{"id":22589,"date":"2025-07-23T00:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T06:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22589"},"modified":"2025-07-22T15:41:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:41:47","slug":"should-i-buy-a-home-right-now-experts-say-prices-are-only-going-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/should-i-buy-a-home-right-now-experts-say-prices-are-only-going-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Buy a Home Right Now? Experts Say Prices Are Only Going Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>BY ANNA &amp; MICHELLE<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At one point or another, you\u2019ve probably heard someone say,\u00a0<em>\u201cYesterday was the best time to buy a home, but the next best time is today.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because nationally, home values continue to rise. And with mortgage rates still stubbornly high and home prices going up, you may be holding out for prices to fall or trying to time the market for that perfect rate. But here\u2019s the truth: waiting for the right moment could cost you in the long run.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Home Prices Are Still Rising \u2013 Just at a More Normal Pace<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The idea that prices will drop dramatically is wishful thinking in most markets. According to the <em>Home Price Expectations Survey<\/em> from Fannie Mae, industry analysts are saying prices are projected to keep rising through at least 2029.<\/p>\n<p>While we\u2019re no longer seeing the steep spikes of previous years, experts project a steady and sustainable increase of around\u00a0<strong>3-4% per year,<\/strong>\u00a0nationally. And the good news is, this is a much more normal pace \u2013 a welcome sign for hopeful buyers (see graph below):<\/p>\n<p><strong>What This Means for You<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s tempting to wait it out for prices or mortgage rates to decline before you buy, here\u2019s what you\u2019ll need to consider if you do.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tomorrow\u2019s home prices will be higher than today\u2019s.<\/strong>\u00a0The longer you wait, the more that purchase price will go up.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Waiting for the perfect mortgage rate or a price drop may backfire.\u00a0<\/strong>Even if rates dip slightly, rising home prices could still make waiting more expensive overall.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Buying now means building equity sooner.<\/strong>\u00a0Home values are rising, which means your investment starts growing as soon as you buy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s put real numbers into this equation. If you purchase a <strong>$400,000 home today,<\/strong> based on these price forecasts, it\u2019s expected to go up in value by more than <strong>$83,000 over the next five years.<\/strong> That\u2019s some serious money back in your pocket instead of being left on the sidelines (see graph below):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22591 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Unknown.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Unknown.jpg 600w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Unknown-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Unknown-150x85.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Why Aren\u2019t Prices Dropping? It\u2019s All About Supply and Demand<br \/>\nEven though there are more homes for sale right now than there were at this time last year, or even last month, there still aren\u2019t enough of them on the market for all the buyers who want to purchase them. And that puts continued upward pressure on prices. As\u00a0Redfin\u00a0puts it:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cPrices will rise at a pace similar to that of the second half of 2024 because we don\u2019t expect there to be enough new inventory to meet demand.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While every market is different, most areas will continue to see moderate price growth. Some may level off a bit, but a major national drop? Not likely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Time in the Market Beats Timing the Market<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you\u2019re debating whether to\u00a0buy now\u00a0or wait, remember this:\u00a0<strong>real estate rewards those who get in the market, not those who try to time it perfectly.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, today\u2019s housing market has its challenges, but there are ways to make it work \u2014exploring different neighborhoods, considering smaller condos or townhomes, asking your lender about alternative financing, or tapping into down payment assistance programs. The key is\u00a0<strong>making a move when it makes sense for you\u00a0<\/strong>rather than waiting for a perfect scenario that may never arrive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want to take a look at what\u2019s happening with prices in our local market? Whether you\u2019re ready to buy now or just exploring your options, having a plan in place can set you up for success.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20851 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-1024x241.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"164\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-1024x241.gif 1024w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-300x71.gif 300w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-768x181.gif 768w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-150x35.gif 150w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-696x164.gif 696w, https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-footer-2024-1068x251.gif 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BY ANNA &amp; MICHELLE At one point or another, you\u2019ve probably heard someone say,\u00a0\u201cYesterday was the best time to buy a home, but the next best time is today.\u201d That\u2019s because nationally, home values continue to rise. And with mortgage rates still stubbornly high and home prices going up, you may be holding out for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,82,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-better-homeowners-news","8":"category-housing","9":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22595,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22589\/revisions\/22595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}