housing market
- Thread starter AntiSnob
- Start date
Housing prices have tanked considerably more in most metro areas than they have in Des Moines. I could tell you an endless number of horror stories about Las Vegas where I once lived.
And its not just metro areas; a 50% drop in prices from the highs is the norm in most of the Colorado mountain resort areas.
And its not just metro areas; a 50% drop in prices from the highs is the norm in most of the Colorado mountain resort areas.
des moines has taken it pretty lightly. generally, those areas that had their prices jacked up the most during the good times had the biggest falls as they returned back to what they shouldve been. CA, NV, AZ, FL all took some pretty big hits.
Des Moines is not in the crapper. We just sold our house in a suburb of Des Moines for $300K which is $25K more than we bought it for in 2004. $25K more still wasn't good over a 5 year ownership period, but at least it was in the black. Considering the improvements I made to the house I basically broke even.
For comparison, we just bought a house in a suburb of Minneapolis. We paid $325K for a new construction home with a finished basment and deck. Our neighbors to the right of us paid $525K while the neighbors to the left of us paid $465K, both in 2006. Neither of our neighbors have a finished basement or a deck. I could go on. Everyone in our neighborhood paid at least $370K for their house and most paid over $400K and hardly any of them have a finished basement or deck.
For comparison, we just bought a house in a suburb of Minneapolis. We paid $325K for a new construction home with a finished basment and deck. Our neighbors to the right of us paid $525K while the neighbors to the left of us paid $465K, both in 2006. Neither of our neighbors have a finished basement or a deck. I could go on. Everyone in our neighborhood paid at least $370K for their house and most paid over $400K and hardly any of them have a finished basement or deck.
The problem with the real estate market is that people think that making 25k in 5 years isnt good. A house, as an investment, is still overvalued, even in this modest economy. (I'd say you did fine!)
problem in Des Moines isn't necessarily a price correction, it is saturation of the market and not enough buyers. We've been trying to sell our house in Beaverdale for two years now. It is now priced below where it was purchased in 2004, and we can't even get an offer.
Had four showings two weeks ago, then nothing last week.
Had four showings two weeks ago, then nothing last week.
Have you considered paying a consultant to stage your home? I paid someone $300 to come in and tell us how to stage our home, etc...we had to paint some rooms, take down all of our personal pictures, basically look like our home was a new construction model home and not lived in. She also looked at our house like a buyer and suggested what to change about things most people wouldn't like about our house, how to make them less noticeable, etc...
We sold our house in 3 weeks, in November right before Thanksgiving.
It's just hard to look at the numbers and see the home value only went up 9% over 5 years. I realized I should be happy that I didn't lose any money. If I would have had to pay the realtors fees and the other costs it would have been really ugly.
Too many people look at their home as an investment and it's really not. It's just a place to live. You'll be lucky if the value keeps pace with inflation. If it wasn't for the tax advantages, owning a home would be an unwise decision.
this works if you are getting traffic in to look at your house. I would highly recommend this if you are.
If you want to save $300 just watch Unsellables (or something similar) on hgtv. Most if the things you need to do are on those shows and are pretty straight forward.
Very true, the consultant didn't really do anything I couldn't of learned by watching TV. Howerver, similar to a personal trainer, I needed someone there to tell me what to do make me comfortable with why I'm doing it. That's just me though. I'm a decorating dummy. I doubt I hire her again though as I will just repeat what we did on every house I sell going forward.
Only because he elected to make improvements. My point still stands, he came out pretty well in this economy with 5 yrs in the home.
Its much worse in most cities than Des Moines. Generally speaking, bigger cities and ones in states with more of a boom/bust economy than Iowa have been hit much worse, and certain geographical areas in the US (Florida, California) have been hit worse than others.
well according to this link:Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia there are about 64 metro areas with faster growth rates than Des Moines. A housing bust will be kinder to you when there wasn't much of a boom to begin with.
As long as jobs leave the country and wages drop, I don't see much to help the housing market. It's still over valued in my opinion when you look at the average wage...
Texas has remained largely unaffected by the housing market. Things here have stayed pretty stable and there are a ton of first-time buyers, including my wife and I, who are working furiously to find something.
I bought my house in 1999 for 299,900. A little over 10yrs later it is assessed at 330,000.
That's under 1% per year through the housing "boom". I'm perfectly fine with it as I don't look at it as an investment so much as a place to live. My goal when I sell (likely another 20yrs) is to break even.
That's under 1% per year through the housing "boom". I'm perfectly fine with it as I don't look at it as an investment so much as a place to live. My goal when I sell (likely another 20yrs) is to break even.
