If you're a numbers person, you might say the best time to buy a home would have been 11 years ago when the market bottomed out during the Great Recession. Since that time, Dane County home prices have risen by 94%. 

Or, put another way, if you purchased a Dane County home for $300,000 in 2012, that same home would be worth roughly $580,000 right now. 

But what about the future?

If home prices are so high right now, you might surmise that prices will be falling real soon and that there will be a better time to buy in the near future. After all, prices always do find a way to adjust after rising over an extended period of time.

Our take is that although we do agree that prices will eventually fall, we don't see this happening anytime soon. Our view is there are simply too many systemic factors at work that will limit supply for the long-term and maintain high prices. What's more, when prices do eventually fall, we believe the dip will be shallow and short-lived.

So, what's an aspiring homeowner to do?

Our advice to you is to realize that buying a home right now requires your active -- not passive -- participation. It demands a strong commitment and a focused effort by both you and your buyer agent.

Equally important, buying a home in this market requires you to treat your search as a 12-months-out-of-the-year endeavor. You just never know when your best opportunity will present itself, and you want to be prepared to act in any month of the year.

Is buying a home in this market easy? Certainly, it is not.

But is it worth it? Most definitely, it is.

Call us when you're ready for a conversation.