Makes a whole lot more sense to rent than own these days. Home prices in most (non ghetto) areas are about 6 times the average person's salary or higher. That's nuts.
For those who can *afford* it I totally disagree...this is exactly when someone should buy. I don't know if you call Trinidad "Ghetto" but it's definitely possible to buy a home there for 200 or 250K right now. Long term, the pressure of ever-worsening traffic in the hinterlands and the floor that the Federal Government puts under housing prices here makes it a great place to buy. The dip in the market makes it a great *time* to buy.
There may be a dip in the market but prices are still way out of whack. Price to rent ratios do not make any sense. The market is going to continue to worsen this year and the next no matter what you read in the papers. Once it hits bottom it's going to remain flat for a very long time. Why not rent for 1/2 of what the mortgage would be and then when you've saved the other 1/2 long enough, buy much later when the market starts to pick up again.
Yes Trinidad really isn't "ghetto" once you live there long enough, you start to realize it's not so bad. But it is ghetto to the people looking to buy in the burbs to raise a family.
Anon 4:35, I'm not sure where you live, but I'm wondering why you are saying things are going to continue to get worse (and for whom? Buyers or Sellers?). I've checked the housing values online and it seems as if our house value has rebounded significanty to the point where we're back to making a profit (We're in Trinidad). I have heard however that there may be another wave of foreclosures in the year 2011 corresponding to when a large amount of ARMs were taken out.
I currently own a home in Rosedale for significantly less than I was paying for rent this time last year. Plus, with the 1st time buyer home credit I actually wound up making money off of owning.
Anon 4:35 I see your point but my mortgage is 1800...there are no houses like mine that I know of on the market to rent for 900 bucks. In Trinidad rent is close to the mortgage payment right now.
I suppose you could tell someone who hasn't bought, some other couple with two cats, to go rent a 2 br apt for 1300 or something and save 500 a month. But trying to time the market is dangerous. By the time they realize things are going up, the house they might be interested could have gone up by 50K. It takes a lot of 500's to make 50K...8 years' worth or so, right? That's 8 years of living in a little apt. vs. a big 3 br house. I personally value the greater living space over living in a "better" area. Start throwing around the tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction, and things swing even further in the direction of ownership...
I agree that home ownership is better.I purchased my home in 1998and the tax write off has been a great benefit.People that try to wait on the market,usually miss out.If you see somethng that you like purchase,because priced will start to rise.Especially in areas like Trindad.
Rob - you're right about trinidad being affordable in terms of price to rent ratios. It's one of the very few places left in the city where price to rent ratios make sense. That's why I bought in Trinidad. I was speaking mostly about the outlying areas of DC.
Anon 8:19 - House values online using zillow or a similar tool like that do not tell accurate numbers. Zillow says my house is worth $290,000 but I just had it appraised last month and it came in at $220,000 because of all the foreclosures and short sales in my area. With the new wave of ARM resets in the coming year or two you can expect prices to continue to drop.
Sure I could still list my house for sale at $290,000, what I think it should be worth but no bank is going to lend the buyer money if it's appraised at $220,000.
Anon 8:28 - If you bought in 1998 then of course home ownership is better in you case. If you bought your house last year or today you probably wouldn't be saying the same thing.
Thanks for the rational commetary everyone. Rob, G, you'll be pleased to know that I just (as in 10 minutes ago)accepted a counter offer on a condo in SE near Potomac Ave. First time homebuyer here.
Campy, I've lived in Rosedale for two years after purchasing a condo. Much better value than I was able to find in other parts of the city. I was renting a 500 sq. ft. studio apartment in Dupont for the same price I pay per month for my 1250 sq. ft. two-level condo. There are a number of single family homes for sale as well that seem to be a good value (though I haven't been inside them). Rosedale seems to me to be a bit quieter than Trinidad, while also being close to the Metro and the Hill.
funny - when i bought in trinidad i asked my agent how the area was. He said its not bad - not as crazy at is is down over in Rosedale. This was 2005 though..maybe things have changed.
