Real Estate Market beginning a big Price Correction? Especially in the suburban over a $million bracket? (Boston: buying, universities)

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by robotfood540

This market is downright demoralizing for a 29 year old working in the city and trying to save for a home. I read threads like this that offer a glimmer of hope, but at the end of the day no one knows exactly where the market will be next year..or in 2 or 3 years. Let me ask you this, if you were living in your girlfriend's dad's house in Quincy rent free (he now lives in Minneapolis, but is holding onto the house), would you be eager to enter the market sooner rather than later? We have saved approx. $40k in one year so far for a down payment and are just not quite sure when to bite the bullet and start our home search..

OMG - as everyone else says, stay in that situation for as long as you can. You'll always benefit by saving cash. Being able to save $40K a year is amazing. Not many people are able to live rent/mortgage free for an extended period of time. (Except for people with no mortgage -- although even then they're on the hook for property taxes, insurance, and the like.)

[Whatsnext75]

I would definitely stay in the dad's house living for free.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by robotfood540

If only he'd give us the house...

Then you would lose some of your independence as an adult and a certain amount of respect from your GF's father. Trust me, you don't want that. Earning your own way is much better in the long run.

[Whatsnext75]

Why do you really need him to give you the house if you are living there for free? If you have a house to live in for free I'd say that trumps owning aka coming up with the down payment and paying a mortgage every month. People really have this sense of pride that they need to own their own place...i get it kind of...but free living would be good for my pride also.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Why do you really need him to give you the house if you are living there for free? If you have a house to live in for free I'd say that trumps owning aka coming up with the down payment and paying a mortgage every month. People really have this sense of pride that they need to own their own place...i get it kind of...but free living would be good for my pride also.

And for much of human existence, how we lived. Of course, I say this as a member of family who all lives within a 30 mile radius and yet there is zero generational sharing of space ... how efficient.

[robotfood540]

Trust me, I swallowed my pride long ago and will milk this as long as possible. And me saying "give us the house," really means "sell it to us for market value so we can avoid the frenzy of competing buyers." My buddy who has been in the market for nearly a year stated that Weymouth prices seem to have flattened, whereas Quincy continues to climb (we're in Quincy). Quincy is my goal so better keep saving...

[hardport1996]

We sold our house in an affluent suburb off 128 a few months ago. We didn't need to be in MA for work, and although we loved our time there, felt it was overpriced, largely overrated on as basic livability scale, infrastructure has been on a major decline for decades, and housing was approaching bubble territory. Taxes were jumping much higher too, and that looks to continue considering the states budget projections. But, as long as there are wealthy foreign buyers with students at the many universities, that will prop up home prices. Three homes in my neighborhood sold for over a miliion cash sale, and were purchased by Asian families to secure a place for their kids to live while they attend college. If that continues, prices will stay high.
I do think a recession will cause some metro Boston prices to drop pretty fast, since there are so many startups and tiny fledgling tech employers crowding into metro west, and a recession will likely wipe out a lot of those newly created Boston jobs that are also driving up prices.

[Whatsnext75]

I read an article yesterday that the MA median house price is at an all time high. Many people seem to think we are in bubble territory? Hard to say because the city is booming right now with new companies and jobs not to mention people paying all cash for million dollar homes. As a homeowner i dont want there to be a bubble but at the same time I think prices have become ridiculous and just overpriced. Many million dollar homes today just seem so average but people have this need to live here along with the money so they are buying.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

I read an article yesterday that the MA median house price is at an all time high. Many people seem to think we are in bubble territory? Hard to say because the city is booming right now with new companies and jobs not to mention people paying all cash for million dollar homes. As a homeowner i dont want there to be a bubble but at the same time I think prices have become ridiculous and just overpriced. Many million dollar homes today just seem so average but people have this need to live here along with the money so they are buying.

The unfortunate thing about a bubble is you'll never know you're in one until it pops. Personally, I think people keep saying "bubble" because we just went through that and that's what people know. Historically, the real estate market doesn't go through such violent up/down swings. So, hopefully we'll be seeing more of a leveling off or a gentle decline.

I agree with you though - prices shock me. I saw a house sell in Needham recently that was 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and about 1800 sf on a tiny lot with a detached 2 car garage and it went for nearly $1M. Granted, it was impeccably renovated throughout but still $1M for an 1800 sf house is a lot of money for not a lot of space. People move to the 'burbs for space quite often.

[mwbms28]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

The unfortunate thing about a bubble is you'll never know you're in one until it pops. Personally, I think people keep saying "bubble" because we just went through that and that's what people know. Historically, the real estate market doesn't go through such violent up/down swings. So, hopefully we'll be seeing more of a leveling off or a gentle decline.

I agree with you though - prices shock me. I saw a house sell in Needham recently that was 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and about 1800 sf on a tiny lot with a detached 2 car garage and it went for nearly $1M. Granted, it was impeccably renovated throughout but still $1M for an 1800 sf house is a lot of money for not a lot of space. People move to the 'burbs for space quite often.

Yup... And now there's another 3-bedroom with a little over 1800 Sq. Ft. listed for 1.15 million in Needham. Again, it's very well appointed and has a lot of curb appeal, but that price for 1800 sq. Ft. Seems downright frothy.