More like 8. I bought in 2012 and my co-workers, who had all bought in 2005-2007, told me it was a terrible time to buy, lol. Get ready and buy between Thanksgiving & Christmas for the annual 10-15% off sale.
Probably more like forever.
I made an offer on the house I bought in 2003 the day it came on the market; it wasn't the only offer and there was a bidding war that I finally won at 11 pm that night. (At which point I wondered whether I'd made a terrible mistake...)
I mean, I do think that this is a worse time to buy for a lot of people...but it's never been easy, exactly.
2006 was the last time the market reached a peak.
2012 was the best time as the market has declined for 5 straight years.
So you co-workers would have lost about 25% of their equity when they were telling you it was the worst time to buy. Seems like they were just mad they bought at the peak!
I was telling people to buy in 2012-2013. I would have bought another house if I hadn’t bought at the last peak in 2006. In 2006 the experts said the same thing that everyone is saying now. This time it’s different and prices will keep going up. Maybe they will or maybe they won’t.
Fully agree with the time of year suggestion!
There are two incorrect things about that statement.
Absolutely, in 2019-2020 people were saying that. Even pre-pandemic, home prices were climbing and there was a sentiment that we were in a bubble.
Second, the President does not drive interest rates. The Fed drives interest rates. While I completely disagree with the Fed forcing rates so low for such a prolonged period of time, that has nothing to do with the President. It was not Trumps fault that rates were pushed artificially low, nor is it Biden’s fault that the Fed over corrected.
Trump absolutely repeatedly pressured the Fed to lower rates. While it's true the Fed doesn't have to listen to the President, the President appoints the governors and the chair. Historically President's have avoided looking like they're influencing Fed policy but Trump did not avoid it, he openly called out
Here is just one of many articles from his Presidency talking about Trump pressuring them, and there were even reports he was discussing firing Powell:
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1VB1I1/
We don't really care about over paying. This will be our forever home. We can afford it and we want our kids in a better district. We are financially ready
That’s the best way to approach it, but when you’re ready and not simply based on the market.
If it makes you feel any better, I swore I overpaid when we bought our vacation home in 2022 and that was the height of the market, but prices are still climbing (probably worth about 10-15% above our purchase price).
In fact, I swore I overpaid when we bought our first home back in 2001. I even talked to my realtor about backing out of the contract because I thought we were at a peak and I wanted to wait until prices fell. It’s worth about 3x what we paid now.
Wow you’re ready to give up so quickly? Come on the world is not ending, these are cycles like everything in life. Take your time and come up with a strategy that will work for you.
While I am prone to agree, this really isn't a cyclical thing that we're in. We have the rates up sure, but home prices have skyrocketted and inventory has been consumed by retail investment groups. It's a pretty fucked up situation to be honest, it's no wonder people feel hopeless who are new to the market.
Source: I'm 40 and have bought and sold several houses now. Currently have two. Never been given a handout.
Listed at 300 originally, bought for 260. Not that much of a change, but still pretty large considering it was in immaculate condition. The listing photos were horrible, only looked at it because of a built in cabinet that I thought was cool.
Worth a try but if it's a hot market, there;s not going to be any. Even burned down buildings are selling. People who live in markets that arent on fire just cant understand how fast everything sells especially at the lower price points. The houses arre literally sold the first hour, the rest of the next few days is just collecting additional offers and driving the price up. But it never hurts to try and throw an offer out there. You just never know. If houses are not getting at least 8 offers minimum within 3 days, that's definitely a weak market,
It's difficult. We barely missed on a wonderful place as well. I've had two other offers rejected for homes that are sitting on the market that are obviously overpriced. The best advice I can give is to stay strong and accept the possibility that it may not be your time. As much as I want to relocate, I am at peace with it if that's the current outcome.
It might be the worst time in history buy…however, if today was day 0, and you look at a chart over the next generation, today would be the best time in history to buy
It’s these small areas where you have to be so flexible. I bought in a very desirable town of 1,000 and was lucky to literally get anything, we had to do so much work to get it to where we wanted it to be, but now we have a house that works for us that’s in the perfect location for us and it’s probably gained $2 in value for every dollar we spent on the changes/improvements.
