Oso planning to go pro
Jesmu84, not to be morbid, but a decade from now the housing market will be saturated as a generation passes and is replaced by a smaller one.
Bought our first home about 14 months ago after saving for 10+ years. Put 20% down, bought the cheapest house in the best neighborhood we could get into in Bethesda, MD, top school district, NIH and Walter Reed only a stones throw away...will be the last place we ever buy. Locked in 5.65% for the next 28 years, curious if we'll ever refinance (doubt it).Amazingly happy
That'll probably come to pass.My fear is who buys those houses
Why do you doubt that? If interest rates fall to where they were just a couple of years ago, you can knock years off - even refinancing at 30 but paying the same amount you do now will have a significant impact.
It's more of a bet to see if interest rates ever creep down again that low (in the foreseeable future)...if they do, absolutely I'll do it. My knowledge of ReFi is admittedly limited, but a rule of thumb I read is it only starts making financial sense if rates are least a full point less than what you are locked in at (in this case I would need to wait until at least around 4.5%).But probably a lot more expertise on this board, so I am all ears 😃
Build dense market-rate housing in city centers, it drives down the cost of existing housing that just cant compete for consumer dollars with new construction. This is a solved problem. Build baby build.
Is there an incentive to build if it brings down profit margins?
But, regardless, I'd be curious to hear folks' ideas about how to address the housing shortage. Or, if you don't consider housing supply a problem, how can we bring down housing costs?
My best advice, is the old real estate slogan. Location, Location , Location. Also to the younger folks just get yourself in the market. Get a condo in a good building or development if the single priced homes are out of reach. You can always upgrade on house 2 and 3.
Agree about location, of course, but younger folks (and older ones) should be careful not to make themselves "house rich and life poor" just to get into a house or condo (or to move up to their "dream house.") Having a house but not being able to afford to do anything fun or enriching, or to not be able to invest for the future, isn't a great way to go through life. As has been discussed earlier in this thread, houses/condos aren't necessarily great investments. Sometimes, they're even mediocre (or worse) investments.Also, though it seems like house prices only go up, there have been many historic stretches in which that has not been the case. Here in Charlotte, it took 5+ years for housing prices to recover after the Great Recession. It had been a hot market, but it cooled off fast and very painfully for many. It's a red-hot market now, and I hope some of those buying at what is a new top every day don't regret it. And there are many markets like Charlotte now.
Main problem with the housing market is three fold.Lack of inventory, commercial investment, and commodification of housing.
Would you rather have a 20% profit margin on 100 million in inventory or a 10% profit margin on 300 million in inventory?
Locked in 5.65% for the next 28 years, curious if we'll ever refinance (doubt it).
Bro, u crazy?
Sitting on a 3.0% mortgage on a house we bought 5 years ago that would sell immediately for nearly twice what we paid, maybe a bit more. We did finish the basement so put close to $60k into that all in (I did a lot of the work) but we’re still going to make out like bandits. We’re not going anywhere until kids are all out on their own (youngest is 6th grader) so hoping we continue to see growth in value over the next several years. We are in number one school district in state with top 5 schools across the board and one of the fastest growing counties in the country.
We're at 4.25, and it will take a powerful "push" force to make us move off of that rate. Could it happen? I guess. But I'm skeptical that something will come along powerfully motivating enough to make it happen.
whoops, not 4.25.2.75.