Another reason why I don't think the housing market is in too much trouble here in the Triangle .... (Raleigh: fit in, sales)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Everybody likes to point out that slumping home sales in the Northeast and the West coast will cause the market to tank here in the Triangle becasue people can't move here until they sell their current homes. While I don't think that is really true to begin with anyway, the article below makes an interesting point not often considered. What about renters who can no longer afford to rent in those skyrocketting markets? They are another large market driver to consider when discussing real estate in the Triangle. A lot of those people who can no longer afford renting in those NE and west coast markets can afford a house in this market and they are moving here and they don't have houses to sell before buying here. Some of those renters have pretty high incomes .... but the housing costs where they live are even higher!
A lot of those people who can no longer afford renting in those NE and west coast markets can afford a house in this market and they are moving here and they don't have houses to sell before buying here.
sure they can afford a house here but can they easily find a job to support their mortgage? or do they want to change their lifestyle? I know a couple of friends who got a hefty offer to move south but rather stay in nyc and live in old condos...it's a new yorker thing. sometimes it's hard to understand
sure they can afford a house here but can they easily find a job to support their mortgage? or do they want to change their lifestyle?
That is a good question and I think the answer to that is that it depends on what field of work you are in and what kind of lifestyle you currently enjoy. Some people struggle to find employment her while others don't have as hard a time. Others still keep there old jobs and just work from home (tele-commute) from Raleigh. But yes, jobs are another piece of the puzzle!
Besides the healthy job market, there's another bright spot for housing here: we never bubbled in the first place. I saw an article in January which said that house prices had appreciated 5% per year in Durham for the last five years. This is NOTHING in comparison to the nonsense which has been going on in other areas of the country. As a result, potential buyers here have not been priced out of the market. Rentals are still cheap here too (again, in comparison to other metropoloids with jobs) and, for some people in some tax situations, renting can still be a better deal. Buying a home is a lifestyle choice, not an investment. I guess folks are finally learning that.
I guess my family would kind of fit into this category-we were homeowners (of a small, non-expandable home) for a decade, which we sold two years ago at the peak (yea!). Because we are pursuing transfers with our employer, it's taken quite awhile and we've had to rent in the meanwhile. We are on our second rental.
Neither was easy to find and they are both $$$. We're not even in the same part of CT spoken of in that article, we're in a 'cheaper' area (ha, right). It was hard even with two good jobs, good credit and $. I do not know how people on lower incomes do it here. My job keeps me in contact with people in a city and you'd be shocked at how some folks-hardworking folks-live.
So, Lord willing, my family will be one of the ones to buy a home in Raleigh and build our future, and Raleigh's too. We've got to do what is best for our family and our kids.
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The open market is a great leveler.
I was talking to an investor client this week, looking at local rentals, and it seems that rental prices for single family homes have jumped since the mortgage kerfuffle.
Everyone needs shelter.
People who are not buying swell the tenant pool.
More renters means higher rent. Supply and demand.
I recently went on a realtor's website where you can search by zip code. So I entered the North Raleigh zip codes of 27612, 13, 14, and 15. There were 189 single detached homes listed ranging in price from $125K to over $1M. That sure didn't seem to be alot, at least to my inexperienced eye.
Its the national economy ...... If we go into a prolonged recession late this year or next year forget about all areas of the country. The Chinese hold so much of our dollars they could turn our country into a real mess if they decide to use the economic leverage.
Everybody likes to point out that slumping home sales in the Northeast and the West coast will cause the market to tank here in the Triangle becasue people can't move here until they sell their current homes. While I don't think that is really true to begin with anyway, the article below makes an interesting point not often considered. What about renters who can no longer afford to rent in those skyrocketting markets? They are another large market driver to consider when discussing real estate in the Triangle. A lot of those people who can no longer afford renting in those NE and west coast markets can afford a house in this market and they are moving here and they don't have houses to sell before buying here. Some of those renters have pretty high incomes .... but the housing costs where they live are even higher!
Outstanding and very true. When I read the article I thought it needed to be quoted here and ya done us a favor by doing so. If you look at the greater DC/Maryland region there is a lot of wealth living in very expensive apartments.
And that area has enough techies to satisfy RTP and Raleigh for a long time.
My husband and I are in the high rent catagory. We live in South Florida and cannot afford housing. We CAN afford a house in Raleigh and we are teachers, so here we come!!
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