Homebuying Questions

[Grey Fox]

Owning a house is wonderful!

[Malthus]

Heh I still remember the mingled terror and elation of learning I had won a bidding war and was now the proud owner of a massive mortgage (oh, and a house).

I also remember the day I made my very last payment ... now that was a good day.

[merithyn]

Heh I still remember the mingled terror and elation of learning I had won a bidding war and was now the proud owner of a massive mortgage (oh, and a house).

I also remember the day I made my very last payment ... now that was a good day.

Part of my budget includes having enough extra each month to make a double principle payment. I'm already 50. It would be nice if my house were paid off by retirement.

[Admiral Yi]

Would this be your first home purchase?

[grumbler]

Heh I still remember the mingled terror and elation of learning I had won a bidding war and was now the proud owner of a massive mortgage (oh, and a house).

I also remember the day I made my very last payment ... now that was a good day.

Part of my budget includes having enough extra each month to make a double principle payment. I'm already 50. It would be nice if my house were paid off by retirement.

A fifteen year mortgage might work out better than a 30-year one with double payments.  When I got my fifteen year mortgage the interest rate was lower than a thirty-year one.

[merithyn]

Would this be your first home purchase?

I bought a house in 2006... and lost it in 2008.

[merithyn]

Heh I still remember the mingled terror and elation of learning I had won a bidding war and was now the proud owner of a massive mortgage (oh, and a house).

I also remember the day I made my very last payment ... now that was a good day.

Part of my budget includes having enough extra each month to make a double principle payment. I'm already 50. It would be nice if my house were paid off by retirement.

A fifteen year mortgage might work out better than a 30-year one with double payments.  When I got my fifteen year mortgage the interest rate was lower than a thirty-year one.

That's good advice.

[Malthus]

There's an interesting article in this week's Economist as to the reasons behind the curious fact that house prices have largely *not* fallen, despite the pandemic.

Basically, interest rates continue low, the impact of the economic downturn has been blunted by government policies designed to prevent lots of foreclosures, and interest in owning houses has stayed strong or even increased, what with so many working from home - and so more willing to spend on home space.

[Iormlund]

Owning a house is wonderful!

I hope so. I'm about to spend a lot of money in one. 

[merithyn]

Owning a house is wonderful!

I hope so. I'm about to spend a lot of money in one. 

Let me know how that goes...

[Oexmelin]

Same here. 

[Napoleon XIV]

There's an interesting article in this week's Economist as to the reasons behind the curious fact that house prices have largely *not* fallen, despite the pandemic.

Basically, interest rates continue low, the impact of the economic downturn has been blunted by government policies designed to prevent lots of foreclosures, and interest in owning houses has stayed strong or even increased, what with so many working from home - and so more willing to spend on home space.

Sounds about right.  Cheap money and keeping cheaper stock out will have that effect.  I'm seeing people getting fixed rates of around 2.125% on 15 year mortgages and around 2.5% or so on 30 years.

That's how it's playing out here in New York.  The City is doing poorly as your wealthier and more mobile types are fleeing the upper east side and whatnot.  The outer counties where I am - Nassau and Suffolk - are seeing bidding wars on nearly everything that pops onto the market.  A client of mine listed his place late last week and by Sunday had, like, a dozen offers, seven of which were pretty massively over the asking price.  Brokers I'm friends with are reporting the same thing across the island.

[Grey Fox]

Same here. 

How's the Montreal market looking?

You going fixed 5 years? You have enough for a 20% down payment, avoiding the insurance & test?

[Malthus]

There's an interesting article in this week's Economist as to the reasons behind the curious fact that house prices have largely *not* fallen, despite the pandemic.

Basically, interest rates continue low, the impact of the economic downturn has been blunted by government policies designed to prevent lots of foreclosures, and interest in owning houses has stayed strong or even increased, what with so many working from home - and so more willing to spend on home space.

Sounds about right.  Cheap money and keeping cheaper stock out will have that effect.  I'm seeing people getting fixed rates of around 2.125% on 15 year mortgages and around 2.5% or so on 30 years.

That's how it's playing out here in New York.  The City is doing poorly as your wealthier and more mobile types are fleeing the upper east side and whatnot.  The outer counties where I am - Nassau and Suffolk - are seeing bidding wars on nearly everything that pops onto the market.  A client of mine listed his place late last week and by Sunday had, like, a dozen offers, seven of which were pretty massively over the asking price.  Brokers I'm friends with are reporting the same thing across the island.

There is also this - the whole job losses due to pandemic/working from home thing has not impacted people evenly. It has hurt the lower middle class worker far more than the upper middle class worker. Those in the upper middle class have in general found it easier to retain earnings, and of course spending is way down - noone is going out to spend  - and these are the people most likely to be thinking of buying a bigger house further away from downtown.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Quicken, one of the largest mortgage lenders, reported March was their biggest month ever. They're primarily focused on refinance and are fully online, so they wouldn't be impacted as much by the pandemic.

Home sales have been pretty strong this year. It will be interesting (at least to me) to compare this year with last year at the end of the year.