Is It a Good Time to Buy a House?

Nerdy takeaways

The median existing-home sales price hit $407,200 in October, following 16 months of year-over-year increases.
Houses for sale are staying on the market longer compared to a year ago.
If you’re ready for homeownership and stick to your budget, it’s possible to buy in any market.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the outcome of a legal settlement involving commissions paid to real estate agents representing home buyers. Starting in August 2024, home buyers in most markets must sign agreements with their agents before touring homes, and buyers will set their agents' commissions through negotiation. See how this will affect home sellers and home buyers.

If you're wondering if now is a good time to buy a house, ask this instead: Is it a good time in my life to buy a house?

Housing market trends give important context, so we’ll look at those numbers here. But ultimately, whether this is a good time to buy a house depends on your financial situation, life goals and readiness to become a homeowner.

» MORE: Should I buy a house? How to tell if you're ready

Let’s explore both aspects of the homebuying journey: the housing market and your own readiness to buy a home.

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How’s the housing market right now?

These are some factors affecting buyers in today's market.

Mortgage rates: Stubbornly high

The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.59% annual percentage rate (APR) for the week ending Dec. 5, down 21 basis points from last week and down 32 basis points from a year ago, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. A basis point is one one-hundredth of 1%.

Average weekly mortgage rates

Mortgage type	APR
30-year fixed mortgage	6.59%
15-year fixed mortgage	5.85%
5-year adjustable	7.25%

Averages are for the week ending Dec. 5, 2024, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow.

Whether today’s rates feel high or low depends on how long you’ve been house hunting. In the short term view, recent rates might sting: The 30-year mortgage rate dropped to a monthly average of 6.07% in September and has remained higher in the weeks since. But if you’ve been house hunting for a year or so, that very same rate could feel like a relief: Buyers are still better off today than when the 30-year mortgage rate peaked at 8% in October 2023, or even when rates surpassed 7% in May 2024.

Did you know...

Higher rates shrink buying power because they make home loans more expensive. For example: Let’s say you make a 20% down payment on a $350,000 house. With a 6.8% mortgage rate, your monthly payment would be $1,825 (not including home insurance and property taxes). With a 5% mortgage rate, the monthly payment would be $1,503 — $322 lower.

You can't influence average rates, so focus on the things you can control:

Shop around for the best deal. Especially given today's higher rates, buyers can save $600 to $1,200 per year by applying for loans from multiple mortgage lenders, according to a February 2023 study by Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored entity that buys conforming loans from mortgage lenders.
Make sure you can afford the monthly mortgage payment. A home affordability calculator can help you crunch the numbers.
Lock in your rate. After getting approved for a home loan, consider locking in the mortgage rate until the loan closes to protect against further rate increases.