Or better.. for me at least

I’m seeing it too. A lot of people in Gilbert bought at the top, and many investors bought larger homes than they might have, as the smaller ones were being snapped up so quickly. The Gilbert market is starting to crack, and I expect things to be looking a lot worse by next summer.

It’s hard to do, but I always liked putting money aside for purchases to see if I needed that money later. If so, it’s right there.. if not, it’s truly extra cash. For the same reason, renting a similar house you’re thinking of buying can be a great eye-opener. You may end up paying more down the road as prices rise or fall, but when you are completely unable to sell a house you bought inexperienced, it becomes entirely worth that “wasted” money..

My father bought near the height and while he’s way out in on the outskirts of town out west, at least at 130k he can suffer a 25% drop in “worth” better than the guy that bought in an area like Gilbert for 400k. Many folks could find one way to come up with that 25k or so if absolutely needed. The 100k for the pricier property would be much harder to pull together. I’m definitely seeing that effect in my gilbert neighborhood.

I have a couple of kids in college, so I can tell you that families also shrink. You can end up with whopping utilities, a big house to clean and asking yourself, “What was I thinking?”

I sold my 6 bedroom 5000 sq. ft. home to a pair of empty nesters- who are currently building another home. I’m guessing they decided the house didn’t suit their needs.

Rampant appreciation is gone. There’s no reason to stretch the budget to make a huge payment any more.