If you’re considering buying a home in San Antonio, Texas, but you are concerned about or holding back because of the obstacles that you see in this current market, then this info (and video) are for YOU! I am going to break down the top reasons on WHY it may NOT be a good time for you to buy a home in San Antonio right now because of the obstacles, AND show you a few great opportunities from buying a home in San Antonio in this market as well.
Tips, Tricks & Insider Info for Buying & Selling Your Home in San Antonio
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#1 Reason Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Home in San Antonio Right Now
So, the number one reason why you shouldn’t buy a home in San Antonio in today’s market is if interest rates are the BIGGEST factor in your decision. Now, it’s no secret that interest rates have been on the rise, and are predicted to continue that increase in the coming months and even into next year. This definitely packs a punch to buyers in an already inflated market, that are wanting to purchase their first home, or possibly even sell their current home and buy a new home that better fits their needs. After all, this massive increase in interest can mean a difference in monthly payment of hundreds of dollars per month, depending on the price point of the home and the amount that you will be financing. These interest rates today may seem like a shock to homebuyers and how drastically they have increased, but in actuality-they are really just normalizing to what they were pre-pandemic (with a little extra to help manage the high inflation levels). Those historically low rates of 2.5 or 3 % were NOT going to last forever, and who knows if we will ever see those rates again (probably not). Being that it is more expensive to borrow money now than it was just earlier this year or last year, many buyers are holding off on purchasing a new home, thinking that they would rather wait for lower rates to return. BUT here a few reasons on where it comes in handy to think of the opportunity here, instead of focusing on the obstacle:
Obstacle: Higher interest rate
Opportunity: More negotiation power
There is far less competition in the market for you as a homebuyer in San Antonio. You have stronger negotiation power to get your offer accepted WITH appraisal and option contingencies, or even a contingency to sell your current home if necessary (which honestly, was mostly unheard of last year). There is more possibility of negotiating for the seller to perform repairs on the home, and even get closing cost assistance or rate buy-downs from the seller, which could mean less money out of pocket at closing or even actually help to lower your monthly payment!
Obstacle: Higher interest rate
Opportunity: You’re not overpaying
Since the market is regulating, you are less likely to overpay for your home. Everybody wanted to buy a home in San Antonio when the rates were low since it was cheaper to borrow money. But, the home prices were ridiculously high since there was so much demand for homes at that time. Now, there is still demand, but since it isn’t outrageous, we are seeing price reductions and many more opportunities to negotiate on sales price when buying a home in San Antonio. You aren’t having to offer $20k over list price just to get your offer accepted, and then pay out of pocket for the difference when the home doesn’t appraise for that amount. Those are some of the crazy things that buyers were having to do just to get offers accepted on the homes that they wanted and those things are no longer the norm.
First Time Homebuyer in San Antonio? Or a Pro at Homebuying?
Before I continue with the next obstacles and opportunities, let me just pause to say whether you are new to the home-buying process, or whether you have been through it several times-I specialize in helping buyers navigate their way through what can be a crazy and challenging process in any market, and I love being able to help my homebuyers make informed decisions and really just providing a personable and memorable experience. I would love to help you achieve your goals through home ownership as well, so just know that you can reach out at any time to ask questions or start mapping out your plan.
Obstacle: Higher interest rate
Opportunity: Less stress & an easier process
During the buying frenzy, buying a home in San Antonio usually meant that you were shopping for homes for several months, or even a year or more. Why? Because you would be waiting for just the right house to pop up, which was already rare since home inventory in San Antonio was even lower then, and then when it did pop up, you were standing in line with 30 other buyers just to view the home. After you saw it and decided that it was “ok” and that it would work for now and that you wanted to place an offer on it (which usually happened in the driveway or front yard or your realtor’s car, just to make sure the offer was submitted before the offer deadline), you would be up against 30 other offers from buyers that had seen the home earlier that morning. And then you would find out later that day or the next that the seller accepted a different (or better) offer and you were back to square one. You could go through this process 2 or 3 or even 10 or 15 times before finally getting your offer accepted. Many buyers gave up before even getting to that point. Sounds stressful, right? That type of situation is very rare in today’s market, unless you are consistently offering way below market value on homes (which I wouldn’t recommend doing in a seller’s market, anyway!)
Obstacle: Higher Interest rate
Opportunity: More home inventory
Home inventory in San Antonio has been on the decline for the past few years since so many people were moving here from other states, and they were buying up all of the inventory since homes were SO much more affordable in San Antonio than most other places in the country. But now that buying has slowed a bit due to the interest rates, you will have much more of a selection to choose from. Little by little, sellers are making moves and listing their homes and builders are finally having more inventory homes available, so that means that there is more selection for buyers than there has been in years. You can take a little more time to view all of the different options available and make a more informed decision on which option is the best for you.
What is the Cost of Waiting to Buy a Home in San Antonio?
Something else that you may want to consider is “what is the cost of waiting”. While waiting for interest rates to drop again (which is not predicted to happen in the foreseeable future-in fact they are actually predicting that they will continue increasing) home values & prices are predicted to continue appreciating, meaning that your buying power will continue decreasing over the next year or 2 years.
More Reasons Why You May NOT Want to Buy a Home Right Now in San Antonio
Now, of course interest rates are the hot topic around buying a home in San Antonio these days, and I know I’ve spent a lot of time telling you why interest rates are not the most important deciding factor, but there are a few other reasons why this may not be the right step for you.
- If you’re trying to time the market. This has proved to be nearly impossible. Even if home prices are slightly lower next year, interest rates will likely be higher. And you will have potentially wasted a whole year of building equity.
- If you don’t have money saved-while it is possible to buy a home with little to no money up front (if you use a VA or USDA loan, or if you qualify for a down payment assistance grant or something like that, most lenders will still want to see that you have money to pay your monthly mortgage and other bills of course. Plus- if you’ve ever moved before-you know how expensive it can be! And you definitely don’t want to be house-broke.
- If you already own a home at a low interest rate, and you love your home, but are considering moving for reasons that are not necessity – it may be better for you to wait until moving just makes more sense financially.
Now, I have shown you some reasons why now may NOT be the best time for you to buy a home in San Antonio, but I have also given you the reasons why it could be the BEST time for you to buy a home in San Antonio, IF you see the opportunities instead of just the obstacles. Every housing market in history has it’s obstacles and it’s opportunities, both for buyers and sellers, and this market is no different! Instead of just accepting that there are obstacles and giving up, look for the opportunities! If you are looking for more tips, tricks & insider info for buying or selling a home in San Antonio, Texas, then you definitely want to check out this blog post next, so that you can continue learning about buying a home here in San Antonio! I hope that this info has been helpful to you, thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to connecting with you soon!