Waiting to Buy a Columbia SC Home Will Cost You

If you think waiting to buy a Columbia SC home until rates or home prices go back down is the smart way to go, you may be waiting for a long time.

With interest rates going up and home prices on the rise, you may think that it might not be the best time to buy a Columbia SC home or even refinance the one you've got. But experts disagree. Should you buy now, or later?

Is now the best time to buy a Columbia SC home, or should you wait until later...

Best Time to Buy a Columbia SC Home is Now

One huge reason to consider now as the best time to buy a Columbia SC home is mortgage rates. They're still around all-time lows now, but the interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is expected to go up to 5 percent by the start of the fourth quarter this year and 5.3 percent by the end of 2015. That's according to a recent forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Just a quarter of a point higher interest rate can mean about $100 more each month on a homeowner's loan. For a lot of families, that can be the difference between being able to afford to buy a Columbia SC home or not.

The good news is, credit score requirements for borrowers taking out mortgages to buy a Columbia SC home are easing.

Summer is still the most popular time to sell or buy even for people without children. And it's not just because the weather is nicer. People just know there are more listings on the market during the spring and summer. But from a buyer's perspective, there is more competition from other buyers.

It is a significant purchase to buy a Columbia SC home, but it's still cheaper than renting if you have the means to come up with the down payment and closing costs. Buying with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of 4.5 percent is 38 percent cheaper than renting in most places. But as mortgage rates rise, that gap will narrow, unless greedy landlords decide to keep jacking up rents to match the interest rate increases.

Get lots of tips and advice for buying a Columbia SC home at our Columbia SC Home Buying Tips section of articles to your right just below our Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.

We also post tips on Facebook and Twitter. Follow us there for many other tips on buying a Columbia SC home as well.

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