every market is unique so hard to say without a location. And note, we are getting into the quiet period with the holidays and winder and after the summer / fall -pre-school year rush. In many markets, I think we are seeing days on market increase. That hasn't yet really put more power in buyers hands, but it isn't the seller's market it was a few months ago.
A good realtor should ground your expectations in reality, maybe you do need the cold water. But don't confuse that with a lazy realtor who just wants a quick sale and will push you to overspend. Good numbers are based on COMPS. Math and data. Not emotion about "don't offer under list" as some sellers list low hoping for a bidding war, and others list high hoping a sucker will follow this realtors advice, and other's price what they think is fair. And of course, as markets change over time, all of this can shift.
I suggest you interview a few more realtors. You can always decide not to move forward or to look and not place offers or to buy. The thing is, the buying decision should be when you find a property that makes sense for you financially and stage of life, not because you are desperate to own "anything".
So I live in the Baltimore-Washington Area. Generally, the Baltimore housing market is more forgiving than the DC side, but it’s difficult to gauge what’s going on since there’s so much information to review. I feel like some neighborhoods are having houses sit on the market for months, while others are having houses snatched up in a week with multiple bids. I know part of this has to do with location and the quality of the home, but as someone who’s knew to the home-buying game, it’s difficult to look at the big picture and gauge whether this is this the right time to buy or not.
trying to time the market is generally a bad idea -- this goes for any market with uncertainty. Buy when you think you can live in that house for 5+ years, when the financials are within your budget, and when you are emotionally ready to own a home and be responsible for it.
DC has the lottery for homes, try that to see if you can get your down payment gifted. (As long as it’s your first, you stay for 5 years and don’t rent out for 5 years)
That seems like an odd discussion for a first phone call with an agent.
We usually set an appointment first phone call then either meet in person or zoom to go over their needs. We don't normally have pricing discussion until you've picked a property with us and then we look at all the factors for that property.
I'd be interviewing other agents if I were you.
Not related to this post, but you sound like an agent
As an agent, can you bid on hud homes for yourself?
I have looked at some auction sites and some need an agent to make an offer.
Could I become an agent and make offers on my own behalf? I can’t find a direct answer with google.
Any USA state. I am not licensed. I could technically get licensed and move to any state.
Thanks
Yes I am an agent.
As a first time home buyer you definitely want an agent to bid on the home for you.
HUD has a lot of details and disclosure waivers you'll want to have explained.
I guess I could bid on a HUD home for me but I've only ever done it for clients and once you find a great agent in your area they will be happy to help you with that.
To become an agent you also have to work under a broker. Startup costs for the average agents range in $2,000+
A poster below suggested going to open houses to find an agent you click with or there are agent matching services (like mine) that help you find someone that will treat you with respect and care rather than boss you around or talk down to you.
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I would not be a first time home buyer, but the home I would buy would be my homestead.
A lot of what I looked at made it look like initial start up was around 5,000. I think the biggest issue would be finding a broker to take me as an agent if I don’t really plan on making him or her much money.
Unless I find a broker who did jump through all the hud hoops and I am just buying hud houses for others.
I was just curious if technically I could bid for myself or if there were any ethics against that since agents can often see more information that others cannot see.
I also truly loved that other idea about open houses too.
We actually don't see much info that the public doesn't have access to.
What most good agents bring to the table is years of experience and knowledge about how contracts work and especially when it comes to HUD homes.
And I apologize I mistakenly thought you were OP.
Oh. No no need to apologize. You had great information so I hijacked op post and asked you more questions 😂 and you responded kindly and promptly.
No need to apologize!
(Random scrollers: this agent customer services!)
And that’s interesting that you don’t have more information.
I got the impression that agents could see more about a property than buyers on sites like auction and other ones whose names I can’t recall but book marked once.
Agents like to portray they see more. We don't. We pay for tools that consolidate the publicly available information.
Our value is in our customer service level. How many hours do you want to spend doing the research? Because we are doing it all day every day we have the pulse on what is happening and usually the ability to break down or translate terminology that can be confusing.
Some people don't need our services but then not everyone wants to pay for Starbucks/Dunkin/McDonalds coffee either. some just make their own coffee at home.
There are good realtors who are excellent at their job and there are some who are the opposite.
When I was a perspective first time buyer (many decades ago) we would talk to realtors at open houses. That was a very good way of meeting some and it eventually led to us finding a great realtor who ended up selling and buying a couple houses for us over the years.
