Time for a rant...super frustrated with trying to find a house to buy

[jpro]

We have owned two houses in the past (before moving here) so we are experienced home owners. When we moved to the Vegas metro in January 2018 we decided to hold off on purchasing to figure out where we wanted to settle due to our kids and the schools they are attending. We also wanted to get a "feel" for different areas/neighborhoods. We are all settled in and had been planning since last fall to buy during the spring real estate season. COVID 19 has thrown a wrench into these plans, not because we don't have income but because inventory is super low. No worries, we can be patient and wait for the right one. However, here is what is frustrating AF: "Experts" estimate that Vegas real estate values (pre-COVID) are artificially inflated by about 20%. I don't like overpaying for anything! And here is the kicker...since COVID, it has inexplicably gotten worse!

There are 3 houses on the market that we are interested in. One is in the development right next to where we are renting. It is listed at $560K and a home in that hood has NEVER sold for north of $550K. We went to look at it but before we did we did our homework and thought if it is turnkey that it is a $500K - $520K home. The pics looked great. We went through the house and it needs work. Our realtor is a 30 year veteran and said he would put it in the neighborhood of $475K but only if you are willing to come up with more cash to update it (Kitchen, one bathroom, and a bunch of misc stuff).

Second house is listed at $600K and is only a 3 bedroom. Comps are scarce, but same floor plan in same gated community sold last summer for $467K. And this house has been on the market over 3 months and started at $625K. It needs some updates in the second and third bathrooms and the backyard is small. It is nicely updated, so even if you put a premium on the upgrades you're looking at $500K maximum because there is a ceiling for 3 bedroom homes that no matter what you do to them, it will only increase the value so much.

Last house...just went on the market yesterday. Completely updated and upgraded. Fantastic...we love it. It is in a family oriented neighborhood we like. Comps are at upper $300's to around $400K. The listing price is $500K. It is owned by a realtor who bought it for $435K and upgraded the kitchen, master bath and one of the secondary baths so now she is trying to get her money out of it...only one house has sold for over $500K in this development ever, and it is a 3500 sq ft house that was completely custom. The house is a 4 bedrooms and is the smallest floor plan in the community (2200 sq ft). The only houses that have sold for over $450K in the hood are 3000+ sq ft homes on large lots, which this house is not.

Greed is king in Vegas. We keep thinking these houses will sit on the market, but if you have spent any time in Vegas you know that this place is especially filled with morons with more money than brains. Part of me is hoping the housing market crashes here just like the gaming industry has. Vegas is in for a world of hurt economically, yet these fools are overpricing houses by $100K. FML

Sorry this post is so long...just frustrated!

 

[FIVEHOE]

3 different houses in my neighborhood have accepted full price (one above) offers within a week of listing on the market. It’s crazy how corona is doing the opposite of what everyone expected (drop the market). I feel bad for anyone who was holding out hoping for a deal lol.

 

[Kevins89notch]

They are saying tourist places might be hit the hardest, so if you wait...

I'm in central FL and while I'm no agent, I'm already starting to see the former airbnb listing. Same format, house comes fully furnished, non master bedrooms often have two twin beds, usually one pink themed, and one blue themed, and the garage is always painted up to not look garage like and will have a pool table, ping pong, and darts. I've seen like 6-8 pop up in the last week.

One such example: 116 Bridgewater Dr, Davenport, FL 33897 - realtor.com®

 

[Gringo185]

Buying a house is the worst experience. We were in the market this time last year and walked through (not just viewed on line, but physically walked through) 40 houses. Ended up putting an offer on the 40th less than 18 hours after it hit the market. I’m never doing it again. We’ll live in this one until we’re empty nesters and it’s time to downsize. Then we’re buying property and building.

I’m doing all this in central Florida. I can’t imagine a place live Vegas. Good luck man.

 

[Machdup1]

With interest rates low it’s a sellers market. Either be willing to pay more or pull back and do improvements to your existing home.

 

[Blown 89]

The entire world investing in housing has completely ruined the market. It's impossible to find a home that isn't going for a premium due to someone flipping it. The pros are making it worse by buying houses, leveling them, then constructing mansions in shit neighborhoods.

