Making an offer on a house this week- is that dumb

[audry80]

Would you be putting in an offer in a house during the coronavirus outbreak? A house down the street is going up for sale and it’s the exact location we want, completely remodeled. We live is the SF Bay Area so VHCOL. We are worried we buy high and get screwed once we buy and value drops.

[killercupcake]

I don’t think so. The news said that inventory is low so even though the overall market is tanking, housing prices might be going up.

The interest rates are so low right now, I’d go for it.

[winecat]

How secure are your jobs? Can you afford it on one income? Healthy e-fund?

[moonriver]

We put in an offer a couple weeks ago and are set to close next week. We’re in a HCOL area and inventory is low so we jumped when we saw something we liked. The positive is that the interest rate dropped from even a couple of weeks ago.

[isabel]

As long as you're not concerned about losing income, I'd go for it. I mean, you have to live somewhere, right? And, as previously mentioned, mortgage rates are fantastic.

[pinkalicious]

Realtor here, not dumb. Housing inventory is low, and interest rates are at an all time low.

[goldengirlz]

How long are you planning to live there?

I think Bay Area home prices will likely come down if tech stocks take a big hit. But (as you know) the big problem here is inventory so there are a lot of unknowns around how a downturn might affect the market. There’s also no guarantee you’d find a house you’d love more even if you could get one for cheaper. I’d say if you love it, go for it — unless you’re planning to sell in the next few years. You’re probably going to see some volatility in home prices, but the longer you’re planning to stay, the less it will matter because I think home prices will ultimately recover.

[audry80]

Mar 9, 2020 21:27:16 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

How long are you planning to live there?

I think Bay Area home prices will likely come down if tech stocks take a big hit. But (as you know) the big problem here is inventory so there are a lot of unknowns around how a downturn might affect the market. There’s also no guarantee you’d find a house you’d love more even if you could get one for cheaper. I’d say if you love it, go for it — unless you’re planning to sell in the next few years. You’re probably going to see some volatility in home prices, but the longer you’re planning to stay, the less it will matter because I think home prices will ultimately recover.

At least 5-10 ye s is not more. Thanks for your input. Our down payment is from tech stocks but we sold them 2 weeks ago at a high!

[audry80]

Mar 9, 2020 21:11:07 GMT -5 winecat said:

How secure are your jobs? Can you afford it on one income? Healthy e-fund?

Yes. Jobs are stable, can afford on my husbands not me but he is more marketable.E fund is healthy.

[winecat]

audry80- Sounds like a good opportunity to explore.

[goldengirlz]

Mar 9, 2020 22:35:41 GMT -5 audry80 said:

Mar 9, 2020 21:27:16 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

How long are you planning to live there?

I think Bay Area home prices will likely come down if tech stocks take a big hit. But (as you know) the big problem here is inventory so there are a lot of unknowns around how a downturn might affect the market. There’s also no guarantee you’d find a house you’d love more even if you could get one for cheaper. I’d say if you love it, go for it — unless you’re planning to sell in the next few years. You’re probably going to see some volatility in home prices, but the longer you’re planning to stay, the less it will matter because I think home prices will ultimately recover.

At least 5-10 ye s is not more. Thanks for your input. Our down payment is from tech stocks but we sold them 2 weeks ago at a high!

Just curious ... do you have a sense of what the market is like these days? Still bidding wars and houses selling well over asking?

It sounds like you’re in a sweet spot — you’ve got tech money in hand but sellers might be eager to make a deal. (Maybe I should think about upgrading our house before my stock takes a [bigger] dive. 😉)

[sonrisa]

Mar 9, 2020 21:05:05 GMT -5 audry80 said:

Would you be putting in an offer in a house during the coronavirus outbreak? A house down the street is going up for sale and it’s the exact location we want, completely remodeled. We live is the SF Bay Area so VHCOL. We are worried we buy high and get screwed once we buy and value drops.

If you find a house in the bay area that is exactly how you want it, that you can afford, you buy it. Even if armageddon is threatened. 

(While things might dip, there is so much more demand than supply around here. Getting exactly what you want, regardless of price, is pretty hard. I'm not saying buy something you can't afford or stretch beyond your means, just that housing here is hard. Also, renovating is so much harder and more expensive now than just a few years ago because of the heightened demand for contractors after the fires.)

[krystee]

I would in your situation, but would talk to your real estate agent to see if offering lower than initially planned would be appropriate in this climate.

[carmenere]

What about your current place? Do you have to sell it? It sounds like you're well-positioned to buy, and it is a great time for interest rates. But if I had a house to sell as well, I'd be nervous that uncertainty in the market would mean a hard time selling my house.

[imojoebunny]

Not dumb. Smart, since you had taken your down payment out of the stock market before last week! I would make sure the price is supported by comps and you are getting a decent interest rate, but that is about all you can do. I doubt much in San Fran that is priced in line with comps will linger on the market. The market everywhere may go down, if rates go up, but if you get a good interest rate now, the decline in price you might have been able to take advantage of in the future, would be offset the increase in the interest rates, so you would be paying either way.

[audry80]

Mar 10, 2020 7:40:37 GMT -5 carmenere said:

What about your current place? Do you have to sell it? It sounds like you're well-positioned to buy, and it is a great time for interest rates. But if I had a house to sell as well, I'd be nervous that uncertainty in the market would mean a hard time selling my house.

This is a concern of ours. We could rent it if needed but I really don't want to do that!

[darthnbjenni]

We just put on offer on a home that's over 4k square feet at $64 a sq foot. It's 20 minutes from our current home, which we listed on Friday and had multiple offers within 12 hours...for over asking price at $150 a sq ft. We are in upstate SC and our housing market never even really slowed down in 2007 - and it sounds like your market is tough to buy in as well.

[Beeps (WOT?*)]

We're in Seattle north 'burb. I've had realtors cold-call and received a letter last week wanting to know if we wanted to sell. Realtor with letter has client in-hand who had put in an offer at/above asking but was outbid, along with 7 others.

If it's the house you want, you have the money, are planning on staying in place for a length of time, and your husband's job is secure, I'd purchase now while there's an opportunity. Even if the market goes down, it will go up again. We bought in '05 and watched our house price drop $150K, but it's since steadily rebounded to $200K more than we paid for it, even without putting in too many improvements. And you're buying a place to live as much as, or more than, an investment.