The best business decision is the 3/2. It will be much easier to sell when the time comes because it has 2 baths and functional floorplan. Taxes are forever. They don't go away and they don't go down.

3/2. Best layout, well cared for, easy to resell.

Just found out the 3/2 has 2 offers on it being presented on Tuesday. Now have to decide if we can even compete since it's already overpriced in this sellers market. No offers on open floorplan yet..and in this market seems like that about says it all.

I would offer on the 3/2 and make the best offer I felt comfortable with. You might get it or you might not. I would pass on the other house given the layout issues.

Yes, just make your offer and leave the result up to fate.

Assuming a fixed mortgage, the lower taxes/higher price is the better value because over time the tax differential will increase, whereas the P&I are fixed.

But yes, the overwhelming factor here should be which house works better for you.

I would never buy a flipped house because I would be concerned about what corners were cut.

Put an offer on the 3/2

Make your offer. Stuff happens.

Yes the 3/2.

Do not go into the bidding war thinking that "the home is already overpriced" , because the fact that it has multiple offers already, says otherwise.

Thank you all, the 3/2 home is under contract (not by me). Here in PA it is the worst market for buyers, if the homes even semi decent it goes in a day or less with multiple offers. The house was overpriced but someone was willing to pay that. I'm just not there yet. Might put the search on hold until people calm down a bit, I'm in no rush and won't pay more for a house then I think it's worth. Thank you all.. the open floorplan is still available but with your help, and my gut, that one is no longer an option.

Smart move to wait. What goes up, comes down. I'm in SW PA. Our housing market is historically stable. It doesn't go through the way highs and lows. That being said houses priced right are going real fast. We are on the short list for Amazon HQ2. If they come here we will experience a crazy housing market. Unfortunately the best time to buy is when the economy is down.

The real estate price will keep going up, the longer you wait the more you'd pay. Find a nice home in your budget, and make an offer fast.

That is not necessarily true. It depends on where you live.

May 31, 2017 — 12:10 PM EDT

Homes are worth more now than their pre-recession levels in some areas of the country, but that’s more the exception than the rule, according to a new study by real estate website Trulia. In fact, two out of three homes still haven’t risen to pre-recession levels.

Trulia’s research found that, on average, home prices are $78,000 below their pre-recession peak values, with some areas hit even harder. The study looked at the 100 largest U.S. metro markets and compared the prices of homes as of March 1, 2017 with those on December 1, 2007 – the onset of the Great Recession. The study found that only 34.2% of homes nationwide had recovered their value.

The county below me experienced a reverse in home values that had nothing to due with the recession. Two years ago the majority of fracking industry moved out, leaving the demand for homes lower and the homes were reevaluated for taxes. One reason the people moved there was because of the low taxes and choose to a little longer commute to work for cheaper living. The jobs are in my county. Now that the taxes are going up and up every year to meet our county level people are moving back into our county to be closer to work.

The economy is getting better though. the mortgage rate will go up soon. Are you in the middle of mountains? Not trying to drive you crazy to have some moonshine, :-) but please read these:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/13/economist-home-prices-are-increasing-twice-as-fast-as-income-growth.html

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-prices-are-rising-so-fast-that-expert-predictions-cant-keep-up-2018-05-01

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/23/pf/buy-a-home-2018/index.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-do-faster-inflation-and-rising-mortgage-rates-mean-for-housing-2018-3

No mountains, just hills and natural resources. Is there a state that doesn't have there own form of moonshine? It is definitely a sellers market. If the OP can stay put in his/her present home and wait for the market to even out they could ride out this buying frenzy. It seems like people are buying homes that they really don't like and paying more than they would like because of the shortage of homes. The OP already stated he is in no rush to buy.

Lol, I don’t drink, just heard that people in the mountains like moonshine. The Market will be seller’s market for a long while, he’d pay more the longer he waited....... houses in nicer neighborhood with good schools will always be hot.......

Thank you, I do think a lot of the buying frenzy is because of articles like that scaring people into buying a house quickly. Even if the interest rate rises to 5.5%, I will still be in a good position. Inventory is so low and the houses that do come up like functionthenlook mentioned, are not that great but people are buying them just to have something. I think patience is the way to go right now. It's just supply and demand right now and sellers are using that to get out of homes they don't like. So many of the houses on the market near me are right next to a highway or don't have paved driveways, aren't updated, and people are paying ridiculous prices for them. Just think..if everyone was patient, these high prices would fall on their own, but instead people are getting in bidding wars over subpar houses.

Your blood type must be O. :-) You aren’t ready for a house then. We just purchased a weekend property last year. Within a week it was on the market there were total 6 offers. Bidding war is not fun but it’s much much easier than getting in a medical school, so it’s no big deal. You would know when you see a house you love, when you at a property that meant to be yours, you’d feel your heart singing and you’d be sleepless for days. :-) When you find a house you could call it hone, please report back here, we’d all cheer for you. :-)

Zee Vee How long are you planning to wait for house prices in your area to fall? About what % of over-priced do you think they are now? Are the prices you find too high much above 2007 levels? The reality is that for some people buying makes financial or emotional sense, for others it doesn't. I don't know your situation or motivation,but I think a sober,thoughtful approach is wise. Many of us have made significant money with R.E., I'd say that drives the "frenzy" ,too. Good luck!

This market has been somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster. I am in an apartment currently, with my husband, and my motivation is somewhat high since I came from a house, back into an apartment after a cross country move, and a lot of my stuff is in storage, and I work from home. However, I'm not interested in investing when the market is high, because to me investing in anything when it's high is a bad move. I'm just torn between being sensible and patient vs getting wrapped up in the hype of "it's only going to get worse." I've never been one for 'expert opinions' or doomsday forecasting. I'd say houses range from 10-30k over what I personally think they would be worth if there wasn't such low inventory. My previous two home buys were in a buyers market and I got full closing costs with 10k off asking, so this has been a huge shock to the system. I just don't know what to do either way..buy now at full price and hope it only goes up..which my gut tells me cant be possible.. or wait, hunker down in my apartment and save lots of money.

Take the time to look at the history of sales in your area for the long term. Go back 25 years so you can see the ups and downs and run your own analysis of what you think the market will do based on history plus what is happening in your local economy.

If you aren't ready to buy, then don't jump in. I find that in every market there are reasonably priced properties, lower priced and high priced properties. Every market has distressed sellers. In good markets they are harder to find, but they are there. Some sellers are extremely motivated due to some outside pressure in their life that has nothing to do with the local economy. It requires more diligence from your agent and if your agent isn't willing to put in the effort find one that is willing to do so.

Note: if you have any vision at all and the funds to back it up, pick an ugly duckling with a functional floorplan. You can generally get those for much less. Those that haven't paid their property taxes in a year or two are also showing early signs of distress. Those that haven't paid HOA dues are in distress. There are any number of ways to cross check the properties for stressed sellers.

"Peter March" is a known necrospam editor. See previous examples and flag them. This post will probably go the same way.

https://www.houzz.com/activities/user/peter_march87/comments

ETA: spam removed, thank you!

it will be trouble when you sell it unless you dump in a bunch of bucks to fix a non-functional floorplan.

I think that you need to talk to a real estate attorney in your area to get specific answers. As you can tell by some of the responses here, customs vary a lot around the country, You could also interview a number of RE agents and find someone who is a Buyer's agent. Someone who will look after you. Good luck.