Housing Market

[Lynnow]

We are in LA area. My friend is a realtor and she stated even houses in Compton and Watts with high crime rates are getting lots of offers and going for 95k over asking!! Crazy. 

We wanted to move out of LA county so we could actually afford a "normal" sized house. When we first started looking more inland in September you could get a 2200 sq foot 2 story house less than 15 years old for 525k. That same house 5 months later is valued at almost 660k. 

We went with a new construction bc we knew we'd probably lose out on all bids lol We are in phase 8 and our house will cost about 645 for 2600 sq feet when it's finished. 5 months ago it was 560 for the same model. And this is the one of the two cheapest models. Absolutely insane!! By the way one year ago our same plan was 470k. I get so frustrated thinking about it. 

[mbauza86]

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@Lynnow wrote:

We are in LA area. My friend is a realtor and she stated even houses in Compton and Watts with high crime rates are getting lots of offers and going for 95k over asking!! Crazy. 

We wanted to move out of LA county so we could actually afford a "normal" sized house. When we first started looking more inland in September you could get a 2200 sq foot 2 story house less than 15 years old for 525k. That same house 5 months later is valued at almost 660k. 

We went with a new construction bc we knew we'd probably lose out on all bids lol We are in phase 8 and our house will cost about 645 for 2600 sq feet when it's finished. 5 months ago it was 560 for the same model. And this is the one of the two cheapest models. Absolutely insane!! By the way one year ago our same plan was 470k. I get so frustrated thinking about it. 

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Wow - now that's insane! But still congrats on the new home

[barca]

most people can refinance at low rate, and COVID issue makes supply low.

It is a good time to sell, but not to buy. 

if you have a choice - go for new construction - 

at least you know you are paying high price for something brand new.

[Anonymous]

I bought my house last year in September and I live in PA. I had to bid 15000 over list price to win and I had a conventional loan. It was very competitive at the time and if you liked a house you had to place a bid almost immediately. I was fortunate it was the first and only house I saw but I loved it and so I knew I had to move fast so I placed a bid and won. I have still kept my eye on the market and it seems like the prices have gotten even worse....the house I bought is probably worth more already. I say dont get discouraged by the way I watch the channel on a realtor in your area and he is very nice and fair and talks about the phoenix market in your area. His name is javier vidana, check out some of his videos and maybe you can get some information on the market their from his perspective too. 

[tacpoly]

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@mbauza86 wrote:

I'm in the DC/VA and the market is insane and houses don't last but a few days. For example, I just got a house and I had to do the following to win the house.

-Offered 30k over sales price

-If it under appraised, offered to pay 5k over in cash out of my own pocket

-seller didn't have to pay any closing costs

-20k down for the earnest deposit account within 3 days from signing contract

-offered sellers a free month since they were moving out of state

-agreed to take the house as is, unless inspection revealed something major

-my loan officer was copied on the offer email 

-wrote a love letter lol

The house got over 8 offers and it only viewed for 2-3 hours for one single day! Also, it was the first time I put an offer on a house, but I got it bc I went a bit more "aggressive".  I think some of the other offers were FHA and VA, so they have stricter inspection rules. I think since I was doing a conventional loan, that helped as well.

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This was me...back in 2000. Except I offered $50k over ask, plunked an extra $20k deposit ($40k total) that the seller asked for and did a 3-month rent back for free (!) during which seller refused to let us in to measure rooms for furnishings. I, however, didn't write a love letter, my agent did 😄. This was for a 2bd/1ba 1000 sq ft house.  That's the bad part. 

The good part is that house was worth $200k more only 2 years later.  So feel good about the equity you're building  and pray your market doesn't crash.

[joemomma]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi, 

Bit of advice,  all those areas you are looking at are in the  outskirts  of Phoenix metro.  You may be 1 hour drive away from downtown, not sure if that's important to you .   Traffic to get to those areas tend to be 2 lane roads and really congested.  

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Thanks. I know the traffic can be straight poop. I'm in a WFH situation so I am not overly concerned. Of course I'd rather be somehwere with good access. Got out to Buckeye and Maricopa and it wasnt too bad though they are down the list of areas I'd rather be. 

I think all the houses we looked at are under contract/taking back up offers at this point.   The RAs could be shining me on but they think our range is doable at 330-350k for something clean, no major work/upgrades neededand with a pool. Hoping I can hold out. 

[Anonymous]

Northern Utah here. My wife's an agent in SLC and the market here is insane. We got a custom build in right before the craziness, so we're thankful. Many houses are selling way over ask; my wife's brokerage just had a client with a $1m budget pay nearly $100k over ask for a house, who's next highest offer was only $3k less. New constructions and houses newer than ~2010-ish are nowhere to be found anymore - I remember when Toll Brothers was offering free pools and slashing lot premiums to get people to build homes, now they're having to limit the amount of lots they sell because they can't keep up with the demand (one of the sales agents at Toll Brothers told us corporate actually frowns upon selling lots too quickly, oddly enough....)

[Cowboys4Life]

Vegas here.  The market is also bat crap crazy insane.  I looked at over 20 houses.  (at least 6 we vetoed because the pictures did NOT match what we saw) I lost out on most because of cash purchase/investor bids.  Locals here are SO frustrated at not being able to find an affordable house due to the influx of investors and Californians with cash to purchase.  One offer I made was rejected by a foreign investment owner because I am using a VA loan.  He wants cash or coventional loan ONLY.  I am convinced the market here will collapse within the next year at most.  However, if I wait to buy while the inventory will be better the rates will not.  My agent did share that one major problem is not everyone you hear about not paying rent is a sob story of sadness due to covid.  She said they are seeing a large number who stopped paying knowing they could not be evicted and saved the money to buy a home before their credit tanked or showed the eviction.  It turns my stomach that they are stiffing landlords but get to buy a house.  Hopefully karma takes care of them.

The good news is my inspection is tomorrow and hopefully we close in the next 3 weeks.  Fingers crossed.  I did find a great house (a little farther than I wanted but definitely the right size, price, and condition) and so far so good on the process.  Good luck to those still searching.

[JGGM]

Suburban Houston area here. Just like all the others have mentioned, market is crazy here too. I actually was planning on listing in May if the market doesn't crash before then. If my Realtor is correct in assessing my house, my house value will have gone up 20% in just 18 months. 

My parents live 10 miles from me. They paid $405k for a house in 2016. Same floor plan just listed one street over from them for $640,000. It was on the market 3 days and went pending during the ice storm we had last week 😳

[tooleman694]

Seattle area here, home prices are insane and buyers bid em up. Sometimes 100k more then asking.

We went with a new build, still had a bidding war just to win the lot. Finally got one.

Home is 600k ish for 2600 SQ FT home. A bit of a commute into Seattle though.