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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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housing market- give me your opinion
we had been looking around a year or 2 ago for houses, just to see what was out there. there seemed to be a ton but we were not in the place to sell our current home.
now, we may be able to sell, so we started looking to see whats out there.
we went to 2 open houses this weekend and they were not kept up and just looked like a TON of work for a lot of $.
I remember in 2006 we looked at sooo many houses to find 1 that was clean/ decent/ well built/ etc.
Are we back in that situation where it's harder to find a house than to sell?
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Posted 4/10/17 8:42 AM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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luvbuffet
LIF Adult
Member since 7/10 6470 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
yep 
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| Posted 4/10/17 8:53 AM |
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DMT
LIF Adult
Member since 6/05 2277 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
It is bad. I saw a story on news12 over the last day or so that said there are bidding wars all over.
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| Posted 4/10/17 9:04 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
i dont have news 12 but my mom said she saw something on this too.
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| Posted 4/10/17 9:06 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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housing market- give me your opinion
one open house we went to was so packed you could barely get in the door. it wasnt updated since at least 1970 and the potential wasnt really there....
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| Posted 4/10/17 9:07 AM |
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luvbuffet
LIF Adult
Member since 7/10 6470 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
we bid 60k over ask and lost by 3 grand. its TOUGH out there
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| Posted 4/10/17 9:29 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
where are you guys looking
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| Posted 4/10/17 9:33 AM |
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luvbuffet
LIF Adult
Member since 7/10 6470 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
along the port washington line and Bellerose village + floral park .7 miles or less of a walk to train
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| Posted 4/10/17 9:46 AM |
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OhMaybeBaby
LIF Infant
Member since 1/13 337 total posts
Name:
J
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Message edited 10/9/2017 11:02:35 AM.
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| Posted 4/10/17 10:08 AM |
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Yes, it's a total seller's market now in most areas of LI, and certainly in the desirable areas of Nassau and western Suffolk.
Inventory is low, demand is high, and that is making prices go up as there are multiple offers on every house. Even as realtors, and knowing the market, my colleagues and I are constantly surprised at where the prices are going on many houses. And the offers are coming in the day a house hits the market. So you have to be quick and decisive as a buyer.
Just to give a couple of examples - I had a closing on Friday. It was a house I listed back in January in N. Bellmore. It was an updated (new kitchen, new CAC) ranch that was only about 1280 square feet. 3 beds, 2 bath (but no master bath, second bath was in the basement). Average size property. Had multiple offers (like 12 solid, good offers) within the first 4 days of being listed. It sold for $497,500.
Just last weekend, a cape came on the market in N. Merrick (N. Bellmore schools). A regular cape - not expanded/extended (it did have a partial rear dormer with a second bath upstairs). It was in renovated condition. Listed at $519K. My buyers, who are highly qualified with nothing to sell and more than 20% to put down, offered $525K. Someone offered higher. On a cape that is like 1200 square feet!
My best advice to buyers in this market is this:
1) Educate yourself. Know the market and the inventory well, and know what houses are selling for. A lot of people are complaining that houses are overpriced, but if there is a demand for them, and they are selling for those prices, then they are not overpriced for the market. As I always say, there's a difference between "settling" and "being realistic for the market, your budget, etc."
2. Be prepared to act quickly. It's also important to be educated because, as I said, houses sell IMMEDIATELY. So there's no time to "think it over," bring your parents in to take a look, come back for multiple showings. You need to have enough information so that you feel comfortable acting swiftly and decisively. A good buyer's agent to guide you through this market and educate you is a huge asset to buyers in the current climate. Even in terms of getting in to see houses -- Buyers sometimes will tell me "I want to see house x" this weekend. But house x just came out on a Tuesday. It's likely not going to be available by the time the weekend rolls around. This is challenging to people who work long hours or aren't local to where they are house hunting. But it's reality - you have to make house hunting a priority or you won't ever get a house.
In a similar vein, too many buyers look online and dismiss houses, and then complain that there's "nothing out there." You really have to go see houses in person to judge the space, the "bones," the layout, the area... all things you can't really glean from online photos. Seeing the inventory in person is always a must, but in this market, with low inventory, you really should see every single house in your price point and in your desired area, even if it doesn't necessarily tick every box on your must-have or wish-list criteria. Sometimes the potential is there. Open-mindedness helps in this tight market.
