Where's this so-called buyer's market??

[Anonymous]

Cause I'm not seeing it!

We've seen 6 houses so far, and liked 3 enough to make offers on them. Our offer on the first one was accepted, but there were foundation issues, so we backed out. Someone else got the second before we were able to write an offer, and the listing agent for the third had some shady business going on where she ignored our offer completely while waiting for another offer to come in (I think the offer that came in the next day may have been a buyer that she was also representing, so she stood to gain more, or something along those lines). 

We're going to see 3 places tomorrow, but I'm not excited about any of them. One's too small and not in the best location. One's not in the best neighborhood and has a bedroom in the basement, which I'm not thrilled about, since my children are all young, and one is 10 miles outside of our target location, would require that our daughter start kindergarten at a different school than she's presently registered at, and is also small. And they're all at the top of our price range. 

In a way I'm glad that the good stuff is going fast, because maybe it's a sign that our area is desireable and the market won't slump too terribly much here. But it's making it difficult for us to find a home for our family. And a realtor told me plenty of homes would come on the market in the summer...but there's been nothing new in our price range for 6 weeks or more!!

[Anonymous]

Hi Vitorbr...I was just thinking the same thing (almost started a post about it too, lol). I think this so-called "buyer's market" is quickly turning into seller's market...at least for the good houses.

I've looked at so many houses online, it made my eyes cross. Found 5 that I was interested in seeing. Hated 2, one was a short sale (no thanks), and 2 I liked and put offers on. The first offer was rejected because a higher offer came in, and the second one is still up in the air as of right now, but it's been on the market for just 18 days and has had 5 showings.

Hang in there..you'll find the perfect home for you soon. Best wishes!!

[rockymtngrl]

Real estate is very regional/local. So while it may be a strong buyers market in some areas, that does'nt mean it is nationwide. Just like house values fell drastically in some areas, some areas have held steady and in some places I am hearing they are still rising.

I would also suspect with the tightening in the mortgage market and the economy people may not be as anxious to "upgrade" to bigger homes as they were 4-5 years ago and are instead opting to stay where they're at and some people are even "downsizing" to smaller homes, making the so called "starter homes" or smaller type houses in high demand/harder to find/buy. I know thats whats going on where I am.

[Anonymous]

In my case, I think it's been a buyer's market for a little too long. So many of the houses I've seen recently have neglect issues ranging from annoying to pretty major. Of course, many of them are also sold "as-is." The other crazy thing is that the county and local governments are hesitant to devalue a house for property tax purposes. On some houses, I would have an effective tax rate of 4-7%! And I don't even have kids yet!! Buying a house now may be a good deal, I suppose, but there are definitely some REALLY annoying headaches that are discouraging me. 

[Anonymous]

I have found that the low end houses are going like hotcakes. In my neighborhood, the houses priced $500k- $1m+ are sitting. I think it's a buyers market if you're interested in these homes. However, for the homes in the $400s, they're near impossible to get. People who were never able to afford to buy a house before are suddenly finding them within reach and are bidding.

I missed out on a number of houses myself before my offer was accepted on the house I'm in contract for. Something like 4 houses in one week had accepted offers before I even could get a chance to see them. Another property that I did get to see but didn't like had 3 bids within a week. I bid on "my" house about 3 days after it hit the market, at the very top of my range, and I was supposedly one of multiple bidders.

Good luck finding your perfect property!

[RABQUE]

I am currently under contract with on a house that I love….this was the third offer that I submitted..The first offer was on a the market 6 days and had six offers….needless to say I didn’t get that one….The second house was on the market about 3 to 4 weeks…..By the time I submitted my offer there were 4 other offers and I lost that one too…..The house that I am under contract for was on the market 7 days when I made my offer…..I offered the full asking price and it was accepted the next day…..I was getting pretty frustrated!!.....I came to the realization that in my area there were a lot of people shopping for houses in the same price range…so I think I would agree that it is a buyers market

[Anonymous]

Im on the same boat as you guys.

