Anyone house hunting right now?? Is now the right time to buy a home? Or, now that the tax rebates have ended, will the bottom fall out of these homes further down the road. I've been checking out townhomes in and around Midtown, Montrose, Rice Millitary, and Heights. Hoping to get into a 3 bedroom, 2200 sq/ft home for around 220K. Midtown prices are hovering around 270K to 300K for 10 year old homes.
uh, good luck on that 220K. for the most part, homes inside the loop have been selling and values never really dropped all that much. obviously interest rates are at all time lows so you might be able to afford more house than you could have a few years ago. however, i'm sure if you look hard enough you can find some great deals. i have a friend who specializes in finding inner loop homes if you want his contact info
Its rough out there, its all expensive, the property tax is high and all the townhomes/condos have wild HOA's that go up every year. But ya, time is right. 220k from what I have seen is the sweet spot where you see the nicer looking houses.
There's no way in hell you're gonna find that at that price. We live in a 40-year-old ranch style house just west of the Heights. 2000 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 batch, 2 car detached garage. If we were to sell this, it would sell for about $255 to $260, and it's a crappy old house.
There are alot of sellers and even fewer buyers now that the credits have ended. The term "motivated seller" keeps popping up for some of these people looking to get out from under their home. I think time is on my side and someone will take a 220k lowball hit.
Your price range needs to increase a little. Pretty much everything in that price range is basically a teardown or unfinished construction.....$250-$270k is about where you need to be for a townhome in that area........ Email me through the board if you want some more info..
Yup. I've been looking on and off again for over a year and there just is next to no wiggle room for a newer home inside the loop and especially the places he mentioned.
There ARE bargains out there if you are patient. Sometimes you can even find something nice from fannie mae (www.homepath.com) and get it for only three percent down. http://search.har.com/engine/1005-Gillette-St-Houston-TX-77019_HAR7122274.htm
Like the other posters have said, I think the timing is right to buy, but the price might still be a little too low. Also depends on exactly what you want, newer construction? I think if you go up to around 250 you can find some 5+ yr old houses/townhomes in good shape. If you are looking at new construction, some of the builders are belly up and you can get good prices there as well. Location is key, personally I would avoid rice military, but you can probably snag a great deal there right now.
Yeah good luck with 220k on a 2200 sq foot home in those areas. I live in one of the cheaper parts of The Heights, in a neighborhood with 3 story/freestanding town homes. In my subdivision an 1800 sq foot home will run you about 250k, and thats if you find a really good deal. The house next door to me is that size and sold for 272k a few months ago.
Yeah, 220k is gonna be REALLY hard to find in that area. If you were willing to up that to about 240-250k, I bet you'd have an easier time. But, nothing is impossible, and like you said, time is on your side. If you wait it out, you might be able to find a desperate seller.
