Purchasing Property (Townhome and SF Homes) (Leonard, Leona: 2015, mortgage, job market)

[WorldKlas]

I don’t believe home prices will drop significantly in the DFW area. I own an investment townhouse in north Euless in GCISD in zip code 76039. Periodically a 2 Bedroom townhouse comes on the market and they are generally under $300K and are snatched up pretty quickly. They also have a 1 bedroom model that usually listed for about $250K. Something like that would be doable for you…..

[cipherv1]

Originally Posted by Dallas12

Hope you all are doing great this morning!

Just curious to know if it's smart to buy a home in this current market. I believe I'm mentally prepared to make drastic moves, but maybe holding back would be a smarter decision.

Primarily a townhome or a single-family home peaks my interest in buying, but open to suggestions regarding pricing. Plano, Richardson, Dallas, and Allen are my target areas.

Quick glance at my finances:

• 31 year-old male; single

• 65k salary with large upside

• Over 810 credit score

• Zero debt (no student loans)

• Roughly 100k net worth (80% in investments; 20% in high yield savings)

• Goal to save an additional 12k in four months

Advice to OP: Instead of purchasing a home right now, use your capital to expand your skills to land a higher paying job (additional training/certification, MBA, etc..).

[Dallas12]

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the advise on needing to expand my skills and get a higher paying job. The goal within the next six months is to find that and also scope the real estate market for something I'm comfortable purchasing.

I'll keep in mind the costs in addition to the mortgage and use that to calibrate my strategy.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by cipherv1

Advice to OP: Instead of purchasing a home right now, use your capital to expand your skills to land a higher paying job (additional training/certification, MBA, etc..).

Absolutely! Move up the earnings ladder first. Locking yourself into real estate as a single male puts the cart before the horse. If prices had already dropped and you said "I have plenty of career options in Dallas and I can lock myself up here for the long run" then it might be different. I think it is prudent to wait to see what prices do over the next year. If you really are stuck on that location then it may not matter because you might be able to both increase your earning capacity and buy real estate. But, I think the point is that in the short run you probably have nothing to lose by focusing on the career/education instead.

[move4ward]

Originally Posted by Dallas12

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the advise on needing to expand my skills and get a higher paying job. The goal within the next six months is to find that and also scope the real estate market for something I'm comfortable purchasing.

I'll keep in mind the costs in addition to the mortgage and use that to calibrate my strategy.

Good choice. As a renter, your career opportunities aren't limited by location. Take a higher paying job with a bad commute in the short term. After your lease expires, find an apartment closer to the office.

[TeamLynn]

Normally my #1 question is how long do you plan to stay in this home? I like to hear 3-5 years. The longer you stay the more it probably makes sense. You can ride the small up and down waves, you eliminate rent increases. I'm starting to like single family more than townhomes, but townhomes could be an option for you. Over the long term for most investors I've know and worked with in DFW area, they only wish they would have bought more property. I often think about these neighborhoods like north Ft. Worth, Anna, Saginaw and others where houses were $100K and now those same ones are $300-$350K or more.

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/dall...-sf-homes.html

[Leonard123]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Not going to happen.
1. People from all over the USA and the world are still moving to DFW in droves. Many of them are loaded with cash after selling a home in California and want to buy a home here. As long as those people are still coming, which shows no signs of slowing down, the DFW real estate market will remain high.
2. Corporations continue to relocate to DFW to escape higher-tax states such as California and Illinois, and they bring employees with them who also want to buy homes here. As long as that continues, the DFW real estate market will remain high.

They're only buying new homes which are going up. Old houses aren't going up in price outside of a few select neighborhoods. Most haven't budged all year, and they probably aren't going to. The job market isn't as rosy as the numbers make it seem. As noted earlier, there are a lot of hiring and/or pay freezes. Incomes aren't going to just keep going up.

[jpushiys]

Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote

Absolutely! Move up the earnings ladder first. Locking yourself into real estate as a single male puts the cart before the horse. If prices had already dropped and you said "I have plenty of career options in Dallas and I can lock myself up here for the long run" then it might be different. I think it is prudent to wait to see what prices do over the next year. If you really are stuck on that location then it may not matter because you might be able to both increase your earning capacity and buy real estate. But, I think the point is that in the short run you probably have nothing to lose by focusing on the career/education instead.

This is great advise.
As time goes by, the ability to focus on career/education diminishes. If u start lower down the chain, pulling yourself higher gets harder every year. On the other hand, the accumulated wealth over (maybe) 30 years when you start at a higher career level vs not is significant and will likely dwarf any wealth that you sacrificed due to not having a real estate asset.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

They're only buying new homes which are going up. Old houses aren't going up in price outside of a few select neighborhoods. Most haven't budged all year, and they probably aren't going to. The job market isn't as rosy as the numbers make it seem. As noted earlier, there are a lot of hiring and/or pay freezes. Incomes aren't going to just keep going up.

No, not all of the relocating people are buying new homes. Many of them are buying existing homes, especially in close-in neighborhoods, or homes with acreage.

I do agree on the job market. Many industries (including the one where I am employed) are very slow right now.

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote

Absolutely! Move up the earnings ladder first. Locking yourself into real estate as a single male puts the cart before the horse. If prices had already dropped and you said "I have plenty of career options in Dallas and I can lock myself up here for the long run" then it might be different. I think it is prudent to wait to see what prices do over the next year. If you really are stuck on that location then it may not matter because you might be able to both increase your earning capacity and buy real estate. But, I think the point is that in the short run you probably have nothing to lose by focusing on the career/education instead.

If you do this, you're betting that your income will increase faster than the price of housing.

I've made that bet three times in my life and I lost that bet three times in my life. Three times when I would have been better off buying the house NOW. That was in approx. 1997, 2005, 2020.

Do you feel lucky?