Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being old, and having been through several recessions in different housing markets, my big takeaway is that the condo market reacts very differently than the single-family housing market. They say that "they aren't making any more land," but it is easier to increase the supply of condos in a given market (even a city). Also, there is a long lead time on big buildings, so new buildings tend to keep coming on the market, even after the recession has hit.

If a condo market gets even a bit oversupplied, and buyers are very cautious, the condo market can take a real hit, even when the single-family housing market stays flat. I'm not an expert on the DC market, but there do seem to be a LOT of new buildings. I would say that location REALLY matters in this instance. Condos on Pennsylvania Avenue are likely to be fine. The more recently-gentrified the neighborhood, the more risk.

Agree. I bought a condo in a good neighborhood in 2004 and sold it for $10k less in 2011. Condos are just weird like that. You can make a bundle or you can lose a bundle in the same market, depending on how well the building is managed and how healthy the association finances are. Are you prepared to be in a position where you absolutely must move for a new job or something, right at the time the association leverages a $1000/mo special assessment for some catastrophic issue? Good luck getting a buyer to take on that albatross.

I get so frustrated with the obsession to buy anything you can, as soon as you can, just to say you own a property. I advise people to buy once and hold forever. Better to rent in the exact neighborhood you want while investing elsewhere until the time is right to buy your forever home. Some people spend their entire lives renting and still manage to live good lives. Really think about your priorities.

A lot of the focus on affordable housing in the DC area is about homes that can house families. While there is definite a shortage of 3br apartments / condos / affordable houses, DC is bringing an endless supply of shoebox condos to the market. Think very carefully about what your money will get you today, and what your competition will be if you try to sell that same place in five years.

I get that frustration but following that logic gets a lot of people priced out as they wait a decade for rock-bottom prices that never come (think $400K for a SFH inside the beltway) and then...well they're this guy kicked out of his rental at 65.

https://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/San-Francisco-artist-kicked-out-of-apartment-6807971.php

He could have skimped and bought that apartment in his 30s. Now the entire building (in terrible condition) has sold out from under his feet at $1.3M.

We all wish we’d bought real estate in San Francisco 34 years ago. But that guy had a great deal on a rent controlled apartment that he thought would last forever. All that article demonstrates is how rent control screws up the real estate market. No one is saying that, if your timing is perfect, you can’t make a lot of money buying condos. What we are saying is that the supply of condos (and demand, for that matter) is much more variable and elastic than single family homes. It is simply not as safe an investment.