Ah, winter. The time of year when a young man's fancy turns to . . . real estate! This is my favorite time of year to buy. There is kind of a lull in the market which means that there are some houses sitting on the market that have been there for a couple of months. Sellers get desperate. I'm getting the itch to pick up another rental property and have looked at a few places recently.
The market here in Winnipeg has cooled off - there is still demand for houses but the supply has increased dramatically in the past few months. Here in Winnipeg we have a very diversified economy so we are relatively safe from the radical swings in prices that other one source economies (Alberta - oil, Ontario - manufacturing) get but house asking prices have started to stabilize and in some cases go down. I've seen some houses drop their asking price by 20 or 30K in the last month. I'm happy because this means properties will be easier to find and buy, sad because the equity in my properties that I use to buy them will decrease as well. Soon I will have to find private investors to work with me. I also have someone who wants to formally partner with me (create a small company) so I am exploring that option as well.
The question is: buy now or wait? I talked to the head of the Winnipeg Realtors Association last week and she counseled me to wait, maybe until spring. Prices should keep dropping and supply should go up she says. The thing is that I don't like to give in to fear when it comes to investing. Most potential investors don't take action and the ones who do (wisely) are the ones that realize profits. Fear and greed drive the market and I would rather just pick up a property or two a year as deals become available then hold off simply because I'm afraid. Perhaps she is right, maybe I should wait until there is even more fear out there and then buy? I'm thinking of starting another blog that will just focus on Real Estate stuff, but I thought I'd just update you a little bit. Also, if you're interested in taking your money out of a terribly performing asset (say, mutual funds or stocks!) and put them into something more stable let me know. Also, if you are interested in learning more about investing in a slow market, feel free to visit this site (stinkymarket.com) and download a free ebook with lots of strategies. I'm reading the ebook right now and find it fascinating. Also there is an amusing campy video that made me laugh!
P.S. Looking at houses can be tough because you sometimes run across places you'd like to get for yourself. Here's a cute one in North Kildonan close to my work . . .
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2 weeks ago
5 comments:
That house you linked to is stunning!!!!! I would totally want that house for myself if I were in your shoes!
I've also seen the housing market drop recently. The house John and I purchased dropped $30k before we put in our offer. Waiting till spring could be good advice, but I'm always the one that wonders, what if they're wrong? What if the market recovers by then and house prices skyrocket? Ah well, maybe that's why I only buy one house at a time. It's too stressful for me! :)
Hey Michelle, I think it's different for you as you needed a house. If the house if for you then holding off is not usually the best way to go. But when investing, it's a bit different. Hey, once the prices go up again you'll have equity in your house and you can go and buy another one. It's easy!
Found any nice homes in Elmwood?
Jacquie :)
I don't know that my internal stress-o-meter is built for investing in real estate although I agree it's a great way to make money and a smart investment if you have the time to ride out the swings in the market. We'll see, something I'll have to talk to John about.
Jacquie: Are you saying that you like to me to buy you a house to rent? It could be arranged!
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