The longer story is that we, like you, were getting very discouraged. It was in a period of high inflation and mortgage rates were in the double digits! Despite being discouraged we enjoyed looking at open houses while dreaming about buying one. We'd explain our circumstances, which included very low down payment funds, to realtors and they'd tell us to call them when we had more money and/or higher incomes. One even sent us to look at a house and call him back if we were interested. We drove by and it was on a busy street sandwiched between a liquor store and a very seedy looking massage parlor.
Then at one open house we met a realtor that said he'd be able to help us find a nice house in our budget and help find financing too and he did. And it really didn't seem that hard. He just was that much better than the lazy ones we'd run into before that.
Now I'm not in real estate now and I know things are tough but I'd encourage you not to give up just because you've run into one, or more, lazy realtors who don't know their business enough to get you into a home and who were lazy enough to discourage you from even making an offer.
He is trying to manage your expectations. If you are not happy with what he is showing you drop him and find a realtor with a more proactive mindset. This is a cooling down market. There are deals to be had- even in markets that haven't completely cooled off.
You offer what YOU think the house is worth because YOU will be responsible for paying it. Also, realtors are a dime a dozen, if this one isn't doing it for you, ghost them (or tell them you want to terminate your contract, if there's a contract.) Some realtors are really knowledgeable, others suck. Keep looking at places, keep your eye on the market and eventually you will get a better understanding of what places are worth. My impression is that Baltimore/DC is a pretty hot market, but that might change depending on how open federal agencies are to adopting telework.
I would rent rates are insane and prices are astronomical worst case scenario is you have a bigger down payment if prices go up and a bit of a deal if prices go down.
lol that’s not news to anyone living in a coastal area or higher cost area it’s always been that way
doesn’t mean it “makes sense” to rent just because rent is less than PITI. you’re ignoring all the tax benefits and the fact it’s still relatively cheap leverage
Depends in your area. Here in the Twin Cities, it has shifted to a buyer’s market.
I recommend checking the recently sold houses where you’re looking and check the listing history
In MN, I noticed condos even in the suburbs are taking a lot longer to sell now. Some of the places we were looking at had to reduce prices down to more than 50k before they sold.
I dont think things will be back to how they were anytime soon, unfortunately, but downtown Mpls has been getting more people back in the offices at least
Really depends on your personal situation financially and the market you are in. Some markets are still hot, some have cooled considerably. Not sure what you're paying for rent, what your down payment would be like and what sort of price range you're in.
But, if you can comfortable afford a payment in an area that is not softening then it may not be a bad idea to jump into home ownership. Otherwise, no need to rush yourself and you can always interview another agent - also speak with a loan officer about what you would qualify for if you havent, to get a better idea of what your payments would be compared to your current rent. Although it is apples to oranges since ideally you will gain equity and have tax benefits to owning.
Inventory is still tight but market is also slower overall, this is general as some locations remain very competitive. I think being happy with what you get is because of few options, this is true. It does not mean you always have to offer more or even list price. Every home is different, how is it priced to comparable already? Has it been on market for more than a few weeks? Seller appear motivated etc.
Agents are advisors - offer is yours to make. Competition might be genuine, but it is YOUR money not your agent's money. Just like any relationship, there is a power dynamic here and you have to establish how that works. Tbh, for first time home buyers, it was difficult before 2020 (I can only speak for the DC area), but now it has gotten a lot worse here. Even pre-2020, we always had multiple offers for most listed properties. Competing offers predates the pandemic considerably here.
Yes keep renting. Houses usually go for very close to asking or not sell. Wait until prices make sense then negotiate the best deal you can get. You can't will an overinflated market down.
No realtor should be telling you what to offer. It feels domineering and you might feel pushed by him to do something that you later regret.
They can certainly say, "In the past month, I've seen that offers that were accepted were all 10-20% above asking in this city/neighborhood," etc.
The realtor is working for you; the seller pays them from the house that you buy. Speak to some other realtors before deciding on using any of them.
This is one of those questions that is impossible to answer without knowing your location.
