Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Housing market in Durham North Carolina, average time on market, sales and listing up, interest rates low, selling increasing, home sales slow in winter, instability of housing market
I think reviving this thread is a really good thing considering all the predictions made by posters two years ago. Very interesting reading, especially for those who are or will soon be in the buyers seat.
This is a sore spot with me as we had a difficult time moving from MA to NC and trying to figure out the market.
We were told in 2008 (when we arrived) that the market is on its way up (we were told this by every realtor who was trying to bring us on as clients. They also gave the scare tactics of the gov't incentives are running out and the interest rates are going to go up)
Maybe, as the previous poster claimed they were working for their clients (that being the seller) I don't think so, I believe they were trying to keep the market as it was in the early 2000s, which was impossible.
We finally bought in 2010, from a FSBO, with no realtor, and it was a smooth transaction. We got a fair deal, but realize that unlike MA, property will never elevate as it would there?
In 2006 - 2008 you could not touch a home in our current neighborhood for less than $550,000, now there is a for sale sign on every street, these poor people listened, hoping that their realtors were right, when told "the market is going to rebound"? Well it hasn't and I really do not see people moving to NC in droves as they did in the early 2000s, and if they are, they are renting as we did, and learning the area and the market, they are not flying in on a weekend and taking whole~heartedly what "their" realtor tells them...and I say good for them!
I think reviving this thread is a really good thing considering all the predictions made by posters two years ago. Very interesting reading, especially for those who are or will soon be in the buyers seat.
This is a sore spot with me as we had a difficult time moving from MA to NC and trying to figure out the market.
We were told in 2008 (when we arrived) that the market is on its way up (we were told this by every realtor who was trying to bring us on as clients. They also gave the scare tactics of the gov't incentives are running out and the interest rates are going to go up)
Maybe, as the previous poster claimed they were working for their clients (that being the seller) I don't think so, I believe they were trying to keep the market as it was in the early 2000s, which was impossible.
We finally bought in 2010, from a FSBO, with no realtor, and it was a smooth transaction. We got a fair deal, but realize that unlike MA, property will never elevate as it would there?
In 2006 - 2008 you could not touch a home in our current neighborhood for less than $550,000, now there is a for sale sign on every street, these poor people listened, hoping that their realtors were right, when told "the market is going to rebound"? Well it hasn't and I really do not see people moving to NC in droves as they did in the early 2000s, and if they are, they are renting as we did, and learning the area and the market, they are not flying in on a weekend and taking whole~heartedly what "their" realtor tells them...and I say good for them!
It is a shame when agents uses predictions and cajoling to try to "make a market."
We are coached to work at creating urgency, get buyers off the fence, and other self-serving approaches.
That is not a service to buyers, I think.
Pushing the decision to be a buyer is far different from serving someone who has already made that decision without pressure.
I bought my current house just about two years ago, and it's gone up in value 6% since then. I can't complain.
Are you still in the green after all the upgrades you've put in the house?
Personally speaking I bought in 2006 and after the upgrades I've put into my house, I'd be hard pressed to get the same price I bought for - so effectively, the upgrades and the realtor commission will be coming out of my pocket if I were to sell today.
This is a sore spot with me as we had a difficult time moving from MA to NC and trying to figure out the market.
We were told in 2008 (when we arrived) that the market is on its way up (we were told this by every realtor who was trying to bring us on as clients. They also gave the scare tactics of the gov't incentives are running out and the interest rates are going to go up)
Maybe, as the previous poster claimed they were working for their clients (that being the seller) I don't think so, I believe they were trying to keep the market as it was in the early 2000s, which was impossible.
We finally bought in 2010, from a FSBO, with no realtor, and it was a smooth transaction. We got a fair deal, but realize that unlike MA, property will never elevate as it would there?
In 2006 - 2008 you could not touch a home in our current neighborhood for less than $550,000, now there is a for sale sign on every street, these poor people listened, hoping that their realtors were right, when told "the market is going to rebound"? Well it hasn't and I really do not see people moving to NC in droves as they did in the early 2000s, and if they are, they are renting as we did, and learning the area and the market, they are not flying in on a weekend and taking whole~heartedly what "their" realtor tells them...and I say good for them!
I have a crystal ball. I bought it when I was in Salem, Mass. a few years ago. It doesn't work. I can't make predictions. I have tried over and over again, especially since my buyers and sellers always ask me to predict what will happen: they ask: "will this house be a better resale than another?" "will this house appreciate more than another?".
I can tell you what has happened in the past but I can't tell you what will happen in the future. If you ask my OPINION, I will tell you what I have heard from lenders and other Realtors. I will tell you what I'M seeing.
So, why ask opinions? A buyer and a seller have to make some tough decisions so the more research and opinions you gather, help make that decision more of an educated one.
However, and I DISCLOSE...I cannot predict the future so if you bought or sold based on OPINIONS, how can you blame all the Realtors in the world???
Shouldn't you man up and say..."I bought when I thought it was a good time to buy and now that I have to sell, maybe it wasn't the BEST time but I needed a HOME for my family and I did what I thought was the right thing to do at that time".
If YOU can't predict the market, how can I?
I purchased a 2nd home 2 years ago. A vacation home. The prices had really gone down and I thought it was the "right" time to buy. I WANTED to buy. I bought it. Prices went down another $10,000, the next year. If I had to sell my vacation home last year, I would have lost $10,000. That wasn't so much of a concern to me because my plan was to keep it for many many years. In the last few months, prices went back up about $5,000. I hope prices continue to go up but if they don't and the home isn't the good investment that I thought it was, so be it. In the meantime, I enjoy it and am so happy that I have it. I don't regret my decision one bit. And when the price went down, I don't blame anyone for what I did. Isn't that part of being an adult???
Are you still in the green after all the upgrades you've put in the house?
Personally speaking I bought in 2006 and after the upgrades I've put into my house, I'd be hard pressed to get the same price I bought for - so effectively, the upgrades and the realtor commission will be coming out of my pocket if I were to sell today.
Well, you shouldn't expect to get 100% of upgrades back anyway - my screened porch only added about 36% of it's cost to my appraised value (and I didn't count either it's cost or value in my 6% appreciation). I'm in this house for the long haul anyhow - but what I do find interesting is that I did not experience a large drop in value as many were predicting. It helps that I bought an older home in an excellent location and at a lower price point.
Now, when I bought my house in Apex in October 2005 and sold it in September 2008, appreciation did cover everything I put into it as well as the realtor commission. I broke even, which was my goal.
I might just be one of the few lucky ones. I had a home built a year and a half ago, We had to put it on the market at the end of April because of a job transfer. We did put upgrades in the home after we purchased it. I had an offer in May and just waiting out closing now. I listed with my buyers agent who sold me this house, and he gave me a flat fee which is why I'm doing just a little better then breaking even after paying buyers commission.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
