voices member. You can still flip houses in this area. That person just made 110K in just 5 years. That's 22K per year. It goes to show you, that if you wait long enough, someone will buy your house. There was a bigger house, just down the street from this house, that sold recently for 226K, but it was a bank owned home.
Golf Course Community
978 Willbrook Rd
Newport News

Fri May 23 2008, 12:56

Forgot to say something to John:
John,
Cudos for doing your homework. Sounds like a wise decision, providing it won't cause emotional distress. More money and lower cost of living! Feel free to use my website athttp:// www.tchurchwell.com if you want to look up demographics, crime, do comparisons, etc.

Tue May 20 2008, 10:02

Wow, comments are all over the place! Some good, some bad. Thomas, you have to decide on a few things first. 1. How long do you intend to occupy the property? If you are confident you will be leaving the area in less than five years, then perhaps you shouldn't buy, unless you think you will be able to rent it out. Less than five years is the case regardless of the market conditions if you can't afford not to make money on it (this applies to any investment). For the Realtors on here, I know that the average homeowner only stays 5-7 yrs, but I'm talking about "investment horizon".
2. What are your decision factors for purchasing? Investment? Home ownership? Family?
3. What is the after-tax equivalent of purchasing versus renting?
There are more questions, but these should be a starting point. As for concern over the market, wouldn't you rather be buying when everyone else is scared to purchase? or buy when everyone is buying and telling you that you should purchase as well? The former creates opportunity, the latter creates price inflation. I would rather buy during firesale prices in a home in which I would be comfortable waiting out the market if it doesn't turn up. Let us know how it turns out.
Tim

Tue May 20 2008, 09:59

Wow, that is insane, I am now looking at TEXAS as a possibility. It's not my first choice but the prices are reasonable. At 250,000 you can get over 2500 sqft and make more money as a software engineer compared to here. Well, that is to bad but I got to leave my options open.

Sun May 18 2008, 15:35

To the Voices Member from March 10... Funny but the link you posted to the house that you did not think will sell for 239K sold exactly for 239,900 on March 27th. Shows you that none of you can predict anything and these "answers" should really be taken with a grain of salt.

http://www.trulia.com/homes/Virginia/Newport_News/sold/29237…

Fri May 16 2008, 09:30

If someone bought at the top of the market and that area declined in value than they will take a loss. (Long Sentence)

Do some math about the tax benefits about homeownership.

There are a few local areas that have declining value. Most neighborhoods have stable values.

Price it Right and it will sell!

Thu May 15 2008, 18:54

I read a post from a man in newport news, va that is trying to sell his house. He is not having good luck. The post was on zillow. I think the military have wised up to the fact that a declining market, mixed with 4 year relocation, spells trouble, so they're not buying. What happens to the military man that transfered and is forced to sell now that bought at the peak of the bubble in 2005?

Thu May 15 2008, 16:11

Everyone has different housing needs. In our area many military families would rather purchase using their BAH than rent or stay in housing. They can pick the area and schools.

There are a lot of affordable housing options for buyers. Sellers need to do the math and determine whether the bottom line makes sense.

We always assist our clients make sense of the current market. A little more that a traditional REALTOR does for a client. If I say NO!, I mean NO You might not agree at first but I've bought and sold 15 properties myself and never lost a nickle.

One comission won't make or break me. My past clients are more important.

Good Luck!. Call 456-5440 and ask for Theresa if you need an immediate answer.

www.teamfavorite.com

Thu May 15 2008, 09:59

I'm suprised no one has analyzed the military housing allowance and how that impacts Hampton Roads prices. The military is one of the few employers who pays a seperate line labled "basic allowance for housing" which most military members use as an anchor when determining how much they can afford to pay for a house. It is generally looked at as a floor, i.e. most military families plan on paying at least their housing allowance for housing. The rates are determined based on the cost of housing in the area, so its very much a self-perpetuating machine. Go to http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/bah.html and type in 23451 for the zip to get an idea of housing allowance rates. The number of O-3 with dependants and above ($1750-2140/month) probably numbers in the thousands and the number of E-6 and above ($1480-$1800/mo) numbers in the many thousands. At current rates (5 1/2%) this supports a $250k to $375K loan. Also remember that the majority of these military families who are "foolish" for buying because they have to move every 4 years, were by definition all forced to sell their houses over the last 3 years into the height of the bubble, so most are sitting on tens or hundreds of thousands in profits from their last house to use as a down payment. For example, some of the E-5's who worked for me sold their townhouses in Hawaii for $250K profits in 2006-07 and I know San Diego families in the same situation. While I agree that the oxymoronic "This is a great time to buy AND sell" mantra of the realtors is out of touch with reality, I would like to see some more thoughtful analysis of this particular market wrinkle that probably impacts Hampton Roads more than anywhere else in the country.