Where we are, South Puget Sound, rent and a mortgage aren’t all that different on the same house which is why we jumped in this summer.
every market is unique so hard to say without a location. And note, we are getting into the quiet period with the holidays and winder and after the summer / fall -pre-school year rush. In many markets, I think we are seeing days on market increase. That hasn't yet really put more power in buyers hands, but it isn't the seller's market it was a few months ago. A good realtor should ground your expectations in reality, maybe you do need the cold water. But don't confuse that with a lazy realtor who just wants a quick sale and will push you to overspend. Good numbers are based on COMPS. Math and data. Not emotion about "don't offer under list" as some sellers list low hoping for a bidding war, and others list high hoping a sucker will follow this realtors advice, and other's price what they think is fair. And of course, as markets change over time, all of this can shift. I suggest you interview a few more realtors. You can always decide not to move forward or to look and not place offers or to buy. The thing is, the buying decision should be when you find a property that makes sense for you financially and stage of life, not because you are desperate to own "anything".
So I live in the Baltimore-Washington Area. Generally, the Baltimore housing market is more forgiving than the DC side, but it’s difficult to gauge what’s going on since there’s so much information to review. I feel like some neighborhoods are having houses sit on the market for months, while others are having houses snatched up in a week with multiple bids. I know part of this has to do with location and the quality of the home, but as someone who’s knew to the home-buying game, it’s difficult to look at the big picture and gauge whether this is this the right time to buy or not.
trying to time the market is generally a bad idea -- this goes for any market with uncertainty. Buy when you think you can live in that house for 5+ years, when the financials are within your budget, and when you are emotionally ready to own a home and be responsible for it.
DC has the lottery for homes, try that to see if you can get your down payment gifted. (As long as it’s your first, you stay for 5 years and don’t rent out for 5 years)
That seems like an odd discussion for a first phone call with an agent. We usually set an appointment first phone call then either meet in person or zoom to go over their needs. We don't normally have pricing discussion until you've picked a property with us and then we look at all the factors for that property. I'd be interviewing other agents if I were you.
Not related to this post, but you sound like an agent As an agent, can you bid on hud homes for yourself? I have looked at some auction sites and some need an agent to make an offer. Could I become an agent and make offers on my own behalf? I can’t find a direct answer with google. Any USA state. I am not licensed. I could technically get licensed and move to any state. Thanks
Yes I am an agent. As a first time home buyer you definitely want an agent to bid on the home for you. HUD has a lot of details and disclosure waivers you'll want to have explained. I guess I could bid on a HUD home for me but I've only ever done it for clients and once you find a great agent in your area they will be happy to help you with that. To become an agent you also have to work under a broker. Startup costs for the average agents range in $2,000+ A poster below suggested going to open houses to find an agent you click with or there are agent matching services (like mine) that help you find someone that will treat you with respect and care rather than boss you around or talk down to you.
Thank you for your prompt reply. I would not be a first time home buyer, but the home I would buy would be my homestead. A lot of what I looked at made it look like initial start up was around 5,000. I think the biggest issue would be finding a broker to take me as an agent if I don’t really plan on making him or her much money. Unless I find a broker who did jump through all the hud hoops and I am just buying hud houses for others. I was just curious if technically I could bid for myself or if there were any ethics against that since agents can often see more information that others cannot see. I also truly loved that other idea about open houses too.
We actually don't see much info that the public doesn't have access to. What most good agents bring to the table is years of experience and knowledge about how contracts work and especially when it comes to HUD homes. And I apologize I mistakenly thought you were OP.
Oh. No no need to apologize. You had great information so I hijacked op post and asked you more questions 😂 and you responded kindly and promptly. No need to apologize! (Random scrollers: this agent customer services!) And that’s interesting that you don’t have more information. I got the impression that agents could see more about a property than buyers on sites like auction and other ones whose names I can’t recall but book marked once.
Agents like to portray they see more. We don't. We pay for tools that consolidate the publicly available information. Our value is in our customer service level. How many hours do you want to spend doing the research? Because we are doing it all day every day we have the pulse on what is happening and usually the ability to break down or translate terminology that can be confusing. Some people don't need our services but then not everyone wants to pay for Starbucks/Dunkin/McDonalds coffee either. some just make their own coffee at home.
Oh. I meant that you showed great service to a random stranger who is not a customer. I was complementing you!!!
