Real Esate has always been something I want to do. I can always see myself doing that line of work. If not, I want to learn and get more into it anyways. Does anyone have any place to recommend? To get a start on this field. Or if anyone work for any company that will train their employee? Any lead in this would be appreciated. I'm looking to take some classes and be certified maybe as an real estate agent.

 

I heard radio commercials for Investors United School of Real Estate. Don't know anything about them though. May find more at www.investorsunited.com

Warren

 

go to nova.... pick any campus that offers the real estate class.. i think it's like a 4 credit class and you gotta pass it with a C+ or something.. and from what i know... once you pass this class you get your real estate license..... i was also thinking about doing this because of the booming industry in our area...

 

They incorporate the state test into the class?

 

While I believe the inflated housing market will fizz out relatively soon(2-3 years), getting your license is a great thing. Here's the reason: even if the market values drop, people still need homes. You will just have to sell a few more units a year to cover the reduced commissions.

Also, you will need a fair amount of starting capital. Some $$$ to cover living expenses, advertising, etc. If you get on with a brokerage, they sometimes will float you a small advances until you get going.

It's not easy building your network... in the short term, however, persistence, investment, and dedication are rewarded in the long run. G/L.



I was married to an agent once. My mother got her license as well as my sister.

 

Oh, and I met a Donald and Ryan at Summit yesterday. They were on bikes. Donald said he knew you. We talked for a bit.

 

Early projections for 2005 have the market increasing at approximately 17% this year for the DC Metro NoVa and parts of Maryland markets. Last year was over 20%, I believe around 23% but don't quote me on that. I have also read that the market here in DC is expected to continue at this rate for at least another 5 years based on economic indicators that point to continued low interest rates for approximately that period of time.

 

We have both the highest employement rate and job growth rate in the nation. Miami is #2 and Las Vegas is #3. Northern Virginia alone has higher job growth rates than Miami. Pretty insane. There will be a demand for housing as long as this area has more jobs than anywhere else. This area will continue to have lots of jobs as long as the government keeps spending money.

- Jeremy (jnn4v)

 

Well, it can't sustain itself. Watch out, because I see this headed the same way the stock market was in the internet boom of the 90s. According to a Baltimore Sun article a month or so ago, home prices have risen 48% to 92% over the last 5yrs. However, personal incomes haven't risen as much.

I don't understand why people are happy to pay 2 or 3 times what a house is really worth, like overpaying is some sort of status symbol. "Hey, I paid $800,000 for a house that's only worth $200,000, I'm so cool!"

So people are getting in waaaayyy over their heads. It used to be the rulde of thumb was 33% of your income goes to housing, now that figure had jumped to 50-66%. So now people are going to have to put off that vacation they wanted to take, put off starting or have to contribute less to the kid's college fund, put off buying that new car (maybe a new 05 S2K) and new furnature and other things they wanted to do because housing is eating up a much larger chunk of your income. Do you want to lower your lifestyle, putt off your plans and stay at home more, essentially become a slave to your home, just to pay that mortgage?

Nowadays, a single person can't buy a home by themselves. 5yrs ago you could. You have to be married w/ 2 incomes just to buy a house. God forbid one of them should lose their job to downsizing or outsourcing or they get sick w/ large medical bills. At that point, you're on one way trip to forclosureville.

With these interest only loans and debt consolidation, the rate of bankruptcies will skyrocket as their payments are much larger and won't pay much on the principal. And withe the new bankruptcy laws, people are really setting themselves up for failure, bigtime. I read and hear people saying this market will continue for a long time to come and that it will never end. Hmmm...people said the same thing during the tech bubble. WAKE THE F*CK UP PEOPLE!!!! You're gonna get screwed!

What can you do? Demand lower housing prices! Get some balls and say "No, I'm not going to pay that kind of money for that house, it's not worh it". Everyone demands lower prices for everything else. You want lower prices for clothing, for computers, for TVs and stereos, tools, appliences, cars, etc. so why not demand lower prices for a house. Stand up for yourself and say "if you want me to buy that house, here's an reasonable price and if you don't like it, I'll go elsewhere". Imagine what would happen if we all DEMANDED lower prices, the housing prices would come back down to normal. You wouldn't pay $50,000 or $75,000 for a car that was only worth $25,000 would you? How about paying $5,000 for a sofa that's only worth $1,500? Of course not. Then stop overpaying for a house!!!!!

If you don't demand lower housing prices, people are going to go bankrupt and you're going to see a modern day version of the Great Depression because people are treating the housing market just like the stock market...very bad idea.

If we don't learn from history, we're doomed to repeat it.

Warren

 

I hate to break it to you but that is what these houses are actually worth. You are confusing value with replacement cost. Houses are selling for many times the actual cost of original construction or replacement construstion costs. In a free and open market value is what the market is willing to bear.

People are saying that houses aren't worth the prices they are selling for. That couldn't be more incorrect. If people are willing to pay $XXX,XXX for a house then it is worth that much money. The housing market is not made up of people who are bragging about how much they paid for a house. If anyone is doing that they are a very small fraction of the market. Just because you don't think the house is worth a certain amount of money doesn't make it so. I personally don't feel that a Z4 is worth $40,000+ but the market says it is. People are happy to pay that much for that particular car, just as they do with houses. If someone is at the closing table and is pissed off at the price they are paying they shouldn't be buying that house. They are free to go find another.

People are never happy. In the stagnent growth during the 1990's everyone was upset that they weren't seeing any return on their houses, now people are unhappy because the values are through the roof.

Jnn4v is absolutely right about the job market stimulating real estate. Las Vegas was the highest growing real estate market in the country last year. This area was in the top 5. There are also significant differences between the tech bubble and this so called real estate bubble. Housing provides a tangible asset that provides utility far beyond the investment aspects. It is also far less risky than the stock market. Buying something inside the beltway might be one of the safest real estate investments one can make. Even when interest rates eventually rise that lot would sell at a premium compared to residences outside of the beltway.

You can't DEMAND lower housing prices. You can try to negotiate the price down. But a free market will just ignore you and sell the house to the highest bidder. It will always be that way.

***This is not a political statement, just a point*** The President seems to be very proud of the growth in home ownership under his last term. For this reason analysts believe interest rates will stay low for the next five years as they try to continue that trend.