Posted on 09/18/2020 8:19:24 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
Sorry to take up space for what is essentially a vanity post. But this is interesting and important enough that I would like other Freepers to weigh in from their various parts of the country.
We live in a mature working class neighborhood about an hour's drive ESE of Pittsburgh, PA. We've been here just under 20 years.
Most of the homes in the neighborhood, including ours, were built about 50 years ago. It has been a fairly stable neighborhood which includes neighbors who work for the Pennsylvania State Police and leave their cruisers parked in the driveway.
Trump signs outnumber Biden signs by a ratio of 4 or 5 to 1 and that doesn't include supporters like us who don't put out lawn signs for various reasons.
Our lot size is about 1/5th of an acre which is, slightly but not much more than the 1/6th acre average. In a normal year, property values will fluctuate up and down, but normally no more than about 3 to 4% on an annual basis. Except this year it is already up 10%, just about all of that increase taking place in the last three months.
And it isn't just our little corner lot, it is the entire neighborhood.
(Excerpt) Read more at zillow.com ...
The homes in my UpState SC neighborhood were selling in the $150K range last year. Now they are fetching $200K because of low interest rates fueling demand. Why pay $1,000+ a month rent when you can get a $750 a month mortgage.I really am not looking forward to when the bubble bursts.
Second thing I learned at the parental knee, don't go for a mortgage. (First thing: tenants are anathema.)
Buy what you can afford, and shop where taxes are low. With the money you save you can work less and pursue delightful hobbies.
I don’t know if we’ll ever see “high” interest rates for a while. We are facing the same deflationary pressure you see in Japan and (to a lesser extent) Europe.
Charles Ingalls always said “cash on the barrel”, but few people can buy homes outright.
Decades ago when we were shopping for a home friends told us to buy a two-family house for the help on the mortgage; I had no interest in doing so because I’m not handy enough to make it worthwhile (most housing stock is old and requires constant upkeep). With the recent evictions freeze, and the monger-term assault on landlord rights, I’m glad I ignored their advice.
Just built a 40x60x16 wood frame metal building with 12 ft side shed and 16x36 interior room...signed contract early June. Price of 33k included house wrap and 3 large garage doors (slab and erection not included). For grins a couple of weeks ago used their online calculator to see what it would cost now. Price would be at least 15k higher...and that was before Sally hit. Building boom going on.
Panic buying due to mass exodus from blue cities in advance of the impending 2020 Civil War, regardless who’s elected. Simple as that.
In MA property taxes cannot rise more than 2 1/2 percent.
.
My son is shopping for his first home and it’s hard. Houses are being snapped up quickly. I feel bad for him. I can’t believe it’s all the city dwellers.
My neighborhood is full of people from India. I remember when we were looking for houses, everytime we visited an office, we only saw other couples from India, or China.
Those who stuck to the "Democrats are for the working class" meme mostly live in $#*+hole cities around the Mon Valley. Those who got over it and reinvented their areas live in smaller cities like mine in Westmoreland, Butler, Washington and Armstrong County.
Accordingly, existing homes are now in higher demand, and prices have gone up dramatically.
Capital gains can screw you really good then, I recommend you have to talk to a good tax attorney before doing that.
I think you are probably right.
But this may be an excellent time to rent. For starters, It makes you more mobile.
If I were not in my “forever” home, I’d be renting. I’d probably even sell my place to rent, if I were not in my forever home.
In Nashville there’s 10,000 Air BNB’s for sale all at once. People levered up and were gonna make a killing on the tourism boom, and the rug is pulled out from under them. Almost funny if you think about it.
We live in the 3 county area north of Gay Frisco.
The market has been sizzling.
A retired friend, her daughter and 2 other semi retired friends started a new business/staging re putting good furniture into a vacant home and hosting the home for realtors and their potential buyers.
They are busy beyond their best hopes/dreams.
One home didn’t get the posing furniture and new carpets. There was a delay getting the materials. A prospective buyer had the realtor show it with one of the above ladies there.
The prospective home buyer wrote out a down payment and offered $25K more than the offer and acknowledge the sale was asis. The buyer will hire the 4 staging ladies to get her new home in shape after it closes.
Every home that they did the staging, sold in a week.
My daughter and son-in-law just bought their first home not long ago. It’s a starter home, they listed it at $150k, the kids put in an offer the day it hit the market after a quick drive-by for $171k, they got it but the house had 6 offers on it the day it listed and someone else went in at $170k.
Times have sure changed from when I was looking, we knocked off 20% to start and began negotiations from there when I was last buying.
I built a 30x60x10, insulated, concrete floor, two fully insulated garage doors, french door and four windows, for $40k. this was about three months ago. I did get the 7,200 volt underground wire and transformer installed next to it, but I still have to get it wired.
How did you get that good of a deal. I actually thought mine was pretty good.
Oh, I just saw “slab and erection not included”. I missed that.
Our house has gone up in value over $250,000 in just 6 years. Would sell for over a million probably. Realtors contact us all the time. Not selling. Going to stay at least 20 more years.
South shore of Massachusetts, about 30 miles from Boston. Very white and very wealthy area. The type of town Dems put a bullseye on...
No interest in selling, though. I'm 63, and I told my wife the only way I am leaving this house is when I'm carried out feet first, LOL.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.