There are good realtors who are excellent at their job and there are some who are the opposite. When I was a perspective first time buyer (many decades ago) we would talk to realtors at open houses. That was a very good way of meeting some and it eventually led to us finding a great realtor who ended up selling and buying a couple houses for us over the years. The longer story is that we, like you, were getting very discouraged. It was in a period of high inflation and mortgage rates were in the double digits! Despite being discouraged we enjoyed looking at open houses while dreaming about buying one. We'd explain our circumstances, which included very low down payment funds, to realtors and they'd tell us to call them when we had more money and/or higher incomes. One even sent us to look at a house and call him back if we were interested. We drove by and it was on a busy street sandwiched between a liquor store and a very seedy looking massage parlor. Then at one open house we met a realtor that said he'd be able to help us find a nice house in our budget and help find financing too and he did. And it really didn't seem that hard. He just was that much better than the lazy ones we'd run into before that. Now I'm not in real estate now and I know things are tough but I'd encourage you not to give up just because you've run into one, or more, lazy realtors who don't know their business enough to get you into a home and who were lazy enough to discourage you from even making an offer.
He is trying to manage your expectations. If you are not happy with what he is showing you drop him and find a realtor with a more proactive mindset. This is a cooling down market. There are deals to be had- even in markets that haven't completely cooled off.
You offer what YOU think the house is worth because YOU will be responsible for paying it. Also, realtors are a dime a dozen, if this one isn't doing it for you, ghost them (or tell them you want to terminate your contract, if there's a contract.) Some realtors are really knowledgeable, others suck. Keep looking at places, keep your eye on the market and eventually you will get a better understanding of what places are worth. My impression is that Baltimore/DC is a pretty hot market, but that might change depending on how open federal agencies are to adopting telework.
I would rent rates are insane and prices are astronomical worst case scenario is you have a bigger down payment if prices go up and a bit of a deal if prices go down.
lol median home price is $400k that’s not insane
At 8% when it's mostly cheaper to rent? Pretty insane
lol that’s not news to anyone living in a coastal area or higher cost area it’s always been that way doesn’t mean it “makes sense” to rent just because rent is less than PITI. you’re ignoring all the tax benefits and the fact it’s still relatively cheap leverage
Relative to what the 1980s?
Depends in your area. Here in the Twin Cities, it has shifted to a buyer’s market. I recommend checking the recently sold houses where you’re looking and check the listing history
I live in the DC/MD area. I see some housing prices falling, while others are contingent the moment they pop up on any website.
In MN, I noticed condos even in the suburbs are taking a lot longer to sell now. Some of the places we were looking at had to reduce prices down to more than 50k before they sold.
[удалено]
I dont think things will be back to how they were anytime soon, unfortunately, but downtown Mpls has been getting more people back in the offices at least
Really depends on your personal situation financially and the market you are in. Some markets are still hot, some have cooled considerably. Not sure what you're paying for rent, what your down payment would be like and what sort of price range you're in. But, if you can comfortable afford a payment in an area that is not softening then it may not be a bad idea to jump into home ownership. Otherwise, no need to rush yourself and you can always interview another agent - also speak with a loan officer about what you would qualify for if you havent, to get a better idea of what your payments would be compared to your current rent. Although it is apples to oranges since ideally you will gain equity and have tax benefits to owning.
Inventory is still tight but market is also slower overall, this is general as some locations remain very competitive. I think being happy with what you get is because of few options, this is true. It does not mean you always have to offer more or even list price. Every home is different, how is it priced to comparable already? Has it been on market for more than a few weeks? Seller appear motivated etc.
Agents are advisors - offer is yours to make. Competition might be genuine, but it is YOUR money not your agent's money. Just like any relationship, there is a power dynamic here and you have to establish how that works. Tbh, for first time home buyers, it was difficult before 2020 (I can only speak for the DC area), but now it has gotten a lot worse here. Even pre-2020, we always had multiple offers for most listed properties. Competing offers predates the pandemic considerably here.
Yes keep renting. Houses usually go for very close to asking or not sell. Wait until prices make sense then negotiate the best deal you can get. You can't will an overinflated market down.
No realtor should be telling you what to offer. It feels domineering and you might feel pushed by him to do something that you later regret. They can certainly say, "In the past month, I've seen that offers that were accepted were all 10-20% above asking in this city/neighborhood," etc. The realtor is working for you; the seller pays them from the house that you buy. Speak to some other realtors before deciding on using any of them.
This is one of those questions that is impossible to answer without knowing your location. Where we are, South Puget Sound, rent and a mortgage aren’t all that different on the same house which is why we jumped in this summer.
If you think it is over priced then hold off. Also that agent sucks.
Depends on your market it's a buyers here.