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Should You Buy A Home In Times Of Inflation?

April 21, 2023

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    Buying a house can be hassle-free if you're prepared right. To know how you can buy your dream home during inflation, check out this article on whether you should buy a home in inflation or wait

    Owning a home and living in their own house is a dream for many. A safe place where you belong is truly enchanting. Along with this mental satisfaction, your house saves you from several things on the financial side, rent being one of them. But buying a home during inflation can get tricky.

    However not everyone can afford buying a house of their own. With several other easily available and affordable living apartment options, many don’t even try to do so. 

    Depending on personal preferences, you may prefer a personal car rather than a house or the situation may be the other way round! 

    So, are you looking for a house? If yes, then, you must be aware of all the hassles. Not just where and which house or apartment to buy but also the question of affordability haunts many of us. 

    Plus, the current scenario of unbearable inflation is proving to be of no help, especially to the first-time house buyers. If you think a little deeper, you might wonder that buying a house as soon as possible might be a better option. 

    Why? Because of inflation, no one can exactly predict when it will actually ease down. What if the prices keep going up? Wouldn’t you be better off buying a house now and getting down with the settlement? 

    Let’s first see if the housing market is actually impacted by inflation at all. 

    Housing and Inflation

    Rising inflation actually may or may not raise housing prices. Location and other factors like the surrounding infrastructure can too play a major role in housing prices. 

    You must have definitely come across instances where housing prices didn't really not rise in a particular location but skyrocketed in the other. In many cases, this might happen that the housing prices have followed inflation and hence, have risen. 

    What makes it difficult for buyers is that sometimes, a rise in construction costs may make it difficult for you to find a house since construction goes down. Or there might be a situation where simply buying becomes difficult because interest rates on loans and mortgages become difficult to sustain. 

    Inflation is a major factor and therefore, we can’t worry alone about the sale prices of houses. 

    If you are buying through a dealer, their commission too rises with inflation and hence, as a buyer, it becomes difficult to buy a house. 

    Should You Buy the House ASAP Before Inflation Rises Further?

    If you buy a house today, you will save on a good amount of money, given that the inflation continues to rise. 

    Plus, if you are currently renting a house, the rents will also rise soon and therefore, getting your own house must be your priority. 

    But this urgency can have consequences too. One of them being the possibility of inflation to ease down in the next few months. 

    You might then regret buying a house at a higher price. Plus, there might be competitive buying going on in the housing market. What if the bids of other customers end up making you pay too much? 

    Let’s look at a few tips to buy a house to end your dilemma!

    Tips For a Successful House Purchase During Inflation

    1. Sit Down and Analyse the Market First

    As you must have seen above, there are several factors at work that might end up confusing you. Don’t get overwhelmed, just carefully analyse the market situations. 

    By market, we mean the housing business in the locality or communities where you are actually planning to settle. Contact the locals residing there and get some clarity on the average selling price of houses. 

    This will do two jobs for you- one, you will know if you can actually afford to move there and two, if you can negotiate prices based on the recent similar purchase. If you want, you can contact an experienced property dealer for this. 

    2. Get Sorted With Your Prime Financial Resources For This Purchase

    Buying a house is a very big investment and to eliminate the risk of getting yourself caught up in too much debt, you must make sure that you have enough money. If you already have an investment plan specifically for this purchase, then good. 

    But if you consider taking a loan instead, then you have some things to check upon. The first being your credit health. 

    A good credit score can raise the possibilities for you to get a good amount of house loan. So, in case you have some pending dues that can harm that, get rid of them. 

    How much loan to take will depend on the location of your house. Based on a proxy estimate, take a loan that doesn’t have a very high interest rate. 

    Remember that once you buy your house, there will be some initial costs of renovation or new furniture, appliances, etc. so while maintaining your budget, don’t spend everything on just the house

    3. Make Sure to Expand the Search

    If you have a specific locality in mind and a good budget for that, congrats. But if your initial choice doesn’t fit well with your budget, don’t hesitate to expand your search

    If you can, then look for a place that falls within your budget and you won’t  have to pay loan installments for a very long time. Also, if you are considering buying an apartment, make sure you check the property carefully. 

    Even though it's tough to check what material was used in construction, things like electrical fittings and plumber fittings, etc., are under your control. You can also consult some of the building residents too before finalizing the deal. 

    Buying a house is a big financial step and when there is inflation involved, you know that there is a need to be extra careful. The first instinct is always to buy ASAP. It will help you in getting a good price and also make sure you build equity as the inflation rises further. 

    Check your locality and available options thoroughly. Manage your finances and then look for your house within a budget- this will help you in eliminating overspending. 

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