I believe that, as a rule of thumb, you can never buy a home of your own soon enough, but lets look at the reasons why it might be better for you to delay your home purchase.
The reason why it is best to buy a house as soon as possible is that houses in South Africa have proven that they steadily increase in value over time. Waiting to buy even one year can mean that you lose out on a lot of appreciation. So, the same property will end up costing you a lot more later on.
Losing money
That said, something you definitely want to avoid is having to sell your new home too soon. There are costs involved in buying and selling property. And if you have to sell your home before it has appreciated enough to cover those costs, you could end up losing money.
Don't buy a house if you know that you will have to sell within a year or so. The property is unlikely to have appreciated enough to cover the transfer duty and transfer costs you paid when you bought AND the real estate agent's commission you will have to pay when you sell.
Also be sure that your finances are stable and provide enough leeway to accommodate sudden increases in the interest rate on the mortgage bond. If you don't, you might be forced to sell the house, even if the increase in value cannot cover all the expenses. The alternative (foreclosure) would be much worse than losing a relatively small amount of money.
Saving money
Sometimes you could save yourself a lot of money by NOT buying a property. It might be cheaper to rent a home than to buy a house of your own.
After the recent boom in South African house prices, there are a lot of places where it is way cheaper to rent than to buy a house. Do you find yourself in one of those areas of the country?
If you decide to rent rather than buy a home, you might want to consider making an investment in property anyway, because real estate is still realising a much bigger gain than most other asset classes. By investing in rental property in an area where the rent can cover the mortgage repayments, you might still be able to get the benefit of property appreciation, while saving money by renting your home in the mean time.
Unknown Area
If you have just moved to an area of South Africa that is unfamiliar to you, it might just be best to delay buying a home for a while. It takes time to get to know where you would be better off buying a home in a new area.
It might just make sense to rent a home for a few months before committing yourself to buying a house. This will give you some time to decide exactly where you want to live.
People who buy a home immediately after moving to a new place often regret the decision. They find that they would have made a better decision if they had waited a little while before buying the house.
Uncertain Job Future
If your career is not stable at the moment, it might be wisest to delay your house purchase.
You might be fresh out of university, or expecting a promotion or transfer. You might have heard that your company is planning to "restructure" or "rationalise". If any of these scenarios apply to you, it might be best to delay buying a home until you have a more accurate picture of what your next few years will be like.
The best time to buy a home is when you are reasonably sure that your employment situation is stable.
Marital Problems
As mentioned before, you want to try to keep your new home for a while. So, if there are any problems in your marriage or long-term relationship, don't buy a house together just yet! You might end up selling the property again within a few months.
It happens all too often that a family in turmoil decides to buy a home, thinking that the new home can help resolve their problems. But a new home, and all the stuff that comes with that, is likely to cause more problems than it can ever solve.
Of all the experiences real estate agents have, former clients who separate or divorce and are forced to sell a recently purchased house is probably one of the saddest. The break-up might have been inevitable, but having to sell shortly after buying a home (before it appreciates in value) usually results in an additional financial burden in a situation that is problematic already.
Reasons not to buy a home
When buying a home in South Africa, your risk lies in being able to KEEP the home for a reasonable amount of time. Any of the factors and situations that make you uncertain about your ability to hold on to the property until the value increases substantially are reasons not to buy a home.
