What’s the housing market like in your area?

[MDC 7,130]

PA has historically been pretty low for places on the eastern seaboard but right now it’s nuts. I’m seeing houses going for nearly $500k that need massive work and houses that are finished get pulled after 2-3 days on the market because they have multiple at or above asking price offers.

Is it like this everywhere in the US? 

[edjr 6,578]

Buyers are idiots.  Most of them will get what they deserve and it will end badly

[RLLD 4,143]

2 minutes ago, edjr said:

Buyers are idiots. 

This.  Buyers have all the power in these situations, and yet feed the system that foments prices that are completely out of hand from the intrinsic value of the asset.

Then later, when its seems unfair that they agreed to pay this extravagant cost and its just too much....will they have their debt forgiven like these focking kids want with the school loans?

[Alias Detective 1,389]

2 minutes ago, MDC said:

PA has historically been pretty low for places on the eastern seaboard but right now it’s nuts. I’m seeing houses going for nearly $500k that need massive work and houses that are finished get pulled after 2-3 days on the market because they have multiple at or above asking price offers.

Is it like this everywhere in the US? 

People who already have a home aren’t selling as a new home will come with a higher interest rate on the mortgage.  Construction companies can’t build fast enough for the demand hence those homes that DO come to market are being gobbled up causing prices to soar.  

[jonmx 2,424]

Slow. 

[edjr 6,578]

Just now, Alias Detective said:

People who already have a home aren’t selling as a new home will come with a higher interest rate on the mortgage.  Construction companies can’t build fast enough for the demand hence those homes that DO come to market are being gobbled up causing prices to soar.  

if rates every drop near 5, everyone that has been waiting will sell

[Hawkeye21 2,382]

I think it's been pretty good around here.  Houses do not last long on the market.  Everything seems to be going for almost $100k more than it would've 5 years ago.  Land prices are still outrageous but people continue to shell out money for it.

[Gladiators 1,964]

Good for sellers.  Bad for buyers.

[Pimpadeaux 2,404]

It depends on where you live, of course.

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/data/housing-activity/#!/activity/MSA/Dallas-Plano-Irving

It's nuts in the Dallas area.

The "months inventory" column on the far right indicates whether it's a buyer or seller market.

What that number means is at the current sales rate, how long it would take for the inventory to run out with no new properties added to the market.

A balanced market is six months, but in this graphic it's 2.1 months, which means seller market and getting multiple offers, often higher than the asking price.

During the recession around 2008-09, inventory was well within double-digit territory. I almost bought a lakehouse because there were so many on the market, with people who had them as second or vacation homes desperate to shed them.

 

[MDC 7,130]

24 minutes ago, Alias Detective said:

People who already have a home aren’t selling as a new home will come with a higher interest rate on the mortgage.  Construction companies can’t build fast enough for the demand hence those homes that DO come to market are being gobbled up causing prices to soar.  

Yeah pretty much this. The interest rate hikes were supposed to depress costs but they had the opposite effect of reducing stock. People who have to move for work, kids, divorce etc. still have to move regardless of the rates or costs.

[Reality 3,097]

In my area, it's out of control and I don't see how it's sustainable.

In my subdivision alone, houses will list for an absurd price and immediately flag as pending. I've never seen anything like it, has a lot of us considering selling. Anybody who's been in their house more than 5 years is making massive profit. 

It's a desired area and all but, none of it makes sense. 

[MDC 7,130]

2 minutes ago, Reality said:

In my area, it's out of control and I don't see how it's sustainable.

In my subdivision alone, houses will list for an absurd price and immediately flag as pending. I've never seen anything like it, has a lot of us considering selling. Anybody who's been in their house more than 5 years is making massive profit. 

It's a desired area and all but, none of it makes sense. 

We can only look weekends really because the neighborhoods we are checking out are an hour away. Every week we send my realtor a list of 7-8 houses new to the market as of Weds./Thurs. And every week about half of them are pending by Saturday. 

