Housing Bubble Starting to Lose Air?
We don’t usually get around to the Op Ed page ’til later in the day so we missed Krugman’s piece yesterday on everybody’s favorite topic, the housing bubble. Among the signs he points to that the bubble is already losing air are: The bubble doesn’t burst with a bang–inventory builds as sellers hold out for…
We don’t usually get around to the Op Ed page ’til later in the day so we missed Krugman’s piece yesterday on everybody’s favorite topic, the housing bubble. Among the signs he points to that the bubble is already losing air are:
Is there any hard evidence that properties in New York are sitting on the market for longer?
That Hissing Sound [NY Times]
I’m with you I Own – I have no 401K, as my job does not provide for one. I am planning to look into other retirement savings, but even so, I’ll just be getting started at (almost) 30, so I have nothing to borrow against. My husband doesn’t either, although he is looking to get into his 401K (non-matching though, so is it really that great?)
I don’t know the exact “when” either and I agree it’s really hard – I don’t have the job flexibility and cannot take the year off (student loans stink) so I can’t plan so precisely either. I’ve been trying to think in the abstract as best as I can – knowing that I would rather have a house before a kid, for example (although like you said, planning for that isn’t precise either!).
My parents, baby boomers, and their friends, feel so bad for all the “young” people starting out – the pressures we face are, in their eyes, 10x the pressures they faced.
Native Gal– I’m glad it all works out for you! Great plan and seems like you are in control of things. But what about those of us who aren’t sure WHEN we want children? Or whose lifetsyles or jobs do not allows us to plan things so meticulously? There’s also some science involved in actually conceiving, which doesn’t always cooperate with a couple’s “plan.” I am just playing devils advocate here… but these are all realities….
ARMed with ARMs. I bought a coop in 1999 in Park Slope for 200K with a 1 year adjustable mortgage at 6%. My payment started around 1100 a month, next year it was around 1000 and the third year it was 900. I sold it in 2003 for 350K, had I stayed the payment would have been 850 a month the next year. I bought a Brownstone in 2003 for 550K with a 5/1 ARM and 10% down leaving me with about 95K in my bank after closing on the brownstone. I won’t know for 3 and half more years what the monthly will be, but it will be based on a lower principal (I also pay 200 more a month to rapidly decrease the principal). Whether or not it goes up or down in the 2% range, my payment wont be that far off from what it is now. As I get close to the change in rate (and the bank tells you 6 months in advance what your new rate will be), I can change to a fixed if it is really out of hand or get another ARM. I think they are great and save you alot of money. I havent gone wrong.
You want to own? Buy something small hold it for 2 years and sell, then buy up, if you have to do it again another 2 years then do it. Buy a little fixer upper apartment, paint and new appliances go a LONG way!
anon at 5:40 — Brownstoner – you are parents, we need a thread about this issue!! HOW TO MAKE IT ALL WORK! (Or, seemingly work).
I completely agree with Anon about childcare. Workplaces are not making it any easier- especially for women. I could go on and on about this topic……
I too do not want to leave the city – #1, my hubby’s job requires he be pretty darn close to the city to make things easier (and so he wouldn’t have to sit on a train for 2 hours a day commuting) #2, I love it here!! #3, the city can offer so many great cultural and learning opportunities for kids…
As a woman I feel cornered. Do I choose my job and the city, or do I choose motherhood? If you’re not Sarah Jessica or Gwyneth you can’t have both. The bullshit notion of “having it all” from the women’s lib really kind of screwed us over.
If you think the price of your condo can’t go below –way below– the price you paid for it in 2002 you’re high on Bugaboo fumes.
I’m not saying it will, but it’s certainly a viable possibility.
I hear you I Own – I am terrified to have a kid. My spouse and I both have to work to pay student loans, so there is no question we will need childcare. Sure, we’ve thought about leaving NYC so one of us could stay home with a kid, but it feels very unfair that I should have to leave my family and home just to make ends meet.
The costs of childcare are obscene and I think it’s hard for people who don’t have kids if they don’t think about it ahead of time. It’s particularly appropriate in this discussion, where we’ve been chatting about rising home prices. With larger mortgages to support higher priced homes come larger payments, and while I could “afford” 5-6Gs in housing costs per month now, what happens when I have a child and have to add over 2Gs a month in childcare to those costs? Yikes. I shudder to think.
We are thinking (gasp) more and more about moving nearer to my parents just for the free childcare, and we don’t even have a kid yet!
North Sloper,
Just curious: What do you plan on doing in five years? (Since you say you plan to stay for the long haul and since I assume your job reversal means that you anticipate your income to remain lower than it used to be going into the future.) Not trying to jump on you, but interest rates are likely to rise, and you make it sound as though you couldn’t afford your place at a higher rate.
i am so glad people are bringing up the kid issue! how the hell do people do it financially when both parents have to work?! i know some people rent so they can have more $$$ for a kid — but renting would feel so “unstable” to me if i was parent– what if you get kicked out? what if your rent dramatically increases? etc etc… ughhh its hard to be starting out nowadays!
Hey Alo,
This isn’t Baltimore.. Last I checked the population here has been steadily increasing. ESPECIALLY Brooklyn!