....as bell-weather Cisco Systems announced just today that they are laying off 4000 people :O


"...Happy Days Are Here Again..." -ha!

Realtor4you wrote:OP...good question...I know it can be frustrating. I have clients that I can't find any inventory for as well. Try to keep positive. Here are the facts: Interest rates will begin to climb slowly. They have already ticked up about .75% over the past six months. Home values continue to climb year over year. The July stats were released on the 10th. For MoCo, the average sold price was up 5.98%. You can check your area at www.rbiintel.com or email me and I can send you a report based upon your zip code of interest. According to the "gurus", for what it may be worth, this trend is likely to continue for a couple of years due to low inventory and as builders begin to get ramped up again. Try to stay positive as it doesn't appear that interest rates or prices are likely to go back down anytime soon.

since last month? last year? just curious.

In other words, Buy now or get priced out forever! There is no better time to buy! Buy! Buy! Buy!

OP...good question...I know it can be frustrating. I have clients that I can't find any inventory for as well. Try to keep positive. Here are the facts: Interest rates will begin to climb slowly. They have already ticked up about .75% over the past six months. Home values continue to climb year over year. The July stats were released on the 10th. For MoCo, the average sold price was up 5.98%. You can check your area at www.rbiintel.com or email me and I can send you a report based upon your zip code of interest. According to the "gurus", for what it may be worth, this trend is likely to continue for a couple of years due to low inventory and as builders begin to get ramped up again. Try to stay positive as it doesn't appear that interest rates or prices are likely to go back down anytime soon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inventory is way way down. Nationally. Why is this? Is there less jobs mobility? Are baby boomers not retiring and moving to sunny cheap climes like they used to because retirement savings ravaged by recession? Have investors and private equity really bought that much property even in close in DC? But I would think AG least PE would show up as listings and then quick sales, unless they go through some back channel??

Why is inventory so low? In close in neighborhoods we have surpassed the bubble highs, so no one is underwater anymore, everyone can sell and even make some money (maybe not the $$$& the envisioned in 2006) but no one is trapped inside the beltway.

Insight?

We may be near the real estate high but people are worried about the economy?

People aren't worried about the economy, are they? Recession over, unemployment trending down, albeit slowly? Especially in DC Metro, never saw recession...

You need to take off your rose-colored glasses. There is still plenty of worry about the economy, and lots of people are still suffering.

I understand that is reported, but house sales are booming *everywhere* but especially in DC. And consumer spending is up. Really confused which story is true? Can housing continue this rapid appreciation without rose-colored glasses?

Economic news is always behind the curve-ball. What's being reported right now is based on late spring/early summer activity - regarding housing and jobs. If you keep an eye on the local market, real-time, you will notice that things have really slowed down.

Also, the rest of the country is still suffering a great deal! I know because I have lived in a few places- way, way outside of the DC area, in major metros and believe me when I tell you - unemployment in most of the country is uncomfortably high!! And its making its way here. This summer alone, 2 of my friends' DHs - both attorneys in DC - lost their jobs due to cut backs. DC is always the last to feel the effects of a down economy but its coming this way.

Anonymous wrote:We feel priced out and are waiting until 1) Something comes on the market that we feel comfortable paying for, 2) We save up enough money to do a renovation prior to moving in one of the crappy houses we see on the market in our target areas or 3) We can afford more. We are planning to buy in the next 1-3 years depending on which one of these factors come to play first.

We feel the same way, but then we did the math. Let's say a house we would find move in ready and not just the standard 2.5 bedroom colonial needing $200k worth of work just to bring into code for the 80s, and those seem to sell for $900k. Let's say we appreciate 5% a year (which is perhaps modest since nationally we rose 12% last year), that's $50k year. Before taxes, that means we have to have $80k of income that we can sock away, just to save up enough to afford the house. Perhaps we could borrow more, but even those $900k homes often times need significant renovation to just make okay (and we are not fancy people, just like bathrooms that don't grow mold and drawers that open and close with requiring a crowbar).

