“A condo is freedom too, not much different than renting. They usually sell fairly fast, OR you can even rent them out.”
LOL, you have NOT been paying attention to the condo market. A condo right now, besides being insanely overpriced (most in metro areas start at 400K), is a ball and chain that are NOT selling. Most metro markets are glutted to the gills with condos and condo conversions that are sitting on the market month after month, dropping in price slowly but surely.
Two brand new condo complexes in my neighborhood were completed in the last few months, and the “for sale” signs are now “for lease”, and they’re not moving, because they’re charging more for rent than a 3-4 bedroom house goes for in rent.
Maybe in 5-6 years you can pick one up cheap, when they’re cheaper to own then rent. We are a LONG way from that.
Besides, I would never buy a condo, I refuse to pay HOA fees, for the money they want I want a garage and more than 2 bedrooms, and most condos are overpriced apartments. The point of buying, to me, is to get OUT of apartment living (no shared walls, land, privacy).
It all depends on location. You can’t assume that everywhere in the country is the same as what your local market is doing.
Some places are doing very well, others aren’t. You can’t compare anything on the west coast to something in say Grand Forks ND.
Yes, some markets are pretty tough, but if that’s where you want to live, you have to deal with that market. Like everywhere else, you have to shop around and learn it’s quirks.
By your description, condos should be cheap if they are overdeveloped. just wait until the dust settles.
Other states, you may find it hard to find a condo at all.
Looking at some markets in some cities, sometimes it amazes me what people call an apartment/condo. People in New York pay $1200 a month for something smaller than my bedroom closet.
In fct my bedroom closet is a studeo by NY standards.
Condos are the first to go down and are the hardest to sell in a tight market. I think most real estate investors use Condos as the canary in a coal mine. When Condo prices start to drop, it is time to dump the single-family homes, which will drop next.
I am not even considering a condo for a home. You pay way more per square foot and they never appreciate as much as single family homes, dollar for dollar, except in insane places like Manhattan where average people are completely priced out of single-family homes and Condos are the ONLY option open to them. Then they act like single-family homes.
In most of the USA, Condos go up last, go up less, and come down 1st and farthest. All while they cost more per sqft. Not a bargain in my book... And for that you get to pay association dues and may have a crappy organization.
I will never buy a condo. The only upside is freedom from some maintenance and upkeep required of a house.