Does anyone have any insights on the falling housing prices in the US?

I am planning to move to Houston, and I wonder if it is better to buy (cash) or to rent for a while and then buy...

To me, things look amazingly cheap already, but if they are likely to get cheaper, then I would prefer to wait..

Any comments appreciated..

Cheers

Mike

d

hiya mike ...you can check out www.har.com for buying/renting and for general housing market info.

yes housing can appear cheaper however location plays a big part as in every country. as i'm sure you know the houses are wooden and really glorified sheds.

be very careful of areas as we have a high crime rate here accentuated after Katrina and prices in those areas will reflect that.

good luck

Texas houses didn't rise much in the boom years so now that there is a depression don't expect prices to fall. My house in Florida rose by $200k over 2 years. Whilst a similar house I am in now only rose by $20k in the same time period.

Also do not forget property tax. My old Florida homes tax is $13000 this year whilst the home I am in now is $6500 per year.

I personally would not buy right now.

the economy is looking as though it is headed for a bit of a drop and with that comes lower house prices and better interest rates.

I would personally rent right now.

FWIW I own over 20 apartments as an investor and have my real estate license so I'm probably not spouting complete nonsense

Of course its all a gamble...

There may be a conflict of interest there!

hmm just read that and me thinks so too

Welcome to BE Mike
I am not in your shoes but I would rent; for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:

1. Have time to familiarize yourself with the area, explore around and find where you want to live.
2. You can monitor the local market and educate yourself about what is going on.
3. Start establish some sort of credit history - there are ALOT of threads on this subject matter so don't ask in fear of setting off a few here! This topic has been flogged to death that its beyond a recognizable carcass. Just do a search about credit etc. in this forum.

Always remember that rent and leases are negotiable!

If you do decide to buy - here are a some pointers to do which many people don't bother to do..

Talk to neighbours... 1. the ones who know about anything about the area are the ones who live there.
2. They may know the reason why a particular person is selling.. ie motivational factors etc
3. If you don't like your neighbours.... better to find that out before you move in!

why, I make money from buying/selling and renting!

joking aside

buying a house in a declining market is a stupid thing to do, even if prices decline 5% and you are forced to sell then combined with closing costs you can be in a big hole.

Nashville has not really experienced stellar appreciation, but there are people local to me that bought at the height of the market (last spring here) and have had to sell for one reason or another and are getting hosed....

House prices around here have gone up stupidly, in my opinion. They are building new houses like there is no tomorrow. There are two new subdivisions going in by me. One the starting price is $300,000.00 and the other starts at $500,000.00. For $500,000.00 you will get a 2,800 square foot home on less than half an acre. If you want to buy just the lot, half acre lots range from $85,000.00 to9 $97,000.00 depending if you have a view of the lake. I think a lot of these builders are hoping to make money from those moving down here from Virginia, but I think they probably will get burnt just a little. Even older houses are not going cheap. I am just glad I am not having to find somewhere to live. Apartment rental has also gone up, a two bedroomed apartment on a nice complex will set you back $699.00 a month, unfurnished.

Depends where your coming from I guess...but it's worth renting, especially if you don't know the area so that you can find a nice place/area that you live in, what that is will depend on what your looking for/circumstances.

What out for property taxes...stupidly high property taxes is a big reason that a lot of homes (in maine at least) sell for a lot less than they could be worth.

If you've got the cash to buy outright, it's still a good idea to get some kind of mortgage because it'll help build your credit history, which is very important around here.

Anyway, welcome to BE

Renting in Texas makes more sense than in other places due to the state's heavy reliance on property taxes (in Austin, you are taxed approximately 2.5% of your home's appraised value).

Obviously, portions of the rent do find their way to the taxing authorities but the rents never seem to keep pace with the rising property values.

As a general rule, I would recommend renting a place for at least a month (more like three) to get a good 'feel' for the area. There are many things you cannot see in a realtors website, and things you'll only start to notice after living in an area for at least a few weeks. Is there a firestation next door with sirens going off, what is the crime really like, how are the schools, is this a bargain or a firesale. Then there is also the whole 'I can't stand it here and want to go home' that happens to some.

I'd plan on renting for a few months (you can even rent a furnished place if you don't feel like unpacking, packing, unpacking).

I would humbly suggest that you rent for the first year, we bought a house immediately upon arrival and have regretted doing so ever since.

Renting for a year gives you lots more options , i.e deciding wether you like your city, the stae you live in or even wether the US is for you long term.

I would add that the cost of moving are much much more than in the UK, you can easily see 10% disappear so it can be a very expensive mistake.

Where I am the market has been in the doldrums and has been for a few years.

Good properties still sell, as long as the price asked is sensible, but not so good ones can sit for a very long time.

Those wanting to sell in new areas get hit hardest, all sort of incentives to buy, but if you want to sell well you then have to price against all those deals.

And in CO there are load of Mortgage sharks, that is probably the main driving factor, people who have over bought, over mortgaged and now can not pay.

Certainly a good time to be a buyer, I would rent and look, took us nearly a year to find the right house, even in a dead market the good ones attracted interest.

Looking at houses can be quite educative, you get to know areas you would never have been to otherwise.