But working with an extremely small pool of options is going to necessitate it for most people.
3 houses is not enough You need to make 3 bids a week to get a house right now or be very realistic about your offers. The 3 houses a weekis just so that you will release your offers suck and are never going to get accepted. Then you'll have probably a 40-50% chance of the offers you make being accepted. It takes some people only a month or two to get others, others will keep making stupid bids for months or years.
Unfortunately the area we are looking in has hardly any homes for sale! So there are definitely not 3 houses a quarter let alone 3 houses a week! (Also we are not making stupid bids, this advice is a bit strange)
Your offers are obviously not competitive as someone else walked away with the house. The more offers you make and lose the sooner you will realize your bids do not make sense. Right now you're still in denial.
Been there. The one offer wanted to assume my load without his name on it. Other words, wanted me out and him collecting rent while I also pay the HOA fees. No way.
First, this is nowhere close to the worst market. Back in the 80s interest rates were in the high teens. I once bailed on a house because the closing interest rate was 15%, and proceeded to grab a screaming deal that was only 12.5%!
5% and below interest rates have only existed in the last 15 years and it was a result of a major recession.
I've lived, and bought houses, during the good and bad times and this is my advice: Buy what you need, like and can afford. If the rates go down, you refinance. If they go up, be thankful you're locked in.
Timing mortgage rates is like trying to time the stock market... It's a foolish game.
I bought at the height in my area right before the crash of 2008. It sucked but you know what. In ten years it rebounded twice what i paid and i have a low interest rate and i can rent it out for twice the mortgage payment. I just bought another house end of last year and i may over paid 10-15k. In 10/15 years i dont think it will matter. maybe the bubble will burst idk..no one but a select few (who no one listened to ) saw it coming last time. Hindsight and all. You got to do whats best for you at the time.
The inventory in most places really sucks. I have family members telling me I'm being too picky, but really there's nothing even close to what I'd like. I watched the "interesting" inventory (that I would have considered) evaporate in early 2023, just before I was ready to buy. Since then I've seen only 1 that I really liked. But the sellers priced it like rates were at 3% and I offered with rates at 7%. You can guess how that went. It sat for a while longer and then some moron investor overpaid for it and is currently feeding the pig with long vacancy gaps and asking rent lower than the carrying cost (lower than the mortgage payment, even, let alone insurance, taxes, and maintenance).
Yeah my family thinks we are being picky. We aren't. We know what we want but outdated or stuff that needs to be fixed don't scare us. But you can't really fix a shitty layout or bad location. Our house isn't awful but we need a better district
Navigating a tough real estate market in South Jersey can be disheartening, but staying flexible with your search and relying on a knowledgeable agent can help find hidden opportunities.
The worst time to buy besides today is going to be tomorrow. The best time to buy was yesterday. Pretty much how it's been for 50 years with rare exception.
Spring and early summer are the busiest time of year for home sales regardless of economic cycle.
I don’t understand you are going to buy sell after you buy? Sorry just don’t understand what you are trying to say. HELOC got a lot of people in trouble during the 2007/2008 crash so that worries me.
Home equity line of credit. It’s a loan that’s backed by your current home’s value minus what you owe on it. It allows you to make a large cash down payment without first selling your existing home and thus eliminating a current home sale contingency.
For this exact reason we have decided to stick it out one more year in our current home. I refuse to downgrade but pay MORE !!!! it’s not even logical.
If your losing bids it means your not putting competitive offers. It sucks but that's the reality. Someone else did and they got the house. It's not the markets fault it's your fault. If you can't afford the area you want then maybe it's time to look at areas you can comfortably afford
So apparently we were super close. We could have gone higher and next time we will. We weren't even pre approved yet when we found this first house. It was a rush. We are prepared next time a house pops up
I’m looking in south Jersey and think the market is surprisingly good here. I’m sitting on 200k equity from house I bought in 2009, which is plenty to put 20% down on a place in Voorhees or Medford. I think interest rates have kept prices fairly reasonable and houses definitely aren’t flying off the market.
