IYO,has the housing market in your area hit bottom?

[Dancing Fire]

i think we are close to hitting the bottom here in the Sacto,Ca area.

 

[Jennifer W]

In the nearest town to where I live, house prices didn't actually fall. They just stopped rising - they are beginning to rise again, by an average of 11 % each quarter.

 

[KaeKae]

OHHH I really hope so. If it doesn't, we will never be able to leave (or just refinance.)

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I can't imagine it going down further but I think it will continue to drop. Here is an example using the house we are renting. This is in the area of town that has held value very well compared to others.

eta: current median home price is $146,000 which is down a lot from previous years


Valuation History
Year Assessed Value
2011 100900
2010 112100
2009 130100
2008 146000
2007 142400
2006 130000
2005 91600
2004 86100
2003 85400
2002 78900
2001 75300
2000 71300

An example using the house we sold

2011 76000
2010 97000
2009 122700
2008 142900
2007 154500
2006 120400
2005 103900
2004 98600
2003 98600
2002 89400
2001 89400

 

[JewelFreak]

Prices are down a lot here but nowhere near the bottom yet, sigh. And I'm dying to put this barn on the market & move to Virginia. Not holding my breath. The nearest city is a banking center so you can imagine what's happened to values. If a house is not in like-new condition, it sits on the market for, literally, years unless the price is brought waaaay lower. Depressing stuff.

 

[maplefemme]

Not even close, but we're in Alberta, Canada.
Our market has stabilized and higher inventory is making it a buyer's market, however, we have still been quoted $650,000 for the 2300sq ft house we are looking to build next year. That's builder's spec, before upgrades.
I would have been looking at $250,000 for the same house before the boom here a few years ago....

 

[CharmyPoo]

There are still plenty of bidding wars in my area.

 

[tyty333]

I'm in FL and we got hit pretty hard. I think (hope) they have hit rock bottom. Cant see how they can get much
lower.

 

[diamondringlover]

In our area in Central Ohio the prices have came up just a little bit from the last couple of years, so I am thinking we have hit bottom already.

 

[Rhea]

Nope! They're still increasing in my part of London.

 

[HopeDream]

No drop in housing prices in my city, they just seem to keep rising.

There is an affordable housing shortage, and many wealthy people from overseas purchase houses/condos as a safe place to keep cash, and then just let them sit empty.

I will never be able to afford a house.

This is typical:

 

[partgypsy]

If you disregard the brief period of time in late 2005 when prices went crazy high and then fell, there wasn't really a "bust" per se in my town, just a gradual up and down with very little variation. Looking at Zillow if you look at average prices in my town 2002-now (if you take out that blip) average prices haven't varied by 20K. If you look at what my particular house was estimated to be, again once you take out the blip (which made estimates of my house double), there are flucuations but the general trend of increasing, not decreasing. personally think that is because my city was considered relatively inexpensive for people moving, particularly from higher price locations (east, west coast), who moved here looking for both a job and a cheaper place to live, so it either stabilized or drove prices up slightly. The worst hit areas were the poor neighborhoods in which people did lose their homes yet there wasn't demand for anyone to buy those distressed homes.

I looked a lot during that period (2008-2011) of time mulling whether this was the time to make a switch in our house, but for the neighborhoods I was looking at, didn't really see any amazing bargains.

 

[maplefemme]

No drop in housing prices in my city, they just seem to keep rising.

There is an affordable housing shortage, and many wealthy people from overseas purchase houses/condos as a safe place to keep cash, and then just let them sit empty.

I will never be able to afford a house.

This is typical:

Do you have to stay in Van? Any relocation possibilities?

 

[movie zombie]

no. it has not hit bottom. 2012 will see more foreclosures and people walking away.

 

[movie zombie]

no. it has not hit bottom. 2012 will see more foreclosures and people walking away.

 

[Imdanny]

No drop in housing prices in my city, they just seem to keep rising.

There is an affordable housing shortage, and many wealthy people from overseas purchase houses/condos as a safe place to keep cash, and then just let them sit empty.

I will never be able to afford a house.

This is typical:

I grew up in a nicer house than this- no offence to whoever owns it. And it cost a tiny fraction of this price. How absurd.

 

[JewelFreak]

Wow, Hope Dream, my jaw dropped! Monster price! I've read about what's going on there in Vancouver, major bummer. Seems to have been occurring over a few years now -- "investors" who buy now are gonna get hosed when prices stabilize other places & the money gets more spread around. Real estate is SO cyclical -- don't give up yet.

 

[TravelingGal]

People in the banking industry know what's going on...so the answer for many areas that bubbled, the answer is still: no. At least 2-3 years more, IMHO.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

No drop in housing prices in my city, they just seem to keep rising.