Thankfully there is no inflation,which means everything else (food,childcare,gas) is getting cheaper...

PP, I thought furloughs were like 10 - 20 days a year, yes that translates to a 7-8% pay cut, but not nearly as devastating as being laid off (and look at DOD, they halved the number of furlough days; they are finding creative accounting to keep things humming).

We feel priced out and are waiting until 1) Something comes on the market that we feel comfortable paying for, 2) We save up enough money to do a renovation prior to moving in one of the crappy houses we see on the market in our target areas or 3) We can afford more. We are planning to buy in the next 1-3 years depending on which one of these factors come to play first.

Anonymous wrote:Inventory is way way down. Nationally. Why is this? Is there less jobs mobility? Are baby boomers not retiring and moving to sunny cheap climes like they used to because retirement savings ravaged by recession? Have investors and private equity really bought that much property even in close in DC? But I would think AG least PE would show up as listings and then quick sales, unless they go through some back channel??

Why is inventory so low? In close in neighborhoods we have surpassed the bubble highs, so no one is underwater anymore, everyone can sell and even make some money (maybe not the $$$& the envisioned in 2006) but no one is trapped inside the beltway.

Insight?

Not true. It depends on what they paid for it.

Homeowners are still underwater and not able to sell, hence a reason for the low inventory. Shadow foreclosures means that the inventory will take time to hit the market. Another is that few house on the market means there is little mobility. Finally, there are really two economies, one for the 2-5% or so and the other for the rest of the country. The 95-98% economy is terrible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inventory is way way down. Nationally. Why is this? Is there less jobs mobility? Are baby boomers not retiring and moving to sunny cheap climes like they used to because retirement savings ravaged by recession? Have investors and private equity really bought that much property even in close in DC? But I would think AG least PE would show up as listings and then quick sales, unless they go through some back channel??

Why is inventory so low? In close in neighborhoods we have surpassed the bubble highs, so no one is underwater anymore, everyone can sell and even make some money (maybe not the $$$& the envisioned in 2006) but no one is trapped inside the beltway.

Insight?

We may be near the real estate high but people are worried about the economy?

People aren't worried about the economy, are they? Recession over, unemployment trending down, albeit slowly? Especially in DC Metro, never saw recession...

You need to take off your rose-colored glasses. There is still plenty of worry about the economy, and lots of people are still suffering.

My husband may be furloughed early next year, so yes, there's still plenty to worry about.

If you really want to buy, fall and winter are the best times to house hunt. Most people with children are wary of moving during the school year, so if you can find a house for sale in your price range that meets most of your major requirements, then you will find yourself with less competition in terms of bidding wars than you would over the summer. Inventory is still low, and may be even lower in the fall/winter, so it's still a sellers market in desireable neighborhoods in the DC area--but, you at least will have a leg up over the buyers who just give up once the school year starts. Frankly, if you can find a home that feeds into your school pyramid, then you should pounce while interest rates are still historically low (yes, higher than last year, but still well below 5%).

We're waiting too. Looking for a 600k starter home where we currently rent. A very rare breed lately.

Anonymous wrote:Low inventory means few "move up" houses are out there for people who might otherwise sell their $850,000 close-in, 3 BR, 2 BA "starter" homes in good school districts.

HAHAHAHAHA....$850K starter homes... you 2%ers really are so out-of-touch with reality.

You realize that the MEDIAN price of homes in the DC area is $400K. At least 75% of the homes out there sell for under $600K, yes, even in this area.

Anonymous wrote:Looking outside beltway in desirable area with admittedly narrow criteria. Houses go in a day or two.

Yes. We are looking in falls church. Things go before we have a chance to look at them.

We are not really waiting until next spring but feel like there may not be much action until then. We're renting so we're constantly checking the listings and going out to see ones that seem like possibilities. We just moved on one last week but got burned again in a multiple offer situation. Hoping that there will be less competition during the fall and winter, but may also mean less quality houses. We'll see! I wouldn't "wait", I would keep my eyes out but maybe not so aggressively (e.g., not going to open houses every weekend).