- Joined
- 24 May 2002
- Messages
- 1,431
Some kid asked the board if he should buy a house or an NSX a few years ago. We told him to buy a house. I hope he's doing OK.
Anybody here think it's a good time to buy a house right now? I don't think we're at the bottom but definitely seeing some good deals out there right now. I'm sure we all noticed prices are going up everywhere, not just gas. Few of my favorite places to eat just raised their price in May, and groceries are going up in prices as well. Someone once told me real estate is a good investment to hedge against inflation.
Any thoughts to share?
Some kid asked the board if he should buy a house or an NSX a few years ago. We told him to buy a house. I hope he's doing OK.
California is definitely the right time to buy
I am actually looking at a foreclosed home that is listed with a reactor at a market rate (fair, not great, deal). Sold 'as is' and could use a little work. Price is not discounted to reflect this. Ordinarily I would just walk away but I really like this house (layout, style, etc). Couple questions there:Look for foreclosures and you will save even more.
Bwahahaha!!
[I hope he's doing ok too...not laughing at that]
Here's the thread...great reading if I do say so myself
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77004&highlight=housing+real+estate
You know what I have noticed about Texas. Pull up ebay motors, put it on buy it now arranged from lowest to highest price. Look at expensive high end vehicles like BMW or Mercedes or whacked out pick up trucks. Almost always the cheapest one will be in Texas.
Couple questions there:
- How do you make a low offer more appealing to the REO?
- How do you cover your ass to do with potential tax liens or other legal hassles?
- Any other tips here?
Also another factor to consider how low would the price drop here in So.Cal. We need to consider replacement costs. Which mean if I were to knock this house down, how much would it cost for me to rebuild it. In So. Cal, the large builders pays anywhere from $98/sqft. to $113/sqft. to build a new house not counting the cost of the land. With the affordable housing shortage, do you think lenders will sell under those replacement cost numbers?
In terms of vertical construction, more like $50-60 for a decent spec level from a large builder.
Everyone has an opinion about the current real estate market. But unlike other types of markets, everyone thinks they're an expert. Therefore, I'll keep my 2 cents to myself, thank you.
What do you base that on?
I am actually looking at a foreclosed home that is listed with a reactor at a market rate (fair, not great, deal). Sold 'as is' and could use a little work. Price is not discounted to reflect this. Ordinarily I would just walk away but I really like this house (layout, style, etc). Couple questions there:
- How do you make a low offer more appealing to the REO?
- How do you cover your ass to do with potential tax liens or other legal hassles?
- Any other tips here?
Back in 2006 I had an oppertunity to invest in an 300 new homes project near the Palm Springs area, the best building cost they could get at that time was $98/sqft. for home size of 1800+. Prior to that I had also assist in building custom home in SF area in the 2.5mil range, that that project's building cost was around $220/sqft.
Every active General Contractor I had spoke to in the So.Cal. area had mention the days of sub $60/sqft days are long gone. so if you know someone that can do it for the price you had mention, please let me know. I need their assistance, because me and my investors had been paying too much.
I worked on a 200+ unit project (with a clubhouse/amenities) in Palm Desert at around the same time that was built for around $64/sf.
I've seen custom builds into the $500/sf range, so obviously there are plenty of ways to increase your costs. Builders negotiate a discount for volume, so a one off project may not be built at under $60/sf. These figures are based on what public builders spend per sf on their numerous projects. But 300, 1800 sf homes in Palm Springs for $98/sf sounds high to me. I worked on a 200+ unit project (with a clubhouse/amenities) in Palm Desert at around the same time that was built for around $64/sf. This was for a large, private builder who squeezed the hell out of their employees and subs, but even still that's a huge difference between what you're quoting.
PM me and let me know what you're currently working on.
Here's a picture of the clubhouse:
Was the 65/sf for sfr or multi? If sfr, were the lots liveable? I haven't seen any new construction sfr in norcal that low.
Edit: Nevermind. I just realized that you said built for 64/sf. Selling was probably more like 120/sf+.
California is definitely the right time to buy. Look for foreclosures and you will save even more.
There is a decent high level article on this topic today's USAToday (money section, front page). The basic points as I recall them were:
Foreclosures at historical highs nationwide (2.4% IIRC)
Delinquent payments at highs nationwide (6.4% IIRC)
Values to fall another 10% on average
Market to decline until end of '08 at least
Cali and Fla markets starting to show some signs of starting to pick up
Lenders being more stringent (duh)
I just put in an offer on a short sale... background:
I live in Maricopa, AZ, which has been highlighted on CNN and other major news channels for sh*tty housing market...
I got in when Maricopa just sprung up, so I am okay in my current house, it's just small... someone we know has to relocate, so their house is up for short sale. It's a Lennar, 3500 square feet, 3CG, granite, 18" tile, in great shape, only a couple years old that originally sold for 350k... it's listed for 189k and we put in an offer for a bit less. We can afford both house payments, the rate is pretty good, and our plan is to rent it cheap for a year or two, sell our current house, and move in to the big one.
I can't see this house for seling for much less, so we think it's a good time to try it. (We both have good jobs with excellent job security)
So my piont is, I guess, if the stars are in the right alignment, it can be a good time to buy.
What I really had wished was that we had been renting for the last few years and were first time buyers right now...
Good luck to all home buyers... even the Canadians that are buying them down here like they are free!!
Keep in mind that the U.S.A. Today, 3 years ago, was writing about how real estate never goes down...
I wouldn't put much, if any, faith in specific forecasts (from anyone). No one, and I mean no one, knows with any clarity when this will end. To say that in Q4 2008 things will be bottoming is utter bullshit. No one knows where this cycle will end, but it certainly won't be tomorrow.