now and 1-2 years from now, just make sure you check the comps and have the house inspected by someone who is a prefectionist. - Mon Aug 4 2008, 21:47