Thank you. I think I could recoup a good part of the bathroom renovation though. We're going to rearrange the layout and put in a skylight. With the updated look, I think it could be a good investment if we stay for at least a year.

I also expect home prices where I live to keep increasing, because I'm in the vicinity of Amazon's new HQ2, just to give you a sense of my calculus.

Thanks again.

A couple of months ago we thought he should sell and downside. We cleaned and purged (yeah!). Then we started looking for a property that would work for us. We could not find anything that we liked as much as the house we have lived in for the past 30 something years.

So I suggest you start looking, if you find a place you love and can afford call your realtor and do it.

I'd recommend taking a look or asking on Reddit's r/RealEstate subreddit.

You'll see a lot of people sharing your same thoughts and can read the responses. Most areas of the country with a steady job market are going through this right now since inventory is so low and has been low the past several years but is exacerbated by potential sellers like yourself wary of putting their house on the market, many people are wfh full or part time now, and a huge spike in single family home desirability since people are at home all of the time.

maddielee's comment probably makes the most sense. Downside your stuff as if you were planning to sell and start looking. This should help take off pressure from needing to jump on buying post-sale of your own house. If your offer gets accepted on a house over the competing offers then you can immediately get to work listing your house for sale. It will be a scramble but is completely doable if you prepare. Assuming everything goes well you'll likely be able to accept an offer on your house incredibly quickly.

We did this a few years ago when a house we loved popped up for sale unexpectedly. We jumped on it with an offer; as soon as we found out our offer was accepted over the competition we immediately began prepping our house to sell. We received an offer to buy it immediately. It was a crazy busy but exciting time!

While I am being laughed at I would suggest that you do the paint up/fix up as if you are going to sell. But wait until later or even next year before looking. The people who rushed to purchase to get out of where they were living because of the virus and lower interest rates may not have the most stable jobs/income especially if in the typical two income household one has to stay home to school the children. While the houses may not be bargains as people try to recoup what they have spent I think the housing market as far as availability may be easing later this year.

Living in an area where to do anything you must drive if and when the virus is more stable people who had lived in areas where all they needed to do was walk to shops and restaurants may decide that the convenience of those things out way the desire to escape especially when they find they took the danger with them.

We are working hard on thinning the herd as far as getting rid of stuff we don't need, haven't used or intended to donate for years. To be honest, we do need more time. I'm sure we'd get it done somehow if something worked out right now, but realistically, this is going to take longer than we thought.

Our house is in very good shape. One room needs to be painted to lighten it up, but we've been updating and renovating and have put a lot of money into the home over the years. But as you know, homes always need something.

I just have to wonder when things will level out. Perhaps after the pandemic is over or life returns to something resembling normal. But for now, it seems people are frantic to buy homes.

We were putting together a bid on a home today and our realtor called to tell us that house got a cash offer when began at $50K over the asking price.

Lots of very wealthy people around here with liquid assets. I have to hope it's not a trend.

The house was already priced more than any other comp.

While it may be wealthy people it may also be people using some of the changes that allow the usage of their retirement accounts to purchase a home. Those that have I hope they asked to have additional taken out for taxes to cover what will be due.

What changes are those, if you don't mind?

In some markets the people who have waited for the markets to cool to jump in, have gotten more and more behind int their ability to keep up with escalating RE prices. Real estate is very local, so my predictions for my RE market might vary wildly from your RE market.

We bought in 2010 in Los Angeles and I thought prices were going to drop. In my town they never did and have just kept on rising since then. Turns out we bought at the bottom. Insane!

There are many millions of retired folks that have not been at all been adversely effected financially by the pandemic - just sayin'.

Good for you, chispa!

My sister just sold and bought a house in a hot market. In order to do so they had to sell their house and move into a rental. Before that the contingency of selling their house first was getting any offer they put in rejected.

That's exactly the position we're being put in, aziline. I commend your sister for making the brave move. When our realtor first told us we needed to sell first and rent, I was shocked. But now I see she was just being realistic.

We went to an open house a few weeks back and chatted with another couple who were checking it out. They sold their home and have been renting for a year. A year!

They also sold before the covid bubble, so lost out on tens of thousands if they'd waited to sell.

I went back with a whole new appreciation for my own house, and felt lucky that I have a lovely home that's mine.

I just don't think I could do it.

Maybe I'll change my mind after awhile. This disappointment will push us to sell first, or just stay and wait it out.

Strange how many first time home buyers are retired. I would expect it in places like Florida but not the rest of the country.