House values online using zillow or a similar tool like that do not tell accurate numbers. Zillow says my house is worth $290,000 but I just had it appraised last month and it came in at $220,000 because of all the foreclosures and short sales in my area.
Not to be snarky, but it's pretty amusing when folks denigrate Zillow, only to refer to appraisals as some sort of perfect objective measure.
My neighbors across the street put their house on the market a few months back, signed a contract a month later for $437k (with multiple bids), only to have the deal frozen by an appraisal--it came in at $390k. The appraiser was from somewhere in exurban Virginia, and had not a clue how to value an urban house.
They managed to get the first appraisal thrown out as a "refi", and they supplied the appraiser with a bunch of comps they culled from the 'net. The second appraisal came in at $440k.
Same happened to me when I tried to refi a few months back. First appraisal: $380k. A few months later? $440k.
Truth is, your house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it (in conjunction with what their lender is willing to chip in).
As far as foreclosures driving the value of houses down: that may be true as far as paper value goes. But in this neighborhood, a "bank sale" property is usually in no way in competition with a owner sale.
Most foreclosed properties here will need a gut rehab before they're put on the market.
And I love Rosedale... I feel that it is pretty quiet. There's a strong sense of community amongst the neighbors on my block and I feel like folks look out for each other. The police who patrol the area are great too and know most of the residents by name.
When I was house searching, I was blown away by the high quality housing available around here and at such low prices. There are still a number of great deals in this area too (if only I had the money to invest...).
I feel like it's still an "undiscovered" part of town that will benefit from all the development around it. It's close to the H Street development, it's on the fringe of Capital Hill, not far from Eastern Market, and will benefit from the coming streetcars and NOMA development as well.
Also, I am looking forward to the new Rosedale Recreation Center that's coming soon! There's a community meeting to unveil the plans next Thursday at 7pm at the center. You should come see what's in store!
15 comments:
Makes a whole lot more sense to rent than own these days. Home prices in most (non ghetto) areas are about 6 times the average person's salary or higher. That's nuts.
For those who can *afford* it I totally disagree...this is exactly when someone should buy. I don't know if you call Trinidad "Ghetto" but it's definitely possible to buy a home there for 200 or 250K right now.
Long term, the pressure of ever-worsening traffic in the hinterlands and the floor that the Federal Government puts under housing prices here makes it a great place to buy. The dip in the market makes it a great *time* to buy.
There may be a dip in the market but prices are still way out of whack. Price to rent ratios do not make any sense. The market is going to continue to worsen this year and the next no matter what you read in the papers. Once it hits bottom it's going to remain flat for a very long time. Why not rent for 1/2 of what the mortgage would be and then when you've saved the other 1/2 long enough, buy much later when the market starts to pick up again.
Yes Trinidad really isn't "ghetto" once you live there long enough, you start to realize it's not so bad. But it is ghetto to the people looking to buy in the burbs to raise a family.
Anon 4:35,
I'm not sure where you live, but I'm wondering why you are saying things are going to continue to get worse (and for whom? Buyers or Sellers?). I've checked the housing values online and it seems as if our house value has rebounded significanty to the point where we're back to making a profit (We're in Trinidad). I have heard however that there may be another wave of foreclosures in the year 2011 corresponding to when a large amount of ARMs were taken out.
I currently own a home in Rosedale for significantly less than I was paying for rent this time last year. Plus, with the 1st time buyer home credit I actually wound up making money off of owning.
Anon 4:35 I see your point but my mortgage is 1800...there are no houses like mine that I know of on the market to rent for 900 bucks. In Trinidad rent is close to the mortgage payment right now.
I suppose you could tell someone who hasn't bought, some other couple with two cats, to go rent a 2 br apt for 1300 or something and save 500 a month. But trying to time the market is dangerous. By the time they realize things are going up, the house they might be interested could have gone up by 50K. It takes a lot of 500's to make 50K...8 years' worth or so, right? That's 8 years of living in a little apt. vs. a big 3 br house. I personally value the greater living space over living in a "better" area. Start throwing around the tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction, and things swing even further in the direction of ownership...