Sun Apr 6 2008, 22:31

It depends. Most of Chesapeake is over priced if you ask me, and I've lived there since 1990. Incomes in the entire area are lower (yes, the military has a big part to play with that) and unless your going to work for a government contractor you'll have a hard time making what you might somewhere else.

That said, here is what is going to become of Chesapeake once this bubble has deflated all the way. This area is one the more expensive (in terms of what you get for your dollar)....

http://norfolk.craigslist.org/apa/620292009.html

Mon Mar 31 2008, 05:37

Their are some interesting comments on here, to say the least. Maybe one of the realtors can help me. I have notice the price of homes in neighborhoods I regard as safe and comparable to what I am use to over 300k range. But I notice the average income in the area is between 60 - 70k. I am a software engineer and it seems the salaries in my profession are porportional to the average income. Are the prices of homes higher due to heavy military presence? I have a little over a year to decide if I want to uproot and raise my family here. It looks like a nice place from what I see, my only concern is will I be able to make enough to sustain a comfortable living standard with the drop in salary. So what is the driving force for home prices?

Sun Mar 30 2008, 23:58

I agree with Frank Bigans. If the house is priced properly it will sell. Here is a link to a house on trulia. The price now is $239,000 but in 2003 it was $129,000. When this house is correctly priced at $159,000 it will sell( lets assume 4% increase in value ).

Mon Mar 10 2008, 13:39

Kelly - market springs back how? DO YOU PEOPLE NOT GET IT!? PEOPLE HAVE NO MONEY. It was all high risk lending that fueled it. It can't come back, because all the investors that got taken it are melting down. Prices are not based on income, they are based on the false speculation that prices will continue to increase at the unsustainable rate. Go look at professor Shillers chart. Google it. I'll wait... .seriously. YEA, you see that spike? UNSUSTAINABLE. The market has no where, and I mean NO WHERE to go but down. Now that you've seen the Shiller chart, look at Credit's Suisse's ARM reset chart on google. Yea, I'lll wait again. Check that out, YEARS left of mortgage resets that will likely result in foreclosures, on top of the fact everyone in the real estate biz (not the bankruptcy lawyers tho!) will be hurting from loss of work.

Wed Mar 5 2008, 10:37

Spivey - yea the military is funny. All these people that are going to be here 2 or 4 years buying up homes. Very bad move. A friend's relative had purchased a townhouse 4 years ago, and put it on the market for 100% more than it frigging cost (look at the salary increases in the area). Finally some idiot buyer and his girl step forward, both in the Navy. They got *0* money to their name, but are wanting to buy the stupid townhouse. So they needed closing cost assistance and all that. What does the seller do? Rejects them because "she wasn't going to get RIPPED off." The whole run up was madness and now the falling is going to be gruesome. I don't think people see what is going on with the banks and stuff. America is tapped out, too much debt, people don't produce, so many of our workers are useless. I think it could be a very long time before a rebound. Too much greed. Rent now and remain mobile versus having some pressboard box anchored around your leg.

Wed Mar 5 2008, 10:33

Not being a realtor...all I can recommend is that it is a GREAT time to buy. Rates are LOW....very low and people think they are going to drop lower. What will happen then if the market comes back strong? Rates will still be good but it could change back to a seller's market then....the deals are not a good. I see alot of contracts and right now....sellers are VERY negotiable. They are paying closing costs and some are offering and paying for "special" buydown options. I have one contract where the seller is paying for a 3/2/1 buydown and the buyers start rate is below 3%!!! I personally think it is a GREAT time to buy!!!

Tue Feb 5 2008, 19:45

Thomas,

If you're considering purchasing in Chesapeake, just contact me through my website for a list of properties that have recently sold. This will show you list price, sold price, and days on market. Despite national news, properties that are priced correctly have no trouble selling and this list is proof to that.

Recently, I have been able to negotiate up to $9,000 in closing cost assistance on a property that was priced right. In addition, my clients are also receiving interest rates as low as 5.25% fixed rate for 30 years. In my opinion, this is the perfect time to buy!

Frank Biganski, Realtor ABR

Tue Jan 22 2008, 06:00

So your saying the lots just get passed around until a home buyer picks it up? Doesn't that create an artificial price value? It sounds like racketeering to me.

Fri Dec 28 2007, 20:50

Bubble Boy makes some interesting points, but in regards to new construction, don't assume they're slashing prices. Most in this area that I've talked to in the last few days (the reason for those calls is completely unrelated to this topic) have very little standing inventory which is where they stand to lose the most money. Most have a model built and then empty lots. Any developer that doesn't have the financial ability to stand on unsold lots for an extended period typically brings in multiple builders, sells them the lot