Is now a good time to buy a house in Alexandria VA?

Question

I'd like to buy my first house and am interested in a condo in Alexandria VA. Is now a good time in the US to buy a house due to all the foreclosures? I don't know a lot about this, and if I decide to buy one, I'll do a lot of research before I ever even walk into a potential home. I just wanted to ask those who may know better if now is a good time to even think about purchasing one in the area.

Answer 1

i'd advise going for a house over a condo--when the market does turn around, houses will appreciate faster/sooner than condos. That said, it depends on whether you want the extra maintenence a house requires. I've owned both houses and condos and i'll never buy a condo again, but thats me, not you. If you go condo, find out the owner/renter ratio in the property (condo association) you are interested in, and the foreclosure rate. You don't want to buy in a place that has some in foreclosure. You must be willing to ride out this correction by living in said condo for awhile--maybe two or three years? No one knows when any turnaround will occur--but it will, eventually. Don't worry about buying at the "bottom"--no one knows what/when that will be. Buy for the long term and you will see a profit on your investment. Good luck.

Answer 2

I lived in Alexandria several years ago. I saw the beginning of the housing market. I since moved away and heard that it has dropped by 30 or 40%.

Obviously, if you buy now, it's much better than if you had bought a couple years ago. It's highly doubtful prices will ever return to what they were - if they do, it shoudl take years.

The question is whether prices will stabilize or continue to drop.

In these type of situations, either could occur. IF they drop, it would probably be a slower drop over the course of several years.

One thing is certain, it will take years for any sort of "recovery" to occur. More than likely, if you buy now, you won't see any appreciation for several years. And you may see a gradual decline in the value of your home.