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hs
ParticipantI am not trying to take any sides, but just want to share my opinion according to my own experiences by dealing with those realtors.
They are not much different from those used car salesmen.(Of course, not 100% of them.) If I could, I would buy without having my “buyer’s agent”.
ParticipantI agree with you. I don’t believe the price will go up forever. Everything has a cycle. I believe price will go down. Don’t believe those realtors’or home owners’ nonsense and use your own brain.
We could put 20% down and we are qualified for those more than half million houses as first time buyers, but we don’t want to buy at high peak and watch the house lose value.(I don’t believe RE is always a good investment. It depends on timing and your luck.)
We are renting now. Wait and see is the best way to do.ParticipantYes, there are lots of different dialects in China, such as Cantonese, Fujanese,…, but Mandarin, also called “Pu Tong Hua” is the official language in China. Whatever dialect you speak, you are required to learn Mandarin in school.
I am glad your kids are interested in learning. I am looking forward to meeting them.
ParticipantHi Powayseller,
I have been reading this blog for awhile and think you are a very smart and farsighted lady.
I asked for some advice regarding buying or renting a house awhile ago and you recommended to rent. In the end, my hubby and I took your advice and we are continuing to rent now.
Regarding the Chinese language, I totally agree with you. Mandarin will be one of the most useful languages in the future.
I wonder if your kids are interested in learning Chinese. I am Chinese myself.(came to the US in my 20’s)If they are interested in learning Mandarin, I will be happy to teach them as I am teaching my daughter now.(She is in second grade.) I live in Scripps Ranch. If your kids are interested, you are welcome to keep in touch with me by email at: [email protected]ParticipantWe are almost in the same situation as yours. We moved to San Diego more than a year ago and have been watching the north county market closely. With our savings, stable job, and good salary, we definitely could afford to buy now. But looking at the trend of this market, we decide to continue to rent for a while.
Personally I believe the price will go down, so be patient is the best way to do now.ParticipantAfter reading this website, we are not planning to buy soon. We will continue to rent and wait and see.
Looked at a couple of rental houses in scripps ranch area today. Can not believe how craby they are.(Price is not low, though.)If you want to rent a reasonable house for around 1500sqt, you have to pay at least more than $2200/month. It seems rent is up.(?)
ParticipantMy story
I made an offer on a townhouse in the middle of Nov., but it was grabbed by a flipper. The original price was 509–539k, but the owner had to lower it to 499k because they were transfered to DC. At the end of Dec, the same house was put on market again, asking for 539–569k(all he did was painted the house). I called and asked to look at it and the flipper who is a realtor, told me”you will get good price–$5000 down, because you will be buying from me directly.” Now you can understand why the housing price is so high and how greddy people are.(Met several agents and they were all telling me that they own several houses,it is good time to buy,interest rate is low, price will go up….
What do you think?ParticipantThis guy says rent is up in the west.
Rents Rise In The West As Occupancy Rates Fall
by Broderick PerkinsRents in primarily Western markets remained on the rise at the end of 2005 despite unexpected drops in occupancy levels.
All but three of the 29 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in Novato, CA-based RealFacts’ quarterly rent and occupancy survey yielded year-to-year rent increases.
While vacancy-heavy landlords may still offer incentives to get renters in the door, the upward trend in rents means long-term rental contracts are a better deal than month-to-month or shorter term rental contracts for new or moving renters.
Overall, rents were up 3.4 percent in the last quarter of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004, according to RealFacts’s data base of more than 11,450 apartment communities of 100 units or more in a swath of 15 states concentrated to the west of the Mississippi River, but also Florida and Indiana.
Up 7.3 percent in the last year, the rental growth leader was the Riverside, CA, MSA, followed by a 6.6 percent increase in the Los Angeles-Orange counties MSA; 6 percent in Las Vegas, NV; 5.1 percent in Phoenix, AZ; 4.7 percent in Reno, NV, and 4.5 percent in Fresno, CA.
Only Colorado Springs, C0, and Tucson, AZ, saw rental declines, both at 1.4 percent. Rents were flat, remaining unchanged in Oklahoma City, OK, RealFacts reported.
Based primarily on rents for two-bedroom apartments, but including a mix of everything from studios to 4-bedroom townhomes, the highest average rent in RealFacts’ coverage area was $1,459 in Los Angeles.
The City of Angels’ high rent level was followed by the California MSAs of Oxnard, $1,363; five-county San Francisco Bay Area, $1,359; Silicon Valley (San Jose-Santa Clara County); San Diego, $1,254; Vallejo, $1,092 and the Riverside-San Bernardino counties MSA, $1,086.
Cheapest rents were in Tulsa, OK, $529; Oklahoma City, $532; Tucson, $616; Indianapolis, IN, $646; Albuquerque, NM, $666; San Antonio, TX, $667; and Salt Lake City, UT, $680.
As rents rose, occupancy levels ticked up too, but only 0.8 percent in the last quarter of 2005 compared to 2004. An unexpected third-to-fourth quarter occupancy rate decline of 0.5 percent became the first significant decline in eight quarters, since the first quarter of 2004, when the national economy was first showing signs of improvement.
“Seasonally, third quarter occupancy usually goes up so it is not unheard of for the fourth quarter to decrease. But we thought this decline was notable. We don’t have one answer why. It could be different depending on where you go. In San Diego county (where the occupancy rate has been falling all year) there are condo conversions. In other markets people are still buying homes. I don’t think there is one simple answer,” said Chris Bates, sales and marketing director at RealFacts.
