...and now the rates are way up. I just looked today and saw 3.875.... was offered 2.875 earlier this year. On a 800k house that's an extra $400 a month! I just got priced out

Anonymous wrote:Feeling total despair at the RE market now. First time buyer. Trying to break in and get my own home. Have lost out on 5 offers. It's only been 6 weeks but feels so much longer. Just submitted another offer last night only to read in the disclosure docs that there is an underground oil tank on the property, not clear if it's been decommissioned or still in active use. Now freaking out and understand why this beautiful home has been on market 38 days when homes here are typically under contract in 2-7 days. There's literally like 3 other 4/2 houses in the huge radius I'm looking- they're all crap that have been sitting in a hot market for months. Anyone dealt with an underground oil tank on your property? All the horror stories I read are out of NJ (not where we're located).

Do you like everything else about it? May be worth dealing with given the market these last few years.

Just wait until DC schools are closed again, the economic effects of the vaccine mandate are felt, and office workers still aren’t back to work downtown...then you should buy. Not now. DC is in for a major correction unless covid is over after omicron.

Which neighborhood? We are also feeling despair… missed out on 2 perfect houses so far.

Anonymous wrote:OP back. Happy to report got my 6th offer was accepted at seller’s asking price. Just got through negotiating repairs and got a $7500 credit from sellers! Very happy with deal and LOVE the home & neighborhood!!

Good for you! you made it.

OP back. Happy to report got my 6th offer was accepted at seller’s asking price. Just got through negotiating repairs and got a $7500 credit from sellers! Very happy with deal and LOVE the home & neighborhood!!

AgentX wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're losing all your offers, then you're looking at houses you can't afford.

Bid over asking on lower priced houses.

What a crock of shit.

You're advising somebody to overpay for a house that potentially does not meet their needs?

Overpay is not a thing. You pay what the market bears.

I wish this were true. You're not calculating the manipulation that occurs during bidding wars where one party bids way beyond what any other bidders does, and then is manipulated into removing the escalation and making a straight offer for the max. Happens all the time.

That’s why escalation clauses are child’s play.

AgentX wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're losing all your offers, then you're looking at houses you can't afford.

Bid over asking on lower priced houses.

What a crock of shit.

You're advising somebody to overpay for a house that potentially does not meet their needs?

Overpay is not a thing. You pay what the market bears.

I wish this were true. You're not calculating the manipulation that occurs during bidding wars where one party bids way beyond what any other bidders does, and then is manipulated into removing the escalation and making a straight offer for the max. Happens all the time.

That is what the market will bear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

You clearly don’t comprehend the market.
Listing a house at the price you think it will go for, based on comps, is a dumb idea. Appraisals have not yet reliably caught up with sale prices. There needs to be wiggle room between list price and offer price to make room for things like appraisal delta that needs to be built into a competitive offer.
People bidding at list price at top of their budget are simply not going to get the house.

DP. Depends on the area. Is there some reason to think that comps from November 2021 are inaccurate for winter 2021/2022? The appraisal gap is a different issue entirely. I’m looking in northern Arlington and home prices are down ~3% November 2021 compared to November 2020.

Arlington is down 3%, we are looking there has it dropped more?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’ve only been looking in the dead season. Try again in the spring. You also may need to either raise your budget or be more realistic about what kind of house you can afford. You are apparently bidding on houses that are worth more than your budget. Houses are sometimes listed low to spur a bidding war, but if you know the area, that should be obvious (or your realtor can tell you). And yes, you will always, by definition, overpay for your house. You are always going to be paying more than anyone else in the market was willing to.

Oil tank, no idea. We had a leaky one in my house growing up, and I think it was a pain but not insurmountable.

That’s not always true.

+1

Like at all.

Anonymous wrote:You’ve only been looking in the dead season. Try again in the spring. You also may need to either raise your budget or be more realistic about what kind of house you can afford. You are apparently bidding on houses that are worth more than your budget. Houses are sometimes listed low to spur a bidding war, but if you know the area, that should be obvious (or your realtor can tell you). And yes, you will always, by definition, overpay for your house. You are always going to be paying more than anyone else in the market was willing to.

Oil tank, no idea. We had a leaky one in my house growing up, and I think it was a pain but not insurmountable.

That’s not always true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

Your view of the housing market is very outdated, like at least 10 years. But at this point, demand has outstripped supply for many years and the problem has escalated, especially post-recession. So, now, any house that is in reasonable move-in condition in a part of the region that is at least moderately popular, will most likely sell over list and list is a starting point for competition.

The only houses that fit your description in the last 10 years are houses that have some issues for selling, be it an undesirable location, a traffic issue (busy road, intersection, near rail lines, etc) a house defect, needing a lot of work, etc. For those houses, list is the asking price. But what you know as historical RE buying conditions hasn't existed for a long time. You are doin a disservice to first-time buyers like OP, by telling them to stick to their guns and hope for someone who is selling based on 2005 RE practices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

You clearly don’t comprehend the market.
Listing a house at the price you think it will go for, based on comps, is a dumb idea. Appraisals have not yet reliably caught up with sale prices. There needs to be wiggle room between list price and offer price to make room for things like appraisal delta that needs to be built into a competitive offer.
People bidding at list price at top of their budget are simply not going to get the house.

DP but I don’t know if you have looked at the market stats well (or recent) enough. I’m coming from a much more competitive market and am amazed that many many houses in the DC suburbs (not looking at proper) go for list price or slightly below even. This isn’t spring 2020, the market has changed drastically. Where I’m coming from, comps are meaningless. The DC area is a pretty standard market and yes if it’s priced according to comps it seems to sell for that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

You clearly don’t comprehend the market.
Listing a house at the price you think it will go for, based on comps, is a dumb idea. Appraisals have not yet reliably caught up with sale prices. There needs to be wiggle room between list price and offer price to make room for things like appraisal delta that needs to be built into a competitive offer.
People bidding at list price at top of their budget are simply not going to get the house.

DP. Depends on the area. Is there some reason to think that comps from November 2021 are inaccurate for winter 2021/2022? The appraisal gap is a different issue entirely. I’m looking in northern Arlington and home prices are down ~3% November 2021 compared to November 2020.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

You clearly don’t comprehend the market.
Listing a house at the price you think it will go for, based on comps, is a dumb idea. Appraisals have not yet reliably caught up with sale prices. There needs to be wiggle room between list price and offer price to make room for things like appraisal delta that needs to be built into a competitive offer.
People bidding at list price at top of their budget are simply not going to get the house.