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I know there are a lot of people on this forum who live in another state that are just investigating the Triangle Area online, but how many of you are already here in the area and doing the house hunt? How has it been going? What areas of the Traingle are you considering? How many places have you looked at so far? Just wondering how many folks on this board are actively looking to buy vs. those just testing the waters. I bought my house a year ago this week and I miss the hunt, but I love hearing about others search for thier dream home!
No matter what the gloom&doom crowd says (most of them don't live here anyway ), GOOD (and I emphasize GOOD) houses are selling fast. You can do a search online and find tons of houses for sale, new and resale. HOWEVER, most of them have some kind of problem (backs up to a road, power line, sloped lot, steep driveway, bad neighborhood, etc,etc) and probably that's what is keeping them on the market, which is already slow. I've looked at more than 60 (SIXTY) houses in person, after eliminating more than 100 in on-line searches, in the last few months and there were only TWO that were potential. One turned out to be too far and isolated so it came down to ONE. I'm exhausted just thinking about it lol.
No matter what the gloom&doom crowd says (most of them don't live here anyway ), GOOD (and I emphasize GOOD) houses are selling fast. You can do a search online and find tons of houses for sale, new and resale. HOWEVER, most of them have some kind of problem (backs up to a road, power line, sloped lot, steep driveway, bad neighborhood, etc,etc) and probably that's what is keeping them on the market, which is already slow. I've looked at more than 60 (SIXTY) houses in person, after eliminating more than 100 in on-line searches, in the last few months and there were only TWO that were potential. One turned out to be too far and isolated so it came down to ONE. I'm exhausted just thinking about it lol.
You said it all, we finally brought new and are waiting for it to be done. We had trouble selling up north and our house was beautiful but our lot had issues. We were very selective in buying here and it took time due to selling our house. We were very selective and brought with resale in mind. We were much more conscious of resale this time then in our previous purchases. We eliminated anything with a negative. We ended up buying more house then we needed but more then enough for resale I think what you are seeing is that as a result of the trouble people are having selling they are being more selective then normal buying. We are seeing a real flight to quality which is leaving some in a pinch to sell. If you want quality you will not get much if any pricing break when buying. If you are willing to compromise you will get a discount. Just make sure you sell at the right time. My son who already lives in Raleigh just sold and brought within the last week or so. I follow the market daily and Realtor.Com knows me by first name.
That can be a problem especially as we go into years end trying to sort out the liveable houses to the ones that have some sort of lil' red flag going on.
As I think we probably see more lil red flags during this time, as the others sold or pulled off market for the holidays etc.
Many new houses on the ground and still going up, so hopefully after sorting peeps will have something they can find to call home,
But gosh that is alot of houses to sort thru, whew.
I don't think I can say I miss the house hunting, but I can say I always enjoy looking at other houses. And often stop in and take a peek at open houses etc. Keeping up to date with what they are building and maybe get some ideas to keep in mind.
The weather is far to nice in the triangle to be 'gloom&doom' however there are some clouds on the horizon that are creeping in from other parts of the country that are 'doom&gloom' no matter how you rate a community or single house they are all affected by our US economy and the indicators are not good. Signs are pointing to a recession which will keep people on the side lines until the outlook is 'brighter'. Houses sell in every market and this one is better than some around the country but is slowing. Just look at the new home permits and remodeling permits being taken out and that will show how much it slowed over the past 2 years. In my opinion this is the time to take a wait and see attitude and carefully research the area, home, and schools you plan to move. I find it hard to believe that most 'every' home on the market has some problem with it. I know many in Northern Wake that are beautiful homes but are over priced and not selling. It will pick up when prices start their downward trend and more mortgage money becomes available.
We have been looking for a house in Chapel Hill since July. Like people have been saying, most of the houses on the market have issues. It is getting very frustrating. We moved down here for a better life so I want to find a house as nice if not better than the one we left in MA. That hasn't happened yet.
We've had a long time for our home search, thanks to our house "up north" not selling. We kept being assured that our market "would pick up" so we came down on several house hunts before i secured the job, and a few house hunts since then we she can come down to visit me.
The wife and I have looked online at conservatively several thousand homes since Feb. (and 100 or so in person), and while everything had something I wasn't thrilled about, there seemed to be a good core that were "decent". Of the 100 - 14 or so were ones we could envision living in (with issues we were willing to deal with), of which 4 were pretty much right up our alley. Of the 14, 4 were pulled from the market, 6 have sold, and 4 are still on the market.
Interestingly enough all 4 "flat out nice" houses were within 2 miles of each other (down 401 some distance, 3 were in "Clayton" 1 in FV.)
I am finding it difficult to find anything worth wild on my on-line search. We are considering moving to the Raleigh Durham area.. for a job offer. Realizing you really don't get much for your money.. I currently have a 2000 sft. house in Michigan that I am selling for 185,000. I think my husband will have to make 30,000 more in income to find a house equivalent to what we have now. I also notice alot of townhomes...is that popular? We are thinking more of areas like Apex, maybe Cary.. but I don't want to spend more than 220,000... doesnt look like I can get crab for that... Also What are the property taxes in NC.... I pay 2200 a year. Thanks
Are you guys serious when you said you looked at 100 houses?! I'm not trying to be insulting or anything, but how can you look at so many houses and not have one suit you? I just am trying to understand this process... Assuming that I am locked into my lease until February, and assuming I'm not that terribly picky, when should we be looking? I've been to a few open houses, some were just ok, and some were pretty nice. Some needed this or that, but when it comes to house hunting, when is good enough good enough? How do you prioritize needs and wants?
I am finding it difficult to find anything worth wild on my on-line search. We are considering moving to the Raleigh Durham area.. for a job offer. Realizing you really don't get much for your money.. I currently have a 2000 sft. house in Michigan that I am selling for 185,000. I think my husband will have to make 30,000 more in income to find a house equivalent to what we have now. I also notice alot of townhomes...is that popular? We are thinking more of areas like Apex, maybe Cary.. but I don't want to spend more than 220,000... doesnt look like I can get crab for that... Also What are the property taxes in NC.... I pay 2200 a year. Thanks
Homes in your price range tend to go quickly. Yes, housing is more expensive down here then in most areas of Michigan and Ohio. We had the same shell shock when we moved down here 4 years ago.
However, you can find homes near that square footage in that price range from time to time…just keep your eyes open.
Where will your husband be working? It really pays in time and money to pick somewhere near your work…as the commute and gas prices really effect quality of life.
Thankfully, other then maybe ITB, you can find homes in your price range in many areas.
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), GOOD (and I emphasize GOOD) houses are selling fast. You can do a search online and find tons of houses for sale, new and resale. HOWEVER, most of them have some kind of problem (backs up to a road, power line, sloped lot, steep driveway, bad neighborhood, etc,etc) and probably that's what is keeping them on the market, which is already slow. I've looked at more than 60 (SIXTY) houses in person, after eliminating more than 100 in on-line searches, in the last few months and there were only TWO that were potential. One turned out to be too far and isolated so it came down to ONE. I'm exhausted just thinking about it lol.
True Grass is Greener.....
