Thinking of buying a house in Hawaii? Should you wait? Is the market going up or down? Here are 10 reasons to buy now!
1 - Hawaii Real Estate has been the one of the safest investments in America. Even after the financial "collapse" of 2007 and 2008, home prices in Hawaii only dropped slightly. Since 2008, prices have risen steadily every year.
2 - Hawaii is running out of space. The available land in Hawaii is nearly gone, and in Metro Honolulu, is completely gone. This means less new houses, which means demand will continue to outpace supply to a huge degree. One day when the state says we are done building, what will prices do? You guess.
3 - Interest rates are very low! Buying a house now could save you thousands of dollars in monthly payments, and in the day to day, isn't the monthly payment what we really feel in our wallets? Equity is nice, but it does nothing for our monthly budget. Don't wait till you have to pay 9% on a loan. The first home loan I ever got had a 9.625% interest rate, and I was glad it wasn't over 10%. That's a long time ago, but it could happen again.
4 - Renting gets you nothing. You earn nothing, you have no equity, there is no tax write off. Mortgage interest is a great deduction on your 1040's, while rent is... rent.
5 - If you're planning to live in a house long term, you can ride out any market fluctuations. As long as you're not trying to flip a house after a year, you don't need to time the market.
6 - As of Nov 2017, stocks are at all time highs and people are talking about a market decline coming soon. It's risky to invest in stocks that could decline quickly, and they don't provide a roof over your head.
7 - Your family will feel more at home if you own your home rather than rent. I've lived in rentals and also in a home I've owned, and one thing is for sure, pride of ownership, that feeling that it's your own home - has value beyond just dollars.
8 - Ownership gives you control of your future. Recently more and more landlords are selling off their properties to pocket their equity. In fact I just sold a rental for a landlord, in this case, to the tenant. Of course the tenant wished that he could have bought it 5 years ago for half the price. Is your landlord thinking of selling? Then where will you go? Owning the house assures you that you can stay put.
9 - If the value of homes stays flat, you still earn equity. The great thing about mortgage payments is that a part of it goes to you. It's the most automatic savings plan out there. Even if the home loses some value, your monthly payments can gain you equity in the house faster than the value can drop. In 30 years, you will own the property free and clear - RENT FREE! So who cares what the house is worth, one day you will have no rent!
10 - Inflation protection. In 10 years, rents will likely be higher, just like gas prices, food, and everything else. But if you buy a home with a 30 year mortgage, your payment is locked in! 30 years from now, the mortgage payment will be the same!