And They Said it Wouldn't Happen

[Smit]

All it takes is one liberal turd in the punchbowl to eff it up.

Awww, did somebody mess up your KoolAid?


 

[YoDoug]

Awww, did somebody mess up your KoolAid?


 

I guess the question is, if our little forum here is a punchbowl of sorts, how do fit in?

[BrianP.]

I guess the question is, if our little forum here is a punchbowl of sorts, how do fit in?

The lemon?

[Leehound]

My wife's parents live in TN and my wife has been watching prices for a few years wanting to buy a fixer upper. TN is completely overpriced right now. It is one of the most unaffordable states right now. Video below has some great data on the current TN market.

I really wanted to dispute this, but a run down house in our neighborhood was just listed for 400K. I am flabbergasted! That house is what I would consider a fixer upper and not worth more than 250K. And we are 50 miles away from any major city. Unbelievable.

[Del.]

I really wanted to dispute this, but a run down house in our neighborhood was just listed for 400K. I am flabbergasted! That house is what I would consider a fixer upper and not worth more than 250K. And we are 50 miles away from any major city. Unbelievable.

Are these overpriced homes selling?

[YoDoug]

I really wanted to dispute this, but a run down house in our neighborhood was just listed for 400K. I am flabbergasted! That house is what I would consider a fixer upper and not worth more than 250K. And we are 50 miles away from any major city. Unbelievable.

My father in law lives in Greeneville. We have been watching there and the surrounding areas for a few years. Our youngest just graduated high school last year. That was the last thing holding us to MN. Now we are just waiting for the right time to move. We have been watching properties and jobs in Eastern TN, Charlotte NC area, and central FL. We will probably move within the next few years. Now we are just waiting for the right timing of the economy, real estate, and employment markets. That being said, we are kicking ourselves for not buying in Eastern TN a few years ago seeing how high prices have gotten. Most real estate experts are expecting values to return to pre-pandemic levels in the next year so that is when we will most likely buy.

[JParis]

There are several factors driving the real estate market and none of them are really good for us "average Joe's"

Low interest rates, the rates have been artifically low for many, many years...the economy never really recovered from all the mess in 2007/08....the Fed tried, several times over the years to raise interest rates and get out of the securities they have been holding, everytime they did, the economy sputtered. The low interest rates halp drive the housing balloon allowing people to pay many more dollars for what only a few years earlier could have never sold at that level.

Money printing....every single dollar printed devalued evey single dollar that was already in existence. A pratice that continnues to this very day...it takes more dollars to buy the same product.

Cash buyers/Flippers and Real Estate Speculators, many people trying to get into a home have had it bid out from them by cash investors of one flavor or another. Between cash on hand and the ability and willingness to over pay...

VRBO and similar buyers...they are driving some markets

There are a couple other smaller factors that figure in more location/regional markets.

ands a myriad of smaller, individual factors as well...

[YoDoug]

There are several factors driving the real estate market and none of them are really good for us "average Joe's"

Low interest rates, the rates have been artifically low for many, many years...the economy never really recovered from all the mess in 2007/08....the Fed tried, several times over the years to raise interest rates and get out of the securities they have been holding, everytime they did, the economy sputtered. The low interest rates halp drive the housing balloon allowing people to pay many more dollars for what only a few years earlier could have never sold at that level.

Money printing....every single dollar printed devalued evey single dollar that was already in existence. A pratice that continnues to this very day...it takes more dollars to buy the same product.

Cash buyers/Flippers and Real Estate Speculators, many people trying to get into a home have had it bid out from them by cash investors of one flavor or another. Between cash on hand and the ability and willingness to over pay...

VRBO and similar buyers...they are driving some markets

There are a couple other smaller factors that figure in more location/regional markets.

ands a myriad of smaller, individual factors as well...

Also a disproportional percentage of corporate ownership in many markets. The Zillow/Redfins/corp investor groups are estimated to own 10%-15% of the used houses on the market and even higher in some areas. They can greatly skew prices when they have that much influence.

[Del.]

People were fools over paying for homes last couple of years . What's current Mtg rate now, 7%?

[JParis]

What's current Mtg rate now, 7%?

About 6.5% for a 30 year

A touch over 5% for a 15 year...

and through this last 2 months, rates have unbelievably fallen

[YoDoug]

When we lived in OK in he early 2000's my wife got her real estate license. She remembers specifically that they said the realtor could be held liable for misinformation, including SqFt calculations. They had very specific rules about what could be considered living space. Now days it seems like they lie about it all the time. When we bought our house in MN in 2018, the realtor listed the house at 2750 SqFt. we checked court records and our inspector calculated it. They both came up with 2450. Our realtor told us that there is little to no repercussions for them incorrectly listing and pricing off that. It is up to the buyer to verify. We made our offer to reflect that actual size, not what was listed.

The other thing I have noticed is the condition of the house doesn't seem to matter, they calculate size and multiply by going rate, regardless of if it is brand new or 50 years old and never been remodeled.

[neurosis]

The other thing I have noticed is the condition of the house doesn't seem to matter, they calculate size and multiply by going rate, regardless of if it is brand new or 50 years old and never been remodeled.

I bought my condo on a short sale.  I got in a a fight with the bank (seller) over this. Short sale homes are usually in poor condition for obvious reasons. Nobody is going to fix up a home they are under water on and about to lose. 

The condo needed a lot of work and they were listing it at market rates. It took me a while to talk them down. 

[Leehound]

Are these overpriced homes selling?

It was just listed, so I am not sure.

[mkd]

When we lived in OK in he early 2000's my wife got her real estate license. She remembers specifically that they said the realtor could be held liable for misinformation, including SqFt calculations. They had very specific rules about what could be considered living space. Now days it seems like they lie about it all the time. When we bought our house in MN in 2018, the realtor listed the house at 2750 SqFt. we checked court records and our inspector calculated it. They both came up with 2450. Our realtor told us that there is little to no repercussions for them incorrectly listing and pricing off that. It is up to the buyer to verify. We made our offer to reflect that actual size, not what was listed.

The other thing I have noticed is the condition of the house doesn't seem to matter, they calculate size and multiply by going rate, regardless of if it is brand new or 50 years old and never been remodeled.

My son-in-law got a internship with a county gov't to build predictive mathematical models for price appreciation. Punkass kid a genius.   

[Smit]

Small town Midwest is great for home prices if you don't have to commute.

Both my brother and sister sold their KC Suburb homes (Johnson county) and moved to southeast Kansas. Both bought nice places with cash left over from selling their own homes, plus had a nice chuck of cash left over.

My brother is retired and sister work remotely so no problem with a commute.

Obviously work opportunities are limited so it might not be ideal for the average young family.