Real Estate - 1 Bedroom Condo for $450k. Should I Buy?

[Kenji4861]

In north cali, Bay area.. there is this nice shopping area called the Santana Row. About Santana Row

I recently went to go shop for a new condo in the same area. The price was $350k for a 1 bedroom condo which I thought was ridiculous, but they sold VERY quickly.

Now, there is a 1 bdrm condo at Santana Row shopping area for $450k. If price is going to continue grow and I won't be having a family for another 5 years, it should be a good buy no?

The price is insane, but if the price is going to grow, why not.

The real estate here is ridiculous and it seems like the longer I wait.. price keeps to getting worse. My co-workers has been telling me the real estate bubble will pop for the last 2 years, but it's doing the opposite. I don't think it'll ever pop, unless some tragedy happens in our area.

Any advice from the veterans would be appreciated.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

Move to Arizona, you can get a 3 bedroom house in a nice part of town for 450k.

 

[conjur]

Fvck no. San Fran/San Jose area housing bubble will soon burst.

 

[shopbruin]

that would be an awesome place to live, but then i love shopping at valley fair. at christmas it would be NUTS though, getting in and out of the area.

 

One bedroom for $450K? Jesus, that's higher than the NorVA area. I am glad I live in one of the highest-priced areas in the midwest, and my 2-bedroom condo cost $165K.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Move to Arizona, you can get a 3 bedroom house in a nice part of town for 450k.

You can get a nice home in most parts of the US for $450k, but that wasn't his question.

 

[Kenji4861]

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Move to Arizona, you can get a 3 bedroom house in a nice part of town for 450k.

In Arizona, I saw a new 10 bedroom huge house for $450k. I even thought of moving to a nearby place like Vallejo/Tracy... but I want to stay in this area. Near my family and friends.

 

[z0mb13]

in short, no!

Hmm I thought they rent out these apts?

 

[ironcrotch]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
in short, no!

Hmm I thought they rent out these apts?

not in an overpriced trendy area

 

[OS]

something you should read first before you buy

I am told historically condos/townhouses are hit harder than single family homes when real estate takes a downturn.

IMO, I really don't see how buying a condo is better than renting an apartment. You have more or less the same lifestyle and living conditions, plus in some hot areas, rent is almost half the cost of buying a similar size condo. Hell, your association fee and property tax alone probably covers half the rent on a similar place.

 

[Sphexi]

Originally posted by: jumpr
One bedroom for $450K? Jesus, that's higher than the NorVA area. I am glad I live in one of the highest-priced areas in the midwest, and my 2-bedroom condo cost $165K.

My parents live in Staunton (Fishersville actually), 3 years ago they got a 3 bedroom (with a bonus room) 2 full bath for 192K. Brand new, central air, basement, all that. Beautiful house.

 

[imthebadguy]

wtf is wrong with kalifornia

 

[shilala]

I can buy 3 exceptional 4 bedroom, two baths, on 5 or more acres here for $450,000. An inground pool would be in order, too.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: conjur
Fvck no. San Fran/San Jose area housing bubble will soon burst.

The "Bubble Bursting" thread last week scared the hell out of me and I'm in Mississippi. The info contained in some of those links amazed me.

 

[SilentZero]

Hello no!

 

[DrPizza]

buy now, and contribute to maintaining the bubble.
Wait and contribute to the bubble bursting.

Your choice.

Or, you could move to where I live, and get 10 times as much for 1/10 the cost.

 

[feelingshorter]

too expensive, i wish i had that money

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Kenji4861
In north cali, Bay area.. there is this nice shopping area called the Santana Row. About Santana Row

I recently went to go shop for a new condo in the same area. The price was $350k for a 1 bedroom condo which I thought was ridiculous, but they sold VERY quickly.

Now, there is a 1 bdrm condo at Santana Row shopping area for $450k. If price is going to continue grow and I won't be having a family for another 5 years, it should be a good buy no?

The price is insane, but if the price is going to grow, why not.

The real estate here is ridiculous and it seems like the longer I wait.. price keeps to getting worse. My co-workers has been telling me the real estate bubble will pop for the last 2 years, but it's doing the opposite. I don't think it'll ever pop, unless some tragedy happens in our area.

Any advice from the veterans would be appreciated.

Go for it!!

 

[mchammer187]

damn 450K for a 1BR cond is outrageous

and I thought we had it bad here where you can get a 2 BR condo for that much but another 100K would get me a townhouse

 

[boredhokie]

My mom bought a house in Staunton VA a couple years ago (a condo near a girls college, awesome) and the value has almost doubled since. If values are rising in a dump like this then you'll probably get left behind if you dont buy something soon.

 

[Landroval]

That's a hard call. It is true that condos tend to get hit harder, but since it is a very desirable area (?correct?) that may be less of a concern.

 

[Kenji4861]

outrageous price as everyone saids.. but if price is going to go up. and I plan to sell.. shouldn't matter right?

 

[Landroval]

I am in a similar position, wanted to buy property in that range but not sure if the time is right. Forecasts say it will go up another 25% in next year or two, but we've had crashes before.

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: Landroval
I am in a similar position, wanted to buy property in that range but not sure if the time is right. Forecasts say it will go up another 25% in next year or two, but we've had crashes before.

if you think about it, what is the true cause of these crazy increases in house/condo prices?

this is akin to stock prices going nuts in the late 90s, fueled only by increased demands of these stocks. Companies dont show greater profits/fundamentals, but the market still went up fueled by high demands.

House prices that go up by 20% every year also is not based by the improvements of the house, the house itself stays the same, only the DEMAND of houses increase..

you can say the demand increases because more people need houses, but I dont think the demographics of CA increase a lot to justify the increase in demand of real estate. I believe the high demand is purely caused by speculative reasons, or more of "I'd better buy a house with interest only loans since everyone else is doing it and making money"

CA house prices will see a correction in a year or so, especially with higher rates looming. Higher rates = less people able to buy, and also less lenders. Also higher rates will cause some people not being able to pay their mortgages, so foreclosures will be more common as well. So the demand of houses will fall, and the supply will increase (due to foreclosures and whatnot).

People with enough equity in their houses wont be affected by this price correction, but speculative people or people that cant really afford their mortgages will certainly be affected

 

[Mo0o]

There's no such thing as a bubble that wont pop.