I agree that home ownership is better.I purchased my home in 1998and the tax write off has been a great benefit.People that try to wait on the market,usually miss out.If you see somethng that you like purchase,because priced will start to rise.Especially in areas like Trindad.
Rob - you're right about trinidad being affordable in terms of price to rent ratios. It's one of the very few places left in the city where price to rent ratios make sense. That's why I bought in Trinidad. I was speaking mostly about the outlying areas of DC.
Anon 8:19 -
House values online using zillow or a similar tool like that do not tell accurate numbers. Zillow says my house is worth $290,000 but I just had it appraised last month and it came in at $220,000 because of all the foreclosures and short sales in my area. With the new wave of ARM resets in the coming year or two you can expect prices to continue to drop.
Sure I could still list my house for sale at $290,000, what I think it should be worth but no bank is going to lend the buyer money if it's appraised at $220,000.
Anon 8:28 -
If you bought in 1998 then of course home ownership is better in you case. If you bought your house last year or today you probably wouldn't be saying the same thing.
Thanks for the rational commetary everyone. Rob, G, you'll be pleased to know that I just (as in 10 minutes ago)accepted a counter offer on a condo in SE near Potomac Ave. First time homebuyer here.
There seems to be good value in Rosedale. Anybody live there, how do you like it? How does it compare to say, Trinidad?
Campy, I've lived in Rosedale for two years after purchasing a condo. Much better value than I was able to find in other parts of the city. I was renting a 500 sq. ft. studio apartment in Dupont for the same price I pay per month for my 1250 sq. ft. two-level condo. There are a number of single family homes for sale as well that seem to be a good value (though I haven't been inside them). Rosedale seems to me to be a bit quieter than Trinidad, while also being close to the Metro and the Hill.
funny - when i bought in trinidad i asked my agent how the area was. He said its not bad - not as crazy at is is down over in Rosedale. This was 2005 though..maybe things have changed.
House values online using zillow or a similar tool like that do not tell accurate numbers. Zillow says my house is worth $290,000 but I just had it appraised last month and it came in at $220,000 because of all the foreclosures and short sales in my area.
Not to be snarky, but it's pretty amusing when folks denigrate Zillow, only to refer to appraisals as some sort of perfect objective measure.
My neighbors across the street put their house on the market a few months back, signed a contract a month later for $437k (with multiple bids), only to have the deal frozen by an appraisal--it came in at $390k. The appraiser was from somewhere in exurban Virginia, and had not a clue how to value an urban house.
They managed to get the first appraisal thrown out as a "refi", and they supplied the appraiser with a bunch of comps they culled from the 'net. The second appraisal came in at $440k.
Same happened to me when I tried to refi a few months back. First appraisal: $380k. A few months later? $440k.
Truth is, your house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it (in conjunction with what their lender is willing to chip in).
As far as foreclosures driving the value of houses down: that may be true as far as paper value goes. But in this neighborhood, a "bank sale" property is usually in no way in competition with a owner sale.
Most foreclosed properties here will need a gut rehab before they're put on the market.
Congrats, former renter!!!
And I love Rosedale... I feel that it is pretty quiet. There's a strong sense of community amongst the neighbors on my block and I feel like folks look out for each other. The police who patrol the area are great too and know most of the residents by name.
When I was house searching, I was blown away by the high quality housing available around here and at such low prices. There are still a number of great deals in this area too (if only I had the money to invest...).
I feel like it's still an "undiscovered" part of town that will benefit from all the development around it. It's close to the H Street development, it's on the fringe of Capital Hill, not far from Eastern Market, and will benefit from the coming streetcars and NOMA development as well.
Also, I am looking forward to the new Rosedale Recreation Center that's coming soon! There's a community meeting to unveil the plans next Thursday at 7pm at the center. You should come see what's in store!
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