We almost bought a house last fall. Something stopped me. Well, many things stopped me, but the thing that bothered me the most was that I couldn't imagine small single homes going up much more in price, and if I was going to pay 400K for something, I wanted it to still be worth 400K in a couple of years. Better yet, I wanted it to be worth more. Worth. That's an interesting word. We all know that the house is not "worth" the 400K in terms of it's bits and pieces. A house gets its "worth" by what people are willing to pay for it. To me, the suburbia houses jam-packed like sardines weren't worth 400K at the time. Beautiful homes, no doubt, but I just couldn't feel comfortable being house poor when I wondered if my "investment" would fail.
Intuition is a great thing. Emotion almost made me buy. Reason kept me away. I don't know if or when that house will ever be "worth" 400K again. Maybe. But for now, the bubble has started to deflate. I won't say "burst" because Ottawa didn't have crazy inflation like vancouver and calgary, but I think the real estate market is feeling the air being let out a tad.
So, now what to do. We are renting a lovely home, and are considering buying it. But have things fallen enough? I don't think so. I don't expect to be able to time perfectly to buy at the bottom, but I sure don't want to buy while it's only halfway down. Who's to know? Experts? Who do you trust? I sure can't rely on news items with studies funded by those with real estate interests. Politicians? Nah thanks. So, we just keep watching the market. And the economy. It is also scary to buy right now given that jobs could start being cut to keep companies afloat. We are in some sort of recession. I am not ready to polish off my gun, grow my own food or start hunting squirrels yet, but how far down will the market go?
I have no answers. Just a lot of questions, like everyone else. So, what's a girl to do? Live as simply as possible for now. Ignore the emotion of wanted settle down in my own home and renovate. What point is that settling down if it serves to be a stressor. Perhaps we will experience a shift of consciousness. Maybe people will need to live a little more simply. Maybe people won't feel a need to have posh furnishings and the best of. Maybe people will stop feeling like they have to keep up with the Joneses. Perhaps all the Joneses have is more debt anyway, and you don't want that right now. Maybe there will be an ever so slight shift away from being a materialisitic consumer society. Perhaps we will have to take more pride in our abilities, talents, and skill than in the shine of our granite countertops. Maybe we will become better family members.
Perhaps? I dunno. Maybe we will all come out on the other side of this as better individuals. Maybe we all need this. Maybe the universe does.
-jl
Intuition is a great thing. Emotion almost made me buy. Reason kept me away. I don't know if or when that house will ever be "worth" 400K again. Maybe. But for now, the bubble has started to deflate. I won't say "burst" because Ottawa didn't have crazy inflation like vancouver and calgary, but I think the real estate market is feeling the air being let out a tad.
So, now what to do. We are renting a lovely home, and are considering buying it. But have things fallen enough? I don't think so. I don't expect to be able to time perfectly to buy at the bottom, but I sure don't want to buy while it's only halfway down. Who's to know? Experts? Who do you trust? I sure can't rely on news items with studies funded by those with real estate interests. Politicians? Nah thanks. So, we just keep watching the market. And the economy. It is also scary to buy right now given that jobs could start being cut to keep companies afloat. We are in some sort of recession. I am not ready to polish off my gun, grow my own food or start hunting squirrels yet, but how far down will the market go?
I have no answers. Just a lot of questions, like everyone else. So, what's a girl to do? Live as simply as possible for now. Ignore the emotion of wanted settle down in my own home and renovate. What point is that settling down if it serves to be a stressor. Perhaps we will experience a shift of consciousness. Maybe people will need to live a little more simply. Maybe people won't feel a need to have posh furnishings and the best of. Maybe people will stop feeling like they have to keep up with the Joneses. Perhaps all the Joneses have is more debt anyway, and you don't want that right now. Maybe there will be an ever so slight shift away from being a materialisitic consumer society. Perhaps we will have to take more pride in our abilities, talents, and skill than in the shine of our granite countertops. Maybe we will become better family members.
Perhaps? I dunno. Maybe we will all come out on the other side of this as better individuals. Maybe we all need this. Maybe the universe does.
-jl
1 comment:
I have to say that this is one of the best pieces I've read of yours. It's captivating, interesting, and enlightening; it gives us insight into who you are and what is important to you.
Thank you for sharing yourself like this!
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