“It (the occupancy rate decline) was unusual. It was across the board. We had a 0.2 percent decrease a couple of quarters ago, but (statistically) that was zero. This (the 0.5 percent decline), I think, is statistically significant,” said Bates.
Condo conversions, newly constructed rental apartments, and home buying all impact the supply of rental housing and occupancy rates.
“There is the possible structural change in the rental market as the boom in single-family home purchases has an impact on rental apartment occupancy rates,” RealFacts reported.
Published: January 27, 2006
ParticipantThanks for the advice from both of you.
I will give it a try.(I am thinking to bargain about $200 or 300 less and see what the landlord’s reaction is.)
Powayseller, I have to buy in Scripps ranch is because my husband works at downtown. He does not want to commute too far.(we heard after Mercy Rd. exit, usually there is lot of traffic.) Plus only Miramar ranch elementary school offers GATE seminar program in this area. We are renting a 2/2b apartment for $1600(998sqt).Our lease will expire at the end of Feb.
I found those (town)houses on San diego union tribune. Some of them are just listed recently. Price less than $2000 seems pretty popular. Rent in scripps ranch is higher than poway I guess.(Maybe it is closer to downtown?)
Thanks again!ParticipantGood morning, everybody
Sorry this message has nothing to do with the current subject, but I need some advice from you.
We’ve decided to continue to rent, but want to move to a house instead of an apartment.
Checking with the rental listing in scripps Ranch area, they are all asking pretty high price.I have couple of them on my list here that I am interested in renting for 1 year.
1.$1900 for 3/2.5b, about 1400sqt
2.$1950 for 3/2b about 1300sqt
3.$2000 for 3/2.5b, about 1672sqt.
4.$2200 for 4/2.5b, about 1700sqtI am thinking to negotiate the price with them. How much should I offer? Any suggestion? I am afraid if I offer with $1/1sqt, they will be offered since it seems scripps ranch is an expensive place to live.
We have been always good tanents.
Any suggestion is welcome.
Thank you in advance.ParticipantThanks for your information, powayseller.
Seems rent is definitely higher in scripps ranch. for around 1200sqt, they are asking for more than $1600. Especially those near miramar lake, they are all asking for more than $2000. Maybe those investors are all in negative cash flow,so they have to ask for higher price to cover that.If it is not for my daughter’s school, there is no way i would rent it there.(She needs to be in CA GATE(gifted and talented education) seminar program, which only Miramar Ranch Elementary school provides in this area. They told me if you are the resident in scripps ranch, you have more advantage to get into the program.)
Participantrent up?
Anybody knows what was the rental situation in scripps ranch? I recently checked their price and it seems the average asking price is pretty high, for around 1200sqt, they are asking for $1650, most of them are above $2000(don’t know the size.) Is this too high?ParticipantMarket conditions (realtytime.com)
I just saw this article from “realtytime.com”. It seems they are trying to scare the renters.
Market Conditions
by Carla L. DavisThe new year is upon us. What should buyers and seller expect from their local real estate market?
Realty Times takes a look at areas across the nation in today’s report.
The National Association of Home Builders released a report on December 21st that highlighted how, while the economy of 2006 appears to be set for decent growth patterns, the real estate market is expected to return to numbers that are similar to that of 2004. That means no bubble burst — but a normalizing of the market.
“It’s pretty obvious at this point that the real estate market is gradually shifting to more of a buyer’s market,” said James Glassman, JP Morgan Chase Senior Economist. “This has been a case of real estate prices catching up to market fundamentals – not a ‘bubble.'” With this in mind, “It’s reasonable to assume that house-price appreciation will be slowing down to the single digits.”
A normalizing market is, however, cause for concern for some sellers. This means that their home, which could have netted them 15 to 20 percent profits (for example) in 2005, might only sell for 10 to 15 percent profits. The numbers vary greatly by area — being affected by local economies, government policies and laws, and a multitude of other factors.
Off of the western coast, Hawaii has seen enormous returns for investors of the last five years.
Our real estate experts report that the Maui real estate market, booming in 2003 and 2004, has showed some recent slowing. Condominium and land unit sales Island-wide for the year through only October had already declined by anywhere from 11 to 15 percent. This slowing in unit transactions, however, was offset by increases in average sales price. These figures are still what some would consider outstanding. Home prices increased 27 percent this year. Condominiums increased by 18 percent. And coming in at the lead, land prices rose 42 percent. These trends are not expected to continue.
Looking to the south, the NAHB notes that manufactured or “HUD-code” homes might see a temporary surge in activity, due to need for affordable housing in areas hit by this summer’s hurricanes.
In San Antonio, Texas, inventories are high, meaning finding a home to buy is easier than in some locations of the country. New homes can be purchased in the low to mid $100,000s. The average current home sales price is $137,971 for last year.
One expert writes a warning for renters, however, saying, “One should note that due to a large influx of investors we are starting to see more days on market for rentals. There are currently 1399 homes available for lease, average days on market is 63, and the average asking rent is 1282 dollars. This is an increase of $239 a month in rent and 7 days more on the market.”
Published: January 2, 2006
ParticipantThank you for the information, powayseller.
I will keep my eye on that flip flopper’s house. My guess is he(she) is testing the market. I don’t think he(she) can sell at that price right now because on the same street there is a better designed, bigger condo for sale for 509k–539k, unless this market will go crazy again in Spring and interest rate won’t go up which I doubt.
Thanks again.
Happy New Year! -
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