Is this a Good market to Buy or Sell?

Is it better to Rent or Buy?

Nobody has a definitive answer to this age old question in any market. The answer is almost always, "It Depends". Renting may have a higher monthly cost on average, and is frequently because renters are footing the mortgage for the owners in most cases. However this does not mean Purchasing housing is less expensive or a frollick in dandelions. Homeownership costs are typically more expensive due to the inevitable maintainence and upkeep factors. However, despite the higher cost on average than renting, Homes and Real Estate in general over 10 year spans historically appreciate in value. Markets do tend to be cyclical. Meaning costs and values can rise and fall, but over time you build equity in your home as well as appreciation as time moves forward. Real estate is commonly referred to as a "Hedge against inflation" and is also called the number 1 way to build wealth. Meaning as the cost of everything around us goes up, home values will likely rise with it. Now on the contrary If you are expecting values to sharply decrease for whatever reason you may. It may make sense to rent and buy when you feel the market is low enough. However, There is no evidence of a sharp decrease in value or prices in many markets due to a variety of factors, so it could be a long wait. This is where we all must do our research. If you plan to hang on to your home over a 10 year period and have confidence in your ability to afford the cost of ownership. In my opinion purchasing would make the most sense if you can afford the cost of ownership. Thusly the answer to the best questions in life are, "It depends".

Why are Real Estate prices so high?

This is a complex economic question, but the simplest way to answer this is INVENTORY and inflated material and replacement costs. I know we've all heard it on TV or otherwise. Less Sellers are Selling. Whether its because they dont want to buy high, can't replace what they have, dont want to pay capital gains, or because they love where they are. There are less Sellers deciding to Sell on market than ever before. Because of the Law of Supply and Demand, if demand is higher than supply then the market supports higher prices from buyers who want to purchase. Now other factors such as replacement costs due to inflation also play a large factor in appraised values as well. Through the "Cost approach" appraisal method, the price of property must be higher if it costs more to build. Materials cost more now than ever before, as of the date of this article, Lumber is down, but other necessary materials are up in price. In 2022 the Fed printed 80% of ALL US currency in existence. Which in case it wasnt obvious, printing money above the economic value of the country will obviously weaken the value of the currency causing inflationary costs in all aspects of every market. (Link) So the next logical question is will prices ever go down to "Pre-pandemic" levels? My guess is, its highly unlikely. However Time is the best indicator of all things.