I’m in upstate NY (not the NYC ‘burbs upstate but the near Albany upstate). Regular houses here going close to or over asking price. Typical lakefront or Adirondack vacation properties are going for way over asking and selling at lightning speed and some of those aren’t even “homes” but seasonal “camps” so old, small, and need tons of work.
I’m in a nice suburb in central MA, but commutable to Boston (long commute but people do it). Houses here are selling like hotcakes. Everything seems to be selling almost as soon as it goes on the market, including those in rough shape. If you ever wanted to sell a home with an old outdated kitchen or bath now is the time.
I’m in the Midwest. For example, a cottage down by us that is 1,000 sq. ft. with only 25 ft. Seawall sold for $258,000 three summers ago. The new owners completely gutted and redid it. No maintenance at all, like a brand new house. We figure they put in $75 - $100k. Sold it in 10 days for $540k this summer. We’re all high fiving as our sea walls are 30 to 47 feet. (The land is the expense here for the most part).
However, our properties are not new, updated and pristine as their house, so we most likely wouldn’t command the same $ per seawall ft. Those new owners paid way over top dollar. They could have gotten it for $50-60k less. It is so a sellers market here right now.
I’m 45 miles outside of NYC, at the Jersey Shore. Houses are going like hotcakes here. Lots of city people want out, want some outdoor space. The two houses across the street from me each sold for above asking - the 2nd one on the very first day it was listed. We have had realtors knock on our door/call looking for inventory. My husband has always joked that “the first $600k gets it” (we have a very modest home), but has recently had to change that to $800k, after seeing what things are selling for. FTR, we’re never selling!
NW CT here. It’s a sellers market. Homes are selling very quickly often with multiple t or above asking price offers within a few days of listing. These are for regular homes in good condition. Most smaller towns in this area have two acre zoning. Even the more suburban areas have larger lots.
Our RE broker friend says many folks who were living in a city in a two bedroom apartment with two parents working from home, and two kids schooling from home are the key buyers. They are realizing that they can buy a 5 bedroom house on two acres of land. Each kid gets their own bedroom and each parent has a room for their home office. No one needs to use public transportation. Some have been told they will be WFH indefinitely. And the CT house they buy will cost 1/2 to 1/3 what the are paying in NYC.
And for some in NYC, for example, they can also delete private school costs if they buy in a town with excellent schools. There are also plenty of private schools in CT if they want that also.
One young couple we spoke to told us that they moved to NYC for proximity to their jobs and all of the great things to do in NYC. With WFH, and so many things (especially arts related) closed, the city doesn’t have the same appeal for them.
Just outside Cleveland. At the beginning of 2020, we owned three homes here, all in the same suburb. The first was the home we raised our kids in, which we have been renting out for the past four years (when we moved into current home). It never made it to the market…our realtor brought us a buyer and we took the offer. I didn’t even have to clean up after the renter left.
We were expecting to sell both a fixer we’ve been working on and current home this summer. Fixer is about to go on the market and the comps are 2x what we expected to sell it for when we bought it (it was Kn BAD shape). That will go on the market next month.
Current home is in neighborhood where homes are selling after one day. I have had several people contact me to buy my house because they know our youngest is headed to college and we may be enticed to sell. Until I am confident s20 is settled in college we don’t want to move. I hope we don’t miss the wave of demand!
I have lived here for 25 years and have never seen anything like this.
Like seeing all these posts! Means the economy is doing well if people are confident enough to buy!
Suburban Philadelphia (shoulder town), small township with excellent small school district and easy commute into the city. A 3 bedroom house with small rooms on a busy street with NO central air just sold after one week-end of appointment showings - listed at $420,000, got 17 offers and sold for $465,000 with zero contingencies. We have been a hot market for years now but this was startling to us!
San Diego here. The current market is crazy because there is historically low inventory. But, prices have stabilized and are softening a bit. Anything that is move in ready and under $1 million is going fast, over asking.
But, there is are issues coming up soon. I see the following 3 things coming:
As Work At Home becomes permanently feasible a lot of people will decide that they can move to lower cost of living areas and still keep their jobs. They do not need to worry about a bad commute. So a lot of high cost areas such as Seattle, Silicon Valley, etc could see a lot of people moving out (as soon as they feel safe moving)
I believe there are going to be huge layoffs looming in the Fall since the hospitality industries cannot survive without substantial cash infusions. These layoffs will cause inventory to increase as some people may need to cash in and sell or possibly stop paying their mortgages, etc
My agent and a friend at a large bank mortgage department are both telling me that loans are falling out in the middle of current transactions. Banks have really tightened underwriting. Even though interest rates are low, very few are qualifying for the loans they want. I think the banks are tough on potential job loss and cash requirements.
I have close friends that have been trying to find a new house further inland in order to get more yard. They are poised and ready to sell their house in my coastal neighborhood but thought they could buy contingent on selling their home. Inventory is so low that Sellers do not need to take that offer. So they are seriously thinking of selling now while high and renting until inventory increases. Wife just had to take early retirement package after 23 yrs with the largest hotel chain.
