Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I appreciate the responses to my question. I understand the basic idea that you want to pay as little as possible. But on the other side the seller wants to sell for as high as possible. This is basic economics. I guess my question is grounded in reality . Are most buyers looking for prices to drop 40%, because if they are, they will not be buying most homes. They will be buying forclosed homes that have not been maintained.
Are there any true buyers out there anymore?
With the cost of living so high and so hard to get a good paying job to keep me a float, to be a true buyer is far more difficult than I ever knew it. I am at the stage where I want to buy, but I don't know if I can afford it with all the extra fees and taxes along with the price of a starter home. With the fake loans imploding the economy and causing all these foreclosures, getting a loan is scary in itself! there's sooo much involved in this process.
My opinion is 'no' since there is too much of a buyers / sellers gap in the purchasing price of a home. As a reiteration, the best policy is to take a wait and see for at least one year. At that time, then we will know where the buyer / selling prices then stand.
The current huge risk is for someone to end up 'Upside - Down' with a house / mortgage purchase. If someone is not familiar with that term - - it means that the amount of mortgage on a given house is more than the value of the house. This is a simplified definition and perhaps others might want to elaborate on that. Obvioulsy, being upside - down is a huge risk for the near term future.
So my personal opinion is to just watch the housing market for at least one year. IF you obsolutely need a roof over your head, then rent a nice single family house that you can afford. There will be more and more of these rental units when people can not sell their single family homes at the prices they want.
Carter Glass
Wheaton, IL
I think this is good advice....lots of people put down renting, but it has always worked for me, it really has its benefits and you have less responsibilities to worry about overall (grounds maintenance, and other fees, you can walk away at the end of the lease).
For me it has more to do with getting my finances in order and the way that I want them, before I take on more responsibilities. It has more to do with me than the market, though I do think prices are just ridiculous, still. And you are right what you say about average salaries.....incomes are just not going up enough .....
As Lou Holtz said, things are never as good or as bad as they seem. The current housing market exemplifies this. It's not as bad as people say it is. There is absolutely no rational basis for asserting that housing will fall 40%. Yes, it might fall 40%. Or it might fall 80%. Or maybe 10%, or it might be stable, or it might rise slightly.... The point is, nobody knows. Oh, and nobody knew 3 years ago when housing seemed like a can't-miss investment. It makes no more sense to sit on the sidelines now than it did 3 years ago, given that we know absolutely no more about the future now than we did then.
I recently read that this will be the worst year (in terms of existing home sales) since 2001. And we all remember 2001, right? How the housing market threw the whole economy into the toilet because nobody was buying? Oh, wait...maybe not.
As far as buyers go, there are always buyers out there. There will always be transferees; buyers who need more space or a better location after having kids; former renters who want to own; etc. There are certainly fewer current buyers who are moving up for no other reason than they can, however, and that is what's distinguishing this market from the last few years.
So to the OP who asks if buyers are out there, the answer is yes, just not as many. So you need to ask yourself, "will my house stand out in the market?" If not, you're in a tough spot right now. For example, the only way to compete in the market for most 2BR/1.5BA condos in River North is on price. But I just bought a newer-construction home in an established suburb because I've looked there long enough to know that houses like this don't come around much. And I knew that I could sell my current townhome because it is highly desired in my neighborhood for its large size and layout. If you can say the same, I'd say go for it. But be honest with yourself about it.
I just can't let eroneous information go without comment-- The so-called starter home mentioned above may be on a 100 x 300 lot which land value alone could easily exceed $400K.
As Lou Holtz said, things are never as good or as bad as they seem. The current housing market exemplifies this. It's not as bad as people say it is. There is absolutely no rational basis for asserting that housing will fall 40%. Yes, it might fall 40%. Or it might fall 80%. Or maybe 10%, or it might be stable, or it might rise slightly.... The point is, nobody knows. Oh, and nobody knew 3 years ago when housing seemed like a can't-miss investment. It makes no more sense to sit on the sidelines now than it did 3 years ago, given that we know absolutely no more about the future now than we did then.
I recently read that this will be the worst year (in terms of existing home sales) since 2001. And we all remember 2001, right? How the housing market threw the whole economy into the toilet because nobody was buying? Oh, wait...maybe not.
As far as buyers go, there are always buyers out there. There will always be transferees; buyers who need more space or a better location after having kids; former renters who want to own; etc. There are certainly fewer current buyers who are moving up for no other reason than they can, however, and that is what's distinguishing this market from the last few years.
So to the OP who asks if buyers are out there, the answer is yes, just not as many. So you need to ask yourself, "will my house stand out in the market?" If not, you're in a tough spot right now. For example, the only way to compete in the market for most 2BR/1.5BA condos in River North is on price. But I just bought a newer-construction home in an established suburb because I've looked there long enough to know that houses like this don't come around much. And I knew that I could sell my current townhome because it is highly desired in my neighborhood for its large size and layout. If you can say the same, I'd say go for it. But be honest with yourself about it.
Very good comment. He's right about up and downs and there's always buyers out there. predicting the future is more and more difficult.
I think this is good advice....lots of people put down renting, but it has always worked for me, it really has its benefits and you have less responsibilities to worry about overall (grounds maintenance, and other fees, you can walk away at the end of the lease).
