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.
It's really driving me batty. Houses have come down a decent amount from peak but the majority, in our modest price range, are practically tear-downs. Still, people are snapping them up like it's 2005. Any time we find a decent one, we submit a bid and usually never hear from the seller again. Checking the real estate sites later we find it went for way over asking. Yet every week you read an article in the paper talking about the market still declining. I'm certainly not seeing it. There was an article recently talking about how to buy a foreclosure (which are the only houses in our price range) and it said to bid x% below asking. Yeah, right, that'll work. We had 5 houses we told our agent we wanted to look at. The oldest one had been on the market 3 days and most were first day listings. She informed us that all 5 were "gone". They all had multiple offers already. It's especially frustrating when you look at the demographics and see that the median household in the area we are looking at doesn't make enough to buy a house in the area. Argh, so frustrating.
I just spent a year and a half in your shoes. I finally put my foot down and told my husband that we were going to look in another state. I made an offer today on an awesome 1920's home with incredible detail work for 1/10th of what tear downs are going for where I used to be looking. This house could use some updating, but I could live in it right now with no work.
It is very frustrating to know that if you want a decent house in a safe area you need to make 4 times the money that you can realistically earn. Leaving the area I had been in was a very smart decision for me.
Hi ImRandy...just curious where you are looking, that they seem to be selling like hotcakes LOL
Have you been looking at FSBO's ? They often get over looked and there are plenty of sites to look for them, Craigslist being a good one. And you could even place a home wanted ad on there.
Good luck to ya!
It's been a year off and on for us with the last 5 months being heavily on. We briefly looked in other areas farther away which had many affordable homes but any savings on the house would have been quickly erased by increased transportation costs not to mention a lifestyle hit when you add in the extra commute time. Then we considered out of state but the idea of looking for new jobs on top of looking for a home was just too much for us.
Hi ImRandy...just curious where you are looking, that they seem to be selling like hotcakes LOL
Have you been looking at FSBO's ? They often get over looked and there are plenty of sites to look for them, Craigslist being a good one. And you could even place a home wanted ad on there.
Good luck to ya!
We've just been using the MLS. When you sell a house yourself do you put it on the MLS? We've only occasionally looked on Craigslist. I'll give it another look though.
Just another example about how you can't listen to "national" news about real estate. The Dallas market is strong, and the Austin market is even stronger, and I'll be moving there in a couple of months.
My buyers get frustrating, but my sellers like that they can still sell fast, when priced right.
You can't even listen to the local news apparently because it's the local paper saying the market is still declining, houses aren't selling, and prices are dropping.
ImRandy
Some FSBO's are on the MLS...if the owners have used a 'discount' broker that will place their home on there for a fee.
Zillow is another site, among many others.
The Real Estate market can vary greatly in a city, let alone the entire nation. "Pockets" within a city may not decline as much as other "pockets". I would suggest making offers conducive to what your area/market is like. And yeah that means making offers over asking. The silverlining being that homes in your area maintain their values even during this economy climate. Where I live some "pockets" have actually increased over the last year. Good luck.
Not every area had a price bubble, so what you hear on the news doesn't apply everywhere. Real estate is local. For the most part, prices are coming down but in desirable areas you will always have someone wanting to buy. Sounds like where you're looking is desirable & you might not find what you need quickly.
Apparently, the houses getting offers quick have agents that are ready every second to watch what comes on, then call their clients to let them know & they are getting there 1st. You might want to think about switching agents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ImRandy
It's really driving me batty. Houses have come down a decent amount from peak but the majority, in our modest price range, are practically tear-downs. Still, people are snapping them up like it's 2005. Any time we find a decent one, we submit a bid and usually never hear from the seller again. Checking the real estate sites later we find it went for way over asking. Yet every week you read an article in the paper talking about the market still declining. I'm certainly not seeing it. There was an article recently talking about how to buy a foreclosure (which are the only houses in our price range) and it said to bid x% below asking. Yeah, right, that'll work. We had 5 houses we told our agent we wanted to look at. The oldest one had been on the market 3 days and most were first day listings. She informed us that all 5 were "gone". They all had multiple offers already. It's especially frustrating when you look at the demographics and see that the median household in the area we are looking at doesn't make enough to buy a house in the area. Argh, so frustrating.
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.
