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Why is real estate inventory so low
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Anonymous
| Lots of people are encouraging us to buy a house-"it's a great time to buy," "it's a buyers market," "interest rates are low," etc.. All that is true but how come the inventory is so low? |
Anonymous
| Because it is hard to sell a house in the worst recession since the Great Depression for one. That being said, houses do sell. I have had 2 friends sell their house for good prices and mine is on the market because if we can sell ours, we will be able to buy way more house for less right now. |
Anonymous
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Winter is always has a low inventory.
I would also think people are very cautious about selling their homes. I have a feeling the majority would lose money at this moment if they sold. |
Anonymous
| Most people do not put their house up for sale, unless they absolutely have to, between Thanksgiving and March. Listings pick up in the spring |
Anonymous
| I second 16:17. I know that I would like to sell right now, but I would lose money. And I can't afford to lose money. So, I'm waiting it out. I suspect many other people are thinking the same way. |
Anonymous
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Because, OP, it's a terrible time to SELL. |
Anonymous
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OP, if you are serious about getting a house, I recommend that you scour the listings on the rental market and see if there is anything you like. Then get the comps on line and do a low-ball offer. I just rented out a house for a year and being a landlord is freaking awful so I'm fixing the place up to sell. Many people are renting out their homes now to ride out the bad economy but I guarantee that most would accept a buyout in a heartbeat to get out of the landlord business, eliminate whatever debt they have, and move on.
More houses will come on the market in march. |
Anonymous
| We've been looking for a house in the McLean/No. Arlington area for about 8 months, in the $1.25m range. Can't find anything we like. OP is right, inventory is low, and many people still think it's 2005 in their pricing. And NoVA is the land of the center hall colonial--if you're not into that, you're out of luck. |
Anonymous
| PP here. My point to mentioning the price range is that I thought we'd be able to buy a fair amount of house in this market for that, but with so many people apparently unwilling or unable to face the new market prices, not so much.... |
Anonymous
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"NoVA is the land of the center hall colonial--if you're not into that, you're out of luck."
As opposed to? "so many people apparently unwilling or unable to face the new market prices, not so much...." As far as I know, they're not giving away houses yet. Certainly LEAST of all in N. Arlington and/or McLean. You pay for the land. Location, location, location. |
Anonymous
I already live in McLean, so I'm pretty much aware of what the prices are and should be. Nobody is suggesting they give them away, but even McLean and North Arlington have been hurt by the housing slump. There are houses that have been on the market for over a year--people are no longer lining up around the block to buy a 1962 4bdrm center hall colonial on a third of an acre for $1m, even if it is in 22101. |
Anonymous
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PP- VERY familiar with new homes in McLean, which happened to have not seen a huge change in price. In certain areas of McLean, there have absolutely been declining prices. It depends somewhat on the neighborhood, even though one is still paying for McLean, so to speak. Although you are paying for McLean, there are not-so-nice areas where the neighbors care less and there are plenty of rentals. Why do you think so many locals own so many McLean properties and just let them go to hell? Because they can. "Craftsman/Bungalow, Prairie, Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern, Spanish Revival, Mission, Empire, Victorian, on and on....." Most homes in most areas of the east coast are center hall colonials. I don't see a high number of the aforementioned in this area, in particular. "people are no longer lining up around the block to buy a 1962 4bdrm center hall colonial on a third of an acre for $1m, even if it is in 22101." What exactly do you think the price should be? |
Anonymous
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We're not selling because we'd lose too much. We can afford our loans, but we want a bigger place even if it's further out from the city. Solution: rent out current place for $X and then find a bigger home further out to rent for $X. When we're good and ready (and we think we won't lose so much), we'll sell.
Not now. |
Anonymous
But if you will only be ready to sell when the price for your current home improves, won't a bigger place cost more as well by that time? |
Anonymous
Yes, but by then we'll have cash because we'll be continuously paying down our debt and anticipate being able to sell at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, we try to continue to sock away a little more $$ on top of what we already do. |