@dstark, there hasn’t been any evidence that the energy issues have affected Toronto. Everyone keeps expecting the bubble to burst but it hasn’t happened! There are some foreign buyers but I don’t think that it’s a significant percentage of total sales.
Here’s one for you, dstark:
@alwaysamom, that house is ok. 
Considering the size of the house, I find this amusing.
“@Doct, don’t you live where the hedge fund guys live? I know hedge funds have been undeperforning, but a lot of the hedge fund guys still have to be doing well.”
I live about 25 miles north of Bridgewater Ass., but worked about a mile from them. The market is bad there also.
@dstark, I know! Isn’t that comment silly? 
Strong demand here in the Twin Cities, MN, with more would-be buyers than sellers. Homes that go on the market often sell in a week or two, sometimes less, often at more than the asking price. This is putting upward pressure on prices, but it’s also putting the squeeze on potential sellers who are reluctant to put their current homes on the market under uncertainty whether they’ll be able to find a suitable replacement. Recently some homes have gone on the market on a “reverse contingency” with the sellers reserving the right to cancel the sale if they haven’t locked in a deal on a suitable replacement by the closing date.
@bclintonk, I think you make a great point about the squeeze on potential sellers.
Way too “fancy” for my taste. I prefer simple elegance, not so ornate, opulent, ostentatious. I’m formulating my ideas for my “dream house” that DH and I are talking about building after we sell our lake house (just put under contract last night, FINALLY).
My dream house will be a spacious one story house. It will be somewhat contemporary, but not overly so. I don’t like overly modern houses that seem cold and sterile. We want cozy, homey elements: wood, stone, lots of windows that let in natural light, lots of green and trees outside, maybe some kind of water view or other naturally beautiful vista. Houzz.com is going to be my obsession in the near future as I define and refine my personal tastes.
That’s the dream anyway.
Our lake real estate has been highly impacted by the oil and gas slump. We finally have a buyer whose money is not related to energy, so we are crossing our fingers.
DFW real estate remains strong, depending on price point.
My area still isn’t back to its pre-2008 levels despite having one of the top school districts in the state. Things have picked up in the past year or so and stuff is moving but I wouldn’t call it a seller’s market. Just starting to see a little new construction again.
In our neighborhood the houses are selling really fast all of them (well except one that is under foreclosure and looks like a gut job is needed inside) have went under contract in a couple of days. The prices are higher than I’ve ever seen in this neighborhood.
SF Bay area has slowed down a bit, especially in the City of SF and all the other higher priced suburbs. Prices have risen so much that is not affordable for those owner occupancy buyers, foreign investments which fuel the rapid growth have tapered off because economic slow down in China and other countries.
Arlington VA - The house I sold in July 2015 is estimated up 5% in July 2016
My extended neighborhood has breadth in SES, elaborate homes as well as markedly less so. Report is the speed of an volume of sales is hugely up, but avg sales prices not following. New England univ town.
Nothing like pre-2008,when inventory was ridiculously low. We won’t sell until we hit another crazy sellers market, which I’m guessing is 3-4 years off, could mean a significant price jump.
@artloversplus, what does slowdown mean? Are you still seeing price appreciation?
We bought our house during a real estate downturn. Prices are back up, and our house has been valued by our county appraisal district at 250K higher than we paid four years ago. Annoying for property tax purposes, good if we were trying to sell right now.
@Nrdsb4 wow!!
I just posted this in the other real estate thread (the overheating one).
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.
@CT1417 I have seen the same thing here in my less pricey corner of Northern New England. Pricier homes and older homes (many full of charm) just aren’t moving as much. Younger buyers don’t want the upkeep and updating of an older home and older folks are looking to downsize and don’t want that kind of space and maintenance.
@doschicos – the large newer homes are not moving either. Hope I am not reading too much into this, but I am concerned.
New homes are still going up in town at 5000 square feet on lots of a quarter acre. Those are selling, so I agree with you about not wanting the maintenance (house or property).
@CT1417 our little neighborhood is doing quite well. It’s mostly 1920s houses with a lot of charm, well kept up. A lot of people have done the renovations to open up the ground floor a bit. Interesting, the white kitchen thing hasn’t totally caught on. About half my clients are doing them, but the rest still like the look of natural wood. Everyone has granite counters. We have an excellent local real estate agent who does a lot of marketing to Brooklynites who are having families and are ready to move out of the city. He knows just which Brooklyn neighborhoods will find our houses appealing! Lot sizes aren’t that big, so no huge houses, and prices are doable. Especially for anyone who owns property in the city already.
My 1st cousin’s D/SIL just sold their starter home in Trumbull (on very busy street right off the Merrit Pkwy) and bought a 2600 sq ft older home in much nicer neighborhood -completely remodeled for $45k less then their asking price and $100k less then they original asking price (had just been reduced when the saw it. ) They offered $425k and the seller countered with $430k and they accepted. House is a mid century modern ranch.
Other cousin’s son and DIL bought townhouse last year in New Caanan for $800k. I don’t know if that was a bargain or not.