New Home prices going up? (Houston, Cleveland: sales, foreclosures, mortgage)

[chris_ut]

I just spoke with a Meritage sales rep and he said they are expecting a 6k price increase on their new construction plus they are dropping incentives. I have been watching this neighborhood for awhile and they haven't sold anything there in 2 months. Does anyone else find this odd considering the current tightening of the mortgage market and the lack of sales in the area? They also just raised prices 2k last month.

[texasdreamin]

Pretty soon, no one is going to be able to afford to buy a home. The salaries aren't keeping up with the home prices. If they have homes that have been sitting for two months now, it could be that he is trying to make you feel a sense of urgency to purchase one of them. I know they do use those tactics.

[houstone45]

A Ryland rep in Sienna Plantation turned up the heat this weekend as well.

She said the same thing, incentives going away and prices going up next week. Looking around over there, things are not moving very fast and when we are there, we hardly see other customers.

It didn't sit right and felt too high pressure. They really wanted the sale this weekend after a couple of months of silence from them.

Maybe trying to hit numbers for end of the month?

[BFFMaya]

We purchased a Ryland home in Long Meadow Farms in June. We were very fortunate to get a $25,000 upgrade incentive. Two weeks after we purchased, the upgrade incentive disappeared and the home price went up $10K.

We have been told our home will (must) be completed by the end of December, and that any new homes purchased after Sept 1 will not be finished before the new year.

[Mom2Feebs]

I gotta tell ya, I don't see that happening for very long. New home sales are down and this summers' numbers are going to be interesting.

[iceflow]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

I gotta tell ya, I don't see that happening for very long. New home sales are down and this summers' numbers are going to be interesting.

Neither do I. Hasn't Houston picked up a lot of sales in the past 24 months due to high prices elsewhere in the country? So if and when the market tightens elsewhere will Houston still seem as attractive house price wise? It is still however a great place to get one's foot on the housing ladder.

[cla]

When I was looking at new homes in January, every sales rep for every builder told me the same thing. The base price on the home I bought did go up a week after I purchased it, but a couple of months later, came down again. After having built my house and speaking with neighbors who bought homes that others built (people who couldn't get financing or who walked away for whatever reason), if you're willing to buy something that someone else spec'd out, you get a much better deal. Homes in my neighborhood are selling quickly, but that may not be the case all over Houston.

[dwilke]

Exactly right,cla. I, too, bought a new home that someone else had spec'd out. Some of the upgrades are not what I would have chosen - like the tile color, or the carpet - but, hey the price was right.

I've been in this house for 1 year and have managed to replace the ugly patio door (slider) with French Doors. The builder did help me some. I purchased the doors and they had them installed, which included more enclosure of the house. Since the patio doors where 8 feet wide and the french doors only 6 feet.

There are a couple of other changes that I'd like to make, but I've got time. And, the price was definitely right. Which was the reason I purchased this particular home.

I'm in a new subdivision that continues to be built, and yes, the price of the homes have most certainly gone up. I'm hoping that will be to my advantage in the long run.

Good luck to you, chris-ut.

[ChrisfQuin]

I am in the new home sales industry and prices of new homes + incentives vary from neighborhood, its a supply and demand concept.
Also, if the prices are above 200k, more than likely its a second time homebuyer market and therefore the subprime mess does not affect it at all.

I work in a 200k-300k subdivision and all my clients are A paper, meaning they have stellar credit, so we are not affected by all the chaos.

As for the price increase, we have a subdivision that sells like hot cakes (and i mean those good hotcakes like grandma used to make with warm syrup and butter on top with a large glass of milk...........sorry i didnt have breakfast today.......actually i did, but same old hard protein bar) and they are systematically raising prices and dropping incentives.

Another reason might be the phase in which the subdivision is in. When a builder starts a neighborhood its hard to get it going, the slowest times are the very beggining and the close out. Therefore at first, they will have low prices to get people in, and then they will increase as homes are sold until they have about 10 left.

BUT, even though the 200k + new home industry is growing in Houston (yes growing), builders have a lot more competition than they used too. This allows you to have options and negotiate with the builder. Trust me, although we are still doing very well we dont want to miss a sale, so do your homework, find a builder you want, shop their direct competition and see what incentive they are offering and take that to the builder you want to buy from. They wont pass up a sale......i know i wouldnt.

Hope this helps.

[robertsd247]

Originally Posted by ChrisfQuin

I am in the new home sales industry and prices of new homes + incentives vary from neighborhood, its a supply and demand concept.
Also, if the prices are above 200k, more than likely its a second time homebuyer market and therefore the subprime mess does not affect it at all.

I work in a 200k-300k subdivision and all my clients are A paper, meaning they have stellar credit, so we are not affected by all the chaos.

...

Stellar credit must be nice. Got a question though. I have been hearing those with 750+ credit score still are having to put down 20%. Is that true? I live in the Cleveland area (where it leads the entire North American continent in foreclosures).

Also, what is available for really bad credit loans for first time homeowners? I have under-450 credit score on all three credit scores and multi charge offs and bankruptcy...I have a good income though.