Newbie from Boston, MA

[Brendan Murphy]

Hi guys.  I grew up and currently live on the north shore of Boston.  I'm in the accounting/consulting field and have finally saved up some money to try to jump into the Boston market.  I've entertained investing in other markets, but seeing as this will be my first buy, I think it'd be easier to start here in Boston.

My interest in real estate started a little more than a year ago, while I took a solo road trip around the country for a few months.  Being on the road for that long, I had a lot of downtime and figured I could use that time for growth.  I started listening to ebooks and podcasts such as Bigger Pockets while I drove, and I found a huge passion for real estate.  Over the past few months, I've been actively searching for houses, analyzing at least one property per day.  To me, this whole process is actually exciting.  I like crunching the numbers and envisioning how a property would look, feel and operate in my name.  I'm excited for the next steps to come as well.

My ideal investment would be one that I can house hack, live in and rent out to people in my personal network while I fix it up.  In time, I want to have a strong rental property that I can rent out full time for the long-term.  But for now, it's just about getting started.

I'd love to connect with some new people and get some advice from people that care to share.  Feel free to drop some comments below.  

To start off, do you think now is a good time to buy in Boston?  It seems a housing market downturn might be on the horizon, so I wonder if it's better to wait until we see a dip in prices.  I'd love to get your thoughts.