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I'm a renter, still employed for now, waiting for the right time to buy. I've perused the house listings lately. The prices (at least at the 100K-150K range which I try to stick to) seem to be little changed from one or two years ago when I was also looking.
What's interesting is I swear I see alot of the same houses still for sale that I remember seeing over a year ago, with the same price.
I guess housing's fall has yet to reach the Triangle. Oh well, it's easy to keep renting. I think housing will continue to fall nationwide for at least another year, so eventually it should make an impact here.
I don't think you will see "great deals" in the under $150K range - that's first time buyer territory, and with the $8K tax credit you will have a lot of competition for the good houses. I'd be really surprised if a house in that price range hasn't moved in a year - unless there's some incurable defect with the property.
^^ I agree. If you are looking in the $150K and below range and are waiting for price declines you may be waiting a really long time. Homes in that range in desireable areas don't sit around forever since they are very attractive to first time home buyers who are not saddled with the burden of having to sell a house. You can't compare what is going on with homes in the $300K range and above and extrapolate it to the $150K range. Two completely different markets and pools of buyers.
FWIW, I live in a neighborhood where the homes range from $140K to $165K. I bought my home for $164K back in 2006. Two identical homes (same model, same age, same lot size) were resold this past month for more than what I paid in 2006.
The gains are modest and I don't think you will be priced out of the market if you wait a year or two as you search for a home that is right for you. But massive price reductions in the sub $150K range are not in the cards IMO.
^^ I agree. If you are looking in the $150K and below range and are waiting for price declines you may be waiting a really long time. Homes in that range in desireable areas don't sit around forever since they are very attractive to first time home buyers who are not saddled with the burden of having to sell a house. You can't compare what is going on with homes in the $300K range and above and extrapolate it to the $150K range. Two completely different markets and pools of buyers.
FWIW, I live in a neighborhood where the homes range from $140K to $165K. I bought my home for $164K back in 2006. Two identical homes (same model, same age, same lot size) were resold this past month for more than what I paid in 2006.
The gains are modest and I don't think you will be priced out of the market if you wait a year or two as you search for a home that is right for you. But massive price reductions in the sub $150K range are not in the cards IMO.
I agree 100% with NRG since my buyer purchased the house in his neighborhood!
Last weekend, I made appointments to show 9 houses in Fuquay to my buyer. I made the appointments Friday night. Saturday morning, I got calls that 4 of the 5 had sold. These were all within the $150,000 to $165,000 price range.
The $8,000 tax credit is really getting first time homebuyers into the market.
If I were looking to buy in this area (North Raleigh near Creedmoor Road and west of Six Forks), I would not wait another minute. The homes in my neighborhood have been selling quickly, and for a very good profit.
best,
toodie
A while back, I did an interesting calculation. According to the Census Bureau, 50% of US households earn 50K or less. If you plug that into one of those "how much can I afford?" calculators that pervade the Internet, you will find that such a household can afford, roughly, a 135K house. So, you've got a lot of competition in that price range. Then you'll be wanting a house where drive-by shootings and drug dealing is not occuring. That removes many <150K houses from the running. Result: a lot of people competing for that small pool of houses. Add into the mix the artificial 8K stimulus being offered by the government....
Strategically, you might want to wait until the 8K stimulus is over. That would remove one competitive element. However, I don't think you can do much to reduce the other two--except move to an area that is less popular OR start earning tons more money!
Of course there are deals to be had, there always has been and always will be, but they don't just fall into your lap, you have to be actively working for them.
I honestly don't think we'll see a fall in this area. Growth (increase in home prices) has certainly slowed down a bit, but not taken a dip into the red. It doesn't seem logical that that the Triangle would be 2-3 years behind the rest of the country, and our fall is right around the corner.
I have 2 suggestions:
1) Buy a home for all the reasons that people want to own a home for, not for an investment.
2) Hook up with a realtor (Vicki, cough, cough, Mike, cough, cough), and I don't mean "hook up" hook up, just call them and make an appointment to see them, but I guess what you do from there is your business.
Keep in mind also that rates are at there lowest probably in your lifetime and possibly your parents. $150k mortgage @ 4.75% is $782 a month, $130k @ 6.25% is $800 a month. In waiting for prices to come down it may actually cost you more because rates are artificially low right now and can't stay here forever.
Rates may be low today, but they are on the rise and will continue to rise.
This, inevitably, will crush home prices.
Remember, buying today before interest rates increase is a flawed argument. You will be best served buying the home at or near the bottom at a higher rate. And, don't worry about missing the bottom, it will be there for a long time.
Don't buy into the hype. The gov't, NAR and anyone with a stake in the game wants you to spend money to prop up an economy that is heading to its inevitable bottom.
For those that are wearing rose colored glasses, please feel free to ignore my post.
Rates may be low today, but they are on the rise and will continue to rise.
This, inevitably, will crush home prices.
Remember, buying today before interest rates increase is a flawed argument. You will be best served buying the home at or near the bottom at a higher rate. And, don't worry about missing the bottom, it will be there for a long time.
Don't buy into the hype. The gov't, NAR and anyone with a stake in the game wants you to spend money to prop up an economy that is heading to its inevitable bottom.
For those that are wearing rose colored glasses, please feel free to ignore my post.
The rose colored glasses will help you from getting the lemon squirted in your eyes.
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