The Wrong Question

I hear one question more than almost any other.

“Is now a good time to buy?”

At first, it sounds like a smart question.

But the longer I’ve been in real estate, the more I’ve wondered if it’s the wrong one.

Not because timing doesn’t matter.

It does.

But because the question assumes there’s a single answer for everyone.

There isn’t.

The market doesn’t know you’re expecting your first child.

It doesn’t know your lease expires next month.

It doesn’t know you’re caring for aging parents.

It doesn’t know you’ve outgrown your current home or accepted a new job.

The market only knows the market.

You know your life.

Some of the happiest homeowners I know bought when interest rates were high.

Some bought when prices were climbing.

Some bought right before values dipped.

And yet, years later, very few of them talk about the rate they locked or the month they closed.

They talk about the birthday parties.

The Christmas mornings.

The backyard where the kids learned to throw a baseball.

The kitchen where everyone somehow ended up during every family gathering.

Life has a way of making the headlines feel much smaller.

That’s not an argument for ignoring the numbers.

The numbers matter.

Affordability matters.

Negotiation matters.

Price matters.

But they are only part of the equation.

I’ve seen people delay an important move because they were waiting for the market to give them certainty.

Instead, life kept moving.

Children grew older.

Commutes grew longer.

Plans stayed on hold.

Sometimes the greatest cost isn’t paying a little more.

It’s postponing the life you were trying to build.

Maybe the better question isn’t,

“Is this a good time to buy?”

Maybe it’s,

“Does this decision make sense for where my life is today?”

Those are two very different questions.

One tries to predict the future.

The other helps you make a decision in the present.

And I’ve found that the second question usually leads to better conversations.

Reality Check:

The best time to make a real estate decision isn’t when the market becomes perfect.

It’s when the decision finally fits your life.