Buy Now or Wait a Year? This Is What Homebuyers Should Do to Avoid Making a Big Mistake

To call today's housing market a tricky one would be a huge understatement. These days, the real estate market is sorely lacking in inventory, and that's giving sellers a huge upper hand.

Not only are home prices today sky-high, but they're being further elevated by bidding wars, which remain common, given how limited inventory is. In fact, what's often happening is sellers are listing their homes for above-average prices, only to then sometimes get a good 10% more on their already inflated prices once a bidding war kicks off.

But as much as it's clearly a tough time to be buying a home -- whether to live in yourself or as a real estate investment -- sitting things out and waiting until next year means taking the risk that mortgage rates will be even higher than they are today. The question is whether that is a risk you should take.

Source Fool.com