Buying a house

[Rangerpants]

Lots of houses aren't being built right now due to the virus, but a lot of people are in bad positions with job losses and general uncertainty. Makes for a crap shoot no matter what you do. I am socking in as much cash as I can and keeping an eye out for deals if and when they appear. I think there is an above average level of risk right now for all but the very wealthy in any kind of investment right now. Good luck to you no matter what you choose!

 

[jmcd22]

Hard to tell what the actual ramifications of the virus are or will be when people who are unemployed are making an extra $600/week. Pretty easy for most to continue to make mortgage payments if they have one income plus the bump in unemployment.

In my area, I sold my house in about 3 hours and bought a place the same day. So far, it is having little to no impact. One thing we made damn sure of is that we bought a place that we could afford on one income. Live within your means and you should be fine.

 

[WCB]

Hard to tell what the actual ramifications of the virus are or will be when people who are unemployed are making an extra $600/week. Pretty easy for most to continue to make mortgage payments if they have one income plus the bump in unemployment.

In my area, I sold my house in about 3 hours and bought a place the same day. So far, it is having little to no impact. One thing we made damn sure of is that we bought a place that we could afford on one income. Live within your means and you should be fine.

Identical around here above average buying/selling. Wife and I are looking to get a place with 10+ acres and if it is even half way decent it is gone in a matter of a 2-3 days. If the house is a complete Sh!% hole it may take 1-1.5 weeks tops and it still costs the same as the nice places.

Luckily we are in a VERY good position in our house and are more in the want to move than need to move mode.

 

[Stonebear]

RE markets may be overpriced, but people make money all the time buying real estate that is “overpriced and selling when extra overpriced” (Taleb). I thought my RE market was overpriced in 2016, but it’s been appreciating rapidly since then.

Who could have predicted covid would hit when it did? Who can predict exactly not only if, but when covid will affect residential RE? If anyone knows those answers then they should be millionaires here soon.

All this is to say, it’s very hard to time the markets. The only sure way to minimize risk is to minimize debt. Get something you can afford regardless of the market. You only recognize a loss when you sell. I.e., if you overextend and are forced to sell, you will lose money in a downturn. Alternatively, if you get something you can afford to ride through a dip, then you won’t have to recognize that loss. Personally, if you are planning on staying there for 7+ years then I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[MattB]

Interest rates aren't going to do anything anytime soon. Housing hasn't really been affected by the virus, it could or it may not but who knows. Nobody actually knows, there's thousands of opinions each way. Just buy right and don't sweat it.

Virus hasn't stopped my rental property investing, bought a couple houses this spring and close on a lake house next Friday to airBnB.

Housing costs in many parts of the country have exploded due in large part to the monetary expansion that occurred over the last ~18 months. While I agree rates will likely be flat for some time. I do think this inflation is real and the Fed may have to do something (e.g. raise rates) sooner than later to curb it.

 

[SierraOneSix]

Sold our house and been looking for a new place. Looking for some opinions. Planning on waiting a while and see what happens..

The housing market isn’t going to slow down anytime soon w/ rates this low and inventory so low.

 

[grossklw]

Housing costs in many parts of the country have exploded due in large part to the monetary expansion that occurred over the last ~18 months. While I agree rates will likely be flat for some time. I do think this inflation is real and the Fed may have to do something (e.g. raise rates) sooner than later to curb it.

Look at the date of my post. July of 2020, my prediction wasn't wrong, rates have done nothing in the last year, if anything they've gone down since I made that post.

Inflation is very real and coming, which is why most of my portfolio is in real estate. If he did buy something a year ago it doesn't really matter what he paid or where he bought it, I'm guessing it's worth 10-20% more than when he bought it depending on the market.

 

[jmcd22]

Look at the date of my post. July of 2020, my prediction wasn't wrong, rates have done nothing in the last year, if anything they've gone down since I made that post.

Inflation is very real and coming, which is why most of my portfolio is in real estate. If he did buy something a year ago it doesn't really matter what he paid or where he bought it, I'm guessing it's worth 10-20% more than when he bought it depending on the market.

I was in on the postings in 2020 and the value of my home has gone up 53% or so since we bought it last summer. Inflation isn't just on the way, it's here and getting worse. Scary times ahead, I'm afraid.