Facing the questions and consequences of the new tax law, the shrinking inventory of for-sale homes, tightening credit, and where to invest, first-time homebuyers may think twice before buying in 2018.
Jonathan Miller, president of the real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, says that credit conditions for homebuyers is not easing, as "we’re still in the hangover phase of the financial crisis.” This may not only be an obstacle for first-time buyers hoping to qualify for a mortgage loan, as many homeowners are not wanting to let go of their current, lower home payments with a lower rate, and therefore are less inclined to sell their home and trade up or downsize, reports The New York Times.
“A first-time home buyer is taking a bet on a metro area, and the first thing I’d ask the first-time home buyer is: Are you willing to commit to this metro area and this school district for the next 10 years,” Dr. Morris A. Davis, chair of real estate and professor of finance at Rutgers Business School, said, assuming you have or plan to have children. If the answer is yes, he added, “they shouldn’t really worry about whether prices are three percent higher than they should be.”
