Chesapeake Area Rentability (vs. Norfolk)

[telemonster]

Originally Posted by Hips Mcgee

You want Ghent. Or Larchment. Now is a great time to get into those areas because once, eventually....hopefully....the economy turns around and once house sales start going you'll get a great return for those 2 options. In this economy now renters are the people that are doing well and with Ghent you'll never run out of potential renters. Ghent (and Larchmont) are connected to good schools. Maury High is a great school that does offer a lot to its students. Thats a lot coming from a comet. Two Universities and a VERY good community college. Norfolk has, in my opinion, more to offer and is just more unique. Close to everything. Check out O'Sullivans Wharf on colley, they remodled and it looks great and the food is still awesome.

The housing bubble isn't coming back anytime soon. There is just such a huge overhang of expensive homes, and the incomes don't exist. The housing price increases were due to people getting loans that they can't really pay, and others were doing well as a result of the housing bubble itself. I remember laughing at the article in the Pilot about the Granby Tower (which failed). All of the people interviewer were "young professionals", and all of them worked in the mortgage industry. Had they closed on those overpriced shoeboxes, do you think they could pay the note now?

This area just doesn't have the jobs. A friend's relative listed their home on the market for $1.4 million, and the Realtor said there was 240 other $1-$1.4 million homes with deep water access on the market in their city. I'd never buy what I see for the price, I could get paid more elsewhere and buy a cheaper house in an area where I'm less likely to get randomly killed by gang initiations.

Every day I see more expensive homes with more for sale signs. People hoping to cash out. They are too late. All the people buying on the bottom will get eaten up.

There is a reason renting is cheaper than buying, that's because everything is overpriced.

[chesapeakesim]

Originally Posted by telemonster

The housing bubble isn't coming back anytime soon. There is just such a huge overhang of expensive homes, and the incomes don't exist. The housing price increases were due to people getting loans that they can't really pay, and others were doing well as a result of the housing bubble itself. I remember laughing at the article in the Pilot about the Granby Tower (which failed). All of the people interviewer were "young professionals", and all of them worked in the mortgage industry. Had they closed on those overpriced shoeboxes, do you think they could pay the note now?

This area just doesn't have the jobs. A friend's relative listed their home on the market for $1.4 million, and the Realtor said there was 240 other $1-$1.4 million homes with deep water access on the market in their city. I'd never buy what I see for the price, I could get paid more elsewhere and buy a cheaper house in an area where I'm less likely to get randomly killed by gang initiations.

Every day I see more expensive homes with more for sale signs. People hoping to cash out. They are too late. All the people buying on the bottom will get eaten up.

There is a reason renting is cheaper than buying, that's because everything is overpriced.

This is especially evident in the southern part of Chesapeake. The area is littered with 1/4 or 1/2 finished developments. During the boom there was always construction going on, now you barely see any. Drive through neighborhoods like Edinburgh or Cahoon Plantation, they seem like ghost towns in a way. I don't see that changing any time soon, most people just can't afford $750K+ houses. Many who were buying these places were those involved with the boom (realtors, construction contractors, mortgage people, etc.). I remember hearing about one realtor who spent $150K to upgrade her kitchen. That would be unheard of now. Also remember seeing those Internet adds saying $600K mortgage for under $2K per month. Now those same adds say $130K mortgage for under $650 per month. Mania is the only way to describe it.