Is it time to buy your first home? What you need to know today

Buying your first home can be a benchmark in the life of an American family. But there are a surprising number of American families that will never, ever be able to afford to buy a first home. 

Right now, home costs seem to be staggering. The average price of a first home in the Seattle market is approximately $800,000. The average price of a first home in the Wenatchee market is approximately $455,000.  

To put this into perspective. It was a long time ago, but when we bought our first home. the price was under $100,000.  

The average age of a first-time home buyer. 

Also shocking to me is that the average age of a first home buyer on the west side of the mountains is nearly 40 years of age. There does not seem to be any specific data about first time home buyer age in Eastern Washington. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘The median age of a first-time homebuyer has reached a record high of 40 — a time when most people are settled. But every once in a while, young people find themselves able to purchase a home, be it through a high-paying job, inheritance or family money.
Although buying a home young can be a good long-term investment, it can also be a financial burden if the time isn’t right, economists say.’ 

Even if you have the money to buy a new home, it doesn't necessarily mean the home you buy is a wise investment. How close is the home to your place of work? How long will you be working at that job before you need to move? Jumping from job to job is pretty common for someone in their 20s, even if they're being paid well. 

The common opinion of economists is that you need to own your home for at least five years before it's economically feasible to sell it. If you sell in less than five years, you run the risk of actually taking a loss on your home. 

Can you stay in that home for over 5 years? 

When selling your home, it usually costs somewhere between 10% to 15% of the home's value to get it on the market and sold. Zillow says you're spending that money on taxes, realtor fees, legal fees, and closing costs, among other things. 

I guess the main take away here is that even if you're pulling down a really good living wage, you don't necessarily have to pull the trigger on buying your first house right away. You can invest that money, you can put it in savings, and you can know with some certainty that having a bigger down payment for that first home is a much better idea than having a bigger monthly payment.