Been looking for a month now. Everything that we've seen has either been houses that need $50k worth of work on it, not to mention appliances (cause they are all gone). Or short sales (tons of shortsales) or houses that have multiple bidders. We went into one the other day, first day on the market, already had 10 offers, there was a line of people waiting to see it when we walked in. Our LO said that the banks are purposely dropping prices on good houses to cause bidding wars and jack up prices. The house was beautiful!

Im starting to wonder are we too late?

Very nervous!

[Anonymous]

I also believe that those who have been enticed to buy instead of rent (since owning/buying is back in check with reality), those that couldn't save enough to compete in the balloning market years ago have nice cash reserves now, those who have decent credit, an $8000 tax credit (cash refund instead of a $7500 pay-back), foreclosures flooding many markets, people who have lots of cash saved to buy out bids on mortgage seeking buyers, builders dropping prices....  it's crazy

I am looking in WV, which has been fluctating...  mostly driven by the local economy (job losses, particuarlly blue collar), but these areas are so attractive for higher income folks from MD, VA, PA for commuting to work (lots of gov't and technology jobs)...  and the old saying "move to the country"...  bigger houses, cheaper taxes, more space for kids, safer enviroment....

the winter market was slow, spring was a good seller and builder market for certain areas,

now it's mellowed out again... it seems

I see it all.  4bdrm 3 bath 2500sqft+  1 acre, homes sitting on the market for 90 days+ and being relisted from $250,000 down to $190,000, and then it's a feeding frenzy....  buyers in this local market are being choosey' since the market is flooded.  Builders are getting very inticive now with their lenders....  developers and builders bought tons of land around here, and now they can't sell and with some areas the acreage cost is dropping too...

it's crazy too see the prices of these Dan Ryan homes 3 years ago, and now....  wow, makes me wonder what people were thinking back then....now their homes are worth $100,000 less....  with their ARM now increasing...it's sad really...

my biggest concern as I am trying to get my score up for better intrest rates, and a better dwn pymt., I am wondering if the gov't will extend the Dec. 1, 2009 deadline.  Loans have to be closed Nov. 30th in reality... to get the tax credit as of now...  I was going to use this tax credit to pay off a high intrest rate, used car loan that will save me lots of cash....  errrr....  who knows.

And when will the market see 5% 30-yr fixed rates again? 

And now banks (most that were involved in the debacle) are getting stingy when they were guilty as everyone else that was involved a few years ago.  Even after their bail-out from working tax payers... some good folks can't get loans, the cash-rich are swooping up homes with cash offers

and many (not all) banks are now sitting on the foreclosed homes until the market recovers in their favor...unless a damaged bank is in need to sell off foreclosure stock to save tax monies when inventory is taken.

Weird times.

Message Edited by 1fastZ on 07-03-2009 03:37 AM

[Anonymous]

well, a couple things are heating up the markets right now.

It's summer and late spring and summer are alwasy busier months

The tax credit expires at the end of the year so alot of people are shopping now to get the credit

Interest rates are still at what would be considered historical lows.

That, and most people seem to think that the worse part of the economy is over.  Things are still bad, but they do seem to be at least leveled off for the most part.

All in all, housing prices are generally back down to 2003 levels so people in areas that were totally unaffordable 2 years ago can now buy with a reasonable mortgage.  On top of that, prices in alot of the old "hot" markets have fallen enough now that cash buyers/investors are swooping in and picking up houses in bulk.  The prices are low enough (and usually even lower if you have cash to pay) that they can go in and buy now, rent them out for a year or two, and then flip them when the market does recover some. 

[Anonymous]

My husband and I live in Wisconsin and have had the same problem.  We have put 5 offers on 5 different houses. Every house had multiple offers (5-10) and usually was on the market for only a few days.  Our realtor even told us in her 30 yrs of real estate she had never seen anyone put so many offers in and never get a house. We just recently found a house on the market for only a day that we put an offer on. They accepted our offer... and we close next month. Finally!! It is for sure a buyers market right now.. more buyers out there than sellers.  Hope you find your house soon!!