3. Don't Shy Away from Competition - I hear a lot of buyers say "we don't want to get involved in a bidding war." And my answer to that is "then you won't get a house." The reality is, no one wants to be involved in a bidding war, but you aren't going to find some undiscovered "gem" that no one else knows about (unless perhaps you are looking for a niche house, like waterfront or very high-end). The good houses are drawing lots of interest and lots of offers. You have to be in it to win it, so to speak. If you don't make an offer, you definitely won't get the house. If you do make an offer, a bidding war does not mean someone's going to hold a gun to your head and force you to pay more than you want to pay. A good strategy is to decide at the outset what your top number is for a house. If a house is listed at $529K and your top number is $540K, then maybe you start off full price, or a little over asking, but you know where your ceiling is. Keep the emotions out of it and be rational. Even if you get beat out, the fact that your offer was submitted means it will be held as a backup (in most cases), and if the first deal falls through, you may be next in line. Several of my clients have gotten houses that way, and if they had given up just because there were other offers on the table and not submitted theirs, they wouldn't be living in their houses right now!
4. Be prepared to make an offer - Have your ducks lined up. Know your terms - not just your price. What kind of mortgage are you getting? How much are you putting down? When can you close? Have a home inspector and a lawyer selected and ready to go. All of these things can help you prevail in a multiple offers situation. Sellers and listing agents want easy, smooth deals. If you seem prepared and ready to go, it helps.
Also, many buyers want to make low-ball offers, even in this market, and then are shocked when the seller accepts another offer without even countering them. I always hear "don't they have to counter." NO, the answer is no. The seller, especially one with a "hot house" with lots of interest, holds all the cards. If they have 10 offers, and 5 are them are at or over full asking, they may or may not bother with the lower offers. So you always should come forward with a strong offer, and in some cases, just make your highest and best offer right off the bat and let the chips fall where they may. You may not get a second chance!
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| Posted 4/10/17 10:16 AM |
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alexb
LIF Adult
Member since 5/13 960 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
I agree with the other post, act quickly when you do see something you like. The market is pretty tight and when we looked last winter, homes were selling extremely fast in the areas we searched. We put an offer in the first day we saw our home and the house ended up getting another offer that same week.
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| Posted 4/10/17 11:17 AM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by Mrs&MrsK
where are you guys looking
I have a friend that is an agent and she has no joke 60-100 buyers come through an open house and yes they end up in bidding wars. Houses sell on the first day.
But I think it varies depending on the area
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| Posted 4/10/17 11:32 AM |
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FranB
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/06 686 total posts
Name:
Fran
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
We have wanted to move for a while. We would go to open houses for the last year or so just to be nosey/informed as to what was out there and what houses were going for.
Its nuts!!! We have a private sale on our current house. We got in contract and starting looking for a house for real. Looking the Commack, Smithtown, Kings Park areas.
We lost houses before we could even drive to them! Offers were made before we left for open houses! We saw the same guy at every open house we went to, for a few weekends in a row! Its comical....
We ended up getting something in Commack. It needs a lot of updating but it was a good deal and we will make it what we like. For the price, we have money left for renovations. I didn't necessarily want to have to do a renovation but in the end I think its best for us with what we found out there....
I saw a house with leopard velvety wall paper... I can't....
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| Posted 4/10/17 1:19 PM |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
when we bought our home in 2014, we bid at asking and were among over 20 other offers. The owners were at the open house, and went with us because they liked us, and said our offer was lower than others, but the terms of our offer were better (20% down, didn't have another house to sell, good credit, etc.). I've noticed that the dollar amount in some areas of western nassau only go so far. Alot of the neighborhoods we looked at had owners who cared more about who was buying the home, and less about how much money they made.
Either way, we lost out on a ton of homes because we didn't put a bid in quick enough. I realized then that if you like a house, you can't go home and think about it. You need to get that offer in that day because one will be accepted by the next day.
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| Posted 4/10/17 2:17 PM |
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bunnyluck
LIF Adult
Member since 1/14 3196 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
There's nothing out there! We just sold and bought.
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| Posted 4/10/17 2:28 PM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by bunnyluck
There's nothing out there! We just sold and bought.
from where to where did you go?
did you get a smooth transition or did you have to find somewhere to go for time or pay "rent" to your new owners?
UGH! this stinks!
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| Posted 4/10/17 2:33 PM |
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
The market is def tight. We sold our house in Baldwin Harbor last year and moved to N. Bellmore. We were unable to time the sale and purchase because of bidding wars and not liking anything on the market at the time (fall 2015-spring 2016). We paid 7-8K in moving/storage fees for 3-4 months until we closed in May 2016.
We got into 4 bidding wars and won 2 of them but backed away on 1 house in Williston Park because the seller mis-represented # of bedrooms and realizing the parking situation sucked balls.
We bid $20K over ask on a center hall Colonial in Baldwin (poets section) and then another offer came in for 20K more than that and we walked because the house needed major work (gas conversion, the sellers smoked, pool had to go, kitchen was outdated, etc). We lucked out in finding our house because the day it was listed (before it was on MLS, our agent saw it on a private site) we were about to sign the contract on a house in Oceanside. The day we saw our house, we made the offer. I agree you have to move quickly.
