Naperville real estate (Chicago: to rent, mortgage, how much)

[marioana]

We are looking to buy a single family home in Naperville, but we are not sure it's the right time. We are currently renting, and I know it's a seller's market so I can't negotiate. But houses that were selling for $450000 two years ago are selling for $600000 or more now. I am afraid that in a few years prices will go down to what they used to be and I will be stuck with it. We are planning on starting a family and probably we will own the house for at least 20 years.
Should I bite the bullet or rent for a few more years?

[Logic87]

Originally Posted by marioana

We are looking to buy a single family home in Naperville, but we are not sure it's the right time. We are currently renting, and I know it's a seller's market so I can't negotiate. But houses that were selling for $450000 two years ago are selling for $600000 or more now. I am afraid that in a few years prices will go down to what they used to be and I will be stuck with it. We are planning on starting a family and probably we will own the house for at least 20 years.
Should I bite the bullet or rent for a few more years?

If you plan on living in the home for 20 years then buy. At the end of the day a home is a place to live in and not an investment. No one can predict what will happen to home prices and one could even make an argument that home prices will only continue to rise (e.g. low supply, inflation factors, the factors that led to the last crash are not relevant today, etc.)

If you plan on “timing” the market then you continue to rent and see if the increase in mortgage rates will have an impact on home prices and you can hope that supply picks up. I was looking to buy in 2020 and gave up because of the competition and I ended up buying in 2021 where home prices went only up and supply was even more limited compared to the year before. Looking at the housing market today, it appears to be even more competitive and rates have only gone up.

Overall I’m glad I have a roof over my head that is my own and I locked into an extremely low rate, and if we experience another housing crash then we will probably have bigger issues at hand related to the economy.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Logic87

If you plan on living in the home for 20 years then buy. At the end of the day a home is a place to live in and not an investment. No one can predict what will happen to home prices and one could even make an argument that home prices will only continue to rise (e.g. low supply, inflation factors, the factors that led to the last crash are not relevant today, etc.)

If you plan on “timing” the market then you continue to rent and see if the increase in mortgage rates will have an impact on home prices and you can hope that supply picks up. I was looking to buy in 2020 and gave up because of the competition and I ended up buying in 2021 where home prices went only up and supply was even more limited compared to the year before. Looking at the housing market today, it appears to be even more competitive and rates have only gone up.

Overall I’m glad I have a roof over my head that is my own and I locked into an extremely low rate, and if we experience another housing crash then we will probably have bigger issues at hand related to the economy.

Yes, seconding this. If you're going to be there a while and you can afford $600k then go for it. Everything up to that price point in Naperville should be sufficient for the average size family.

I moved to Naperville about 5 and a half years ago and bought what was sufficient for my wife and me. We have 2 kids now and both permanently WFH and we wish we raised our price range a little, but now we wish we had a bit more space at a more reasonable price, and our current interest rate, which is quite low considering we didn't refi in the past year.

[personone]

Originally Posted by marioana

We are looking to buy a single family home in Naperville, but we are not sure it's the right time. We are currently renting, and I know it's a seller's market so I can't negotiate. But houses that were selling for $450000 two years ago are selling for $600000 or more now. I am afraid that in a few years prices will go down to what they used to be and I will be stuck with it. We are planning on starting a family and probably we will own the house for at least 20 years.
Should I bite the bullet or rent for a few more years?

The pandemic was a paradigm shift, as many more people are spending more time in their homes (teleworking, less commuting) and many people realized the luxury of having space. So homes in the suburbs are selling for a lot more now.

As someone else mentioned, which I agree with, I wouldn't try to game the system and guess about whether or not prices will decrease in a few years. You could potentially miss out on a really nice house.

If you are looking to start a family and want to live in Naperville, I would just set a budget and find the home that suits you and your family.

Naperville is a great suburb, and if you are planning on living there for at least 20 years, saving some money at the risk of losing out (because you can't guess what the market is like in 2 years) isn't worth it IMO.

[tolovefromANFIELD]

Originally Posted by marioana

We are looking to buy a single family home in Naperville, but we are not sure it's the right time. We are currently renting, and I know it's a seller's market so I can't negotiate. But houses that were selling for $450000 two years ago are selling for $600000 or more now. I am afraid that in a few years prices will go down to what they used to be and I will be stuck with it. We are planning on starting a family and probably we will own the house for at least 20 years.
Should I bite the bullet or rent for a few more years?

There's almost nothing in Naperville, even in $600k range right now. Your problem won't be whether or not you make/lose money buying now, but just even getting an opportunity to do so.

[personone]

Originally Posted by tolovefromANFIELD

There's almost nothing in Naperville, even in $600k range right now. Your problem won't be whether or not you make/lose money buying now, but just even getting an opportunity to do so.

Really ........

https://www.redfin.com/city/29501/IL...max-price=650k

[Hiruko]

Naperville is one of the hotter suburban markets. There is less than a month's worth of inventory. I think prices will go down as interest rates rise. But, the question is how much? I don't know that they will crater and sit in a rut like they did after 2008 in suburban Chicago, but you really just never know.

[tolovefromANFIELD]

Originally Posted by personone

Really ........

https://www.redfin.com/city/29501/IL...max-price=650k

Almost all of those are new construction. Did you even look at the link you've sent out?

And the OP was asking about specific segment. Houses that were selling for $450k. Those are your typical McMansions in 20-30 year old neighborhoods.

There's absolutely nothing in those neighborhoods now. I know, because I live in one, and a house went under contract a bit above $600k with 28 offers in a single weekend.

So, yeah, really

[tolovefromANFIELD]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

Naperville is one of the hotter suburban markets. There is less than a month's worth of inventory. I think prices will go down as interest rates rise. But, the question is how much? I don't know that they will crater and sit in a rut like they did after 2008 in suburban Chicago, but you really just never know.

One month inventory is even generous. Look at Tall Grass, close to 1k homes, a very transient neighborhood--lots of corporate transfers, typical Mcmansions--brick front, 4-5 bedrooms, 3k+ square feet, 3 car garages. In a typical winter there are around 20 or so homes active, without contracts at any given time, in spring/summer close to 50.

Right now: one. McMansion subdivisions in Naperville, and I'm sure elsewhere, haven't been this popular since 2001-2006.

[personone]

Originally Posted by tolovefromANFIELD

Almost all of those are new construction. Did you even look at the link you've sent out?

And the OP was asking about specific segment. Houses that were selling for $450k. Those are your typical McMansions in 20-30 year old neighborhoods.

There's absolutely nothing in those neighborhoods now. I know, because I live in one, and a house went under contract a bit above $600k with 28 offers in a single weekend.

So, yeah, really

Did you even read your original post? You said that there's almost nothing in the $600K range. The OP said nothing about McMansions or type of neighborhood.

There are options in the $600 range, which my link showed.

So, yeah, really