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.
Time to buy? I honestly doubt it and am willing to put my money were my mouth is. Rates bound to go up. Tax credit is pretty much over. Lets see how many people come out to play when all of this hits? If I had to put a date on the housing bottom I would say sometime around early 2012. Even after the bottom do not expect huge price gains. The days of 10 and 20% gains a year are over for quite some time. At least until another generation of buyers comes into the picture and they dont remember or know about what happened during the last bubble.
He and his family aren't happy at all about it. They feel their life has been "put on hold" waiting for the house they want.
You might cheer them up by stating its' better than having your relocation or retirement "put on hold" by an upside down albatross of a mortgage around your neck.
We're hoping to buy when we get back to FL this summer. We plan to purchase something around $120k and put about $50k down. The mortgage payment should be less than a rental would be. Also, I refuse to buy in the city limits and that will save us $600/ yr in taxes.
We're looking for a newer home, 3 or 4 bedroom, 2 bath, with around 1,800-2,000 sf. I don't see how we can go wrong buying that kind of home for that price (in a decent neighborhood that is not in decline), and my research tells me those deals are out there.
We plan to stay in the home for at least 7 years (probably more like 10).
The only reason I would hesitate to buy is that we will be "tied down" to one place. In my situation, I will be returning to a place where I lived from 20003-2006 and in the same general area where I grew up, so I know what I am getting into.
Now is the time to buy something only if you have a 12 month cash emergency fund and if you are buying something that you can afford on one income or like the previous post said, 2x your gross income.
Seems to me that we have still not hit bottom price-wise. Most analysts are now calling for prices to decline thru the rest of this year, taking us back to 2000-01 levels. Basically, if you bought in the last 10 years you will have lost money by this time next year.
People still think it is a good time to buy? I would argue it will be a better time next year unless you find a steeply discounted foreclosure.
Seems to me that we have still not hit bottom price-wise. Most analysts are now calling for prices to decline thru the rest of this year, taking us back to 2000-01 levels. Basically, if you bought in the last 10 years you will have lost money by this time next year.
People still think it is a good time to buy? I would argue it will be a better time next year unless you find a steeply discounted foreclosure.
That's subjective.
Let's put a spin on that:
If you rented for the past 10 years, you've lost money. A $1200/mo rent over 10 years = $144,000
People have to live somewhere.
I know this doesn't really pertain to the thread, but if people had bought a house and the value is back at their purchase level or slightly below, how is it that they "lost" money?
This is not true across the country. Many markets are up since 2001 and even 2003 despite the drop. I know my first condo which I no longer own is worth much more today then I paid for it in 2003.
Not to mention if you bought in 2001 you've paid 9 years down on your mortgage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Humboldt1
Most analysts are now calling for prices to decline thru the rest of this year, taking us back to 2000-01 levels. Basically, if you bought in the last 10 years you will have lost money by this time next year.
If you rented for the past 10 years, you've lost money. A $1200/mo rent over 10 years = $144,000
People have to live somewhere.
I know this doesn't really pertain to the thread, but if people had bought a house and the value is back at their purchase level or slightly below, how is it that they "lost" money?
You can't rent for free
Agreed you can't rent for free... But renting allows your maintenance/upkeep budget to be near zero. Think about how much you'd spend in those 10 years owning vs. renting. Also look at lower insurance rates for renting vs. owning.
I know this doesn't really pertain to the thread, but if people had bought a house and the value is back at their purchase level or slightly below, how is it that they "lost" money?
by paying real estate transaction costs, loan interest, repairs, taxes, and insurance.
as a renter you have the benefit of piggybacking on your landlord's home equity. people don't often consider this into the equation.
take the $600,000 beach condo (1 unit) that i rent, for example. my landlord bought the land in the early 1990's for $15,000, plus $160,000 for construction (2 units). all he "needs" me to do is to pay the taxes and insurance, because he has no mortgage (he still makes quite a bit off us, though). still, i get to piggyback on his good decision to buy this place 20 years ago. So I rent for $1800, while a new buyer would pay at least $3500/mo PITI, plus repairs, and that is a very conservative cost estimate.
by paying real estate transaction costs, loan interest, repairs, taxes, and insurance.
as a renter you have the benefit of piggybacking on your landlord's home equity. people don't often consider this into the equation.
take the $600,000 beach condo (1 unit) that i rent, for example. my landlord bought the land in the early 1990's for $15,000, plus $160,000 for construction (2 units). all he "needs" me to do is to pay the taxes and insurance, because he has no mortgage (he still makes quite a bit off us, though). still, i get to piggyback on his good decision to buy this place 20 years ago. So I rent for $1800, while a new buyer would pay at least $3500/mo PITI, plus repairs, and that is a very conservative cost estimate.
From where I sit, I would much rather be in your landlord's shoes than yours. He has the much better deal.
From where I sit, I would much rather be in your landlord's shoes than yours. He has the much better deal.
i would think so. i'm 26 and he's a 60-something multi-millionaire.
in case y'all haven't noticed, the boomers (and older) have had the time value of money to amass wealth that leaves my generation unable to compete for very much real estate, no matter how high our incomes are.
a lot of these older folks live in la-la land in terms of real estate pricing. they look at $300k like it is a starter home, when in reality, only the top 5% of earners in my metro area could afford that size mortgage. this is due to (A) an absolute increase in the money supply and (B) an increase in credit as a % of the money supply
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.
