Letters to the Editor

Re: 'Is buying home today a good investment?' (Nov. 5)

Dear Editor:

Having just read both Dian Hymer's Nov. 5 article and Erik Gartzke's response, I feel they have both missed key points in their positions.

Is now a good time to buy?

The honest is answer is "it depends" -- on a number of things. A great Realtor will perform the necessary due diligence to identify properties that have strong upsides and can be acquired below market value. When this happens you benefit from the wide selection available in today's market, making it a good time to buy.

If I had a client who wanted to speculate or expected to only live in the home for 18 months or less, I would encourage them to rent. Mr. Gartzke's position ignores the tax (and other) benefits that home ownership brings. It also assumes that Ms. Hymer's comments meant that everyone should go out and purchase a home at whatever price it was currently listed at.

In the long view (three years and longer) the odds are that your home will appreciate. People today discuss homes as if they were only short-term investments; real estate is not a stock and should not be treated as such. When purchased and held over a period of five years or more it is difficult to lose money on a real estate purchase barring an anomaly that disrupts the local or regional economy.

When the 'bottom' is declared by the media it will unleash the pent-up demand that has built for the last few years; buyers may well wish they had bought when the inventory selection was wide in '07 and early '08.

Richard Powell
Partner/owner
Aviara Real Estate
Westlake Village, Calif.

All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.