The housing market is so tough that divorced couples are still living together, per WSJ.

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) January 5, 2024

mosdefn14 said:

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When interest rates had a 2 handle, a lot of 7 figure luxury homes were purchased. Don't need it, but why the heck not. Figure the average/median of normal home sales plus those.

With a 6 or 7 handle, that slows down those purchases. What's left is need houses. Figure the average/median of those. I'm surprised it's not more of a drop honestly.

Lies, dang lies, & statistics.

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It slows down those purchases, but if there is no inventory.....

I deal in home prices and values every day. I'm just not seeing declines in the markets I work - primarily due to lack of supply.

If you have a good house and price it correctly the market is still very active and these homes are absorbed quickly, regardless of the rate.

There is plenty of pent up demand.

How many of those sellers are offering to help buy down rates? My realtor told me that is common today. Are those buy-downs reflected in selling prices?

Jabin said:

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How many of those sellers are offering to help buy down rates? My realtor told me that is common today. Are those buy-downs reflected in selling prices?

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Every question in real estate should be answered with "it depends"

It is common in new construction and markets that are less desirable. It is not as common in markets where there is low inventory and pent up demand.

Real estate is ALWAYS local. You really have to drill down to sub-markets for it to make any sense. Examples of stats for an entire county is kind of ridiculous when you consider the massive difference between the Crowley and Southlake in Tarrant County, or Argyle and The Colony in Denton County. Some markets need buy downs, some don't. Depends on price range and income level of buyers.

Buy downs are often reflected in selling prices, so yes - the net to the seller is lower in those scenarios.

Thanks, that makes sense. Good info.

December home sales were 6.2% lower thanthe same month a year earlier, closing out the worst year since 1995, per CNBC.

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) January 29, 2024

First time housing affordability is the worst on record, per Bloomberg: pic.twitter.com/c2DMXaLwK4

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 18, 2024

The Maw to Gen Z:

'I feel your pain.'

And where is this money coming from?

We bought a house last year. We were down sizing and would have paid cash except we weren't sure how fast our old house would sell and free up that equity. Turns out it sold in 6 hours to a retired couple with an above list all cash offer.

Our new house didn't work for us so we just sold it to a retired couple for with an all cash offer. Our new construction is a bit more than the original house so I'm probably going to raid my Roth so we can pay cash.

I don't think there are many buyers putting 3% down and paying PMI right now.

Good luck to everyone with the new appraisals (at least in TX)…

FJB

YouBet said:

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And where is this money coming from?

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The same place the money Ukranian and illegal immigrant money comes from.

Fed go brrrrrrr

But don't worry, it will never happen... just shopping it to see if it will help with reelection.

YouBet said:

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And where is this money coming from?

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From the taxes collected from starter home buyers, minus the government's skim off the top. It's the big government's version of a perpetual motion machine for economics.

More good news concerning mortgage and home prices.

How can anyone support Biden at this point?:

This is not looking good ...

The median mortgage payment in the United States hit a new record high of $2,894 per month, for May 2024 (that's an increase of +14% from 2023, +23% from 2022, and +78% from 2021)

Where/when/how does this end?

🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/bnOr2wTwN0

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) May 15, 2024

We need gov to make banks give bad loans, so that people can buy a house. No risk, since home prices can only go up. If it all fails, we can print more money and QE.

BlueTaze said:

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We need gov to make banks give bad loans, so that people can buy a house. No risk, since home prices can only go up. If it all fails, we can print more money and QE.

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I, too, am ready to party like it's 2005!

Bobaloo said:

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A better way to build wealth is to form a few shell companies, get on the board of multinational corporations and garner seven figure salaries despite having zero experience in business.

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Step 1: Be son of U.S. Vice President

A roughly $1,200 monthly increase to housing costs in just 3 years seems like a big deal.

YouBet said:

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A roughly $1,200 monthly increase to housing costs in just 3 years seems like a big deal.

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It's almost doubled since Biden took office. Yet Biden and Trump are tied.

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/housing-affordability-gen-zs-top-164937564.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGXFK7qPWjNTsfh9xJmRj518zSx_u0FnRxH8jGxXgTAL6ykIdGvK0rFFDqwPDbupT8wDhIrk5JWCCoEl5V63VCiKHVFrmjBGnVxDiGPx47uDKCDKkLg4M1STXlzQcv5zImlasxj5AOBav7Fb48P43Fpnmw8QkDkyF6VNENUQYOux

Quote:

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A new Redfin survey reveals that 91% of Gen Z adults say housing affordability is their top voting issue ahead of the 2024 election, as high mortgage rates and low inventory levels strain the market. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather joins Wealth! to discuss how homebuyers should navigate the current housing market as inflation continues to be a pressure.

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If the GOP wants to chase the youth vote, this is how you do it.

An increasing share of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. Here's where underwater mortages are on the rise.
https://t.co/ZwvHFS3RhV

— Axios (@axios) June 11, 2024

Quote:

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If the GOP wants to chase the youth vote, this is how you do it.

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I have a great idea: Stop printing money!

jja79 said:

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Sims said:

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techno-ag said:

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What did we ever do back when the interest rates were near 18%?

Oh yeah, I remember. We saved up for 20% down (about 12k for the average house costing app. $61k), didn't buy more than we could afford, and refinanced when rates went down.

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Edited for historical context.