Not to scare anyone but I'd say 3 months and the housing market turns sour. People are chasing any house they can get because of the cheap interest rates but it's about to end this spring so sell now. Don't wait until spring because the market is going to be flooded with homes people are ready to cash in on but there will be a problem.

The problem is the 10 year treasury yield is on it's way up and I foresee a bond market sell off coming, and when 10 yr treasury yields go up so do mortgage rates, they move hand in hand. I have a house going on the market next week to cash in before the bust because the comps show I'll get an insane amount of money for the dump. It's not my primary residence, I'll die here, but another house I own.

I'm not making an uneducated guess here and was addicted to the financial markets for 30 years with good knowledge on the subject and it's about ready for a hard left turn off a cliff. There are less than a months supply of homes on the market with a 5 to 6 month supply being average so now is the time to sell before the supply goes up in the spring along with the mortgage rates.

Betty my sister did second guess her self but she was determined to move to a better area. They move into their new home the end of January and are very excited to put the rental behind them. Luckily it was under 6 months for them.

The financial system is in a scary place right now. The world as we knew it is coming apart. Reduce your debt to stay safe.

kevin, that is incredibly helpful and I deeply appreciate your experience and research.

Along with aliline's shared experience, I will take this into consideration and perhaps think about a change in our thought process.

If we want to get from point A to point B, this might be our only viable path. Otherwise, it could be that our opportunity to sell at the peak frenzy will be lost and then who knows when the right time to sell and buy another home will come about.

I wanted to add that the very first thing our buying agent told us to do was sell and rent until we buy. We thought she was crazy! We're coming around now, of course.

"Strange how many first time home buyers are retired. I would expect it in places like Florida but not the rest of the country."

You're kidding, right? Many of us retired folks have not been adversely affected financially one bit by the pandemic... indeed, financially many retireds have made out quite well over the past year.

To the point about accessing retirement funds to buy a home, we investigated and we'd have 60 days to pay it back. The penalty if we can't make it happen in time is steep. Really steep.

My son is trying to buy his first house. He was ready to drive five hours to see a house on his first day off but it sold the first day, for $25,000 over asking. This was a $100,000 house, not a $500,000 house. 25 percent over asking price!

He‘s currently living with me and itching to move on, but I’m trying to convince him to wait until the spring. I don’t know how this bubble can last.

Best of luck to your son, Sharon. I hope he finds a lovely home.

It's pretty tempting to sell right now when one's home value, at least ours, is the highest it's ever been. Then I look around at what's available and reality hits. We'd be paying more than we owe on our mortgage for a smaller house on less land and no privacy if we stayed in our area. We might be able to move to a different area, closer to our daughter, but we'd still not have the privacy or land. There's also no guarantee she and her husband will stay in that area. We're staying here.

I agree with Kevin. I suspect we're going to see some big drops in values in the next year. I hope it's not what we saw 2008, but I fear that with the high unemployment rates there are a lot of people that will end up in foreclosure in the next few years. I know the CARES act allowed for mortgage forbearance, but we'll see how long that continues.

The other shoe that (IMO) will drop is a correction in the stock market sometime this year. It is flying high now, but I wonder if it is built on solid underpinnings - or not, just as we saw in 1987 & 1989. I remember how the hyper hot housing market in SoCal came to a screeching halt in '89 - although I guess that was in part caused by the "peace benefit" that cut spending on the defense industry there and not just the stock market correction.

A stock market correction is given, not if but when, but the 500 lb gorilla is government debt and the bond market will be the deciding factor this time. The present cost to service debt is $525 billion a year with an average interest rate of 2.5%. All matured treasuries (old debt) and new debt is auctioned off and the interest rate is determined by what people are willing to accept and also determined by supply.

The present supply is $26 trillion in government debt held by people around the world and freely traded, bought and sold at will. If more debt is offered up for sale in the secondary bond market than there are willing buyers the interest rates go up and the government must match these rates to sell new and rolled over mature debt.

Mortgage rates follow the 10 year treasure rates and If lack of demand, excess supply or loss of confidence in U.S. treasuries happen then mortgage rates go up and it's just that simple.

It has nothing to do with what the banks or the government wants, it all depends on who is presently holding U.S. treasury debt and what they want to do with it. A single entity could easily run rates up overnight just by dumping a huge amount of debt on the market at one time causing a panic sell off in the bond market. Now imagine The average interest rate the government must pay to sell debt rises to 5% from 2.5%, debt service would double to over a trillion a year, and the price of a mortgage would also double.