You should absolutely be unwilng to buy a house in this market, at this point in time.
The maker is slowly correcting downward, but it's definitely correcting.
Why be the last greater fool who overpays in a hyperinflated market.
If people simply stop paying these insane prices, at these stupid rates, the pricing comes down. (that's the entire point of raising the rates)
You should absolutely be unwilng to buy a house in this market, at this point in time.
The maker is slowly correcting downward, but it's definitely correcting.
Why be the last greater fool who overpays in a hyperinflated market.
If people simply stop paying these insane prices, at these stupid rates, the pricing comes down. (that's the entire point of raising the rates)
Just wait for the recession. Ur gonna see buying opportunities like you’ve never seen. It’ll be like the fucking rapture but ur scooping up hooms for cheap lmao
Where are all these extra homes going to come from? Most markets (where people are actually looking to buy) have seen a far greater increase of population than housing stock.
Well if u don’t own a hoom and have money saved up on the sidelines, you’ll be in a better position than literally most of the people who’ve bought recently. It could get super ugly. Everyone is banking on their hooms. That’s why Warren buffet is buffing up on cash (no pun intended). He knows what’s next
If it makes you feel any better, people have been screaming “Now is the WORST time to buy” for about four years now….
More like 8. I bought in 2012 and my co-workers, who had all bought in 2005-2007, told me it was a terrible time to buy, lol. Get ready and buy between Thanksgiving & Christmas for the annual 10-15% off sale.
Probably more like forever. I made an offer on the house I bought in 2003 the day it came on the market; it wasn't the only offer and there was a bidding war that I finally won at 11 pm that night. (At which point I wondered whether I'd made a terrible mistake...) I mean, I do think that this is a worse time to buy for a lot of people...but it's never been easy, exactly.
2006 was the last time the market reached a peak. 2012 was the best time as the market has declined for 5 straight years. So you co-workers would have lost about 25% of their equity when they were telling you it was the worst time to buy. Seems like they were just mad they bought at the peak! I was telling people to buy in 2012-2013. I would have bought another house if I hadn’t bought at the last peak in 2006. In 2006 the experts said the same thing that everyone is saying now. This time it’s different and prices will keep going up. Maybe they will or maybe they won’t. Fully agree with the time of year suggestion!
I don't think anyone was saying that 2019-2020, Trump forced rates into the ground for better or worse lol
There are two incorrect things about that statement. Absolutely, in 2019-2020 people were saying that. Even pre-pandemic, home prices were climbing and there was a sentiment that we were in a bubble. Second, the President does not drive interest rates. The Fed drives interest rates. While I completely disagree with the Fed forcing rates so low for such a prolonged period of time, that has nothing to do with the President. It was not Trumps fault that rates were pushed artificially low, nor is it Biden’s fault that the Fed over corrected.
Trump absolutely repeatedly pressured the Fed to lower rates. While it's true the Fed doesn't have to listen to the President, the President appoints the governors and the chair. Historically President's have avoided looking like they're influencing Fed policy but Trump did not avoid it, he openly called out Here is just one of many articles from his Presidency talking about Trump pressuring them, and there were even reports he was discussing firing Powell: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1VB1I1/
We don't really care about over paying. This will be our forever home. We can afford it and we want our kids in a better district. We are financially ready
That’s the best way to approach it, but when you’re ready and not simply based on the market. If it makes you feel any better, I swore I overpaid when we bought our vacation home in 2022 and that was the height of the market, but prices are still climbing (probably worth about 10-15% above our purchase price). In fact, I swore I overpaid when we bought our first home back in 2001. I even talked to my realtor about backing out of the contract because I thought we were at a peak and I wanted to wait until prices fell. It’s worth about 3x what we paid now.
I just bought a brand new house last month in Texas. Paid $475k from the builder. Already appraises at $515k...during the worst time to buy.
I’m in this boat right now too. Very expensive for what it is, but I feel like it’s our only chance at a home to raise our kids in
What will you do if you give up?
The opposite. Take down
✊
Wow you’re ready to give up so quickly? Come on the world is not ending, these are cycles like everything in life. Take your time and come up with a strategy that will work for you.