For me it has more to do with getting my finances in order and the way that I want them, before I take on more responsibilities. It has more to do with me than the market, though I do think prices are just ridiculous, still. And you are right what you say about average salaries.....incomes are just not going up enough .....
Comment about renting opinion: I believe renting can be a good thing for just that reasons of less responsiblity for some (unless ground maintenance is included in your responsibilities at a house rental like ours). There's definitely benefits to renting. The problem I'm having and I know many others are having is the increase in many fees and extra deposits, nonrefundable stuff. Particullarly for owners with pets or other extra materials. It's getting more and more difficult finding a reasonable renter who won't require from the renter huge deposits and additional fees for pets.
So, buying makes more sense in allowing the person not have to deal with that stuff. It's a hard one to weigh out the pros and cons these days in addition to the cost of living.
Yes there are real buyers such as myself. People from Michigan are leaving by 1000 a month. Really. There are not looking or buying in the western states or southern either for that matter.
Why? most people North like the north and want to stay for the winters etc.
Sellers- Take a look at your inventory! Declutter your homes. The biggest turn-off to us buyers is all your items laying around. We assume if you can't pick -up your house, you have little respect for it giving us the impression that it is not well maintained. Yea we all lead busy lives but if you can't do it Pay to have it done. Rent a storage container for a few months it's cheaper than lowing your price because it won't sell. The longer it's on the market the better deal we will obviously get because you become desperate. lol
Pack up anything you won't need for 6 months or so and get it out of the house,garage and your back yards.
A clean house sells ! and pet smells no matter how clean it looks won't get me to take off my shoes. (hint. hint.)
If your house has to many items in it ....makes me think there's not enough room to put my things. Try using the book shelves for instance for BOOKS and yea we laugh at you who bake those cookies just before we come (so 70's) and forget using that whole can of Fabreeze too ...trying to hide something? Purchase some new clean towels if your going to leave them out or hanging.
This sounds so inconvient?? plan on staying then.
Realtors that do not post at least 6 pictures on Realtor.com need to be fired. It's free if they pay into it. You don't want anyone anyway that doesn't put some money back into their business. This market is weeding out those cheappo realtors anyhow because their houses never sell without advertising.Like I said a lot of buyer are looking from out of state. If we can't see pictures there's no way we are coming into town to look at yours.
Don't get angry with us buyers because we want your house cheap it's the market and housing prises are falling but if your realtor low-balls your house to get it to move it's probable that they are saying this place is a mess and it won't sell unless I dump it.
Well you asked! My opinion may not matter but then again if your selling??
Well you asked! My opinion may not matter but then again if your selling??
I'm also selling and appreciate your opinions. I agree with you about getting rid of all clutter. I am majorly decluttering now and painting the rooms a neutral beige.
I have one big question though: Should I change all carpeting in my house to a neutral beige or should I give a big carpeting allowance so buyers can get the carpet they want?
2 realtors have given me 2 different opinions on this. All the carpeting is clean and in great shape. Downstairs is a cream berber with brown specks. Stairway and upstairs hallway is green though (not neutral but I've gotten lots of complements on it). The 5 bedrooms all have cream carpeting. Any opinions from you buyers out there? I'm very confused about this. Thanks!
Gosh that's tough, and I'm not an expert, but personally I'd rather walk into a house and see everything done, not have someone tell me I can do it. I'd do a neutral beige throughout, but like I said it's probably a personal preference.
[quote=jk6pack;2897275]Yes there are real buyers such as myself. People from Michigan are leaving by 1000 a month. Really. There are not looking or buying in the western states or southern either for that matter.
Why? most people North like the north and want to stay for the winters etc.
Sellers- Take a look at your inventory! Declutter your homes. The biggest turn-off to us buyers is all your items laying around. We assume if you can't pick -up your house, you have little respect for it giving us the impression that it is not well maintained. Yea we all lead busy lives but if you can't do it Pay to have it done. Rent a storage container for a few months it's cheaper than lowing your price because it won't sell. The longer it's on the market the better deal we will obviously get because you become desperate. lol
Pack up anything you won't need for 6 months or so and get it out of the house,garage and your back yards.
A clean house sells ! and pet smells no matter how clean it looks won't get me to take off my shoes. (hint. hint.)
If your house has to many items in it ....makes me think there's not enough room to put my things. Try using the book shelves for instance for BOOKS and yea we laugh at you who bake those cookies just before we come (so 70's) and forget using that whole can of Fabreeze too ...trying to hide something? Purchase some new clean towels if your going to leave them out or hanging.
This sounds so inconvient?? plan on staying then.
Realtors that do not post at least 6 pictures on Realtor.com need to be fired. It's free if they pay into it. You don't want anyone anyway that doesn't put some money back into their business. This market is weeding out those cheappo realtors anyhow because their houses never sell without advertising.Like I said a lot of buyer are looking from out of state. If we can't see pictures there's no way we are coming into town to look at yours.
Don't get angry with us buyers because we want your house cheap it's the market and housing prises are falling but if your realtor low-balls your house to get it to move it's probable that they are saying this place is a mess and it won't sell unless I dump it. [quote]
I agree with this on all levels. You have to draw in the buyers and make them want your home. So, make it desirable.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Real Buyer
