Chris Harris has an amusing op-ed in the New York Times about why now is the absolute best time to buy a house in Los Angeles.
As an expert in the field - I've spent my entire life living in or behind homes - I can assure you that aside from any moment in the past decade, there has never been a better time to enter the real estate market. Here are two important reasons.We already experienced the Internet bubble. The crash taught us all that a feeling of invincibility can lead to disaster. Now that we've learned this humbling lesson, there's absolutely no possible way it could ever happen again to us. ...
Q. Are you sure I haven't missed the boat? Housing prices have risen so much already.
A. Actually, if you look at this chart, which is based on my years of research, you'll find that prices have been remarkably stable. No less a man than Winston Churchill put it best: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps [a phenomenal time for buying that starter home you've had your eye on]." ...
Q. I'm still not convinced.
A. Well then, look at these numbers:
Now: 58
Five years from now: 8,472
That's a nearly 15,000 percent increase!
Q. Wow. Wait, what exactly are those numbers?
A. What? What kind of question is that? This is just the kind of foot-dragging that's kept you paying rent on the same roach-infested closet for years while your home-owning friends have gotten fantastically wealthy. Did you know that we homeowners are having Champagne-and-caviar parties every weekend and not inviting you?
(HT: Perry Eidelbus.)
