Let's Speculate....

[rebeccajo 14]

We've got our home for sale. Some of you know that.

I'm starting to wonder about something. Whenever it DOES sell, should we really buy another one right away?

I mean, the market stinks. Our Sunday morning paper is full of homes with slashed prices.

Do we REALLY want to take what will probably be the few dollars of equity (few as in real estate numbers) and re-invest it in another home right away? Would we be better off to take a rental and park the money in another investment for a while?

We would really rather NOT rent - mostly because we prefer owning a small home AND we didn't want to move twice.

If buying, our intention would be a 'permanent' move - not buying and 'flipping' soon.

And there's the outside possibility we would consider returning to the UK someday.

Where's our money going to work the best for us?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I'd look at what the prices were about 5 years ago and wait until the market bubble bursts back down to within those values...with inflationary adjustment.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5690967

Where Is the Housing Market Headed?

audio of Lawrence Yun, senior economist with the National Association of Realtors.

After five years of explosive growth, the housing market is finally cooling off. New national data show that the stock of unsold houses is up, prices are stable or dropping in most places, and sales this quarter are down from a year ago.

[boboroad 0]

During the time you are parking your money in another investment, will the return compensate for the rent you will paying somewhere else. The long term outlook on the market right now is 5 years before we see a turn around. But that is also dependent on your area.

Edited October 1, 2006 by boboroad

[TRKCKL11 0]

hi i'm not all that familar with real estate, but if you can get a good price for your home i would buy another house right away while prices are being slashed, before the trend changes and they rise again. also i don't know where you live? Houses are still pretty high in coeur d' alene Idaho, am hoping to see a drop when it comes to buying. market slow where i am also homes were selling great then sudden stop just when i put mine on the market then 3 of my neighbors put theirs up. And i guess it all boils down to how many more years you intend to stay in the u.s.

[Lou Lou 1]

We just sold less than 6 months ago and decided to invest it and rent instead. The main reason being that we will be returning in a few years and the market just would not grow enough. The renting has worked out well for us. Taxes here have gone up and we have a lovely home with a fixed lease and rent until we leave the country. We have a stockbroker who has already made some great strides with our new investments. On the flip side, I'm glad I haven't sold my property in the UK as it's making unspeakable amounts of money that I would never had imagined.

**Forgot to add that the big bonus is there is no stress of a house to sell when we are ready to leave the US.

Edited October 1, 2006 by Lou Lou

[jamrok 0]

During the time you are parking your money in another investment, will the return compensate for the rent you will paying somewhere else. The long term outlook on the market right now is 5 years before we see a turn around. But that is also dependent on your area.

As a Banking professional I totally agree with Steven. Rent and wait. The market is in a state

of correction at the moment. I also have my house on the Market, valued at $749, 000 and has slashed

my price to $425K and still no action. I have enclosed a photo of my house, where can one find such a house in Florida for $425, 000 yet no buyers?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

During the time you are parking your money in another investment, will the return compensate for the rent you will paying somewhere else. The long term outlook on the market right now is 5 years before we see a turn around. But that is also dependent on your area.

As a Banking professional I totally agree with Steven. Rent and wait. The market is in a state

of correction at the moment. I also have my house on the Market, valued at $749, 000 and has slashed

my price to $425K and still no action. I have enclosed a photo of my house, where can one find such a house in Florida for $425, 000 yet no buyers?

Beautiful home! Wow!

[rebeccajo 14]

What investment then?

Edited October 1, 2006 by rebeccajo

[jamrok 0]

What investment then?

My suggestion is to do short term, nothing risky....something gauranteed.....CD's.....NO

STOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!. Safe vehicle so when you are ready you can move it without penalties.

[rebeccajo 14]

Well another wrinkle....

After dropping Wes off to work, I went by the little FSBO we have been interested in moving too. It's a little home that needs some work but in a great location. They can no longer wait on us without an earnest deposit - they didn't say but I suspect they want $5000 to take the house off the market.

Seems we need to make this decision in the next day or so, at least as regards this house.

[jamrok 0]

Well another wrinkle....

After dropping Wes off to work, I went by the little FSBO we have been interested in moving too. It's a little home that needs some work but in a great location. They can no longer wait on us without an earnest deposit - they didn't say but I suspect they want $5000 to take the house off the market.

Seems we need to make this decision in the next day or so, at least as regards this house.

Personally speaking; never want anything that you can never walk away from. The market

is in correction......few months from now you will see deals that you never thought possible.

Let that cute FSBO pass you by. Wait and watch the market. You and Wes will find a cuter

house at a bargain price.

[rebeccajo 14]

Well another wrinkle....

After dropping Wes off to work, I went by the little FSBO we have been interested in moving too. It's a little home that needs some work but in a great location. They can no longer wait on us without an earnest deposit - they didn't say but I suspect they want $5000 to take the house off the market.

Seems we need to make this decision in the next day or so, at least as regards this house.

Personally speaking; never want anything that you can never walk away from. The market

is in correction......few months from now you will see deals that you never thought possible.

Let that cute FSBO pass you by. Wait and watch the market. You and Wes will find a cuter

house at a bargain price.

It's not the cuteness. It's the location.

I'm really very confused.

Edited October 1, 2006 by rebeccajo

[jamrok 0]

Well another wrinkle....

After dropping Wes off to work, I went by the little FSBO we have been interested in moving too. It's a little home that needs some work but in a great location. They can no longer wait on us without an earnest deposit - they didn't say but I suspect they want $5000 to take the house off the market.

Seems we need to make this decision in the next day or so, at least as regards this house.

Personally speaking; never want anything that you can never walk away from. The market

is in correction......few months from now you will see deals that you never thought possible.

Let that cute FSBO pass you by. Wait and watch the market. You and Wes will find a cuter

house at a bargain price.

It's not the cuteness. It's the location.

I'm really very confused.

When my house gets sold I will rent for a year so I can buy at 'corrected' price.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The market is in correction......

No kidding. The market is very hard to read right now. There are identical and near-identical units in the townhouse complex down the street (all units built in 2003) on sale, listed at widely divergent prices. There have been some recent sales in the complex I live in and no clear price pattern emerges. The market is in flux right now and if I were you, rebecca, I'd wait for it to settle down into a steady state before I made a purchase. JMHO of course.

I also agree with jamrok about CDs. I recall reading somewhere that average real estate appreciation year-to-year over the last 30 years has been ~5%. Well you can get more than 5% on a CD right now. The stock market, like the real estate market, is transitioning. Small caps aren't doing as well as they used to and the larger caps seem to be gaining momentum (in general); again, being a small investor, I'm holding off on new trades till the fog clears.

Edited October 1, 2006 by Gupt

[rebeccajo 14]

Do you think this is something that a lot of people might start doing? Moving into rentals and waiting?

If so the 'correction' is going to take even longer.....