Is Now the Time?

If home values are falling, can this really be a great time to buy or sell? After all, The New York Times recently concluded that "people who chose renting over buying in the last two years made the right move. What's more, tightening mortgage requirements are making it tougher for borrowers to get the financing they want, so there's a smaller pool of buyers to buy sellers' homes.

In an article published today, Realty Times stated that not everyone should own real estate... if they did, reasoned the publication, then who would rent investment properties?

People who shouldn't buy, it adds, include:

• individuals who will be short-term residents in a given community
  
• those with small, declining, or uncertain incomes and
  
• individuals who live in areas where both jobs and people are leaving
  

The article also quotes the NAR (National Association of Realtors), who offers good reasons why someone should buy or sell:

• interest rates are near historic lows
  
• overall, prices are stabilizing (with some communities even seeing price increases)
  
• there's a positive economic outlook, and
  
• during the past decade, real estate has been a great investment