Recently our daughter-in-law Megan came to town. She had meetings in DC, so she flew in a couple of days early to visit with us. She really wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms in DC. She was coming the last weekend in March, so her timing was good. We knew the blossoms would peak early this year, with our early Spring and all, but still thought she would be okay. Peak Bloom (as determined HERE) would be ending just 2 days before she was scheduled to arrive.
She arrived late Friday night. Saturday was spent in Historical Ellicott City and Columbia, and Saturday night - it rained. It rained pretty hard.
Sunday morning my wife and Megan took their cameras and went on a "Girls Trip" to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms.
IF it hadn't been for the rain - it would have been fine. But they ended up getting lots of interesting pictures of cherry blossom petals that were everywhere BUT on the cherry trees. They had a lovely morning taking pictures of the petals and almost bare trees.
All ended well - but they thought about all the tourists who plan ahead, book vacations, and make their best guesses in an uncertain future (when exactly are those trees going to bloom?), and then, fully committed, come to DC after it is all over. OR - before it even begins. It's all a matter of timing.
I can see a correlation with Real Estate. There are all sorts of articles floating around right now about how NOW is the best time to jump in and purchase a home. But so many people are afraid of making a mistake - and with good reason! They've seen friends and family who overpaid for a home right before the "bubble burst." And we've all seen the repercussions of that.
But - prices are down right now and loan rates continue to be the lowest they've been for years. Home buying affordability is at a 40 year high. Interest rates will go up at some point – I expect to see that happen in the next 8 -10 months. I believe now IS a good time to buy. Every day we hear positive reports about our economy. The good news stories far outweigh the negative and that’s a sure sign things are turning around.
Like the Cherry Blossoms, timing is key! You don't want to wait for the market to solidify and for prices and mortgage rates to rise before you make your home purchase. You want to make that move now, while you can still get some great deals and terrific financing.
Best of Luck!
Boyd
P.S. BIG TIP: We have learned the best time to see the Cherry Blossoms is early on a Sunday morning. The tourists aren't quite all out of bed yet, you can find parking, and you can actually walk around the Tidal Basin without becoming claustrophobic because of the hordes of people who are trying to walk with/against you! Just check ahead of time to make sure there isn't an event like a RACE planned for that Sunday morning - because that makes it just impossible!
No comments:
Post a Comment