2022 Real Estate Observations (Boston, Beverly, Maynard: HOA, townhomes, water heater)

[bricka]

kitchen open up into living room is here to stay IMO.

white kitchen cabinets and barn doors will be out of style at some point, though. in fact barn doors already seem kitschy to me.

white paint everywhere else in the house, however, is timeless.

that house is definitely smaller than 1700 sq ft.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by RobertaWa

Yes, I have seen some prices go down so I am remaining hopeful and staying on top of the areas I would like to live in.

How do you think the student loan thing will impact housing? Do you mean that now more people will have less debt and so it will be easier to qualify for a mortgage? I hadn't thought of that but, that would make sense.

"Student loan thing" implies Uncle Joe & Co don't care about inflation and will keep the money printing press running nonstop to buy those sweet votes. Prices will dip somewhat as interest rates rocket off into intergalactic space but it won't help you at all as slightly lower purchase price at a much higher mortgage rate will end up costing you a lot more than a slightly higher purchase price at a much lower mortgage rate.

Also on a slightly different note take a look at your 401K balance - chances are that $10K you "saved" is costing you $100K.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Personally, I don't love barn doors either. I don't mind them too much in places where they just stay open and they're really just installed for aesthetic purposes. However, in places where you actually need a door and the functionality a door provides they're not very good. Because this type of door slides along the outside of the wall, there's a pretty sizeable gap between the door and the wall. So you don't get the full privacy, noise blocking, or really anything else any other style of door provides.

Not to mention they can be a bit loud to open and close. I always wonder about people who install them as a bathroom door in a bathroom suite. Isn't the other person going to wake up every time that door gets rolled open or closed? I suppose you can just leave the door open, but then why bother having a door at all?

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

I had a pocket door installed when I built my house near Boston. Saved a lot of space but had to be specially placed within the wall. I see the barn doors as a reasonable way to save space without going into the walls.

Now, about gray paint everywhere... A whole 'other story.

Ugh, yes, my house had gray paint everywhere and it was sucking my will to live. I spent my first Winter hear painting everything. Luckily they hadn't also installed dreary gray floors too, or it would have been a lot more expensive to rectify.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by bizcuit

Ugh, yes, my house had gray paint everywhere and it was sucking my will to live. I spent my first Winter hear painting everything. Luckily they hadn't also installed dreary gray floors too, or it would have been a lot more expensive to rectify.

I have a couple of rooms in the condo with a kind of sage paint. I like it. I'm not sure how different gray is from that. I guess it depends on the shade.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I have a couple of rooms in the condo with a kind of sage paint. I like it. I'm not sure how different gray is from that. I guess it depends on the shade.

Sage *seems* like it would be better, but green can be tricky.

[robr2]

As one in the business, I can see that barn/sliding door is starting to peter out. It's not going away but less will be installed.

The drawback is that they take away wall space when open and they aren't very good for true privacy. Noise is less of an issue with nylon wheels and ball bearing - you'll barely hear it. I prefer pocket doors but it's invasive installation is why people went with barn doors starting 15 years ago. Back then, all people could get was actual barn door track - galvanized steel with steel rollers. I didn't get why anyone would want it but it was the beginning of trend.

Gray is the new beige. It's inoffensive and matches just about any other color.

[brightdoglover]

I guess I prefer beige. Looks better with wood floors. I rely on artwork for color.

[BostonMike7]

Buddy of mine is looking for a house in the Houston area. $750-1mil range. All I will say is that in a few days of helping him search, the market is not the same as here in Boston.

Many houses in that range are on the market for 40, 50, 60 or more days, and many have had price drops. I keep telling him if 3/4 of these houses were in MA they would have gone pending within a week. It almost seems like he has the upper hand and reasonable expects to get something under asking. At first I thought he was joking, but now I think the same.

MA real estate doesn't seem to follow that trend it seems...at least for now

[mojo101]

East coast is different,Houston real estate is never that hot,may be the old cowboy and wildcatter mentality,living far away is not a problem,plenty of land to build a house,and you know what else we have,OIL,plenty of oil turned into gasoline.
also the payscale.