Should I wait to buy a house?

NDGuy

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We got lucky on the area, not so lucky on the condition of the house. Still crazy that prices continue to climb. I’m sure we could sell right now and make money. The sellers market is nice if you’re selling but still a kick in the balls to an average income family.
It is but you always find a way to make it work and now you are in the game.

The barriers to entry are very high for most though I agree.
 

WRO

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Market is starting to slow a bit locally..

That being said, buying a house is always a good decision imho.

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Mosby

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You have to live somewhere and paying rent is always a long term loss. Buy in a good location, take care of it and you normally do just fine.
 

MattB

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If you intend to buy and live in it for 5+ years, I wouldn't wait given that rates remains low and borrowing cheap money is a good way to create wealth over time. My philosophy is I do not look at my residence as a financial asset and we intend to live here for the foreseeable future, so I personally do not worry about where the home value is at over time. If you think you will likely move within that timeframe, it might make sense to wait.
 

Deldave

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Mortgage rates are climbing now. That will affect many currently in the market for a home. The real issue is when will the current housing bubble burst, and how far will things fall.
 

grossklw

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A lot of these the sky is falling posts have aged well. If you’re planning on staying in the same spot for a while, buy now. You can weather the storm if the prices go down. They will eventually come back up.

There’s too much artificial money that has been created in the last 2 years. Housing prices may start leveling off but they’re unlikely to drop like they did in 08. It’s a completely different market now, they’re not giving out 2nd home loans to McDonald’s workers for million dollar homes.

People looking for a primary have no idea how much cash is currently sitting out there right now. A month ago I put an offer on a short term rental 30k over asking all cash on a 500k home and the listing agent told me I wasn’t even close. There is a lot of cash sitting ready to be deployed currently from investors.
 
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My wife and I have been looking casually for 2-3 years and really regret being so picky and not pulling the trigger. We just waited on the perfect forever house/property and the market has out run us:

We’ve lost bids on several places that have gone for $100k, $200k, and even lost one where the offer was $350k over asking! Asking prices in Colorado aren’t even a suggestion anymore, it’s just a joke.

Lots of money out there. Will make you feel pretty poor when you see what people are able to pay.
 

manitou1

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We had a house built and closed on it about a year ago. The builder just built and sold an identical floor plan on the same amount of acreage (adjoining our property). The house sold before it was finished for $340K more than what we paid! Crazy times. The comparative equity does not do much for me as we plan to be here until week kick over. The increase in taxes WILL have an affect though.
 

ben h

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Interesting thread, so far none of the doom has manifested. I personally don't think prices will decline significantly and where I'm at, I don't think even a 10% reduction like 09 will happen. Rates are going to go up for sure because they've never been lower (like since the 1st publication of the Bible). That will reduce purchasing power for buyers but sellers who don't need to sell don't need to accept the terms. There will always be opportunity buys and sells, but don't plan on repeating it and timing everything perfect. You'll always think you paid too much and sold too low, no matter how much money you pull out of a deal.
 

66kodiak

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We recently sold our home of 31 years and bought a house closer to our daughter. We sold our house for 50k more then it was worth but paid 50k more then our new house was worth so just traded pockets. I looked in Colorado but prices skyrocketed in the last two years, I have no idea where all the money comes from !
 

tdhanses

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Mortgage rates are climbing now. That will affect many currently in the market for a home. The real issue is when will the current housing bubble burst, and how far will things fall.
Thing is the current state has been propped up by cash buyers, not those getting loans. Not sure we’ll see a burst like we did in 2008.
 

CorbLand

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Thing is the current state has been propped up by cash buyers, not those getting loans. Not sure we’ll see a burst like we did in 2008.
I would imagine that the majority of those that are paying in cash are rolling equity and are selling their homes to people that are borrowing. So, as interest rates increase, the purchase of those homes should fall and it should slow the market overall.

A burst is unlikely but a correction is eminent.
 

tdhanses

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I would imagine that the majority of those that are paying in cash are rolling equity and are selling their homes to people that are borrowing. So, as interest rates increase, the purchase of those homes should fall and it should slow the market overall.

A burst is unlikely but a correction is eminent.
I think there are a ton of investment firms purchasing as well.

I agree with a correction or a flat line in growth of home values. I just don’t see a vast reduction in values coming especially with how bad inflation is, might see supply shrink as people can’t afford to sell and buy.
 

CorbLand

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I think there are a ton of investment firms purchasing as well.

I agree with a correction or a flat line in growth of home values. I just don’t see a vast reduction in values coming especially with how bad inflation is, might see supply shrink as people can’t afford to sell and buy.
I saw a headline for an article a couple months ago that said that something like 25% of all homes purchased in the US were being purchased by investment companies. I didn't read it so I don't know what they were classifying as investments companies.

That could cause issues down the road if those companies need to liquidate to pay investors back though. All theories though and 2020/2021 taught me that a bag of shit is worth more than my theories.
 

tdhanses

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I saw a headline for an article a couple months ago that said that something like 25% of all homes purchased in the US were being purchased by investment companies. I didn't read it so I don't know what they were classifying as investments companies.
I’m thinking they are turning them to rentals and airbnb’s, otherwise I don’t get why they are doing it.
 
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I’m thinking they are turning them to rentals and airbnb’s, otherwise I don’t get why they are doing it.
There has to be something to it. Otherwise why invest when the market is high? Doesn’t make much sense to me. I would think they would wait until the market is low, unless they are doing as you say. Has to be some kind of money to be made, otherwise why invest?
 

CorbLand

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I’m thinking they are turning them to rentals and airbnb’s, otherwise I don’t get why they are doing it.
That would be my guess as well. If housing comes down though, it should push rent prices down and if the economy pulls back, we should see a decline in demand for Air BNBs. This could cause a burst if those companies can no longer pay their investors and need to start liquidating assets to cover liabilities.
 

CorbLand

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There has to be something to it. Otherwise why invest when the market is high? Doesn’t make much sense to me. I would think they would wait until the market is low, unless they are doing as you say. Has to be some kind of money to be made, otherwise why invest?
Low interest rates. I would doubt they are using all their cash to buy these houses. My guess and I am not an expert would be that they are using investor money to be used as collateral to get loans, to turn around and invest in real estate.
 
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