The worst are the off market listings. I have a realtor friend (because everyone is a realtor these days) that said there's an entire market for investors and realtors that offers houses for investors before the general population. It makes buying an affordable home impossible.

The housing market can eat a fat dick for all I'm concerned.

 

[Pribilof]

. COVID 19 has thrown a wrench into these plans, not because we don't have income but because inventory is super low.

You said the reason yourself right here.

Supply < Demand = higher prices

 

[Blk04L]

At the end of the day, the appraisal/appraiser will tell you the true worth of the house.

If recent comps are way less than asking price I doubt the banks appraiser will come close to the selling price.

Seen it a few times where a seller either loses a deal or someone gets a last second price slash in their favor once the appraisal comes in way lower than selling price.

Now obviously if the market is hot enough, the house may very well appraise for that #. It is what it is. Continue to rent if you think those prices are too high.

 

[Corbic]

OP:

If Comparable houses are so much less, just buy the comparable house. If your going off historical data or if there are reasons you don't want a comparable house.. Well they aren't comparable then, are they.


Me:

Houses suck, most expensive and life impacting purchase you can make, and it's often one with zero recourse and minimal time to evaluate. Just went on a housing hunting trip in Phoenix, houses are turning in 2-3 days.

More then once now I or my wife have sent each other a link on Zillow/Trulia only for by the other opens it the listing has changed to "pending" or "sold".

I'm now at a point that anything on the market for more then 20 days raises an eyebrow and the +30 days houses are a scroll past.

 

[jmsa540]

Friend juat bought a house over asking price, too.

3 different houses in my neighborhood have accepted full price (one above) offers within a week of listing on the market. It’s crazy how corona is doing the opposite of what everyone expected (drop the market). I feel bad for anyone who was holding out hoping for a deal lol.

Sent from my SM-G892A using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[SID297]

You never want to buy at the top or bottom of a neighborhood, makes it more difficult to sell.

 

[TerminatoRS]

Buying a house these days sucks. It doesn't seem to matter where you are geographically. Went through it all two years ago and glad it's behind me.

Private showings turn into open houses due to so much interest. I'm not willing to put in an immediate offer after seeing a shack for 20min nor will I compete, waive a home inspection, and gamble with $300+ grand. If a house popped up online, chances were it was already sold anyway.

OP...If you're not in a hurry, just wait it out. It's a lot of money that you'll be forking over for years to come (unless you're loaded, but that's none of my business).

We looked for almost a year. The house we have is the one I refused to look at initially due to being overpriced for the area. It sat and sat and sat and the price began to fall. Same deal as you mentioned; investors came in, redid basically the entire house inside and out, and wanted all their money back plus ~$100k. We offered them what I thought it was worth. (Our realtor is a friend of ours who initially thought I was nuts for offering about 40k less than asking, but soon agreed after she ran the comps. I grew up literally on the other end of the block.) Seller rejected our offer. Month later, their greedy asses came crawling back. Got the house for $35k less than the original asking price. Granted the city came by and cranked my taxes up $2k due to all the improvements, but it was somewhat expected. 2442sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 3.75 heated and cooled garage, corner lot for just the two of us with absolutely zero plans to expand. It all works out in the end so hang in there!

 

[My94GT]

Have you made offers on any of the houses? The listing price becomes irrelevant if the comp value isn’t there.

like stated above though, it’s a sellers market due to low interest rates currently. In my area homes are flipping in less then a week on average right now. I sold our home last year that was built new only a year prior and it was gone day 2 on the market with multiple offers and I ended up getting over asking price even with weak comps.


I would make offers and if they are declined who cares, wait out the market and buy later. There are always deals to be had.

 

[BlckBox04]

Buying a house is the worst experience. We were in the market this time last year and walked through (not just viewed on line, but physically walked through) 40 houses.