I am in Ca., 2 hours north of Los Angeles. What I’ve heard from multiple people is that we are getting buyers who can work from home who want to get out of Los Angeles. My H feels like @coralbrook that more layoffs are coming and there are only so many buyers who have the cash and job security to not worry about a lay-off. In the meantime things that have sat on the market in my area are finally going into contract. One place is listed for 6 million plus and has been on Zillow for over 400 days. I think that was just with the last listing as it’s been on and off the market. It’s listed as pending. From a quick look online inventory is pretty low.
I walk by a house that was sold several years ago and had a big remodel done. I don’t think the new owners ever moved in. They listed the remodel initially at 11 million. It was lowered I think to 6 plus. It’s going on auction early August with no reserve price. I’ve heard they aren’t in foreclosure yet but are behind on the loan. It’s got amazing views. https://www.decaroauctions.com/4558-via-esperanza-santa-barbara-ca/ I went in it before the remodel but haven’t been in it since they redid it. It’s not my style and I don’t have that kind of money but I’m curious to see what it goes for. The other interesting thing is they are advertising it as a live auction which is weird during Covid.
One of my kids lives in Northern Ca. She would love to buy a place with land to have horses. She is hoping prices drop so she can buy her dream property.
While I appreciate your optimism, the people who are being put thru the ringer are not well-represented on CC.
Of course, I’m sure you know that already.
Please don’t take my saltiness as an insult — not my intention!
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It would be nice if people would identify at least a general area when they respond.
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I’m in Dallas<<<<<<<<
Right? location, location, location. I am pretty sure most educated Texans are waiting for the ball to drop once the next rounds of O&G layoffs hit because those will going include lots of bodies. Lots of knock on effects, lots of contracting firms are already done. I assume once this happens a ton of properties will hit the market. I am seeing homes close (new construction >800k) but they are well over 60 day closings. Life was different in May. The real estate market is slow to react.
I am in a nice beach community in San Diego. The market seems pretty hot here. A house on my street that hadn’t been on the market in 50 years sold last year to developers who completely redid it, although they only added about 100 sf. I saw it being staged in June and it was pending a couple of days later and closed before the 4th of July. . The selling price was more than $1 million more than the price in 2019, but now it’s a completely new house.
Very true…I apologize if I offended anyone.
Austin. DD and DIL moved to a lease house in our neighborhood because they badly needed more space with the baby, and this is a great neighborhood for kids, and instant babysitters are ready and willing just a short walk away! They put their condo on the market and had 5 above-listing price offers within 4 days, and hope to close in 3 weeks with an all-cash buyer. Their place is super cute and there just isn’t any inventory in that low a price range. They are planning to lease for a year here and then try to buy a place; it was just going to be impossible to buy a new place with a contingency on selling their old one. Everything decent is getting multiple offers above asking price, and no seller is willing to take a contingency offer. Fingers crossed that the market will have softened some in a year!.
I agree with @coralbrook and others that this party cannot go on forever.
Greater Seattle area. We are seeing the beginning of a flight out of Seattle condo core… suburban real estate is doing well, and prices are going up or holding steady, but condos, especially downtown, are not getting much traction. Cabins in popular ski areas are selling briskly. A friend decided to look for one and gave up… $450k, and that was not a giant property.
DD and SIL have just sold their starter house outside Boston for 50K over asking. 2 friends recently sold homes in different Boston areas with multiple over asking offers as well. One is moving into their vacation house and the other is renting for a year or until they figure out what they want. I’d like to sell my house, but something smaller is no less expensive these days.
Now the hunt is one for a new house in a different town where they’ll have to offer over asking and the houses go in just a few days.
I’m in suburban Colorado located halfway between Denver and Boulder (~20min). My mature neighborhood of mid-century ranches is very popular with young adults and families.
The market has slowed down but well-priced homes are still selling in four weeks or less. Last summer, a home would have multiple offers over asking within 24hrs of being listed.
We have a lot of equity and have thought about selling, but we like our location and our small mortgage payment. Anything comparable in space/location would cost us twice as much in this housing market.
I live in MD in an eclectic Chesapeake Bay community. Some houses are old fixer upper (not waterfront) beach cottages, others are million dollar+ waterfront homes. It has been shocking to see homes only a day or two on the market already under contract, and selling for quite a bit more than this spring.
Just yesterday my husband and I were sitting on our porch and our next door neighbor was outside talking on the phone. We could hear the entire conversation and were surprised to hear that he was talking with a realtor about “driving down” to look at homes this weekend. We don’t know where he is headed, but based on what he said (8 hour drive, mountains, etc) it sounds like they must be looking at Asheville NC. This came as a huge surprise to us, tho he has always worked from home and can basically live anywhere. I have a feeling the hot market is driving him - he bought his house at the height of the market years ago and has been underwater ever since. I think this is the closest he will come to possibly breaking even so he wants to get out now. They are a quirky couple with a kid in middle school - have never been social (I was telling my neighbor yesterday I have seen their daughter outside once this entire pandemic). While it would be nice to have some friendlier people living there, I do have a “fear of the unknown” - they have been good neighbors in the sense that he takes great care of the yard (nice landscaping, divides his plants and offers to me LOL), quiet family, etc. It will be interesting to see if they end up moving.
I am in suburban NJ and thinking about downsizing to somewhere outside Boston. Houses here look to be selling for over ask (just recently - the last few weeks). So I am sure my house will sell quickly, but I will probably struggle to find something to move into and pay more for the new house. If you are looking to both sell and buy, you can’t win