What are home prices like in your area?

Bryan330i · Jun 8, 2004

M_Six said:

I am not sure how people can afford living in some of these places. Teachers make very little here. The spouse of a coworker of mine clears about $1,000.00 twice monthly as a teacher with a specialty. This salary is not enough to qualify for a decent apartment here where a person is not going to get robbed weekly or perhaps even shot.

On the other hand, firefighters here can expect to earn 40’s to start and probably an average of 55-70 throughout their career. Those at higher ranks are all 6 figures in the fire department. However, many of the traditional service jobs here pay very little with the fire department being the exception. But realistically even 60-70/year here qualifies a person with the minimum down for a loan in the 170-190 range on average. Not many homes in that price range here.

BMW_FaNaTiC · Jun 8, 2004

Kirby said:

Isn't modesto where that Laci peterson thingy happened? Who would want to live there [???1]

But your right, beverly hills is really nice. But there in the little town next to beverly hills called Bel Air, they are like Billionaires only. I think the simpliest home in Bel Air is i think 8 or 10 Million. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2002/03/01/0301home_8.html <-- home for sale 45 million!

i want to livei n Bel Air, but who could afford the mortage. That must be liek 400,000$ a month!

MyHarley · Jun 8, 2004

I'll stay in my little town just on the outskirts of Houston but in Fort Bend County. My house has appreciated 30% in three years.....2500 sq. ft, 2 story, 5 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2-car garage, in-ground pool with a pool house, covered patio and open patio, its an older home but I like older homes before the new ones........I didnt have to pay for the character that comes along during 30 years of someone else living here..........I'll be here forever...........

Kirby · Jun 8, 2004

BMW_FaNaTiC said:

Modesto is a rough town, with all the agricultural migrant workers moving through. But it is growing unbelievably. People are buying homes in Modesto for $200K - $300K and commuting 100 miles daily one way to the bay area!!

Laci Peterson ramblings:
It's weird how many high profile female murders revolve around Modesto:
1999 - 43 yo woman & 2 teens kidnapped and murdered in Yosemite - her wallet was found in Modesto - drug ring conspiracy from Modesto implicated
2001 - Chandra Levy (the senator's intern) - lived in Modesto
2002 - Laci Petersen - lived in Modesto

Every time I go there something happens... [paranoid]

BMW_FaNaTiC · Jun 8, 2004

everyone with a 100-300k home.. Do you not have mortages? Is like your house totally paid off? If not, what do u kinda pay a month? I think our mortage is like 7000k a month.

mrferg · Jun 8, 2004

I just want a nice small two story farm house with a ten car garage. [clap]

BMW_FaNaTiC · Jun 8, 2004

you would spend more money on cars then on a home? Thats not wise. Cars depreciate, and homes will always go up

mrferg · Jun 9, 2004

Meh, as long as the house has a roof I'm fine. Houses don't excite me much, I would much rather invest in autos. Besides not everyone is trying to become some sort of rich celebrity, I'd rather be happy then rich.

BMW_FaNaTiC · Jun 9, 2004

i didn't mean it like that, i just mean 10 cars, is kinda of alot. Thats 10 cars to take care of, maintain, and they will just stab you in the butt when you sell them.

If i had the money for 10 BMWs, i would take that money and spend it on either 1 Nice Car equivalent to 10 bmws

(like a bentley or a Rolls royce) or buy 1 BMW and spend the rest on a house!

Unless your a billionair, 10 cars is a little upsessive

Kirby · Jun 9, 2004

BMW_FaNaTiC said:

I have 15 year mortgage so it's paid off in a couple of years. Woohoo! Actually I planned that the mortgage would be paid off when my daughter starts college. The mortgage payment then becomes the tuition payment. Combined with college investments I've made over the years, tuition for both my kids won't be an issue.

Bryan330i · Jun 9, 2004

BMW_FaNaTiC said:

My loan was for 149,000 and I also got a 25,000 second at the same time. My payment is about 1500.00 but has gone up about 10% in 2 years because of property taxes. My home was just appraised at 375,000 and I would list it for about 420,000 and expect to get about 400 if I sold it today. I have 4 Bd. 3 car with inground pool and spa, 1900 sq ft and 700 sq ft garage.

