We bought a new build house in July and the builder is already increasing the price of the same floor plan 10%. By the time they did the final appraisal we had a sizable appreciation!
Overall, good sellers market here in the southern California desert.
I’m in California too, and while I’m not normally a “slow growth” person, I do have to wonder about how we are going to provide water for our residents! Until CA figures out its water strategy for the future, not sure it is wise to keep building! But interesting that the drought doesn’t seem to inhibit movement and growth!
In HI, real estate prices tend to plateau or go up, but rarely drop. Tear downs on OK lots go for up to 7 figures and more in nice neighborhoods. 
Our price has gone up a bit in value from when we purchased it many decades back, but not as much as some other neighborhoods.
Agreed. Current CA water strategy = Do nothing and charge more.
What worries me is the well drilling boom happening in the central valley. Many of the farmers are ditching surface water for wells since it gives them more control over water, and these wells are often so deep that ground water has become unsustainable.
Surface water is fixable. Ground water is not, especially when you’re drilling 2000+ feet!
In my hometown prices are substantially lower than they were in the late 1970s.
I have been actively trying to buy a home on the water. The problem here is the prices are so low and won’t appraise near what they would years ago. People list their houses and then are shocked when the appraisal comes in too low. People who bought their waterfront homes 10 to 15 years ago can’t sell now for the price they paid years ago.
Where are you trying to buy @eyemamom ?
Maryland
Ahhh, I see @eyemamom. I was going to try and sell you a beautiful waterfront property in SE Florida. 
That’s how things are where I live in Michigan. Nothing is selling for what was paid 10 years ago. One of my neighbors listed their house for less than they paid. They’ve dropped the price by $50,000 and I don’t think they will be able to sell it for anywhere close to that. I think they will find that they will have to go down another $50,000 to sell. This is a less than $400,000 house to give an idea of the neighborhood.
The crazy thing is that this couple didn’t need to sell the house. They were retiring and she didn’t like our small town and moved an hour away. Which is fine but I wouldn’t have bought a house without selling the house I had. They also put in some upgrades that I don’t think give you much of a return. Most of my neighbor’s are not moving because they will not be able to get anywhere close to what they paid.
I think silicon valley is about to have a major correction…which has the most absurd pricing minus maybe NYC. it is a badge of honor to by a 1960’s 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath for 7 figures to tear it down.(the few that are left) to build a
mc-mansion. this is about to end soon. and of course will start up again 5-6 years later.
hmm, since I first made this post in January, things have continued to heat up my area. Honestly, I wish mortgage rates would go up. The low rates definitely have a role in the amount people are willing to pay, which is fueling this outrageous price appreciation. I am curious if some of the folks that responded to this thread have now seen an increase in their areas? @mathmom @intparent @sryrstress
I sold my house in MN (Twin Cities area), but for under it’s peak value during the real estate boom (slight loss from original cost to build in 2001, too). But not a terrible price.
My current location (renting) is Seattle, and the market is ridiculous here. I saw a graph the other day showing prices are above their pre-recession high, and prices have climbed dramatically in the last couple of years. I saw an article saying the upward trend is leveling a bit (but it was just nuts before, so still going up). Wish the market would cool – I have cash from the sale of my house, and would like to buy a condo – but properties going on the market are experiencing bidding wars and often selling without inspection!
It is nuts again. I thought we sold our house in Palm Beach County near the peak (patting myself on the back LOL) and nope. It’s gone even higher.
Buy high sell low!
In my little part of the western Philadelphia suburbs yes, prices seem a bit inflated. Not quite as bad as just before the last crash but getting there. We rent on Martha’s Vineyard every summer and I always check the real estate online for fun. The prices are very high and an ongoing discussion in the local papers is coming up with affordable housing for working people who live here…teachers, police, etc. The little capes are all being purchased by summer people who rebuild them or builders/real estate people who “upgrade” them on spec and market them at +$2,000,000. It is a bit crazy.
HI continues to be high. The house in our neighborhood that is close to a teardown was listed for a $995K and had ONE open house and sold–is only available for private viewing for backup offers at this point. Just finished survey staking and moving the grand piano out of the house. The owner died early this year at nearly 93. We aren’t positive of the final price but believe it is close to list!
We are very afraid it will be torn down and become a McMansion. 
Well… at this point, my logic goes something like this:
So… watching and waiting.
Coincidentally I had a real estate agent friend of mine come and give me a ballpark appraisal for estate planning purposes. My house is worth a lot more than I thought. We put an addition on it which was finished a year ago. Normally I don’t think one gets full value for the cost of an addition, but I think we might have. (Extra bathroom, upstairs laundry, walk in closets for the master bedroom and a really large eat-in kitchen family area and a screen porch.) We are beginning to get people bidding more than asking price so that’s good. Still a handful of foreclosures in the neighborhood, but more houses that have been updated and selling for two to three times what they were getting in 2000.
Our zoning laws are pretty good about preventing McMansions mostly via Floor Area Ratio requirements.
OK, I am the pessimistic voice of doom and gloom sitting here in SW CT.
I am in lower Fairfield county, a NYC commuter town which is also close to the PE firms that have set up shop outside Manhattan. It is a buyer’s market. Buyers are demanding; they want new construction, all white kitchens, and bathrooms that look like spas. Location of the house within the town is no longer important. Buyers are willing to buy new construction on a double yellow line road vs. older property on a cul-de-sac.
Here is a quote from a William Pitt/Sotheby’s 1st half analysis they email around.
“In virtually every area where we do business, including Westchester County, N.Y., Connecticut and the Berkshires, Mass., we have observed the same trend: properties situated at each market’s entry price point are snapped up quickly, while properties priced over a certain amount tend to remain on the market for a much longer period. The increases in unit sales we are experiencing are driven by the lower price tiers, though there is activity in the higher segments as well. But in general, the higher the price point, the higher the inventory. With fewer buyers out shopping for these homes, we have begun to see a major correction occurring in certain markets with sellers attempting to find the price at which they can successfully sell their home.”
The weekly list of properties includes very few transfers/closed sales and many reductions and new to market. Many of the sales in town had been people trading up in town. That seems to have slowed down. So…I worry about the broader economy.
I’ve heard that CT taxes are high . . . is that true @CT1417? Could that have something to do with it?