I know exactly what Zillow does and there isn't much difference from them or the folks emailing you, calling, you, texting you, mailing you and haranguing you on social media, TV, Radio, streaming, and how bout those billboards. Corporations unraveling our lives. It allows most people to not make good decisions. It like you have a chest pain and simultaneously, every cardiologist is haranguing you, sending pics of them & their family, talking community family work & there support for habitat for humanity. Anything that rises them to top and fool you with fast talk. Doesn't take much to fool the public with these overly nasty marketing concepts that everyone doesn't seem to much to mind. BTW, for most people, using something like Zillow is like you need heart surgery and after watching you-tube all night, you decide you are qualified to give the cardiologist tips. AS always, your going to most likely use a Realtor for a home purchase, why not, use their professional understanding of the market and take advantage instead of letting your emotions run the game, from the start? A good Realtor levels the field of emotion and helps you make the intelligent decision you want to make. Otherwise, you get a money hunger Realtor, staring at yours & their pocketbook, aggressively looking for the next sale. Its the sale they want more than you satisfaction cause now, they get less compensation, splitting with these corporations. Hey call it how you like it, but don't call it good. Freighting is a better word
The housing market is BONKERS
- Thread starter markal
- Start date
It's getting that way in Idaho well. Lots of folks who bought homes and land years back that backed up to pastures or fields are now finding that the owners of said pastures are going into assisted living, and their heirs are selling to the highest bidders. Result is more subdivisions, strip malls, banks, fast-food outlets, and all the rest that goes with generic suburban life - which irritates the "hobby farmer" types like Karen and Chad to high heaven. Hee hee!
Our modest 1900sf tri-level in a cul de sac neighborhood built in the mid-'80s is currently valued by the assessor at 3x what we paid. And on the "open market," we could sell it for more and have out-of-staters going at each other in a frenzied bidding war to boot. But like Telekarster, we are hunkering down. We're frankly too old to move again probably, not to mention that prices are going up everywhere, so it'd be a lateral move at best. And we've been in our own home too long to be comfortable renting. I've thought about cashing out and getting a Winnebago and wandering the West with no fear of property taxes, etc. - but that's a pipedream. So we're "Happy to be Stuck with You" for the duration. There's worse things ...
However, I have 2 boys, and I'm hoping they can get in front of this and buy homes someday. One is an engineer and makes great money, and the other is on a path toward a possibly lucrative niche career building and repairing high-end watches. He has said his goal is to own a home by the time he's 30 - but if current trends continue, that may be out of his reach. Unless he inherits our place. But then I would like to think I have more than 10 years left.
FYI, you mentioned assessor & value. For the value of your home, you need current market price. THe assessor is valuing your property for taxation, not to sell. Usually, there is a noted difference between the two.
AS far as your boys, just make sure your will is in order to avoid probate. I am also hunkering. I find upgrading the home is satisfying to my needs & tastes.
I hope Get Bent is right, but I don't see things repeating themselves in the same old way anymore. This is a freestyle free for all.
imwjl
Doctor of Teleocity
Can we at least agree the housing market is not as crazy as the current scenario for cars and light trucks?
Thanks for turning me on to Gord - just ordered one of his CDs from Amazon. If his material works with my format, I might end up using some of his songs in my acoustic act.
loudboy
Tele-Holic
In 2009, we got our home for 46% less than the previous owners had paid, in 2006. Apparently, they bought it to live in while they had another much more expensive home built, figuring they'd flip it and make a lot of $. Didn't quite work out for them, but it sure did for us, as we're up over 150% on it, and demand here is nuts.
My wife thought her maternal grandmother was born in Ireland, which would have qualified her for the same deal. A quick google found birth records for a woman of the same name, same birth date/year in Dublin. Who knew there was two? Her grandmother was actually born in the next town over from us. D'oh!
Churchjack
Tele-Holic
I just got mine this week. The county wants to more than double the value of the lot, sans improvements. That’s crazy, and I’m protesting for sure.
Man I'm glad I left that breakfast beer behind many years ago. The song does bring back memories but they are not quite as fresh and funny as those guys are. When you have a whiskey headache, heartburn that baking soda can't cure, that breakfast beer is hard to swallow. Well, the first one is, after that they get easier, and easier.
I’ve been through that process numerous times and used to be on a first name basis with the tax assessor.
When I managed to get the guy who visits each property to come meet with me on my lot, it was clear that there is no arguing with land value unless you have the one swamp lot in an as yet undeveloped subdivision.
I got minor adjustments and once got a major fix where they listed my house as a two family when the second unit was not finished.
Certainly worth trying and it may be different where you are but the valuation is kind of based on the averaged values, not on your Formica kitchen being $100k less than your neighbors new pink granite kitchen.
Flooring material counts though!
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Four years ago, my sister and her significant other bought a really nice Tudor style house in the North end for $800K. Last week end they sold it after 5 days on the market for 2 million. Crazy.
aging_rocker
Friend of Leo's
Yep, much the same in NZ.
Average house price in Auckland is over a million now, Wellington isn't far off. Relative to incomes, NZ has the world's sixth-most expensive houses, apparently.
US prices still look reasonable, from down here.
They're mostly just different.
As we can transport that sedan or pickup from where it isn't wanted so much, to where it will sell for a premium. Housing just doesn't work that way. There's available housing in places that people could easily afford, but old ways of thinking about things dies hard. Also, nobody really knows what percentage of people will still be working from home in another 12 months. Could be 3/4ths of the workforce will go back in and it could be half of that.
I see both vehicles and real estate capable of sharp swings in either direction. If you don't know what your transportation needs are even going to be in 6 months, how do ya know which vehicle (full electric or otherwise) you should be buying? If electric cars can be supplied with enough batteries, I suggest the used market will be flooded with non electric cars that nobody cares for anymore.