Yep and selling is just as terrible

 

[CSCOBRA03]

I feel your pain, jpro. We are looking to leave SoCal and have found nice houses sell very fast, many over asking price with multiple offers. We have a house under contract currently in St George, Utah. Low interest rates and many people leaving Ca. which drives up prices in surrounding states like Nevada, Arizona and Utah. We are in strange times for sure, unlike any times in my lifetime and I'm old !

 

[earico]

I lived in Vegas for 7 years and lived there thru the 08 crash. IMO you would be a fool to buy there right now. They are about to get hit with a housing bust due to the fact that most of the population is currently out of work.

 

[Weather Man]

The Great Recession really thinned out the home builders and it has never really recovered. That and ever more stringent zoning has led to a persistent housing supply shortage.

 

[SHOdown220]

Me and the wife aren't in the market per say, but we will be in the next year or so and have been keeping an eye out on houses and prices in our area. House prices seem to have jumped up significantly. Only silver lining for us is her grandmother just passed away and left her house to my father in law. We are waiting on him to decide if he wants to keep it for himself or sell it to us. If he decides to sell to us it will be owner financed from him to us at 0% interest and sell price for about 35% under market value. House needs some big updates but for the deal we would be getting I'm comfortable putting more money into some renovations.

 

[jpro]

I feel your pain, jpro. We are looking to leave SoCal and have found nice houses sell very fast, many over asking price with multiple offers. We have a house under contract currently in St George, Utah. Low interest rates and many people leaving Ca. which drives up prices in surrounding states like Nevada, Arizona and Utah. We are in strange times for sure, unlike any times in my lifetime and I'm old !

Honestly, part of the problem in our area is California's mass exodus. People are leaving the SoCal market because a shack with a door is $500K and here you can get a really nice house for that price if you are not that selective on location. If I see one more CA license plate here my head is gonna explode. LOL

3 different houses in my neighborhood have accepted full price (one above) offers within a week of listing on the market. It’s crazy how corona is doing the opposite of what everyone expected (drop the market). I feel bad for anyone who was holding out hoping for a deal lol.

We're not technically even looking for a "deal." We're just looking to pay market price (which again, according to experts, is artificially inflated by 20%). Think about that...if they are 20% inflated, a house that sells for $500K is really only a $400K house. Obscene!

They are saying tourist places might be hit the hardest, so if you wait...

I'm in central FL and while I'm no agent, I'm already starting to see the former airbnb listing. Same format, house comes fully furnished, non master bedrooms often have two twin beds, usually one pink themed, and one blue themed, and the garage is always painted up to not look garage like and will have a pool table, ping pong, and darts. I've seen like 6-8 pop up in the last week.

One such example: 116 Bridgewater Dr, Davenport, FL 33897 - realtor.com®

Based on the early days of the Coronavirus thread in the Politics section, I figured this thread would lure you in. Had been wondering if you found a place yet.

With interest rates low it’s a sellers market. Either be willing to pay more or pull back and do improvements to your existing home.

Currently renting so that's not an option. However, I agree with you. If I was a homeowner, rather than look for someone to steal my money by buying I would upgrade my current home.

The entire world investing in housing has completely ruined the market. It's impossible to find a home that isn't going for a premium due to someone flipping it. The pros are making it worse by buying houses, leveling them, then constructing mansions in shit neighborhoods.

The worst are the off market listings. I have a realtor friend (because everyone is a realtor these days) that said there's an entire market for investors and realtors that offers houses for investors before the general population. It makes buying an affordable home impossible.

The housing market can eat a fat dick for all I'm concerned.

+65,000

The saddest thing is that people are playing games with a basic necessity (housing). We have a huge housing crisis in our country, and it seems like it is getting worse.

You said the reason yourself right here.

Supply < Demand = higher prices

Not exactly. I know in my opening that I said inventory is low, however, there is plenty on the market. Some are too small, some are too big, some are just the right size. We want to keep the kids in specific schools, so our geographic area is limited. However, in "nicer" parts of Green Valley (the area of Henderson we are looking in) there is more inventory and they are overpriced too. I have seen two cases recently of houses that were very nice that were priced at market value and they went faster than a C8 from a dig.

