What is going on in the Real Estate market?! It's nuts here!!!!!

[missy]

More people are moving away for the "lawless" cities into the suburbs.

If you read the article people are purchasing second homes with no intent to permanently leave the cities. Rather another way to vacation and get away from crowds during the pandemic. My DH and I did this 2 decades ago since I didn't care for traveling anymore and wanted a home away from home when we vacationed. It just so happens Covid is now pushing others into a similar situation.

I just hope that people who are purchasing second homes are being careful and respectful of others so as not to infect them with Covid 19 as @pinkjewel pointed out. That would be/is a terrible consequence. But when others follow carefully designed rules it is a win win for all.

@pinkjewel I am sorry the Covid 19 cases in your county are up because of the influx of new home buyers in your area.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

While I am happy people are realizing their second home dreams...my take is that there is really no escaping this virus or any other...like germs...bacteria, protozoa, fungi, worms... All there all the time.

cheers--Sharon

 

[violet3]

I'm on the East Coast too - it's not just North Carolina - the same thing is happening here! (And I work in real estate). The Fed lowered the interest rate on a primary home to under 3% - this is unheard of, and has fueled a purchasing wave, that was most certainly unexpected in a pandemic.

If you own a home, please consider refinancing; it could save you a lot of money! My last client just got 2.75% APR on a primary.

 

[bling_dream19]

I'm on the East Coast too - it's not just North Carolina - the same thing is happening here! (And I work in real estate). The Fed lowered the interest rate on a primary home to under 3% - this is unheard of, and has fueled a purchasing wave, that was most certainly unexpected in a pandemic.

If you own a home, please consider refinancing; it could save you a lot of money! My last client just got 2.75% APR on a primary.

My rate is 3.25 do you think its worth refi? Sorry just curious and hope this isn't too much of a thread deviation lol.

 

[kb1gra]

I'm on the East Coast too - it's not just North Carolina - the same thing is happening here! (And I work in real estate). The Fed lowered the interest rate on a primary home to under 3% - this is unheard of, and has fueled a purchasing wave, that was most certainly unexpected in a pandemic.

If you own a home, please consider refinancing; it could save you a lot of money! My last client just got 2.75% APR on a primary.

we got 2.15% just before lending shut down in March, on our primary.

We've been looking at a new second home, but frankly I am disgusted by the out of towners who are descending on our sleepy summer beach community and trying to change it to suit themselves, in the middle of a pandemic. We have had more "karen" incidents in the past two months than ever before and several local places have closed for good rather than deal with these people. I had planned to sell my parent's old home at the end of the season but I'm just going to keep it rather than sell it and see it ripped down for some postmodern monstrosity for some NYC resident.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I live on Long Island and it's crazy here right now, a lot of city families are giving up and moving out here. They've got the money so it's just going to get worse here (price wise). I don't know if I'll ever be able to actually buy

 

[oodlesofpoodles]

I'm in the midwest and live in the suburbs of a large metro area. I was talking to the realtor who sold us our home in January, and he said this is his busiest year ever in over 15 years in the business, even taking into account the six weeks they didn't work due to shut down. Well priced, updated, or newer homes are selling the first list day, often with multiple offers. We put our new house under contract pre-covid, the first day it was listed because it was exactly what we had been looking for. We lost our first buyer for our previous home at the beginning of covid and the shutdown. The week restrictions lifted in our area we had multiple offers and closed 12000 over our asking price. Our move wasn't far - within the same mile actually, but for us it was next phase in life planning that we had talked about and had casually looked for years as the kids and grandparents were getting older. We decided a one story would be better suited for grandparents who visit from out of state. We wanted a larger home with attractive features to older kids - like a game room, home theater, and with a pool that has been very well used already this year. We want our home to be the one where all the kids friends gather so we know what is going on and where they are, we view it as intentional parenting. Right now our teenage son occupies the second master but if we needed to move a parent in once he moves out we have a very nice second living area with kitchen that we could set up nicely for multi-generational living. Something that is new in our area is the amount of buyers who are purchasing houses sight unseen, which my parents decided to do. They currently live in the next state over, about a 7 hours drive from us. They are buying in the next neighborhood over from us and are so excited to be nearer to the grandkids. I think the current state of the world really pushed them to want to be close to family. Coming to terms with their mortality, it forced them to think about and prioritize what they want to do in their final years. Some upcoming surgeries has them realizing that they may need some help sooner rather than later. So after 27 years in the same house, they are moving. I think the great interest rates are an incentive for some but the real push I think is that people are spending much more time in their homes, and many more are working from home, and any flaws in functionality are coming to the forefront. If they are feeling pretty secure in their job it may push people to make a move that would have been delayed without a pressing need because people as a whole get comfortable and resist change.

