I Bought a House During the Peak of the Buying Frenzy. Here's Why I Don't Regret It

Buying a house at a bad time isn't always a huge mistake.

In 2021, I bought a house. It wasn't a very good time to purchase a property. Although mortgage interest rates were low, home values had surged across the country. The house I ended up buying was the third one I had made an offer on, and we had to make a cash offer for full asking price in order to get it.

Despite the fact I bought a house at the same time everyone else was trying to, I don't regret making my purchase during the buying frenzy. Here's why.

I didn't overpay for the property

The biggest reason why I do not regret purchasing my house in a seller's market is because I didn't overpay for the property.

In fact, the reason I lost the first two houses I had made offers on was because I was unwilling to get caught up in a bidding war and pay more than the places were likely going to be worth. Instead, I was patient and I waited until I found an optimum situation where the home was priced fairly because the people needed to sell quickly and we could be flexible on our closing date.

Had I paid more than a property was worth and seen my home decline in value, I likely would have had more regrets about buying when I did. 

I didn't spend more than I could afford 

Another big reason why I don't regret purchasing my property during the buying frenzy is because I kept my costs very reasonable. I opted to buy a home that cost far less than I would have been able to afford (especially when mortgage rates were so low).

Since my monthly housing costs are very low and my property taxes and utilities are reasonable since the house wasn't very large or expensive, I'm not worried about being able to afford the property if the country goes into a recession or if home values decline. 

I'm not in a huge hurry to move

Finally, the last key reason why I don't regret buying the house in a seller's market is because I'm not in a rush to move out of the property. I'm content to stay there for a while, so I don't have to worry if the value falls a bit or if there's more limited demand for houses right now than there was when I made my purchase.

I'm pretty confident that over the long term, the house will hold its value or even go up. In the meantime, it doesn't really matter exactly what the house is worth since I'm not relying on it for income -- I'm just living in it.

If I wanted to flip the house soon after my purchase, then I might have been left with regrets for buying during a time when demand was high only to see demand fall just a few months after moving in.

Ultimately, because I made good decisions about what property to buy and how much to spend, the fact that the market was a mess for buyers didn't end up affecting me adversely at all. I'm very glad I was able to act based on reason rather than emotion during the home-buying process or I might be in a different place today.