Comments on: Desirable Locations, Expensive Prices: Is Buying a Home Impossible?

By: dc_publius

dc_publius — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:00:59 +0000

If you want the perfect place in a perfect location, it ain’t gonna be cheap.

What most people don’t realize is that most of the people living in these 1 million dollar houses in Old Town have either lived there a very long time (and paid much less) or it’s their 3rd or 4th house.

Unless you make big money, you can’t just expect to be able to afford all these places. Buy where you can afford, hope it appreciates, and in the meantime save more money and your next place will be better, bigger, and in a better neighborhood.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:24:35 +0000

I’m right there with you. I LOVE my neighborhood, but I have an awesome deal on rent and the houses are so freaking expensive, it’s ridiculous. For now I’m just going to enjoy the fact that I can save so much.

By: Surfergrrl

Surfergrrl — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:58:30 +0000

i totally relate to this post. living in los angeles, despite it being a buyers market, it is crazy how much even a one bedroomm condo costs. Of course i prefer to live by the beach, and with that comes even more expensive property. I could move way, way inland and MAYBE afford something…but is it worth it? not for me. plus I’ll probably be losing my job, so now is not a good time anyway. I just aspire to rent a place where i have a w/d and dishwasher. Even that is hard to obtain around here.

By: geeky

geeky — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:26:19 +0000

One of the major reasons I love the area we live in is that the housing prices aren’t insane like in NoVA. I’ve had several friends buy townhouses up there for the price (or more than) we paid for our house. It took me longer to find a job outside of NoVA, but I’m glad I held out now.

Plus, we’re still within driving distance if there’s anything exciting going on there. It means I have a longer drive to the zoo, but I can live with that :)

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:25:59 +0000

If I knew prices were going to plummet, I would bought this year. I bought my condo last year. It has it’s moments of “WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BREAK NOW…WHO DO I CALL TO FIX THIS?!” but overall, I like owning something that’s mine. It’s my home. I can paint it all pink if I wanted too (I wouldn’t).

I plan on trying to rent it out next year, if I do my masters overseas…so we shall see.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:08:10 +0000

Yes, prices are high here. I think they are headed down further, though. We went to an open house in DC this weekend for a very cramped two bedroom (830-ish square feet) which was on the market for $490K, and there was not even parking included.

I think that if you would have to take out an ARM (mortgage) or have to count on a tax refund in order to afford a place, you probably shouldn’t buy that place.

One thing in particular struck me about your post. I think that single women often don’t buy property when they could afford to because they want to wait until they are married, or they feel like it would be a roadblock to getting married. Yet I’ve never heard a man say something similar. I wonder why. Personally, I think it’s important for women to own property if they can. Buying a condo as a single woman gave me a great sense of empowerment.

By: janet

janet — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:17:45 +0000

We stretched our budget to the max to buy our house because we love the neighborhood, the neighbors, and the very short commute. But man, I could never do it alone — we are barely doing it together! The good news is that our housing costs won’t go up, but hopefully our wages will, so it will get easier over time. Then again, I don’t think we’d have room for kids in this house either…

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:07:46 +0000

Yeah, my husband and I wrestle with this one. We LOVE our neighborhood, which just so happens to be located a few blocks northeast of Capitol Hill. The list price on a loft in our building (we rent from the owner) is $500k. For a ONE BEDROOM CONDO. It’s insane. We’re not sure when/if we’ll be able to buy in DC. It’s so sad to think about leaving, though–we love it so much!