 

[Karl_K]

we got 2.15% just before lending shut down in March, on our primary.

We've been looking at a new second home, but frankly I am disgusted by the out of towners who are descending on our sleepy summer beach community and trying to change it to suit themselves, in the middle of a pandemic. We have had more "karen" incidents in the past two months than ever before and several local places have closed for good rather than deal with these people. I had planned to sell my parent's old home at the end of the season but I'm just going to keep it rather than sell it and see it ripped down for some postmodern monstrosity for some NYC resident.

a lot of small towns and even some states are having that problem.
People move to escape what the consider bad then whine it isn't like it was back home and try and shove stuff down the throats of the locals.

 

[kb1gra]

a lot of small towns and even some states are having that problem.
People move to escape what the consider bad then whine it isn't like it was back home and try and shove stuff down the throats of the locals.

They've taken to hiring attorneys to represent them at permitting meetings where we deny permits for a 5000sq ft 6 bedroom monstrosity. Any town citizen can join these and they're on Zoom now so I've started joining. People buy property without knowing what they're doing and what to look for when buying close to saltwater and then are dismayed at all the environmental regs and they can't just toss up a giant house because they want to.

The list of complaints grows longer:
there's not enough parking (because you lot showed up with your Suburbans and Range Rovers)
the traffic is terrible (see previous)
we need a traffic light!! (somehow the rest of us have lived here for a century without one)
beach permits should be only available to residents (oh, the beach permit you got as a 1 week renter last year?)

the county is now considering levying a part time resident tax penalty in order to pay for all the overhead, which of course hurts those of us who have been here for 30+ years and have inherited property or maintain some rentals. Would hate to see us go the way of Vermont, etc with punitive taxes but maybe that's what needs to be done.

It's neverending.

 

[violet3]

My rate is 3.25 do you think its worth refi? Sorry just curious and hope this isn't too much of a thread deviation lol.

Hi there! It depends on how much you are mortgaging - I wouldn't ask you to share that with us, so I'd just go online and use a mortgage calculator to see how much it would reduce your payment. If it's not a significant amount per month, I wouldn't bother doing a refi on it, because it's a PITA.

 

[violet3]

we got 2.15% just before lending shut down in March, on our primary.

We've been looking at a new second home, but frankly I am disgusted by the out of towners who are descending on our sleepy summer beach community and trying to change it to suit themselves, in the middle of a pandemic. We have had more "karen" incidents in the past two months than ever before and several local places have closed for good rather than deal with these people. I had planned to sell my parent's old home at the end of the season but I'm just going to keep it rather than sell it and see it ripped down for some postmodern monstrosity for some NYC resident.

I live in a small coastal town on the middle East Coast myself, and similar things are happening here. My husband runs a company that has two restaurants, and the patrons are the worst they've EVER been. You'd think people would be nicer and more grateful to have somewhere to eat, but they're twice as rude as they were before - I feel badly for anyone taking the brunt of that. PS. 2.15% is the best rate I've ever heard of....good job!

 

[violet3]

I'm in the midwest and live in the suburbs of a large metro area. I was talking to the realtor who sold us our home in January, and he said this is his busiest year ever in over 15 years in the business, even taking into account the six weeks they didn't work due to shut down. Well priced, updated, or newer homes are selling the first list day, often with multiple offers. We put our new house under contract pre-covid, the first day it was listed because it was exactly what we had been looking for. We lost our first buyer for our previous home at the beginning of covid and the shutdown. The week restrictions lifted in our area we had multiple offers and closed 12000 over our asking price. Our move wasn't far - within the same mile actually, but for us it was next phase in life planning that we had talked about and had casually looked for years as the kids and grandparents were getting older. We decided a one story would be better suited for grandparents who visit from out of state. We wanted a larger home with attractive features to older kids - like a game room, home theater, and with a pool that has been very well used already this year. We want our home to be the one where all the kids friends gather so we know what is going on and where they are, we view it as intentional parenting. Right now our teenage son occupies the second master but if we needed to move a parent in once he moves out we have a very nice second living area with kitchen that we could set up nicely for multi-generational living. Something that is new in our area is the amount of buyers who are purchasing houses sight unseen, which my parents decided to do. They currently live in the next state over, about a 7 hours drive from us. They are buying in the next neighborhood over from us and are so excited to be nearer to the grandkids. I think the current state of the world really pushed them to want to be close to family. Coming to terms with their mortality, it forced them to think about and prioritize what they want to do in their final years. Some upcoming surgeries has them realizing that they may need some help sooner rather than later. So after 27 years in the same house, they are moving. I think the great interest rates are an incentive for some but the real push I think is that people are spending much more time in their homes, and many more are working from home, and any flaws in functionality are coming to the forefront. If they are feeling pretty secure in their job it may push people to make a move that would have been delayed without a pressing need because people as a whole get comfortable and resist change.

