The real estate market is going down in many parts of the country. How far it will go is anyone’s guess. However, there are indicators that suggest when a market’s decline is beginning to decelerate or “bottom out” and that is usually a good time to buy a home. Remember that generally, real estate is considered a long-term investment. So, if you are buying with the idea you’ll be in that home for a long time, your strategy may be different than someone who is flipping a house.

If any of us could pick the bottom or the top of any market, we would be very wealthy people indeed. We’d know when to buy, when to sell, when to re-finance a property and when to hold tight during tough economic times. There are tens-of-thousands of economists and analysts out there trying to do this constantly, and they’ve never been able to nail down this phenomenon exactly…because they can’t get inside the consumers’ mind. However, there indicators like sales trends and risk factors that can help and HomeSmart Reports has some.

If you are buying in a real estate market where a value trend appears to be bottoming out or nearing that point, and you intend to be in that home for a long period of time, it’s likely a good time to buy. Since it’s almost impossible to pick the exact bottoming out point, get a close as you can. How will I know you ask? Median home sales in an area will normally begin to stabilize over a few months time. The amount of inventory will begin to shrink, meaning the buyers are starting to outnumber the sellers and demand is starting to exceed supply. Local real estate agents should know this and can help you.

Fast-forward five years. You bought a home for $300,000 near the bottom of the market back then and now you’re ready to sell it for $400,000, a difference of $100,000. How much would you care if the market (five years ago) went a little lower to $290,000? You still did pretty well at making a good profit. Conversely, if you waited a little longer and bought the home on the way up for $315,000 and made $85,000, you might kick yourself a little, but you still did well.

If you are going to live in the home and enjoy its benefits, look to a long-term strategy of getting in at nearly the right time rather than focusing on exactly the right time. It’s very tough to pick the exact moment to buy, so study the trends and get as close as you reasonably can given your situation and your desire to own a home