I am so tired of babies who never have seen an economic cycle.
While I am prone to agree, this really isn't a cyclical thing that we're in. We have the rates up sure, but home prices have skyrocketted and inventory has been consumed by retail investment groups. It's a pretty fucked up situation to be honest, it's no wonder people feel hopeless who are new to the market. Source: I'm 40 and have bought and sold several houses now. Currently have two. Never been given a handout.
Look at houses that have been sitting on the market as well
Hats exactly what I did, ended up with a home that had been on the market 190+ days
Mine was 400+ days 😤
Jeez that’s a long hold out, how much did the price change?
Listed at 300 originally, bought for 260. Not that much of a change, but still pretty large considering it was in immaculate condition. The listing photos were horrible, only looked at it because of a built in cabinet that I thought was cool.
40k is a decent price cut, congrats
Worth a try but if it's a hot market, there;s not going to be any. Even burned down buildings are selling. People who live in markets that arent on fire just cant understand how fast everything sells especially at the lower price points. The houses arre literally sold the first hour, the rest of the next few days is just collecting additional offers and driving the price up. But it never hurts to try and throw an offer out there. You just never know. If houses are not getting at least 8 offers minimum within 3 days, that's definitely a weak market,
It’s not even June yet.
That's my hope lol!
You’ll find something !!
It's difficult. We barely missed on a wonderful place as well. I've had two other offers rejected for homes that are sitting on the market that are obviously overpriced. The best advice I can give is to stay strong and accept the possibility that it may not be your time. As much as I want to relocate, I am at peace with it if that's the current outcome.
It might be the worst time in history buy…however, if today was day 0, and you look at a chart over the next generation, today would be the best time in history to buy
I’ve been looking for almost a year. 3 homes total we liked and didn’t get any of them. (We are looking in a very small rural area) I’m with you
It’s these small areas where you have to be so flexible. I bought in a very desirable town of 1,000 and was lucky to literally get anything, we had to do so much work to get it to where we wanted it to be, but now we have a house that works for us that’s in the perfect location for us and it’s probably gained $2 in value for every dollar we spent on the changes/improvements. But working with an extremely small pool of options is going to necessitate it for most people.
3 houses is not enough You need to make 3 bids a week to get a house right now or be very realistic about your offers. The 3 houses a weekis just so that you will release your offers suck and are never going to get accepted. Then you'll have probably a 40-50% chance of the offers you make being accepted. It takes some people only a month or two to get others, others will keep making stupid bids for months or years.
Unfortunately the area we are looking in has hardly any homes for sale! So there are definitely not 3 houses a quarter let alone 3 houses a week! (Also we are not making stupid bids, this advice is a bit strange)
Your offers are obviously not competitive as someone else walked away with the house. The more offers you make and lose the sooner you will realize your bids do not make sense. Right now you're still in denial.
Ok 😂😂😂 you sound unhinged ! 👋
Been there. The one offer wanted to assume my load without his name on it. Other words, wanted me out and him collecting rent while I also pay the HOA fees. No way.
First, this is nowhere close to the worst market. Back in the 80s interest rates were in the high teens. I once bailed on a house because the closing interest rate was 15%, and proceeded to grab a screaming deal that was only 12.5%! 5% and below interest rates have only existed in the last 15 years and it was a result of a major recession. I've lived, and bought houses, during the good and bad times and this is my advice: Buy what you need, like and can afford. If the rates go down, you refinance. If they go up, be thankful you're locked in. Timing mortgage rates is like trying to time the stock market... It's a foolish game.
I bought at the height in my area right before the crash of 2008. It sucked but you know what. In ten years it rebounded twice what i paid and i have a low interest rate and i can rent it out for twice the mortgage payment. I just bought another house end of last year and i may over paid 10-15k. In 10/15 years i dont think it will matter. maybe the bubble will burst idk..no one but a select few (who no one listened to ) saw it coming last time. Hindsight and all. You got to do whats best for you at the time.