This is a good point about staying in the home for more periods of time - I bet lots of people are tying to figure out how to navigate living in a home 24/7 when it doesn't suit their needs in quite the same way as when they left home to go to work. My friends in NYC are all struggling to live in tiny apartments with their husbands all the time, without being able to go out and enjoy the perks outside of the home that the city has to offer. For most of them, the latter part is why they moved to the city in the first place. I think prioritizing has become MUCH different in the midst of the pandemic, as you mentioned. Good food for thought.

 

[pinkjewel]

a lot of small towns and even some states are having that problem.
People move to escape what the consider bad then whine it isn't like it was back home and try and shove stuff down the throats of the locals.

yup- this is exactly what is happening here!

 

[kb1gra]

I live in a small coastal town on the middle East Coast myself, and similar things are happening here. My husband runs a company that has two restaurants, and the patrons are the worst they've EVER been. You'd think people would be nicer and more grateful to have somewhere to eat, but they're twice as rude as they were before - I feel badly for anyone taking the brunt of that. PS. 2.15% is the best rate I've ever heard of....good job!

It was a good profile - strong income, 15 yr, less that 50% ltv.

I'm out at the house this weekend - ran into the local "fancy" restaurant owner at the donut shop this morning. He was telling me there was an incident last night and they had to close early after a party of 12 (which is against the pandemic rules, anyway) could not be accommodated and made a major scene. Had never happened before and the restaurant opened in 1997 (I was there opening night. I was 12...)

 

[pinkjewel]

Several restaurants here have also posted similar things on their Facebook page. Their staff is constantly being harassed and yelled at for not allowing groups and people in that are not wearing masks. It is making an already stressful situation worse for everyone. I know of at least one restaurant here that closed (except for take out) that couldn't deal with the rude people.

 

[Cerulean]

Some of these anecdotes are really appalling and I am not surprised. I feel for residents who want to flee cities but that doesn't mean you act with reckless abandon in smaller communities.

But boy, I get the angst they feel. I have been trapped in a 720 sq. ft. 1-bedroom apartment in Chicago with three cats and my fiance nearly 24/7 - I have to work from my couch or ill-fitted kitchen table. There is usually an hour long line to get groceries and pharmacy runs, because of looting, surrounding communities have essentially no stores left, so our neighborhood is flooded...we finally bought a car 2 days ago, but each uber ride has been around $40 one way and I can't imagine taking public trans.

I have wanted to leave Chicago for a while, but now....the contempt I have developed for my city and my apartment is nearly all-consuming. Every issue is magnified. My fiance and I are aggressively saving for a down payment and we plan to buy a house in Milwaukee or Phoenix metro by this time next year (quite different locations - but family near both). So I empathize. I hope to join the ranks of new home buyers

My father lives on a sleepy peninsula in Maine (they don't even have local law enforcement) - and has shared anecdotes about New Yorkers, Bostonians and folk from New Jersey and other east coast states descending on his community.

Real estate, both rental and sales, seems to be doing well, and some who don't care about the stability of the community are more than happy to make money off of them. This flood of people risk exposing a county that has not seen a single case of COVID-19. There is only one hospital serving the whole county and it has under 100 beds, and the majority of the pop is over 60. It would be catastrophic for them.

They have asked out of towners to self-quarantine when they arrive to protect residents. I smiled when I heard that a bunch of lobster fisherman dragged a huge log into the driveway of one part timer from NJ - blocking his Mercedes G Wagon because he was flagrantly ignoring quarantine requests and took to being quite nasty to his neighbors.

He jokes that they don't need police - "the fisherman take care of it "

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I live on Long Island and it's crazy here right now, a lot of city families are giving up and moving out here. They've got the money so it's just going to get worse here (price wise). I don't know if I'll ever be able to actually buy

Oh i feel so sad to read this
we had to move to a much smaller city to be able to afford a mortgage and i only managed the deposit because my mother died
And right now the interests rates are so low
but never say never to your dream of home ownership

but property taxes are the worst

 

[missy]

I live on Long Island and it's crazy here right now, a lot of city families are giving up and moving out here. They've got the money so it's just going to get worse here (price wise). I don't know if I'll ever be able to actually buy

I’m sorry you’re in this situation. Similar to my sister’s situation. My sister and her dh live in a tiny 2 bedroom house in Long Island. She bought it decades ago. They cannot afford to move in Long Island. Everything is too expensive. They’re a family of 4 in a two bedroom one bathroom. Oh and property taxes aren’t cheap.



