A cloudy crystal ball on housing in Georgia

Is now the right time to get off the fence and buy a house? When will interest rates go up, if they go up at all? Where are home prices headed? If we look back in 10 years, will we wish we had bought a house today?

No one knows for sure, because no one has a crystal ball except me, and mine is cloudy. But cloudy is better than dark, so I will gaze into the future and share my best reasons to buy a house in the next six months if possible: 1. Interest rates continue to be historically attractive.

Thirty year fixed rate loans are the most popular for home loans, and the long-term fixed rate is still hovering around 4.0 percent.

Translated into dollars and cents, if we assume a purchase price of about $250,000 and a down payment of 20 percent, we end up with a permanent monthly payment of principal and interest only of about $955.

Add a monthly deposit for annual property taxes and insurance still keeps ownership quite competitive with renting. And that’s not even considering the substantial tax savings and the very real potential for appreciation over the next decade.

Remember that the Federal Reserve has been sending strong

signals to Congress that long term rates need to be raised in the near future to shore up the strength of the dollar. In fact, small increases have already been absorbed by the markets.

I believe higher interest rates will become a reality over the next couple of years.

2. Home prices in Georgia are just now reaching a full recovery from the recession.

Most observers believe economic growth will be stimulated by lower taxes on individuals and businesses, and if that is the case, it is likely home values will rise. How much, no one can know, but the current political climate seems to favor job growth, and that is an encouraging sign for all homeowners. 3. Fuel costs are down, and

may very well go lower. As it turns out, the U.S. is sitting on enough gas and oil to keep us warm and topped-off for the next several hundred years. And it’s a lot cheaper (and safer) to produce it here than in the middle east.

That results in lower fuel expenses and living costs, and that means more money for other things, like buying a house.

Unless I am reading the new administration incorrectly, we are likely to see expanded emphasis on domestic exploration and production, at least for the next few years. That’s good for homeowners. 4. History tends to repeat itself. And for most of the past 75 years, the vast majority of Americans who invested in their own homes made excellent long-term investments.

That is the major reason I don’t recommend buying a home unless

you plan to stay there at least four or five years. Buyers who bought just before the beginning of the recent recession are now seeing their values recover. I believe that appreciation will continue.

5. Home ownership allows you to take advantage of leverage in your investments, but in a way that is safer than most alternatives.

Leverage is the ability of a small amount of money to control a larger asset. In other words, you can buy a house worth $250,000 with a down payment of $50,000 (or even less).

It is almost impossible to build significant long-term net worth simply by saving. Instead, employing leverage makes it possible to amplify your appreciation over time.

The major reason leverage works so well in real estate is that each of us needs a place to live, and renting is simply buying that home for an investor. There will never be a “margin call” on your mortgage loan. Simply make the payments for 30 years and you’ll own it free and clear.

In my next column, we’ll explore whether or not you are ready to consider buying a home of your own.