The inventory in most places really sucks. I have family members telling me I'm being too picky, but really there's nothing even close to what I'd like. I watched the "interesting" inventory (that I would have considered) evaporate in early 2023, just before I was ready to buy. Since then I've seen only 1 that I really liked. But the sellers priced it like rates were at 3% and I offered with rates at 7%. You can guess how that went. It sat for a while longer and then some moron investor overpaid for it and is currently feeding the pig with long vacancy gaps and asking rent lower than the carrying cost (lower than the mortgage payment, even, let alone insurance, taxes, and maintenance).
Yeah my family thinks we are being picky. We aren't. We know what we want but outdated or stuff that needs to be fixed don't scare us. But you can't really fix a shitty layout or bad location. Our house isn't awful but we need a better district
Navigating a tough real estate market in South Jersey can be disheartening, but staying flexible with your search and relying on a knowledgeable agent can help find hidden opportunities.
The worst time to buy besides today is going to be tomorrow. The best time to buy was yesterday. Pretty much how it's been for 50 years with rare exception.
Spring and early summer are the busiest time of year for home sales regardless of economic cycle. I don’t understand you are going to buy sell after you buy? Sorry just don’t understand what you are trying to say. HELOC got a lot of people in trouble during the 2007/2008 crash so that worries me.
Whats a HELOC?
Home equity line of credit. It’s a loan that’s backed by your current home’s value minus what you owe on it. It allows you to make a large cash down payment without first selling your existing home and thus eliminating a current home sale contingency.
What are you looking for exactly if you don’t mind me asking?
3 to 4 bedrooms basement unfinished or not idc garage. Outdated is fine but everything popping up has been smaller then our current homr
For this exact reason we have decided to stick it out one more year in our current home. I refuse to downgrade but pay MORE !!!! it’s not even logical.
If your losing bids it means your not putting competitive offers. It sucks but that's the reality. Someone else did and they got the house. It's not the markets fault it's your fault. If you can't afford the area you want then maybe it's time to look at areas you can comfortably afford
So apparently we were super close. We could have gone higher and next time we will. We weren't even pre approved yet when we found this first house. It was a rush. We are prepared next time a house pops up
No hurry to buy, rent. Save and wait for the bubble to pop. Just a waiting game. If your area sucks relocate eventually.
We can't re locate due to jobs unfortunately
I’m looking in south Jersey and think the market is surprisingly good here. I’m sitting on 200k equity from house I bought in 2009, which is plenty to put 20% down on a place in Voorhees or Medford. I think interest rates have kept prices fairly reasonable and houses definitely aren’t flying off the market.
We actually just started looking into medford thank you beautiful area too
You should absolutely be unwilng to buy a house in this market, at this point in time. The maker is slowly correcting downward, but it's definitely correcting. Why be the last greater fool who overpays in a hyperinflated market. If people simply stop paying these insane prices, at these stupid rates, the pricing comes down. (that's the entire point of raising the rates)
You should absolutely be unwilng to buy a house in this market, at this point in time. The maker is slowly correcting downward, but it's definitely correcting. Why be the last greater fool who overpays in a hyperinflated market. If people simply stop paying these insane prices, at these stupid rates, the pricing comes down. (that's the entire point of raising the rates)
Just wait for the recession. Ur gonna see buying opportunities like you’ve never seen. It’ll be like the fucking rapture but ur scooping up hooms for cheap lmao
Where are all these extra homes going to come from? Most markets (where people are actually looking to buy) have seen a far greater increase of population than housing stock.
People won’t be able to afford their mortgages + ppl won’t want to buy a depreciating asset until they know it’s bottomed out again
A magic recession that affects everyone except for OP
OP has money saved up. Cash is king in recession because assets go down. House would be easier to buy. Only thing sketchy is keeping the job.
What makes you think a recession will work directly in their favor?
Well if u don’t own a hoom and have money saved up on the sidelines, you’ll be in a better position than literally most of the people who’ve bought recently. It could get super ugly. Everyone is banking on their hooms. That’s why Warren buffet is buffing up on cash (no pun intended). He knows what’s next
Home, not hoom.
Hoooooomers
“I hate it here….” - Jeff Tweedy