ETA like you my sister and her husband are professionals with many years of post graduate education. Buys nothing in New York :/

 

[kb1gra]

Oh i feel so sad to read this
we had to move to a much smaller city to be able to afford a mortgage and i only managed the deposit because my mother died
And right now the interests rates are so low
but never say never to your dream of home ownership

but property taxes are the worst

If I had a choice I would never own a home. It's a colossal waste of time - all that time mowing, weeding, pruning, fixing, worrying, and paying taxes. And then if you need to sell because your life or your job changes, you pay 6% and lose any investment gains to sell it.

 

[VRBeauty]

People are realizing they don’t need to be in “the office” to work, and most employers can no longer use the arguments they used to used against working from home.

And... homelessness. Few cities had a handle on it before the pandemic, and it’s about to get worse.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Some of these anecdotes are really appalling and I am not surprised. I feel for residents who want to flee cities but that doesn't mean you act with reckless abandon in smaller communities.

But boy, I get the angst they feel. I have been trapped in a 720 sq. ft. 1-bedroom apartment in Chicago with three cats and my fiance nearly 24/7 - I have to work from my couch or ill-fitted kitchen table. There is usually an hour long line to get groceries and pharmacy runs, because of looting, surrounding communities have essentially no stores left, so our neighborhood is flooded...we finally bought a car 2 days ago, but each uber ride has been around $40 one way and I can't imagine taking public trans.

I have wanted to leave Chicago for a while, but now....the contempt I have developed for my city and my apartment is nearly all-consuming. Every issue is magnified. My fiance and I are aggressively saving for a down payment and we plan to buy a house in Milwaukee or Phoenix metro by this time next year (quite different locations - but family near both). So I empathize. I hope to join the ranks of new home buyers

My father lives on a sleepy peninsula in Maine (they don't even have local law enforcement) - and has shared anecdotes about New Yorkers, Bostonians and folk from New Jersey and other east coast states descending on his community.

Real estate, both rental and sales, seems to be doing well, and some who don't care about the stability of the community are more than happy to make money off of them. This flood of people risk exposing a county that has not seen a single case of COVID-19. There is only one hospital serving the whole county and it has under 100 beds, and the majority of the pop is over 60. It would be catastrophic for them.

They have asked out of towners to self-quarantine when they arrive to protect residents. I smiled when I heard that a bunch of lobster fisherman dragged a huge log into the driveway of one part timer from NJ - blocking his Mercedes G Wagon because he was flagrantly ignoring quarantine requests and took to being quite nasty to his neighbors.

He jokes that they don't need police - "the fisherman take care of it "

Hhahaha! People in my tiny Maine town did the same thing with the log for one of the regular summah people! This time it was the local logging dynasty. He wasn't being nasty just refusing to follow the rules! It worked. *It's probably where they got the idea *. I don't blame them, it's a good plan.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I’m sorry you’re in this situation. Similar to my sister’s situation. My sister and her dh live in a tiny 2 bedroom house in Long Island. She bought it decades ago. They cannot afford to move in Long Island. Everything is too expensive. They’re a family of 4 in a two bedroom one bathroom. Oh and property taxes aren’t cheap.



ETA like you my sister and her husband are professionals with many years of post graduate education. Buys nothing in New York :/

That's soon to be us! We are the two of us, our 4.5YO, I'm pregnant now, two cats, and a dog. We have the lower half of a two family. We have one bedroom, an office (which use as the kid/kids room), and one bathroom. Feel free to DM where on LI your sister lives if she ever tries to sell Our entire place is MAYBE 700 square feet.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

If I had a choice I would never own a home. It's a colossal waste of time - all that time mowing, weeding, pruning, fixing, worrying, and paying taxes. And then if you need to sell because your life or your job changes, you pay 6% and lose any investment gains to sell it.

we rented for more than 20 years
all that money paid off the landlords morgage
we paid $265 a week for a one bedroom 45m2 house with one garage
the landloard was pretty sh#t but the rent was 'cheap'
now we pay $105 a week morgage for 105m3 4 bedroom house with a double garage and a laundry that's an actual room not a cupboard - pk we have to pay insurence and rates (property taxes) and the house needs decorating but we dont mow the lawns (we beleave in rewilding)
in NZ the rental market is full of gready landlords who so long as the rent is paid that is all they care about
our house might be a bit cold in the winter but at least its our cold

 

[kb1gra]

Any gains in our property were offset by the mortgage interest in the first five years and then the property taxes thereafter. I don't mind paying someone else's mortgage to be able to move whenever I want.

