Should I Buy a House Now or Wait Until Next Year?

Buying a house in 2021 can be an intimidating experience with the current market that you have to buy in. This year, houses across the country increased in value by 13.2%.

With that in mind, if you are considering buying a house, you might be asking the question, should I buy a house now? Well, this guide will tell you if you should buy now or wait a little longer.

Table of Contents

Cost of Lumber

This should be something that you are paying attention to as a possible homebuyer in this market because it can affect how much you might end up paying for a home.

At one point, the cost of 1,000 board feet was nearly $1,700. Now, it has not exactly returned to pre-pandemic levels but it is a lot lower than the peak price at this stretch, currently sitting at around $676.

During the time of writing, there was even a noticeable decrease in price compared to just the week prior. The price above is as of Oct. 20th, but the price a week before that was around $760.

However, in the last few months, the prices were lower and it had started to increase again right before that stretch. Before the pandemic, you could find prices as low as $370.

So, you will need to keep an eye on this price, because it can affect how many new houses can be built and how many other houses will be on the market along with that.

Days on Market

This is another signal of the housing market to let you know if you can get a house at a reasonable price. Using common sense, you would imagine that if someone is taking their house off of the market quickly, they are finding an attractive offer to sell their home.

In 2021, this has been lower than any other year. Currently, the average days on the market for a house in America is about 43 days. Before the pandemic, that number had been about double what it is now, sitting at around 85-90 days.

What does this mean? It means that sellers are getting rid of their homes faster than ever before, which implies that they are having no trouble getting rid of the home that they currently own.

For it to be a better time to buy, the average number of days on the market needs to go back up.

House Comparison

Finally, the easiest option of all may just be keeping an eye on what houses in the area that you are looking for are being listed. Assume that these houses meet the conditions you are looking for such as location, number of bathrooms and bedrooms, etc.

You can click here to find out home worth in certain areas. Once you do that, you will have a better understanding of the current market and if you can afford a house with the prices being released publicly.