Perspective.
In 2022, wifey and I tried to purchase a house. We put in a couple of offers, but lost out because we couldn’t compete with people that was dropping +$30k in due diligence. Houses in my area at $400k were about $2400 a month (mortgage and every included) at interest rates around 5%.
In 2024, a house for $400k in my area is about $3250 a month.
I make about $20k more than I did in 2022 and it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. I had to battle with my loan officers because their debt to income ratio is set at 43% giving me a loan of $365k.
Once I included my assets, they boosted back to $400k, but the reality still stands that we are in a housing shortage. I’m not buying anything for the sake of it, but now I’m conflicted with “should I drop +$40k of my savings as a downpayment towards a home that is over my pre-qualification offer?”
It is working tapping into your life savings to buy a house when the market is volatile? I’ll be 40 this year, and my career and business is doing well. However, I fear instability in the market. Any advice is appreciated.