Frustrated. Your thoughts on the Sacramento Real Estate Market (Roseville: sales, 2015)

[Ultrarunner]

I've done so many fixers and projects that if I ever move... I want one at least 98% done.

I think many realize the cost to remodel keeps rising and then there is living through it and paying for it.

[NinaN]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I've done so many fixers and projects that if I ever move... I want one at least 98% done.

I think many realize the cost to remodel keeps rising and then there is living through it and paying for it.

I'm with you on that! Last remodel was way too much to live through again.

[wburg]

There's a difference between a "fixer" (a home in rough shape that requires work to be habitable/functional) and one that a purchaser chooses to remodel (because they want a new kitchen or other feature, not for habitability.) And some folks certainly do exactly that--serial rehabbers who buy a house to fix it up, then once they're done move on to the next place and either sell the previous one or add it to their stable of rentals.

[NickB1967]

Inflation is coming, and real estate is a hard asset.

[mateo45]

There are a lot of folks still underwater or ''on the edge'' with their finances. So if the economy has a hickup, we could easily have another wave of foreclosures and short-sales. Which may not slow investor money, but there will certainly be more properties with less competition. Also since cash offers are king these days, maybe investigate the possibility of a hard money loan to get into the property, then conventional refi later. Most banks offering REO's will recognize hard money offers same as cash, though naturally the interest with the private lender will be hefty (upwards of 12%) and will usually require at least 20-30% down.

[webdev]

I'm curious. For those of you having a hard time purchasing, are you looking specifically at short sales? I know from experience that short sales are very hard to purchase. I purchased my home at a low point in early 2010. There were a lot of great short sale deals on paper, but even back then they were very hard to purchase. You had to wait months and most cash investor would buy them up.

I imagine these days its even worse as inventories shrink. I eventually ended up purchasing a new home. The prices were great and there was no waiting and competing with others. I think there are still great deals on new homes, but prices are definitely going up. In my area they had amazing deals on new homes. Now a lot of those homes are creeping up in price.

[caligirlz]

Per the Sac Bee today:

The Sacramento metro area leads the nation in an unenviable category.

The number of area homes listed for sale on Zillow was down 48 percent year-over-year in late February, a percentage plunge that topped the 30 largest U.S. metro markets tracked by the Seattle-based company.

Read more here: Sacramento leads nation in biggest drop in homes for sale - Real Estate - The Sacramento Bee

[webdev]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

Per the Sac Bee today:

I think the better (easier) option right now is to purchase new. The only problem is that it may restrict you to certain areas. It will be very tough to buy in established areas like east sac. With that said, someone who is looking to spend 500K plus on a house has a lot more options.

[NinaN]

We have a lot of people buying new here, but not only are prices going up but the new home developments come with high HOA fess and high Mello Roos. The upside is that you can walk into the office, sign a contract, and have a pretty good amount of certainty of getting the home.

There aren't nearly as many short sales as there used to be. The banks have gotten better about making quick(er) decisions on the short sales, but the prices aren't really much of a bargain anymore. The people having a hard time finding a home are not offering only on short sales, it's regular too.

The inventory is low, homes in good condition are getting multiple offers, and the sellers often pick the offer with cash or the highest amount of cash.

[webdev]

Originally Posted by NinaN

We have a lot of people buying new here, but not only are prices going up but the new home developments come with high HOA fess and high Mello Roos. The upside is that you can walk into the office, sign a contract, and have a pretty good amount of certainty of getting the home.

There aren't nearly as many short sales as there used to be. The banks have gotten better about making quick(er) decisions on the short sales, but the prices aren't really much of a bargain anymore. The people having a hard time finding a home are not offering only on short sales, it's regular too.

The inventory is low, homes in good condition are getting multiple offers, and the sellers often pick the offer with cash or the highest amount of cash.

'm glad I bought when I did. mateo45 is right though. There are a lot of people underwater and we may see another surge of foreclosures in the future. A lot of the spurts we are seeing are being fueled by government stimulus. (keeping interest rates low etc). We are still a country deep in debt and that goes for a lot of consumers. I'm concerned about major stagflation.