What Is the Biggest Mistake First-Time Homebuyers Make?

It's the same story over the last 40 years of my career—everybody's waiting for a better market, and as they do, they price themselves out of markets; they lose ground. That is the number one mistake, just waiting for better rates and prices.

There are three things that would have to happen to have better, more affordable pricing for anybody. Rates would have to fall to 3 percent to get back to where we were a few years ago, meaning they'd have to be cut by half. Or your income would have to go up by 100%, or home prices would have to drop by 30%. None of that is likely to happen. By waiting, whether rates go up or down, you're just standing by, watching the market play out without being a part of it.

The advice I would give my clients is to just get into homeownership as fast as possible. If the rates do come down significantly, I have many customers refinancing. If home prices come down a little bit, it doesn't matter until you sell it.

I would love to own all the homes that I didn't buy in 2005 that I thought were "overpriced." In 2005, it was said that houses were way too expensive. Today, those are great bargains. In 2005, you paid too much; in 2010, they were worth less; in 2015, you were a genius to buy them. So, if you're a first-time buyer, just get into home ownership as soon as possible.