The market is always changing, sometimes there's an advantage to be a seller and other times an advantage to being a buyer. Whether you are on either side, what matters is what you would like to do.

Typically real estate has seasons, during spring and summer usually it picks up and is more competitive compared to the fall and winter.

This is something you will need to figure out with a lender. Minimum is usually 3%, however some scenarios you may want to put down more to show a seller that you are serious.

Yes! Even if the market is competitive, interests rates are currently low and having a place to call home is priceless. Throughout history real estate values have always come up, even after corrections or crashes, so especially if you plan to live in your home long term, purchasing a home is a good thing. You cant put a price on piece of mind.

If you need to sell your home first there are a few things you can do. One is to sell yours first, live in a hotel or rent somwhere in the meantime. Another is to purchase the home you would like first, then sell your current home. And the final option is to put an offer on the home you want with a contingency. Keep in mind though that an offer like this is substantially weaker when in competition with other buyers.

You typically do not have to pay an agent if you are a buyer. The seller pays a commission to the sellers agent and to the buyers agent. So in most cases you don't have to pay anything to an agent. However some agents will require you to pay them a percentage at the end especially if they are highly trained and experienced. Usually this is because they will find you a home faster and get you into the property with less hassle. You get what you pay for.

A mortgage is the monthly amount you have to pay back on the loan you took out on your property. A mortgage will cover the loan as well as the interest. If you fail to pay a mortgage however, the financial institute, usually the bank, will have the right to take the property.