apocalypse Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Is it the right time? I know US housing market is going down but it is not down in every city. I am going to move to a new place in 2-3 months and in a fix whether to rent an apartment or buy a house for a single person Views are appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Is it the right time? I know US housing market is going down but it is not down in every city. I am going to move to a new place in 2-3 months and in a fix whether to rent an apartment or buy a house for a single person. Views are appreciated. Thanks Broadly speaking yes. But of course it is dependent on a few variables. For instance are you sure you want to settle down in the place where you are gonna buy this house? Because once you have a property it becomes that extra bit difficult to move about. This is important depending on the nature of your job etc etc. Secondly what are the returns on the house. Most cities would give you a good return if you can sit on the property for 4-5 years. Any less than that time frame and most likely you wont make much. On the other hand there are cities like Houston where people always seem to lose money no matter what. Then there is the matter of budget. This would help you in deciding if you should get a new house, old house, house away from popular area etc. New houses are obviously the best option but quite possible new houses are coming up in suburbs away from the town. My recommendation is to decide if you are gonna stay put for 4 years or so in the area. If Yes then go for a house, if no then apartments are better bet. And yes right now the market is down so you can buy property cheap. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 When it comes to real estate, national trends are "sorta ok" to know, but not that useful. Local trends super critical. All depends on the particular locality. How real estate and market is doing now, and projections in that particular region. Really, location, location and location. Thats what decides how the price will do in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 looks like 09 might be better than 08 to buy. i keep hearing that the downtrend is nowhere near it's end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 What Yoda said is what I believe too... I think this downtrend is going to last until the end of this year atleast, if not more... it is a huge mess... i am planning to buy another property, but i am holding off until the end of this year... btw, where are u moving too.. places like austin are holding their prices fairly well... they never appreciate too much and neither do they fall.... it is a steady market in some places like tht... as for california and north-east - i would sit tight for now... rent a place and save for a good downpayment... loans have got stricter nowadays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I dont understand, I thought a recession was the best time to buy, be it stocks or real-estate coz the prices are at their cheapest. Besides, as I have pointed out before, investment in real-estate in Ind will bring MUCH MUCH higher returns in the longer run. In another 12-13 years, India will be the place to be. It will have the BEST jobs, the best of luxury and of course, this all comes with the added advantage of having family, extended families, friends there. If I had some spare $ with me right now, I would look for a $12,000-$15,000 investment on a cheap outskirt in Ind. 13-14 years down the line, its a realistic possibility that the same piece of land could cost a million dollars and i am not joking. I have seen that kind of appreciation happen right in front of eyes, in a matter of just 6-7 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 MM, Can you quote the portion which you refer to as "I dont understand" Whose post or what part was confusing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 MM, Can you quote the portion which you refer to as "I dont understand" Whose post or what part was confusing? looks like 09 might be better than 08 to buy. i keep hearing that the downtrend is nowhere near it's end. What Yoda said is what I believe too... I think this downtrend is going to last until the end of this year atleast' date= if not more... it is a huge mess... i am planning to buy another property, but i am holding off until the end of this year... btw, where are u moving too.. places like austin are holding their prices fairly well... they never appreciate too much and neither do they fall.... it is a steady market in some places like tht... as for california and north-east - i would sit tight for now... rent a place and save for a good downpayment... loans have got stricter nowadays... Actually, I realize i havent read their posts well. They have said the price drop will continue till atleast end of this year and beginning of next year maybe the best time to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I dont understand, I thought a recession was the best time to buy, be it stocks or real-estate coz the prices are at their cheapest. Besides, as I have pointed out before, investment in real-estate in Ind will bring MUCH MUCH higher returns in the longer run. In another 12-13 years, India will be the place to be. It will have the BEST jobs, the best of luxury and of course, this all comes with the added advantage of having family, extended families, friends there. If I had some spare $ with me right now, I would look for a $12,000-$15,000 investment on a cheap outskirt in Ind. 13-14 years down the line, its a realistic possibility that the same piece of land could cost a million dollars and i am not joking. I have seen that kind of appreciation happen right in front of eyes, in a matter of just 6-7 years. Not all investments in outskirts will hit paydirt. Its not as easy as you think MM. Too many players are in this game now, and there is a lot of cheating as well going on, I hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Not all investments in outskirts will hit paydirt. Its not as easy as you think MM. Too many players are in this game now, and there is a lot of cheating as well going on, I hear. Of course, you gotto play your cards smart. Its not as easy as just " Ok, lets just buy two grounds of land here"... You have to do your calculations, take some educated guesses. If it doesnt