Home values in tons of areas have literally 2X’ed, sometimes even 3X’ed since the pandemic hit. And when you throw in today’s interest rates, you’re basically looking at triple the total cost over the life of the loan. It’s absolutely nuts.
What’s driving this craziness, and if properties are just sitting there not selling, why aren’t sellers getting realistic about their asking prices?
Prices are starting to drop in some markets that were red-hot before, like around Austin, but it’s happening slowly. A lot of sellers just aren’t desperate enough to move yet, so they’re holding firm on price. I’ve seen plenty of people list their investment properties, pull them when they don’t get bites, then try again later at the same price.
The sellers who really need to move are the ones making big cuts, sometimes 10% all at once. Those places tend to go pretty fast once the owner gets real about what the market will actually pay.
Not sure how much geographic flexibility you have, but I know some markets are still pretty affordable. Alabama, Mississippi, and parts of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan come to mind.
I hear you, though. The housing price situation is hard. I feel bad for young people in their 20’s, trying to get their first house and establish themselves. The prices of even the worst houses in my city are absurd right now. I’m not even in a coastal, expensive market, and most normal people are simply priced out of the market.
I’m surprised there aren’t more mobile home parks popping up in more places. They may not be the #1 of housing everyone wants, but at least they’re more affordable.
You are probably on to something regarding the mobile homes. I listened to Neil Clements podcast about how mobile home flips have been very lucrative for him and it makes a lot of sense given todays housing prices.
I love his podcast but it’s so hard not to get shiny object syndrome when listening to him. lol
It depends which market you are in. There are over 300 markets in the US which are followed, in about 110 of those markets prices have actually declined. But in the other about 200 markets prices have increased or remained stable. In my market, Central PA, prices are rising, inventory is rising, but the volume of sales is declining. I think the current interest rates are keeping people on the sidelines, especially people with mortgages in the 2%, 3%, 4% ranges that dominated mortgages that originated 2022 or before. I had a mortgage originated in 2013 that was 2.5% fixed. I said that I would never pay off that mortgage. Never say never. In 2021 somebody offered me $500,000 cash for the property that I bought for $139,000 and I did what I said I’d never do.
@David_Krulac do you know of any maps of the US that clearly outline where the boundaries of these 300+ markets are? I’d be curious to see how each of these market areas are defined.
My brain likes to think in terms of states, counties, cities, townships, and zip codes… but none of those would equate to 300ish markets.