There is an affordable housing shortage, and many wealthy people from overseas purchase houses/condos as a safe place to keep cash, and then just let them sit empty.

I will never be able to afford a house.

This is typical:

That would be around 40 to 90k in my area (depending on city). SCARY

 

[Dreamer_D]

No drop in housing prices in my city, they just seem to keep rising.

There is an affordable housing shortage, and many wealthy people from overseas purchase houses/condos as a safe place to keep cash, and then just let them sit empty.

I will never be able to afford a house.

This is typical:

It is similar where I live Hope, but a little more affordable. We got in two years ago, but we are pretty house poor.

 

[rubybeth]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

 

[maplefemme]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

That's unreal, is that price reflective of just how bad the economy is there or very much the norm, pre economic downfall?

 

[rubybeth]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

That's unreal, is that price reflective of just how bad the economy is there or very much the norm, pre economic downfall?

Minnesota's economy is actually doing quite well, with pretty low unemployment compared to the rest of the U.S., and reasonable economic growth (we're expecting a state budget surplus instead of a shortfall, as previously expected).

Pre-recession, I'd guess that house would have been listed for $159k or so. But now, they can't really ask that much for a 3 bed, 2 bath when there are so many other comparable homes on the market for far less. Another one of my favorites that's been on the market for a while just dropped another $10k today to $69k. Housing in this area is much more affordable compared to the twin cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). When I've posted listings to Facebook, my friends have posted comments of utter disbelief.

I'd guess one factor is that people are moving out of the area and to the twin cities for work. There are jobs here, but, for example, if I wanted to stay in a comparable position, I would have to move 70 miles, at least.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

WOW!!! that is a lot of house for $122K...

 

[tsavvy]

i think we are close to hitting the bottom here in the Sacto,Ca area.

We're in Sac and some of the areas with high foreclosures have dropped really low. While our area has declined, there are no crazily low prices. If this is the bottom, then the bottom isn't much of a bargain in East Sac.

 

[maplefemme]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

That's unreal, is that price reflective of just how bad the economy is there or very much the norm, pre economic downfall?

Minnesota's economy is actually doing quite well, with pretty low unemployment compared to the rest of the U.S., and reasonable economic growth (we're expecting a state budget surplus instead of a shortfall, as previously expected).

Pre-recession, I'd guess that house would have been listed for $159k or so. But now, they can't really ask that much for a 3 bed, 2 bath when there are so many other comparable homes on the market for far less. Another one of my favorites that's been on the market for a while just dropped another $10k today to $69k. Housing in this area is much more affordable compared to the twin cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). When I've posted listings to Facebook, my friends have posted comments of utter disbelief.

I'd guess one factor is that people are moving out of the area and to the twin cities for work. There are jobs here, but, for example, if I wanted to stay in a comparable position, I would have to move 70 miles, at least.

That's quite amazing, great to hear that your economy is doing so well too, very affordable housing, very promising.
I can't actually buy a small lot to build something on for $159k here, let alone a house on top of it. A newer, garage free house at 1,900sq ft will run you around $410,000-$440,400 here.

 

[Dancing Fire]

i think we are close to hitting the bottom here in the Sacto,Ca area.

We're in Sac and some of the areas with high foreclosures have dropped really low. While our area has declined, there are no crazily low prices. If this is the bottom, then the bottom isn't much of a bargain in East Sac.

the fabulous 40's home will always hold up in price.

 

[rosetta]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

WOW!!! that is a lot of house for $122K...

Oh good grief.

That house costs less than the deposit for any decent house in my area.

Awesome.

 

[rubybeth]

I think they are still dropping, and according to a brief convo with our financial advisor a few months ago, he thinks so, too. I've been getting MLS listings for about a year now, and there's no lack of homes in our price range. We could definitely buy a 3 bed, 2 bath for under $100k tomorrow if we wanted to--a definitely plus to living in a medium sized city. I'm holding out for a beauty like this, once our debt is paid off:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/119-17th-Ave-S-Saint-Cloud-MN-56301/74888384_zpid/

WOW!!! that is a lot of house for $122K...

Oh good grief.

That house costs less than the deposit for any decent house in my area.

Awesome.

Yes, but you're in LONDON! I'll be lucky if I get to go on vacation to Europe a few times in my life.

 

[tammy77]

I think it's really dependent on the area of Sacramento. We're in the Pocket and home prices seem to be holding much better than say, Elk Grove where they're still falling. My DH and I were strongly considering the idea of purchasing but decided to hold off when we noticed how many recent price reductions were popping up daily. I think we have at least another 6 months to go, maybe more.