I would like to get something that I could have paid off in about 5-10 years. When I move I would love to find something I could fix up. I have gone from knowing nothing about home remodeling to being very comfortable with everything except electrical and plumbing. When I move (still not sure when, could be 6 months or even a year) I am getting my first table saw and I cant wait.

[^]

[headbang] I really want to rebuild a kitchen with cabinets and everything.

PS-I actually round my payments up. My first is about 1150.00 and my second is about 275 but I pay 1200 and 300 to make 1500.00

Big Daddy · Jun 9, 2004

Bryan will this home work for you?

I don't know about paying her off in five to ten, but it is a nice home:

Seattle Washington area home

Bryan330i · Jun 9, 2004

Big Daddy said:

WOW..now that is a house. Think I can get a 500 year mortgage. [fake] [rofl]

[EDIT] May need a 1500 year loan

Zee3Coupe · Jun 9, 2004

There's nothing quite as disheartening as living in the Boston area (or New York or the Bay Area for the matter). In 1977, my parents bought their current house for $40,000, albeit in a very nice town. The identical house next door, without the addition and deck my parents put on, sold last year for "just under $1mil". You've got to be kidding me- inflation doesn't work like that in a normal curve!

If you look at housing inflation over the past few years, its been ungodly. An M coupe couldn't catch up with it. Its obvious that it can't continue at that rate, but I'm starting to get the nagging feeling that we're not in for just a plateau, but for a crash. Why, you ask? The prices in many regions have been artificially sustained by banks and real estate agents over the past few years through lower interest rate. Housing prices shot up as interest rates fell because people fat off the late 90's tech boom looked for new places to invest their money and ride out the storm. This created an artificial demand, which, in turn, created an artificial inflation. Now that interest rates are going back up, people like to believe the housing market will stay flat, but that's simply not true. Sales have slowed heavily over the past several quarters as interest rates went up, and the anticipated market turnaround was delayed. People haven't been buying for a while, but rather investing in renovations and expansions of their current homes, which is right now far far less than buying a new one. It hasn't stopped RE investors from building a glut of new homes, but many of those were in the plans for the past three years when the market got hot, and are staying on the market unsold right now.

The real estate market shot itself in the foot by outgrowing demand. Sound familiar? Tech did the same not five years ago. How quickly we forget, but greed is greed. Still houses don't get swallowed up and dissapear like .coms, so its still a good investment for 10-20 years, but less than that, I think investors will find their return frightening.

MyHarley · Jun 9, 2004

very good analysis Zee........and dont forget about the property and school taxes.....I"m only familiar with the Houston area, but some neighborhoods have tripled times three in value, therefore resulting in people not being to afford to pay the taxes at the appraised value. I have friends who purchased homes 20 years ago at $200,000 and now valued at over $1Mil.........most have their homes paid off, but have a hefty mortgage payment called "property and school taxes." This has affected the elderly and lower income families that happen to be in an area that has decided to become an "added value" territory, by the new sports complex or some other monumental piece of property that has drove up the price. Many wards by downtown are the "in" place to live, when you couldnt get anybody to live there for years because of safety. Someone buys up 50% of the shacks and poof a new $1mil new territory. The others have to sell because of income in affording the taxes. I pay $4,000 a year in property and school taxes alone and my house is under $200,000.00. It is way out of hand across the country. I also have a girlfriend in real estate who is now crying the blues of slow new home sales............

Bryan330i · Jun 9, 2004

No question demand is falling here. Builders here are reporting wait list drops from 10,000 homes to 6,000 homes. There is still no standing inventory but I would expect to hit this point soon. I could sell my house for 150,000 more than I paid and it would sell within 1 hour of listing and perhaps sell within 1 week for 25,000 over appraisal, all because of demand and land availability. But as interest rates increase it may be more difficult to get a higher price.

This cannot continue and I agree with you Zee. My question is really when. I don’t see a real big drop for a while though because the housing need still seems so high in a lot of areas. However, ten or so years down the road I see changes that parallel our changing population age. In the meantime I think interest rates will definitely take a toll on prices in a lot of areas.

theBMWenthusiast · Jun 10, 2004

my house we bought for like 1.5 mil now its worth 2.25 mil, on our street the houses are like 1.5 mil

What are home prices like in your area?

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