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Old 03-02-2012, 07:15 AM
 
Location: Hackensack, NJ
777 posts, read 2,369,490 times
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Things are still flat. No way prices are back at 2006-2007 levels. Personally and speaking to other professionals in my field, things have picked up since around November.
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Old 03-02-2012, 08:15 AM
 
Location: West Orange, NJ
12,546 posts, read 21,334,517 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin1975 View Post
Things are still flat. No way prices are back at 2006-2007 levels. Personally and speaking to other professionals in my field, things have picked up since around November.
I've seen this, anecdotally, in my neighborhood. Seems like a lot of houses are being listed in December and January, when it's usually much slower. If my neighborhood could just get this one unsightly house sold so someone can move in and start taking care of it, we'd be golden!
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Old 03-04-2012, 08:27 AM
 
11,337 posts, read 10,975,004 times
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Prices remain at 2002-2003 levels for the most part from what I am seeing. At least in northern NJ north of 78. Values are flat for the most part, with 2-3% annual declines in some areas, 2-3% increases in a few areas, and pretty much stable for the rest.

Real increases will not happen until the job market improves. At least first time unemployment claims are way down since November, pretty much staying at 350,000 to 390,000. That is definitely a good sign for the future.
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Old 03-04-2012, 08:58 AM
 
Location: Ontario, NY
3,503 posts, read 7,742,404 times
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I'm not calling a absolute bottom quite yet, but I say were close enough to the bottom that it's not worth waiting anymore.

Lets take an example here. Say a house you have your eye on back in 2005 was 300k. Since then prices have slipped a good 50%, the house is now priced at 150k. Now if you wait another 2 year, yes the price could slide even further say another 5%, so it's $142,500, less than what you would have paid for the house if you had purchased it 2 years earlier. If continue to rent for another year years, figure $1,500 a month rent, that 36k in rent spend in two years to save yourself $7,500. not a wise strategy in my opinion. In fact the house would have to fall another 25%, from 150k before you would break even on what you would be spending on rent and what you could be saving waiting for prices to slide further.

My point is the the biggest price declines are long over. Sure the market could slide another 5 or 10%, but in most areas, it's not worth the wait. For all intensive purposes we ARE at the bottom in most markets.

Yes buying does still cost more then renting, but to base when your going to buy on market real estate prices falling further isn't a good strategy unless your living with your parents for free.
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Old 03-16-2012, 09:49 AM
 
54 posts, read 265,053 times
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Well last couple of weeks, the houses I've looked at always have more than 1 offers, (good areas still selling around 2008 levels) I think it's partly because interest rate is heading higher, since 10-bond rate is also high due to stock market going up.

People who've bee looking for a while are jumping into buying houses since the higher interest rates effect affordability.
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Old 03-16-2012, 10:33 AM
 
Location: WFNJ
1,037 posts, read 3,141,193 times
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I wouldn't conclude the state of the market based on 1 agent on 1 open house in early March.
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Old 03-16-2012, 11:46 AM
 
386 posts, read 611,397 times
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First things first...."When" should one buy a house

1. When one has 20% to make a down payment (Not because 20% is better than 10 %...but it tells the person investing in a house how stable is his/her monthly cashflow or how long it took them to get that 20% together).

2. Go back for atleast 2 years ie 24 months and check how much you were able to earn each month. Undertaking the exercise now is a great idea since that tells you how you fared in the worst economic phase.

3. When the need for having a roof over your head cannot be met economically exercising other options...Renting, living with roommates/ friends.

4. Those who cite lower interest rate and make a case for not renting and owning instead forget the total cost of homeowernship.
eg. A) Renting in Newport = $ 1900/month for a 1BR condo. V/S
B) Ownership = ~$3000 (1700 EMI + 1000 property tax + 250 HOA ) 2BR townhome.

5. You can opt out of renting....but getting out of a mortgage as we all know is tough.

Buying a house is a momentary decision....you may have the required cash and a credit for loan. But the commitment of home ownership is stretched over a 15/30 year period. Thus once again look at how stable is your cashflow on a monthly basis. Look into the near and midterm future for likely yet unavoidable expenses eg Continuing education, pregnancy, loss of one income in case of pregnancy or one partner opting to stay at home to look after the kid.

There certainly is a movement in the market and the movement is positive. But the fundamental issue that caused the crash was buying things one can't afford to pay over 15/30 years.

No ones going to get "priced out" of this market anytime soon...so hold onto your $$$
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Old 03-16-2012, 12:23 PM
 
1,135 posts, read 2,376,515 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan View Post
I dont think the housing market is "coming back" any time soon.

Going to be a long flat line for quite a while
This is a good thing for NJ, IMO. Salaries have been mostly flat for the past 5 years while taxes have continued to be insane. There's no way most people would be able to buy a house if the prices had kept going up. Hopefully, they'll stay where they are until salaries catch up.

Prices are still high compared to a decade ago. The house we sold for $180,000 in 2001 was accessed at over $300,000 last time I looked up the tax records.
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Old 03-16-2012, 03:57 PM
 
Location: NJ/NY
18,412 posts, read 15,123,131 times
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I bought my house in 2006 on a street that was all new construction. One of my neighbors just sold for 11% less than he bought in 2006. That said, housing price declines vary incredibly based on location. Blanket statements just don't work.
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Old 03-16-2012, 04:14 PM
 
Location: NJ
12,283 posts, read 35,587,981 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD View Post
I bought my house in 2006 on a street that was all new construction. One of my neighbors just sold for 11% less than he bought in 2006. That said, housing price declines vary incredibly based on location. Blanket statements just don't work.
My guess is your neighbor probably dropped some coin in the house above and beyond the purchase price, so the "loss" was probably more, no?

My neighbor sold for about ~35% more than they bought 11 years ago...BUT...if I do a rough estimate of what they sunk into the house (not maintenance, but improvements: finished basement, fence, patio, etc) my guess is their "profit" (not counting any selling fees) was about 10%.
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