Of houses and homes
July 31, 2008
As usual, the moment I enter the home of my two friends (the ones who are married to each other and have the adorable son), I become this open book and spill everything on my mind. It’s nice to have a place where you feel comfortable being completely yourself—braying, prone to loud shouts of laughter and speaking far too loudly in a home with a slumbering toddler—and you don’t worry that the next time you visit the doors will be barred to you. I have no doubt though that when I finally peel myself from their couch and lumber home (the latter due to eating too many sweets, not drunkenness), they heave a sigh of relief and ask each other (yet again) which one of them first befriended me.
During our penultimate gathering (oh, how I miss wurdygurdy!), I tried to share the near terror that grips my heart at the thought of spending a large amount of money. On anything. (At least I think it was them I moaned to; I can’t really recall if it was them or if I was babbling to someone else). At the time, I was talking more about buying that camera that I keep talking about, but this extends to any purchase requiring a high level of commitment and cash, so a car and house are included too. There is nothing I hate more than buying something, opening and/or using it, only to find it reduced in price shortly thereafter. I hate that feeling that if I had only held out longer, I would have paid $6.99 for the tshirt instead of $7.99. (Yes, I know. It is an illness.) With small purchases, I have managed to get to the point where I reassure myself by thinking of what I got out of having that item sooner rather than later, and generally I haven’t regretted my purchases too much, but with a house or car, the potential to have regrets that leave a much heavier impact on my bank account is greater, so I simply put off making decisions.
But the fact that my friend Shannon (former blogger) has been living in her current home for almost five years, and I knew her when she was renting, reminded me of my house goal.
When we last spoke on this topic, I told you that I went to see the terrace homes I was interested in with my mom and dad. I love those two people to death, and wanted their opinion, even though I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t like it. It wasn’t all hearts and lollipops, and during our pre-home visit lunch, before we saw a single house, I wanted to throttle my father. But we had a father-daughter moment ala Full House (”You know I just want the best for you, DJ Jummy”, cue the ‘awws’ of the studio audience) and things were ok once again.
Anyways, back then, the price of the terrace homes were X for the lower unit, and X + $11,500 for the upper unit. When I checked the website today, I discovered that the prices for each had gone up by $3,000 while I dithered for no real reason (having established that given my situation, this terrace home was the right thing for me). That was enough to stir me to go and see the homes again, this time with my two aforementioned friends and aforementioned adorable boy. After going through the terrace homes and some other enormous single homes (yup, they are working on their second house!), we went to the builder’s office to talk to an agent. I picked up the price list and when the representative came to talk to me, she informed me that in the week and a half since the website was updated, the prices had gone up an additional $3,000!
WOE. (And for those who find all this talk of money vulgar, I apologize.)
In one short month, the prices have gone up $6,000, and it might have been said to build a sense of urgency, but the agent I spoke to let us know that they never know when the prices will go up again: their head office just calls and tells them to raise the prices.
Frightening.
So, I came home, cranky with myself for not buying a month ago, thinking that I should buy immediately, then wondering what I would do if two weeks from the date I sign my earnings away the price drops. Will I gnash my teeth?
My ever rational father told me to get over the increase in price and if I really want to know what’s up with the housing costs in our fair city, look up housing trends. Perhaps this is the peak season for house sales and the prices will eventually level off or drop again; perhaps not. His opinion is instead of whining to all and sundry about the increase in prices, and asking them whether or not I should buy, now, I should do the research and make my own decision.
The house is apparently not going to buy itself.
Re-sale housing prices always go up in the spring and summer, because that’s when most people look to buy. In winter, prices are usually lower, because there are fewer people looking. However, new houses, those prices seem to just always go up and up and up. Best I can tell anyway. So chances are, the prices won’t drop again. But you might want to confirm that with someone who actually knows about the new home business.
Have you considered buying resale? Or are you set on new?
Bite the bullet and buy the house. If you want to get it before you hit 30 you know you have to buy it now.
Buying a house IS rather scary the first time you do it! We owned our first house in Maryland and I remember how giddy we felt when we signed the papers. But now that we’ve moved and are trying to sell it in a bad market for sellers, we’re on the other end of the equation. :-) I hope you find what you’re looking for, at a better price than you expect!
Yup, if it’s a new house, the price isn’t going to drop. Get in now and reap the benefit of the price going up!
My 2 cents (as you expected?):
Some purchases are based on ‘getting a deal’…others are based on necessity. When we bought our house we looked at what prices were at the time we wanted to buy. There are no ‘Boxing Day’ sales for houses…if the prices fluctuate up and down a bit it’s just the nature of the purchase.
Don’t worry about the $3000 or $6000 spikes (down or up) as they won’t mean much in the long-run. Think of it only as a final sticker price that you have to pay regardless. If your house is $200K….do you really know what goes into that price? It’s not like you have a choice in saying “no, it should only be $197″. You pay what the price is.
By the way…since I’ve typed this…my ‘2 cents’ has now risen to 5 cents :)
:)
Cars depreciate as soon as you take them off the lot. *bam* Worth half what you just paid for it. Houses on the other hand, will continue (at least in this market) to increase in value. As I told you, we are looking to sell our house and if we get around what we are asking (and is reasonable in our area) we will make ~50,000 in 5 years. And that’s common all over. So, if you are really interested and can afford getting a house, do it. When we were renting, we hated paying monthly payments to someone else that were pretty much the same as what we now pay in a mortgage payment monthly. Your situation is different since you’re not paying that (or that much I should say) so obviously you don’t have that motivation. But yep, the longer you wait, the more houses they develop in those developments, they increase the prices. Which are ridiculous if you ask me….move to the country… LOL. ;)
go for it! ! ! be a homeowner! ! !
I’d advise to get a buyer’s agent who knows what the heck they’re taking about in your market… perhaps you can low-ball the builder or go find someone who will work with you. Real estate is NEGOTIABLE!!!
Best wishes! :)
You already know what I am going to say; but that does not matter. Its your money, No one can decide for you.
You already know what I am going to say; but that does not matter. Its your money, No one can decide for you.
You can talk to a real estate agent just to get an idea if u are making a good purchase. Royal Lepage really helped me solidify my decision.