Anyone buying/looking for a house still?

[Anonymous]

Just wondering if anyone out there is aggressively on the hunt and putting in bids or if people are waiting for more inventory or hoping for rates to fall slightly come fall or winter time? Thinking NoVA area inside of beltway.

We are hoping rates will fall slightly but also it feels like there's just nothing out there right now that isn't kind of blah.

[Anonymous]

We're still looking, just lowered our max bid - I can't spend more than 1/3 of disposable income on house... I'm hoping that rates will go down (girl can dream, right?), but I don't plan on that. That said - if price is right and we can pay easily - we're buying. Otherwise we'll stay in our house 2 more years (DD in HS), and we'll see what we can buy then since we won't be tied to particular school cluster.

[Anonymous]

We are still looking, but not as actively. Right now, it feels like it's only the otherwise unsellable houses that are hitting the market. The last two I looked at had cockroaches crawling up the walls - eww!

[Anonymous]

Eww.

[Anonymous]

I'm not currently in the market, but I've been talking with a realtor lately. Right now, many people are underwater or below value (what they want to get out of a house) and are waiting for the prices to rise. Because of this, there is low inventory because only the people who HAVE to sell are actually listing their properties. There is a backlog of buyers out there who are waiting for "good" houses to come on the market and when a good house (e.g. one that is not, as OP describes, "blah") comes on the market, there are often multiple bids which of course drives up prices. In general, I would expect home prices to stay about the same or go up slightly, but do not expect that prices are likely to go down due mainly to the basic concept of supply and demand. There is far more demand than supply. While houses that are on the market right now may be overpriced, and will need to come down to the market value to sell, non-"blah" houses are not likely to drop in price. Too much pent-up demand for them.

[Anonymous]

There's a super dumpy tear-down that just went up for sale in AU park... http://www.ziprealty.com/property/4711-BRANDYWINE-ST-NW-WASHINGTON-DC-20016/15489055/detail I just walked by it today - long lot, but very narrow. Will be curious to see what it's looking like in a year.

[Anonymous]

OP, where are you looking? What's your price range?

[Anonymous]

What's your range? My neighbor's beautiful house just went on the market in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

OP here - range around 700.

13:04 where in Arlington?

Looking generally in Arlington, McLean, Falls Church, a little in Alexandria... we might cast that net wider. Problem is public schools are a major consideration.

12:35 Yeah the low inventory is a killer. I don't expect prices to fall so much as I was hoping interest rates might dip again...

[Anonymous]

Low inventory. Unless you don't mind a main road.

My friend put her beautiful McLean house (not old and not redone, and not on a main road) on the market last week. Gone in less than one day.

What is your price range OP?

[Anonymous]

There's a nice townhouse in the neighborhood next to mine, but it's in S Arlington so I guess that's why it's not moving quickly (because everyone wants N Arlington schools)? http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/2644-S-Kenmore-Ct-22206/home/16897003

[Anonymous]

the prime homes go quick and if any hint of a slow down sellers will just rent them out.

[Anonymous]

count 5 people in my office still looking and now upping their prices

[Anonymous]

ITA the nice homes sell quickly, and at above list price. You have to have a lot (!) of cash to buy a house these days.

[Anonymous]

We are looking but with rising interest rates, what we can afford is dropping us pretty much out of the market completely.