This is really helpful to learn about interest rates. Kevin, my realtor friend just today said that the mortgage rates are tied to the 10-year treasury rate.

Keep in mind that foreclosures adversely affect home sales surrounding the area of the foreclosures. Should you decide to sell now and rent until you find something you want, how much might you spent on rent and storage of your household items? You may be renting for some time, until a home you want becomes available. I believe it's more difficult to purchase another home if you've experienced long term home ownership, because you're generally more aware of what to look for in terms of potential problems (replacement/repair costs/return on investment) than a first time home owner. Additionally, things that may not have bothered you in early years of home ownership (i.e.: uncontrolled barking of neighbors' dogs, neighborhood pool parties, etc.), may now be more concerning in your older years. It's always wise to investigate a neighborhood prior to purchase. While no one can predict what happens to a neighborhood in years to come, there's no point in making yourself miserable from day one, after purchase.

deilsan32- you bring up fine points! We are far, far more seasoned than 1st time home owners. We're way up the learning curve and I have trip wires that will halt me in my tracks when it comes to a new home, whether it's the neighbor's dog or seeing too many cars packed into the driveways and overflowing into the streets or being on a corner (no thanks).

I have to share this story. Several weeks ago, we went to an open house in a lovely gated development with several different price points. This particular home was a carriage house, and people were queued up outside because of covid precaution. We chatted up another couple who were rent. They sold their home...a year ago. So, right before covid and this strange, aggressive housing bubble we're in, and they've been renting.

My heart went out to this couple, because they are moving within the same general area. No job change or moving far away to be with the grandkids.

I bet they lost tens of thousands selling before the competition got hot and inventory plummeted.

So we are incredibly leery of renting and moving twice. Also, you pay extra for short term rentals.

@Betty S.-I'm in your same situation, i was being repeatedly nagged by real estate agents at open houses (and their associates) to list my home for sale, until I reached my saturation point and informed them I would not consider selling until I found a home/locale/neighborhood that met my wants. I had no intention of incurring storage costs and rental fees such as you noted. When these agents learned what I have currently, and my expectations re: a subsequent purchase, the nagging ceased. At present, I have little interest in purchasing a home "virtually", as I've seen too many online photos that failed to disclose some serious issues, and met too many salespeople more interested in making a sale than in meeting potential buyer's needs. I truly can't wait for things to return to normal, so my search can begin again, in earnest. I wish you success in your venture!

Thank you, ceilsan32. Homes here are getting offers sight unseen.

Last week, case in point. I found a home just hitting the market and called my agent the day before-before- it hit the market to line up a showing.

I had 3 offers sight unseen already.

I got to see the home, which was on a golf course community that was stunning. But the home itself was not only very low-grade craftsmanship ( I mean no upgrades at all), but the layout was terrible and the unfinished basement had massive, long cracks in the cement floor.

People are just nuts!

@Betty S.-that's hilarious.! It highlights how desperate people have become this past year. I wonder how many will develop "buyers' remorse" in the next year or two? We'll see how many complain on here about things going wrong in these homes because they didn't have sufficient time to do adequate research. Once burned, twice shy... Perhaps a good year to sell, but I'll wait this one out.

By the way, do you have a sole agent dedicated to you as a buyer, or have you contacted a number of agents with your specifics?

We're working with one agent and she has other clients. We think she's great as an agent and a person, but she's trying to convince us to sell first.

I just can't. Too risky, too stressful and entirely unnecessary since we don't have to move. It's a want, not a need.

Plus, our current home is very nice and we've put a lot into it. Going for the "wow" home right now just isn't in the cards, it would seem.

Another funny not funny anecdote from our adventures is that we met our realtor at a home, which was "wow". It just showed beautifully inside and out. A real cream puff.

So I started to take in the back yard and our agent says, "We better do the inside first, then we can walk around outside. We have a 15 minute time slot".

I couldn't have seen every room, nook and cranny of that home in 15 minutes if I had roller skates on.

Much of the crazy scene today is due to low supply. Lots of people not selling because of COVID (who wants strangers trooping through their house). I live in a small midwestern town that has never had big price upsurges: you buy pretty inexpensively and sell for a few years later for not much more than you paid. I keep tabs on the listings online just for the heck of it. There are typically 135-150 houses for sale at any given time (for the last 10 years). Now there are 85. That basic supply-and-demand rule will drive prices up, but once the COVID crazy ends, the supply should go back to normal levels, which should moderate prices.

If you're in a decent place now that's not driving you crazy, I'd wait.