Interesting stat from a local realtor that I follow on YouTube: there have been almost 2K offers fall through in the metro area since March. Think about that...offer made, then the buyer backs out. That doesn't sound like a favorable market for sellers. However, also according to him, the amount of inventory is 3.1 months, which is high for Vegas, but generally still considered a "seller's market." Every time the Redfin app notifies me that a house is back on the market I get some level of satisfaction knowing that the greedy ass seller lost a deal.

At the end of the day, the appraisal/appraiser will tell you the true worth of the house.

If recent comps are way less than asking price I doubt the banks appraiser will come close to the selling price.

Seen it a few times where a seller either loses a deal or someone gets a last second price slash in their favor once the appraisal comes in way lower than selling price.

Now obviously if the market is hot enough, the house may very well appraise for that #. It is what it is. Continue to rent if you think those prices are too high.

Interesting point about the appraisal. With house #3 in my original post, this is definitely the case. The house went on the market two days ago and we immediately texted our realtor and the last line of my text was "I think it is way overpriced." Usually he just texts us back and tells us when he has set up the showing but this time he texted and said "give me a call when you are free." I thought this was weird so I called him and he said he ran the comps and the house is overpriced by at least $60K. He also said he found out a realtor bought it, made upgrades, and is trying to get her money out of it but she bought it too high to begin with. He said if an appraiser comes in there is no way in Hell it will appraise for anywhere near asking price (remember, he has been a realtor in Vegas for 30 years and specializes in our exact area). Shit is crazy!!!

Our realtor's exact words (almost): "Let's wait until next week. She will realize she is coming in way too high. If by some miracle she gets an offer closes to her asking price, which would be absurd, she should take it. And God have mercy on the fool that buys it because this town is going to eat them alive if they are that stupid. And good luck getting it to appraise for anything close to that."

OP:

If Comparable houses are so much less, just buy the comparable house. If your going off historical data or if there are reasons you don't want a comparable house.. Well they aren't comparable then, are they.


Me:

Houses suck, most expensive and life impacting purchase you can make, and it's often one with zero recourse and minimal time to evaluate. Just went on a housing hunting trip in Phoenix, houses are turning in 2-3 days.

More then once now I or my wife have sent each other a link on Zillow/Trulia only for by the other opens it the listing has changed to "pending" or "sold".

I'm now at a point that anything on the market for more then 20 days raises an eyebrow and the +30 days houses are a scroll past.

The comps are houses that have sold. Only completed sales are comps that set the value, not other houses that are on the market. Other houses on the market can impact asking price, but completed sales are the guide that sets the value.

Have you made offers on any of the houses? The listing price becomes irrelevant if the comp value isn’t there.

like stated above though, it’s a sellers market due to low interest rates currently. In my area homes are flipping in less then a week on average right now. I sold our home last year that was built new only a year prior and it was gone day 2 on the market with multiple offers and I ended up getting over asking price even with weak comps.


I would make offers and if they are declined who cares, wait out the market and buy later. There are always deals to be had.

Agreed. We will end up making an offer on house #3 next week but we are not going to negotiate. If that doesn't work out, we will try with house #1. If that doesn't work, we will try house #2 as it has been on the market for just over 3 months. Think about that...you're priced so high that your house has sat on the market for 3+ months and you lowered your price twice! Reality check should have hit you some time back around April Fool's Day! LOL

 

[jpro]

I lived in Vegas for 7 years and lived there thru the 08 crash. IMO you would be a fool to buy there right now. They are about to get hit with a housing bust due to the fact that most of the population is currently out of work.

This is my general perspective. We will probably end up holding out for several months and waiting. However, this "crash" you and I are both anticipating (hoping for) may never come. One big reason is because the CARES ACT is giving homeowners 12 months of loan forbearance if you are impacted by COVID 19. People are going to try to ride this thing out and will stay in their homes for a year or more while taking advantage of the forbearance. Back in 08 people had no such luxury, they got ****ed raw from the jump. LOL

When we initially moved here my thought was that we will never buy. I'd rather rent for 20 years, retire, and leave town to retire to a quiet, small place somewhere in the country.