Anybody else extremely depressed over real estate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also really regret not buying but at the time I just couldn’t imagine prices would keep going up. However, I hope you are exaggerating. Try to remember that there are many things to appreciate and be grateful for in life, even though we missed the housing boat!

A lot of people thought they missed the house boat in 2008.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also really regret not buying but at the time I just couldn’t imagine prices would keep going up. However, I hope you are exaggerating. Try to remember that there are many things to appreciate and be grateful for in life, even though we missed the housing boat!

A lot of people thought they missed the house boat in 2008.

and some thought this even earlier like in 1998!

[Anonymous]

I'm glad we have our city house and beach house. Not a great time to buy or sell. Maybe in 5-7 years.

[Anonymous]

For years now, people have been saying that higher interest rates would force prices down. Normally interest rates are high because of higher inflation. Higher inflation literally means prices are going up but for some reason the folks saying high rates will lower home prices think that inflation applies to everything EXCEPT housing. I would call this wishful thinking.

Obviously no one should be trying to time the market but if you bought a few years ago, you're paying back your home with incredibly inflated currency and at very low rates. Basically this means that your standard of living has almost certainly gone up even if your wages have only just kept up with inflation without any additional pay raises because the cost of your housing has decreased.

In other words, home owner be winning.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I'm sad about it - we seemed to have missed the boat. We had to move in 2021 and sold our house in Maryland. We rented at first in our new location thinking we'd eventually buy but prices/interest rate have gone up so much we're practically priced out until kids are out of this school district. Our timing could not have been worse for selling and then waiting to buy. I try not to dwell on it but its very difficult.

[Anonymous]

Yes. The prices of homes in this area are unrealistic. It's not like we have silicon Valley wages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The prices of homes in this area are unrealistic. It's not like we have silicon Valley wages.

This. Sold our house in 2020 and rent and save our excess money so we can buy in nice house in our retirement location. Zero interest in being “house poor” for some poorly built sh!tshack with awful traffic and barely any yard. Regret nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For years now, people have been saying that higher interest rates would force prices down. Normally interest rates are high because of higher inflation. Higher inflation literally means prices are going up but for some reason the folks saying high rates will lower home prices think that inflation applies to everything EXCEPT housing. I would call this wishful thinking.

Obviously no one should be trying to time the market but if you bought a few years ago, you're paying back your home with incredibly inflated currency and at very low rates. Basically this means that your standard of living has almost certainly gone up even if your wages have only just kept up with inflation without any additional pay raises because the cost of your housing has decreased.

In other words, home owner be winning.

Absolutely agree with this. DH and I are feds, so comfortable enough but pretty flat salaries in our early 40s, and when he talks about moving I remind him that our standard of living is wholly dependent on keeping our 2.6% mortgage rate. The alternative is a much more demanding private sector job switch to maintain, not improve, our current standard of living. Thanks, but no thanks, to that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Middle aged first time buyer and I am practically suicidal over mistakes I made by not buying at what turned out to be the last possible time I could have afforded a nice house.

Its okay, just save and invest. After retiring you can move to a low cost area with no worries about commute, schools or rooms for your offspring and buy a cute little home.

It's too late for that solution. Life is now. My kids' life is now.

Far more than a nice house, your kids need you being present in the moment with them - this, everyday, moment.

Bullshit. They also need space to have friends over. A community. A home they feel proud of instead of their current shithole we have outgrown.

What are the biggest problems with your current place? Is it just not enough space, or are there things you could do to fix it up and make it nicer to live in? Could you get creative with furniture to create more storage, to free up floor space and make it feel bigger?

I think it can be helpful to keep in perspective that in many major cities, for example in Asia, families live in small apartments and raise their kids there all the time and it's the norm and no one looks down on it. The issue here is that so many others have huge houses with yards, so it's hard to see that and feel like you are less than, but if you really focus on what you actually need, it might not be that much.

Shut up Pollyanna. We live in a tiny 2BR rental that is way too small.

And the PP is not in Asia. So double shut-up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ew. Why are you making a punchline out of mental health problems?

what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also really regret not buying but at the time I just couldn’t imagine prices would keep going up. However, I hope you are exaggerating. Try to remember that there are many things to appreciate and be grateful for in life, even though we missed the housing boat!

A lot of people thought they missed the house boat in 2008.

and some thought this even earlier like in 1998!

Exactly. Save and bide your time. You'll never time an absolute high or low, but buying out of FOMO just doesn't seem like a sound financial idea. We sat out the 2008 bubble/crisis and were prepared to rent and save, save, save. And buy 2010, we were able to buy a house for 470,000 that had been put on the market 2 years earlier for over 650,000K. With our big chunk of downpayment, the mortgage was the same as our rent. Did the math on closing costs and when rates went down to the point where it would not add to the overall cost of the 30-year loan, we refied. And yes, we felt the pain of missing out on two "perfect" houses. There are no "soulmates" when it comes to a house. You buy what you can afford and make the best of it.

TLDR: Be patient, save, wait out the frenzy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also really regret not buying but at the time I just couldn’t imagine prices would keep going up. However, I hope you are exaggerating. Try to remember that there are many things to appreciate and be grateful for in life, even though we missed the housing boat!

A lot of people thought they missed the house boat in 2008.

and some thought this even earlier like in 1998!

Exactly. Save and bide your time. You'll never time an absolute high or low, but buying out of FOMO just doesn't seem like a sound financial idea. We sat out the 2008 bubble/crisis and were prepared to rent and save, save, save. And buy 2010, we were able to buy a house for 470,000 that had been put on the market 2 years earlier for over 650,000K. With our big chunk of downpayment, the mortgage was the same as our rent. Did the math on closing costs and when rates went down to the point where it would not add to the overall cost of the 30-year loan, we refied. And yes, we felt the pain of missing out on two "perfect" houses. There are no "soulmates" when it comes to a house. You buy what you can afford and make the best of it.

TLDR: Be patient, save, wait out the frenzy.

100% Agree

[Anonymous]

It’s ok to just say no to this insanity, FOMO is dangerous indeed. But only when the numbers work and it’s a place you like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The prices of homes in this area are unrealistic. It's not like we have silicon Valley wages.

Home prices in this area are still reasonable. And they are not even close to the Bay Area. Median household income in DC area is 117, compared to 128 in SF metro.

Compare regional home price increase to inflation over the last three years. Then get back to me at how out of line things are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The prices of homes in this area are unrealistic. It's not like we have silicon Valley wages.

Home prices in this area are still reasonable. And they are not even close to the Bay Area. Median household income in DC area is 117, compared to 128 in SF metro.

Compare regional home price increase to inflation over the last three years. Then get back to me at how out of line things are.

+1000000