It’s insane. The $ some people are trying to get for their total dog houses is nuts too.

[Nomad99 699]

Only people making out are retirees selling & moving south.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

My wife and I discussed this recently, if we were to move we would keep our current house and either buy a second home or rent. Depending on where we moved to of course.

 

No way we are giving up our cheap mortgage.

[TimHauck 2,619]

1 hour ago, edjr said:

Buyers are idiots.  Most of them will get what they deserve and it will end badly

You’ll be right one of these years.  What is this now, year 6 of this prediction for you?

[Mike Honcho 5,097]

Sellers market right now, more buyers than supply. Couple that with the high interest rates and it's a terrible time to buy around here.  The type of houses for first time home buyers is insane here right now.

17 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

You’ll be right one of these years.  What is this now, year 6 of this prediction for you?

If I've read his posts correctly, he seems to think there will be a collapse like 2008, but that was such a wildly different situation. Prices probably will correct once supply and demand balance, but I doubt there is a crash in anyway like 2008.

[Strike 5,186]

Was nuts for a few years here in Denver.  Definitely slowed down a lot.  Probably combination of interest rates and the unsustainability of the last few years. 

[MDC 7,130]

21 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

My wife and I discussed this recently, if we were to move we would keep our current house and either buy a second home or rent. Depending on where we moved to of course.

 

No way we are giving up our cheap mortgage.

Wife and I discussed this too. We could rent our current house for way more our mortgage. The risk is shiit tenants.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

3 minutes ago, MDC said:

Wife and I discussed this too. We could rent our current house for way more our mortgage. The risk is shiit tenants.

We have the benefit that our house needs a total remodel as it is. Even if renters destroyed the kitchen, bathrooms, floors and walls it does not matter because to be honest it all needs gutted anyways.

We still have pink wallpaper, pink tile, shiny gold light fixtures, etc. I am thankful that my wife is incredibly thrifty and does not consider our ugly interior a downside.

This would make our house rent for lower, but would also reduce the stress.

[cmh6476 1,010]

My home has increased in value nearly 50% in the 14 years I've lived there

[Ultra Max Power 214]

Moved from the City to country almost 2 years ago.  Both markets were shooting up like crazy.  We sold our house sight unseen 70k over asking (Although our asking price was low on purpose). We had multiple offers over asking.  We met the buyers who told us that was the 9th offer they put in and they loved it enough through the photos to swing for the fences with an offer.  Prices got insane by the end of that summer with houses going for over 550k in that subdivision.  Houses were roughly 250-325 when we bought in 2018.  

Purchased a home in the country for about 50k over asking.  We actually didn't have the highest offer.  The highest offer was a real estate company and the owner wanted it to go to a family and not be a rental.  

City real estate market has slowed down.  Houses are starting to drop their asking prices now.  Still pretty outrageous though.  

Country market has remained steady, but prices have topped out.  People will still spend a bit more for a house with anchorage.  

The downside is that both counties adjusted real estate property value taxes after the boom and we're seeing a lot of 50-100% increases in taxable values, so that is going to hurt for 2024.  

[TimHauck 2,619]

43 minutes ago, Strike said:

Was nuts for a few years here in Denver.  Definitely slowed down a lot.  Probably combination of interest rates and the unsustainability of the last few years. 

Similar here in NC.  Was crazy until about early to mid 2022, then prices plateaued a bit and even dropped in some areas.  But now that I guess people realize interest rates aren’t getting much better anytime soon it seems to be heating up again, but not nearly as crazy as around 2021.

[WhiteWonder 2,675]

2 hours ago, RLLD said:

This.  Buyers have all the power in these situations, and yet feed the system that foments prices that are completely out of hand from the intrinsic value of the asset.