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My A&M degree got me a $950/month job at a bank during that time so saving $12K was not an easy thing to do.

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Like EVERYTHING, it's all about percent to income. Homes cost more now as a percentage of income than they did then.

fka ftc said:

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ABatt18 said:

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If you add a 0 to both of those numbers, it's a bit closer to what graduates face today. Except most students coming out of college nowadays may take home about $4000 a month rather than $9500.

It is significantly harder for recent college grads to save nowadays than it has been before. Also, there are very, very few starter homes available to buy with reasonable commutes.

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Drive a used car. Live in a dump apartment. Have a used iPhone X not iPhone 15 Pro Max with matching Ultra 2 watch. Brew your coffee at home. Eat ramen. Vacation on surfside beach sleeping in a tent.

I graduated A&M in 2000 and went to work in Big 4/5 accounting. And lived frugally in order to save. And spent an hour each way commuting to that dump apartment.

Next.

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You can do all those things.

It doesn't change that it's still about percent to income and it's harder now than before.

Now some have said you get more with the 2023 home than the 1980 home. Sure, but you also don't have much choice. Many of those houses are still damn near the same cost as newer homes in the city. Maybe instead of median being 416, it's 380k? I don't know the exact number, but it's close.

You have to go 2 hours outside where you work to a 1980 style home to find something comparable in terms of percent to income to 20-30 years ago.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Bad news: If you buying a starter home the price just went up by $9600.

Good news: If you selling a starter home you can expect an additional $9600 of profit on sale.

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This isn't how you build wealth. Homes will never keep up with the S&P.

That said, it's still a solid long term investment IF, and it's a big IF, that's your goal. Home ownership. But it should be about owning the home first more so than building wealth. You are far better off saving all that money when you are younger to the S&P index or ETFs than you are for a down payment on a home. From a pure mathematical standpoint.

tk111 said:

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It's really terrible. I know a number of young couples just a few years removed from college that have been very successful and are still absolutely crushed at their prospects of getting a home due to the overwhelming double-whammy that is prices and interest rates.

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Buy the starter home they can afford instead of their dream McMansion.

agwrestler said:

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tk111 said:

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It's really terrible. I know a number of young couples just a few years removed from college that have been very successful and are still absolutely crushed at their prospects of getting a home due to the overwhelming double-whammy that is prices and interest rates.

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Buy the starter home they can afford instead of their dream McMansion.

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Apparently you missed this in the past 20 pages, but there's a feeding frenzy for "affordable" homes. A modest home in a safe neighborhood is going to be bought by someone who's desperate enough to overpay / outbid a dozen other desperate couples. The "starter" home rung has been largely kicked out from the ladder.

agwrestler said:

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tk111 said:

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It's really terrible. I know a number of young couples just a few years removed from college that have been very successful and are still absolutely crushed at their prospects of getting a home due to the overwhelming double-whammy that is prices and interest rates.

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Buy the starter home they can afford instead of their dream McMansion.

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wow this thread is still around...and people are still making the same dumb comment. Since I posted that, some of the people I was referring to have now moved to Azle, Royce City, and Celina to get an affordable home. Take a moment to check out where those are relative to Dallas or Ft Worth.

agwrestler said:

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tk111 said:

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It's really terrible. I know a number of young couples just a few years removed from college that have been very successful and are still absolutely crushed at their prospects of getting a home due to the overwhelming double-whammy that is prices and interest rates.

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Buy the starter home they can afford instead of their dream McMansion.

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There's some truth to not being able to sacrifice, but if you are close to a city, sometimes that number is still way too high. You have to commute an hour or more to work to really see a drop. Even 1980s style homes within 30-40 minutes of most people's work isn't really much different than buying a 2023/2024 home.

The affordable homes are in such high demand that usually someone pays cash or overbids for it and you're SOL anyways.

Roughly one out of every four single family homes in Fort Worth, Texas, are owned by an investor, company or corporation, according to a city analysis of data from the Tarrant Appraisal District.

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) June 13, 2024

Agthatbuilds said:

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Roughly one out of every four single family homes in Fort Worth, Texas, are owned by an investor, company or corporation, according to a city analysis of data from the Tarrant Appraisal District.

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) June 13, 2024

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Not surprising. Real estate is a great hedge against inflation.

Get Off My Lawn said:

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agwrestler said:

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tk111 said:

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It's really terrible. I know a number of young couples just a few years removed from college that have been very successful and are still absolutely crushed at their prospects of getting a home due to the overwhelming double-whammy that is prices and interest rates.

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Buy the starter home they can afford instead of their dream McMansion.

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Apparently you missed this in the past 20 pages, but there's a feeding frenzy for "affordable" homes. A modest home in a safe neighborhood is going to be bought by someone who's desperate enough to overpay / outbid a dozen other desperate couples. The "starter" home rung has been largely kicked out from the ladder.

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Today's expectation for a "starter" home is well beyond what a lot of folks started with. My starter home was a 40 year old 1200 SF, two window AC units, no garage, and 1.5 baths. Pier and beam construction (no concrete slab) and no fireplace. No pool, no fence, no deck. Just a home that was water tight. Neighborhood was relatively safe but a few of the inhabitants were a bit "sketchy."

Those homes, or something similar, are out there today. But a lot of young folks have upgraded expectations well beyond a traditional starter home.