EXPERT ’ S LANE n June 2022 , I celebrated 22 years as a real estate agent , 12 years as a real estate broker , and 7 years as a financial professional . That means I have been through a lot of changes in the market . I was fortunate to survive the housing crash of 2008 and learned a lot during that time . I ventured into financial services because I saw the need for homebuyers to be educated before and after real estate purchases to help avoid a repeat of 2008 .

As a real estate broker , I am often asked about the state of the market and if now is the right time to become a homeowner . Let me list some things I think should be considered . I hope this will help with your decision-making .

1 . Are you paying rent ? If you are paying rent , please remember that you are paying someone else ’ s mortgage . You are investing in someone else ’ s dream . Why not pay your own mortgage ? Why not fund your own dream ?

2 . How much are you paying for rent ? Rent has been on the rise for the last few years , and I have never seen or heard of a decrease in rent . This is a cost that increases every year or two . Why not get a fixed mortgage for the term of the loan ? Not only will you be able to predict your payment each year , unlike a rent payment , but you are also investing in yourself and not someone else .

3 . Interest rates are on the rise . The higher the rate , the higher your payment will be . For example , the mortgage payment for a purchase price of 400,000 at 5.6 % will be much higher than the same property at 2.5 %. Does it make sense to wait for the price of houses to go lower or to lock in on a lower interest rate ?

14 IBA Success Magazine ⁿ VOL 8 , Issue 1