Then later, when its seems unfair that they agreed to pay this extravagant cost and its just too much....will they have their debt forgiven like these focking kids want with the school loans?

where is that idiot who was arguing with me about the loan forgiveness 

"b b b but, people are striving to achieve home ownership!"....  sure, so lets let them take out loans they know they can't afford, we can forgive the debt later! 

[WhiteWonder 2,675]

1 hour ago, Mike Honcho said:

If I've read his posts correctly, he seems to think there will be a collapse like 2008, but that was such a wildly different situation. Prices probably will correct once supply and demand balance, but I doubt there is a crash in anyway like 2008.

There won't be. That happened because bank and lenders were giving loans to anyone and everyone. They are now under much more scrutiny and much stricter lending practices. I'm sure the pressure to build a portfolio of loans still leads to some bad mortgages but for the most part, enough checks and balances are in place to avoid a repeat of 2008

[edjr 6,578]

2 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

There won't be. That happened because bank and lenders were giving loans to anyone and everyone. They are now under much more scrutiny and much stricter lending practices. I'm sure the pressure to build a portfolio of loans still leads to some bad mortgages but for the most part, enough checks and balances are in place to avoid a repeat of 2008

Don't you think houses are just going to melt anyway due to climate change?

[Strike 5,186]

Just now, edjr said:

Don't you think houses are just going to melt anyway due to climate change?

In CA they're sliding down mountains due to climate change.

[Ultra Max Power 214]

47 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

My home has increased in value nearly 50% in the 14 years I've lived there

These stats are crazy to me and probably why my children will never be able to afford a home.  

[WhiteWonder 2,675]

Just now, edjr said:

Don't you think houses are just going to melt anyway due to climate change?

true

[edjr 6,578]

1 minute ago, Strike said:

In CA they're sliding down mountains due to climate change.

Most of us wish the entire state would slide away into the ocean and taken over by Chiner

[cmh6476 1,010]

2 minutes ago, Ultra Max Power said:

These stats are crazy to me and probably why my children will never be able to afford a home.  

yeah, I'd be attempted to sell it if it didn't mean I had to buy a bigger house at an inflated rate with a high interest rate on top of that

[Strike 5,186]

Eh.  That's why the term starter home exists.  You start with something cheap, build some equity, and move up.  Maybe your starter home in today's market is a condo instead of a small house but it can still be done.

[Sean Mooney 1,938]

1 hour ago, MTSkiBum said:

My wife and I discussed this recently, if we were to move we would keep our current house and either buy a second home or rent. Depending on where we moved to of course.

 

No way we are giving up our cheap mortgage.

We've discussed moving but our mortgage interest rate would almost double to take on a new loan.

On top of it our house has gone up almost 101% in value since we bought it. (We got a great deal on a private sale on our house and I did a ton of work to it replacing windows, moving to 200 amp service, a new kitchen, new bathroom, and roof.) Not to mention we refinanced to the lower rate once the pandemic hit and knocked 4 years off the mortgage. 

I tell my wife- we'd be stupid to move right now

[WhiteWonder 2,675]

Just now, Ultra Max Power said:

These stats are crazy to me and probably why my children will never be able to afford a home.  

Home prices are crazy BUT there are different ways to look at it. Families have been building generational wealth through home ownership for quite a while now. Will you not be leaving anything for your children? 

My grandparents bought their houses in the 40's and 50's, they made a fortune on those investments. That fortune directly benefited my parents (and their siblings). My parents bought their homes in the 80's. They have similarly increased the family wealth because of those investments. 

 

[MDC 7,130]

3 minutes ago, Strike said:

Eh.  That's why the term starter home exists.  You start with something cheap, build some equity, and move up.  Maybe your starter home in today's market is a condo instead of a small house but it can still be done.

A starter home 10 years ago was a modest home that needed TLC. Today it’s an overpriced shell. I feel bad for folks trying to buy in today, it’s so much worse.

[Ultra Max Power 214]

2 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

Home prices are crazy BUT there are different ways to look at it. Families have been building generational wealth through home ownership for quite a while now. Will you not be leaving anything for your children? 

