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I've been watching the homes for sale (not foreclosures or short sales) for a few years in these areas...is it just me, or is the inventory of homes for sale very low right now?
I've been watching the activity since last July. Many of the same homes we've seen pop up this past fall are still there; no new houses in our price range / location have popped up.
I think people generally wait until March before putting their homes on the market. You'll see an increase then.
Currently we have 1794 single family homes "active" in Ada county. In December, 594 single family homes closed in Ada county. So that is about a 3 month supply.
But in the under $150 range, there are only 135 active, and 114 sold in December, so that is just over a 1 month supply.
A 6 month supply is generally considered an active, healthy market. So we are significantly short on inventory, especially in the starter price range.
Incidentally, we don't have that many short sales and foreclosures right now. I took the original 1794 listings and eliminated all "auctions", "HUD owned", "bank owned", "potential short sales", and "in foreclosure" and still had 1673 left. We seem to have gone through the bulk of our distressed properties.
Thanks guys! Am guessing it's the norm to be "slow" in the winter months and pick up in Spring/Summer...but, is it especially slow this Winter?
Am ready to buy, and anxious to get out of CA and settle in in the area, but at the same time, not wanting to jump the gun and miss out on a much better selection come Spring.
Found, what I thought would be, the home of my dreams in Boise; a newer "cottage" style home that I just loved, inside and out, but lost out on the bidding due to a contingency as I could not get there to see the house in person before the 10th of this month. Bummed, but hoping something similar, or better, will come along. A little discouraged with the slim inventory now tho'.
It definitely does slow down in the winter in general. I think last winter was equally slow. In January 2014, only 93 Single Family homes in Ada county sold in the under $150k range. (compared to 135 on the market right now, and 114 that sold last month). I originally posted December's number (because I forgot that January is done now), but I just looked at January, and a staggeringly low 72 houses are all that closed in January in that price range (presumably because there are so few to choose from).
In January 2013, it was 136. In January 2012, it was 234. In January 2011, it was 208. In January 2010 it was 122. So it varies, but is generally in the 100-250 range lately. So the last 2 years winters have been slower than usual. Last year, spring picked up A LOT, but then it sort of tapered off again after spring.
I've heard and read about staying away from CBH and Hubble homes...how bad are they? Seems CBH is the majority of available homes right now. Any other builders I should shy away from?
Also, I've never lived with an HOA before, I have tried to read the minutes, etc. of any home I've been seriously interested in, as well as the CCR's. What worries me is the potential for special assessments and increases due to potential poor planning/management of some HOA's. Also the overall "health" of the HOA. Love that they offer "protection" from some issues and maintain the common areas as well as provide some really nice amenities, but hate that some of them have so much control and tend to flex their muscles. :-)
Thanks again, this is the BEST board for learning about a new area and I *really* appreciate the time and effort of all who have shared their knowledge and experience...you guys are WONDERFUL!
Every time I see a couple homes I like, they are gone in no time. I wanted to come out in March to buy something and it just doesn't look good. I really don't want in an HOA either, but I did check in to CBH homes and requested copies of their CCR's in different communities. Many of their homes aren't built until you purchase one to put in one of their communities. That takes 5 months.
In the fall I'd see homes listed for weeks and now the nice homes don't last and there isn't much to pick from. It's getting frustrating!
I really don't want to buy something without seeing it!
I've been watching the activity since last July. Many of the same homes we've seen pop up this past fall are still there; no new houses in our price range / location have popped up.
I think people generally wait until March before putting their homes on the market. You'll see an increase then.
Also, I've never lived with an HOA before, I have tried to read the minutes, etc. of any home I've been seriously interested in, as well as the CCR's. What worries me is the potential for special assessments and increases due to potential poor planning/management of some HOA's. Also the overall "health" of the HOA. Love that they offer "protection" from some issues and maintain the common areas as well as provide some really nice amenities, but hate that some of them have so much control and tend to flex their muscles. :-)
I have had nothing but misery living with an HOA. I will NEVER live under their dominion again. The idea of a Nazi/Gestapo HOA guy with a clipboard measuring the blades of my grass left a sour taste in my mouth...
There are good HOAs and bad HOAs. Unfortunately, Boise requires them on all new subdivisions. So if you are buying a house less than 20 years old here, you are going to have to deal with them. Most of them are there just to make sure that properties don't get run down, and to maintain the common areas that are also required by the city.
Mine only consists of about a dozen houses, and we've only once sent a notice to an owner, when their yard was completely taken over with weeds (it was really bad and was starting to leech into other yards).
We manage about 160 rentals in the area, and our most common complaints are on weeds in yards, cars parked where they shouldn't be (blocking neighbors driveways, mailboxes, or on the front lawn), or unsightly cars, and strangely, the most recent "hot button" is garbage cans visible from the street on non-trash pickup days. They want them out of sight, either behind a fence or in the garage. I tell my tenants if you behave on those three topics, you'll likely never have a problem.
But we do have a few properties where the HOA has a crazy person in charge. We've had a complaint letter that one of the nails fell out of a house number and it was leaning against the number next to it. And we've had a complaint that a tenant who went boating had his boat cover hanging over his fence (it was there for 24 hours to dry it out). The best thing you can do is talk to a few neighbors.
Definitely do read the CCRs. I know some of CBH's recent subdivisions have a clause that says you can't park in your driveway, all owners' vehicles are to be parked inside the garage. Driveways are for short term guests only. And their garages are usually the bare minimum size, which means some larger vehicles won't fit in the garage at all. We've had some issues with that. They also often limit the number of allowed pets, which can be a problem for some.
Personally, I'd like to dissolve my HOA, and my neighbors mostly agree with me, but the city won't allow it for the first 20 years. 8 more to go.
CBH and Hubble mostly build very basic homes. They are good if you need a lot of square footage, but they don't come with upgrades. If you want a cheap starter home with lots of square footage, they fill that niche very well. I understand CBH has started building some nicer homes with some upgrades as well, and his newer stuff in general is a better product than his older stuff.
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