I'm in St. Louis Park. I bought in 2010. Full remodel in 2016.
I don't have to buy, so I'm in a huge advantage. I simply can't pass up what's happening so I am going to list here this summer and rent for a year.
Housing market
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I'm in St. Louis Park. I bought in 2010. Full remodel in 2016.
I don't have to buy, so I'm in a huge advantage. I simply can't pass up what's happening so I am going to list here this summer and rent for a year.
I've only ever driven through Concrete so can't speak to it. There is only one other decent sized town on Hwy 20 to the east (Marblemount). Beyond that you are looking at miles of wilderness. I'm not sure if the Hwy 20 pass has opened for the summer yet - they may still be plowing it out from under 5+ feet of snow. But you'll be limited to Hwy 20 west of Marblemount due to the winter closure. Sedro-Woolley (SEE-dro WULL-ee) is a nice small town. Like a Boone or Story City feel. Mount Vernon/Burlington is definitely the hub of the county. I'd say it's like an upscale Marshalltown. Small town feel, some depressed areas, a significant Hispanic population, but more/better commerce (i.e. newish Costco, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond). You can run up to Bellingham for anything and everything (think Cedar Falls with more/better hipsters - Western Washington University is there, the state's 3rd largest public school).
The whole area is beautiful. You've got dense old growth forests and mountains, wide open spaces with farms in the Skagit Valley (SKA-jit), and salt water and beaches all within an hour's drive.
Most residences out here do not have A/C so you'll want some fans for the two weeks its warm out here (ie 85+ degrees). But it's not very humid and it still gets down into the 50s overnight. Basically the dew point is always like 55deg due to the cold Salish Sea - if it's warmer than that, it doesn't feel humid. But for the 6 months out of the year it's close to or below that, it's humid/foggy/misty/drizzly (or snowing at elevation). I know Concrete gets more snow than Mount Vernon, but I don't know how much. Above 4000 ft you're looking at 6+ feet of snow annually. Mount Vernon is only 200 - 500ft above sea level, and we only get measurable snowfall every few years.
Thanks. All research indicates that I'm living in Sedro-Wooley/Mt Vernon/Burlington. Not much between there and Concrete.
I was up there in Late April visiting the dam site, and spent a couple of days afterwards driving around. Just absolutely gorgeous (especially since two of the days I was there were 65 and sunny). It's a nice change from my past two locations (San Bernardino/Los Angeles and Houston).
It'll be nice to get to a smaller town. I've spent the past 8 years in 3 of the 5 largest metro areas in the US. Was a little bit of a change in scale when I visited. I might bother you later with some more questions via DM.
Let’s so you can afford it, then you lose your job; which means you now can’t afford it. You can’t sell it, you can’t refi it, you are stuck.
Bought a little over 3 years in a booming small town next to a booming Med City. After talking with a realtor friend, he thinks I could get 50-60% more right now than what we paid for in early 2018.
Houses aren't even lasting a day on the market up here.
The image is actually from my area and made Tosh.0
Houses aren't even lasting a day on the market up here.
The image is actually from my area and made Tosh.0
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In summary, inventory of homes is low across most of the country so people are paying crazy prices.
I saw this with vehicles when I bought my Kia Telluride. On FB and the forums, everyone is saying "Don't pay over MSRP and the dealers will stop". For 2 years now, there have been enough people paying this stupid tax of $5k to $10k instead of just walking. When you say something they get defensive and say "you don't know my situation". This isn't some rare Ferrari that is one of a kind. Go to another dealer that charges msrp or below and be willing to wait a few months or if you need it now, buy something else. I love the vehicle and I think it's the best in the segment but once you add $10k to the sticker, it's not. I will also make sure to never get service done at places like Kia of DM because of these shady practices.
I saw this with vehicles when I bought my Kia Telluride. On FB and the forums, everyone is saying "Don't pay over MSRP and the dealers will stop". For 2 years now, there have been enough people paying this stupid tax of $5k to $10k instead of just walking. When you say something they get defensive and say "you don't know my situation". This isn't some rare Ferrari that is one of a kind. Go to another dealer that charges msrp or below and be willing to wait a few months or if you need it now, buy something else. I love the vehicle and I think it's the best in the segment but once you add $10k to the sticker, it's not. I will also make sure to never get service done at places like Kia of DM because of these shady practices.
Somewhat off topic. How do you like your Telluride? My wife has a Sportage and loves it but we now have 2 kids. I’m thinking as the kids get older and we need more car space, the Telluride may be perfect.
Love it. Just got back a few weeks ago from a road trip to Texas and it performed great. Really the only complaints I've seen is that the front windshield seems to be easy to crack and expensive to replace. Another one to check out use the new Carnival. It's a minivan but it looks a little different and has had great reviews.
If it works out for that person, that means it did not work out as well for you. List it and let others compete.
Have they come out with the Telluride Karen Edition yet? Because that’s who drives that vehicle. If you’re a dude driving a Telluride as your daily driver, stop it.
If that person likes his property enough to stop and say that to him he may be willing to pay well over market just to make sure he gets it before others even have a chance.
I’ve seen this happen is residential some, and it happens in ag real estate all the time.
Thanks! I test drove the Telluride a few months ago and loved it but there’s a big difference of perception test driving versus actually owning one for a while. I’m happy to hear you still love it after owning for a bit. If the windshield is pretty spotty, perhaps a low/no deductible comprehensive insurance plan would be worth it.
We test drove a Telluride couple years ago when it had just come out, really liked it. Ended up going with Honda Pilot but the Telluride was definitely second on our list.
I think that's what we're going to do. Come up with an asking price and tell her we'll sell to her before putting on the market if she agrees to that price with no realtor and will agree to wait until our new house is done to close. Listing it might get us more but then we'd have to pay the realtor so probably a wash and less hassle.
The couple featured in this article have looked at 40 homes, offered $100k over asking price on a house listed at $699k, and still didn't get it.
www.npr.org
It's Harder Than Ever To Buy A House, And Bidding Wars Keep Breaking Out
A record low supply of homes for sale and strong demand from buyers are sending home prices to record levels and frustrating homebuyers who keep getting outbid.
www.npr.org
May be time to buy a camper and sell the house. Two kids gone next year and last one is flexible. Heck MILs house is empty, rent that a year and buy on the downturn.The couple featured in this article have looked at 40 homes, offered $100k over asking price on a house listed at $699k, and still didn't get it.
It's Harder Than Ever To Buy A House, And Bidding Wars Keep Breaking Out
A record low supply of homes for sale and strong demand from buyers are sending home prices to record levels and frustrating homebuyers who keep getting outbid.
I wonder what the reasoning is for such a low supply of homes on the market. Why are so few people selling?
I think it’s self perpetuating at this point, but most likely the start of it was 2020 just gummed up the works to bring the normal flow down.
Also people are all wanting to move to the same places: Austin, Nashville, Columbus, Richmond, FL, Dallas, Twin Cities, etc. big cities but not the mega cities.