My grandparents bought their houses in the 40's and 50's, they made a fortune on those investments. That fortune directly benefited my parents (and their siblings). My parents bought their homes in the 80's. They have similarly increased the family wealth because of those investments. 

 

Real estate has historically been a very effective way to transfer generational wealth.  Its a good system if used correctly, but it doesn't help the generation behind you a lot if everyone hits normal life expectancy.  I have parents in their early 70s, I'm in my 40s and a bunch of kids in their teens. 5-10 years from now they will be in the housing market and (hopefully) none of us have passed on where we can cash out on real estate investments.  This leaves the kids to almost fend for themselves.  

Over the last decade home prices are up 30% while incomes have only gone up 11%.  That isn't a sustainable trend.  We may have already hit the wall in some markets.  I think the vast majority of kids graduating this year have little to no chance of home ownership in the next 5-10 with the current market.   

[Hawkeye21 2,382]

I was just talking to my mom about interest rates.  She was saying how lucky we are to still have rates as low as they are.  When my parents first took out a loan the interest rate was around 15% and was variable.  The 80s were terrible for farmers when interest rates were outrageous.  Those were bad years.

I feel very lucky to get locked into the rate I have at 2.5% on a 20 year mortgage.

[TheNewGirl 1,347]

34 minutes ago, Strike said:

In CA they're sliding down mountains due to climate change.

Also, many insurance companies won't give you homeowners insurance in CA; Farmers I think is one of the big ones. Mostly due to fires, which are also due to climate change.  There was a recent thread on FB in one of those "Community" pages where people were desperate to find insurance.  

Even on BRAND NEW homes with sprinkler systems in the ceilings, or in areas that are lower fire danger; no insurance. 

[jerryskids 6,567]

Phoenix has slowed a little but that means it went from crazy high growth to slightly less crazy high growth.  Combined with higher interest rates, it's incredibly difficult for people to buy a first home.  My daughter would like to buy a house and makes around $100K and she can't afford anything remotely worth living in.  

[Strike 5,186]

Just now, jerryskids said:

Phoenix has slowed a little but that means it went from crazy high growth to slightly less crazy high growth.  Combined with higher interest rates, it's incredibly difficult for people to buy a first home.  My daughter would like to buy a house and makes around $100K and she can't afford anything remotely worth living in.  

Do what I said.  Have her buy a condo for a few years.  At the very least she attains monthly cost stability and generates some equity.  Alternatively, let her move back home.  She should be able to save up a lot for a down payment making as much as she does if she doesn't have a rent payment.

[Mike Honcho 5,097]

5 minutes ago, TheNewGirl said:

Also, many insurance companies won't give you homeowners insurance in CA; Farmers I think is one of the big ones. Mostly due to fires, which are also due to climate change.  There was a recent thread on FB in one of those "Community" pages where people were desperate to find insurance.  

Even on BRAND NEW homes with sprinkler systems in the ceilings, or in areas that are lower fire danger; no insurance. 

 

Yesterday:

Farmers Insurance pulls out of Florida, affecting 100,000 policyholders

Farmers Insurance will stop offering its policies in Florida, including home, auto and umbrella policies, in a change that will force thousands of people to change their insurance provider.

The company said in a statement that its decision to get out of Florida was a business decision necessary to manage its risk exposure in the hurricane-prone state. Farmers serves 100,000 customers in Florida but said there will be no impact to customers who use Farmers’ owned subsidiaries like Foremost Signature and Bristol West.

“Such policies will continue to be available to serve the insurance needs of Floridians,” Farmers Insurance spokesperson Trevor Chapman said in a statement. “Affected customers will receive notifications detailing when their coverage will end and will be advised of options for replacement coverage.”

National insurers don’t have a major presence in Florida, including Farmers, which has barely a 2% share of the state’s insurance market. Florida requires affected policyholders to receive a 120-day notice that their policies aren’t being renewed.