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| Posted 4/10/17 3:11 PM |
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loveus
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/13 684 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
We bought almost 2 years ago and acted quickly. We bid high and looking back I have zero regrets (I see what's out there and the selling price + 30k over is still less than our house would sell if put on the market today).
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| Posted 4/10/17 3:19 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
Very little inventory right now but I think it's slowly starting to pick up. Two family members of mine are in the process of buying, both in the Northport area. I doing think either of them liked very long, you just have to jump when you see something.
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| Posted 4/10/17 4:25 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7272 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by Christine Braun - Century 21 American Homes
Just to give a couple of examples - I had a closing on Friday. It was a house I listed back in January in N. Bellmore. It was an updated (new kitchen, new CAC) ranch that was only about 1280 square feet. 3 beds, 2 bath (but no master bath, second bath was in the basement). Average size property. Had multiple offers (like 12 solid, good offers) within the first 4 days of being listed. It sold for $497,500.
Just last weekend, a cape came on the market in N. Merrick (N. Bellmore schools). A regular cape - not expanded/extended (it did have a partial rear dormer with a second bath upstairs). It was in renovated condition. Listed at $519K. My buyers, who are highly qualified with nothing to sell and more than 20% to put down, offered $525K. Someone offered higher. On a cape that is like 1200 square feet!
::slaps for sale sign on door::
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| Posted 4/10/17 7:37 PM |
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SLPRunner
LIF Adult
Member since 12/13 1101 total posts
Name:
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housing market- give me your opinion
I still think people are scared of living close to the water. I live south of Merrick Rd. in Merrick/Bellmore area and the only houses going are ones not in flood zone X. Lot of nice houses listed for under 600,000 but I don't see things moving so fast.
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| Posted 4/11/17 9:15 AM |
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LBBCHGRL
LIF Infant
Member since 1/08 199 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by SLPRunner
I still think people are scared of living close to the water. I live south of Merrick Rd. in Merrick/Bellmore area and the only houses going are ones not in flood zone X. Lot of nice houses listed for under 600,000 but I don't see things moving so fast.
I thought that was true until I started looking. I live in Long Beach and am looking for another house in Long Beach and to me the costs are much too high to justify moving at this time.
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| Posted 4/11/17 10:12 AM |
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bunnyluck
LIF Adult
Member since 1/14 3196 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by Mrs&MrsK
Posted by bunnyluck
There's nothing out there! We just sold and bought.
from where to where did you go?
did you get a smooth transition or did you have to find somewhere to go for time or pay "rent" to your new owners?
UGH! this stinks!
From Oceanside to Long Beach.
We had 3 offers on our house within a week. One at asking which we accepted, that deal fell though and we accepted the back up 4k below asking bc we were in a rush to buy. Still 30k over what we paid only 3 years ago.
The house we bought had multiple offers at asking. We actually did not get it at first. We werent far enough along in our selling process for the sellers. Then their first offer backed out and they called us. We came in 1k over asking to try and guarantee the house. We also had to sit on and stall the contract for a while, while contract was still out. It was stressful!!!! But we loved the house, it's almost everything we want, within our budget and we did not want to mess around over a few grand. Inventory is too low, especially in that area in our price range. Best decision we made bc months later and all that's out or left on the market is complete trash or over $1m.
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| Posted 4/11/17 10:21 AM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by DMT
It is bad. I saw a story on news12 over the last day or so that said there are bidding wars all over.
As someone who might be selling soon (and leaving NY) this makes me SO happy. After all the renos we did, overpaying for the house right before the market crashed and then being underwater for a few years I would welcome multiple good offers on my house.
My house is move in ready, everything updated, so I hope I get lucky and get a great price. Bid away LI, bid away! 
Message edited 4/12/2017 8:48:43 AM.
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| Posted 4/12/17 8:47 AM |
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Mrs&MrsK
i need sleep ;-)
Member since 2/14 2008 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: housing market- give me your opinion
Posted by Hofstra26
Posted by DMT
It is bad. I saw a story on news12 over the last day or so that said there are bidding wars all over.
As someone who might be selling soon (and leaving NY) this makes me SO happy. After all the renos we did, overpaying for the house right before the market crashed and then being underwater for a few years I would welcome multiple good offers on my house.
My house is move in ready, everything updated, so I hope I get lucky and get a great price. Bid away LI, bid away!
this is how i feel except we just want to move to a different town.
the first real estate agent i had come by said that if we were moving out of state she would say list IMMEDIATELY bc houses are going up much faster in other states than here.
But that because we were iffy & moving just for schools, we should research more before jumping in.
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| Posted 4/12/17 9:47 AM |
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