[quote=SK in CV][quote=Want_to_Retire]The renter is a franchise business owner. The inquiring potential renters are all over the map for my slice of the market – self employed, office manager, professionals etc. I would say I’m mid market for Phoenix houses.[/quote]
Mid-market in PV? Seems unlikely. Average listing price in the region is about $320K. Average in Paradise Valley is about $2,400,000. According to Trulia, there haven’t been any SFH sales there for less than $500K this year. PV is an uppermost market in the region.[/quote]
Thanks for taking the time to provide that follow up info. I don’t know Arizona well at all but like SK in CV I’m a bit confused. Is this Paradise Valley (85253) or Paradise Valley Village (85032)? Because the demographics seem totally different.
The median income for 85253 looks to be about $154,676.
The median income for 85032 looks to be as low as $45,000 in some neighborhoods to about a peak of about $102,000 in the most affluent part of that zip code.
I was having lunch with some buddies today and both of them mentioned that they noticed more out of state license plates lately in San Diego. I noticed that as well driving around. Also, one of them mentioned that he noticed more people he knew that moved out before moving back to San Diego.
I also noticed that on some of the other message boards that I post on. Some people that “swore they’d never be back” are moving back now or planning to. He asked my opinion on what I’d attribute that to.
Here is my take on it. After the bubble bursted, people were in a LOT of pain. Not only did they discover their houses weren’t worth nearly what they thought…but many were using their houses as ATM machines. Yet others that weren’t taking out HELOC loans were hit VERY hard because even if you were well diversified in the stock market, everything took a hit (unless you were shorting the entire stock market).
Most people felt a lot of pain. And many moved out to lower tier, less desirable and lower COL areas. Places like Arizona, Las Vegas, Texas, and even Oregon and Colorado.
But now with the stock market higher than ever, many people have recovered much of their stock portfolio and they feel “richer”. So they are coming back. Even some people that don’t have good job prospects in San Diego are coming back feeling more optimistic and “wealthier” at least on paper.
Like CAR mentioned and a point I agree with is that many “cash buyers” are finding ways to leverage. I’ve heard of some crazy things like people tapping into credit card cash advance checks that are at a low balance for a limited period or even some of these checks that places like Citibank are sending out say “0% until the balance is paid off with a 3% fee”. People ARE using things like this which can be treacherous.
So although it looks like they are “cash buyers” they are really using leverage to buy. Yet others are cashing in part of their retirement savings or 401K’s to buy which isn’t always a good idea either. Yet others I hear about are getting loans from parents or family members.
I heard a CRAZY story from one of my buddies today. He works with a girl that bought in my neck of the woods. I guess her family provided much of the down payment she needed. After her mortgage closed only 6 months ago, she went out and they bought 2 new (and expensive) German cars, new furniture on credit and a bunch of other junk. She is already struggling. I honestly don’t know how people could get themselves in this situation so quickly after buying.
My friend that is a real estate professional. EXTREMELY smart guy that bought 30 houses last year. He said he is starting to sell off his portfolio. He said that several private equity companies are way over paying for properties in his area.
While I don’t think we will see ANYTHING like what we saw with the Great Recession any time soon…. I don’t think we are out of the woods. So many people piled into the stock market chasing yield.