When we paid off our house after 7 years with a lump sum, we had paid about $18,000 of principal. All the rest of the mortgage payments were taxes, interest, and insurance.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

@pinkjewel So good to see you! I think of you from time to time and wondered how you are doing! It sounds like you have moved near the coast or else you have a second home at the coast. I have heard a lot of complaints about rude people coming down to certain areas in this state and the one south. That's sad.

I do think a lot of the real estate boon has to do with the interest rate as well as people moving down here from more expensive areas. We live in an area that has a big lake and there are probably only a small percentage of locals here.

 

[pinkjewel]

@pinkjewel So good to see you! I think of you from time to time and wondered how you are doing! It sounds like you have moved near the coast or else you have a second home at the coast. I have heard a lot of complaints about rude people coming down to certain areas in this state and the one south. That's sad.

I do think a lot of the real estate boon has to do with the interest rate as well as people moving down here from more expensive areas. We live in an area that has a big lake and there are probably only a small percentage of locals here.

Diamondseeker- I've thought about you numerous times too and wondered how you're doing!! I lost your email when my computer crashed a couple of years ago and my email address book disappeared into never never land-lol. We have bought a second home at the coast to see if we want to move here full time. Love the neighborhood and the cute town, but being hit by 3 hurricanes in 3 years does have us waffling about moving here totally. We'll see how the rest of the year goes. But the market here continues to be unreal- houses sell so quickly with multiple bids. I guess they aren't worried about the hurricanes- at least not yet.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Diamondseeker- I've thought about you numerous times too and wondered how you're doing!! I lost your email when my computer crashed a couple of years ago and my email address book disappeared into never never land-lol. We have bought a second home at the coast to see if we want to move here full time. Love the neighborhood and the cute town, but being hit by 3 hurricanes in 3 years does have us waffling about moving here totally. We'll see how the rest of the year goes. But the market here continues to be unreal- houses sell so quickly with multiple bids. I guess they aren't worried about the hurricanes- at least not yet.

That's a great plan! I agree that the hurricanes would cause me a little hesitation for moving there full-time. We own an oceanfront condo with friends in SC, and we actually got it 3 years after Hugo and prices were good. I'd be a little worried about living there full-time, but I would so love being there in just the spring and the fall when the crowds are less! I will have to say that we have not had any damage from hurricanes in all these years, but our building is concrete and steel and has upgraded hurricane grade windows and doors, so we should be okay unless there's another major one like Hugo. The good thing in your case is if you decide not to live there full-time, you can always rent it part of the time since demand is high.

 

[andreuoverhead]

The real estate market is in a weird state now, and I would even call that a bubble. Not sure what’s gonna happen to it, but I think it’s time to invest in real estate because it will become too expensive and unreachable soon.
No one knows when the prices will go down, and a recession is quite possible, so it’s better to buy houses/apartments now if you have money for that. You can rent them out later and have some additional passive income. Find a good architectural consultation in your town, and they will help you choose a good house or an apartment to buy so you don’t have to waste too much money on reparation after purchasing it.

 

[Lookinagain]

The real estate market is in a weird state now, and I would even call that a bubble. Not sure what’s gonna happen to it, but I think it’s time to invest in real estate because it will become too expensive and unreachable soon.
No one knows when the prices will go down, and a recession is quite possible, so it’s better to buy houses/apartments now if you have money for that. You can rent them out later and have some additional passive income. Find a good architectural consultation in your town, and they will help you choose a good house or an apartment to buy so you don’t have to waste too much money on reparation after purchasing it.

In my area prices are starting to come down, which is typical when interest rates go up. Buyers are also walking away from their purchase contracts either because they can no longer qualify for the needed mortgage at the higher rate, or also because they bid over asking price for a home with an already inflated price, and with prices coming down, they realize they could end up underwater. Better to pay less for the house even with the higher interest rate IMO. If rates come down you can refinance to the lower rate. Once you pay for the house at an inflated asking price, your stuck with that.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

the market is very slow here
with interest rates ups and the cost of living sky rocketing
the market definatly needs correcting
three doors down a house exaclky like ours but with a fresh coast of unimagative paint and a very baddly build new fence and with staged rented furniture is on for 499k
a flip
absotluly unrealistic
ours may still need a coat of paint but 5 years ago we got it for 169k (or was it 159k?)