pay-off, too bad. If it does, you may become a millionaire. Just to give everyone an idea of how real-estate in Ind is just sky-rocketing, one of my friends just rented a 15,000 sq feet apartment in San Jose for $2000. A 1000 sq feet apartment from the part of chennai where i live(d), now commands a rent of 10,000 bucks. Do the math and you will realize that the rent in chennai is almost the double that of San Jose per sq feet. That is a VERY revealing figure. P.S - Apologies for hijacking this thread with a different discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 If I had some spare $ with me right now, I would look for a $12,000-$15,000 investment on a cheap outskirt in Ind. mm, where is such a cheap outskirt where you can get something for 3-4 lakhs? i am asking for specifics in case you have checked something worthwhile out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apocalypse Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 yoda: I am in Atlanta... Here the market is not so hit like in Cal... for 15k u will get nothing in India Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 yoda: I am in Atlanta... Here the market is not so hit like in Cal... for 15k u will get nothing in India I am sure each market has gone up and now has come down differently. But overall the sentiment seems like real estate is still dropping. You should watch local news and see if they show signs of improvement. Another thing to keep in mind is that interest rates are dropping. You might want to wait for a few more rate cuts which would indirectly lower your mortgage rate as well. This would allow you to buy something bigger without going for some weird loans. Anyways, you can always get pre-qualified with a few lenders, start hooking up with RE agents, start seeing houses slowly. You will be able to see the price trend yourself and can jump in if you think prices are warming up in your area and if you find a house that you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apocalypse Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 I am just talking with my friends who have just bought house or in the process of finalizing the deal. The only thing is for a single person what should be the approx ideal price limit. I mean I am not in a hurry to buy something next month but I want to have a mindset in my mind about what I am looking for. Thanks for your suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Yes, probably give another month or two. interest rates are going down by summer and prices will go up because demand will go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumper Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Time it around Nov-Dec-'08. You will get good deals in the Winter & by that time most rate cuts would have happened. According to Donald Trump, in most parts of America, the bottoming would have happened by this year. By summer of 2009, property prices may head on up. If its your first home and you plan to stay in that home for atleast 5-7 years, no need to time the market. Go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 mm' date=' where is such a cheap outskirt where you can get something for 3-4 lakhs? i am asking for specifics in case you have checked something worthwhile out.[/quote'] Yoda, I know a few of my relatives who bought a few plots near Alamadhi lake, a few kms west of Puzhal Lake. The area i am talking about is further west of Thiruvallur High road and slightly north of it I heard plots there are now selling for around 4.5- 5 lakhs / ground right now. I think this area, west of madras has a good potential for growth in the future. Its decently connected by both rail and road and many SEZs are coming up in the Ambattur area, which kinda connects it to the city. I think South Madras has reached a saturation point of developing, to the point where its getting clogged to the brink. Areas west of the city have kinda missed all the action. Sometime soon, its turn may come. Apo, I am not talking about proper residential areas, these are areas sometimes even 30-40 kms from the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky_lafanga Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Buying a house in US should not be an issue considering they are made of crappy cardboard/chipwood type of materials :haha: What is with average US houses being all light weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumper Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Yoda, I know a few of my relatives who bought a few plots near Alamadhi lake, a few kms west of Puzhal Lake. The area i am talking about is further west of Thiruvallur High road and slightly north of it I heard plots there are now selling for around 4.5- 5 lakhs / ground right now. I think this area, west of madras has a good potential for growth in the future. Its decently connected by both rail and road and many SEZs are coming up in the Ambattur area, which kinda connects it to the city. I think South Madras has reached a saturation point of developing, to the point where its getting clogged to the brink. Areas west of the city have kinda missed all the action. Sometime soon, its turn may come. Apo, I am not talking about proper residential areas, these are areas sometimes even 30-40 kms from the city. Sriram, North Chennai is not a good investment, if you go by its history. South Chennai is the place to invest. Most of the folks in the North (beyond Parrys corner), are worker class. They wont let properties appreciate. Even if properties do go up, govt will bring in regulations to keep them in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Sriram' date=' North Chennai is not a good investment, if you go by its history. South Chennai is the place to invest. Most of the folks in the North (beyond Parrys corner), are worker class. They wont let properties appreciate. Even if properties do go up, govt will bring in regulations to keep them in check.[/quote'] That maybe correct Bumps, but you see, the prices in South Chennai is already too high for some medium-level investments. I am quietly confident the center of growth will slowly shift away from south Chennai, as the prices in that area sky-rocket and investors and real-estate builders look for alternate options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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