I am so sorry, I know you had your heart set on that, and being back in Missoula. Try to look at the good things you have now, that property you are in is fabulous, your little barn is perfect. the views, and the sun you get. The view you have from your home office is spectacular.

Thanks Quirt. At least we already own a place so hopefully we can keep up with the crazy appreciation.

Thanks Jodi. This place would be perfect if it were west of the Divide, not at the top of a crazy hill, and if there was decent medical care here. It's definitely a nicer house than the one we didn't get.

I'm encouraged by those of you who say you were passed over on the first round and then succeeded later. We'll just have to see.

On the topic of missing out on a hoped for house, when we were house hunting, we visited a house that just went on the market. We were literally the first couple to go and see it. We LOVED it. We told our real estate agent we needed to discuss and that we would get back to her quickly. The second couple that went to see, maybe an hour after us, made an offer on the spot. When we called our agent that afternoon to say we wanted to make an offer, it was already too late.

We did not get that house. But in the end, we found the one we're in now and we like it much better. So, try not to feel too bad, new houses, and new opportunities, pop up quickly!

quote:

I'm not comfortable in open concept. I feel exposed and its too noisy. I hope this fad goes away soon. I like hiding in a nook with a book.

Re open concept, I originally didn't want open concept because of the piano issue. But seeing where my mother lives, which is open concept and fairly small, I also wouldn't want it because it's practically impossible to avoid clutter keep things looking neat.

So I agree, I hope the trend dies down before we move again!

I adore open concept. Especially in a smaller house. Our house feels so much bigger because of it. (The super high ceilings help too).

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
We did not get that house. But in the end, we found the one we're in now and we like it much better. So, try not to feel too bad, new houses, and new opportunities, pop up quickly!

That is certainly true in our case.

When we were looking there were only two places in all of greater PHX worth considering, and one of them sold all cash the weekend we were there. 2 days on market. That left the one we bought, at a premium price. We congratulated ourselves on beating the market.

But now that we have it we're being blanketed with listings for buildings that look as good or better, some of which are priced lower. You really can't tell without seeing them, (especially in PHX where neighborhoods vary wildly street to street) but we may have been hasty.

No matter. I've unsubscribed from the listing feed and am still satisfied with the purchase.

I missed this thread, too. I'm really sorry you didn't get the house, and I hope you find another one you like.

Put me down in the "no open concept" camp. I want my guests and my animals out of my kitchen. Of course, we have no guests these days, but the zoo will not leave me alone when I'm trying to cook and I'll be sorry when I accidentally kill one of them because they were on the counter while I was holding a knife.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
I don't think this is going away. The pandemic will hopefully end, but people being able to work remotely won't. And if you can live anywhere, this is where a lot of people want to live.

This statement struck me, and it ties in with my post about working from home causing an exodus from cities. The article did not talk about it specifically, but if this trend keeps up a lot of the movement is going to be in to resort areas and it will definitely change their character.

I understand Jackson Hole is like that and the locals don't much like it.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
I adore open concept. Especially in a smaller house. Our house feels so much bigger because of it. (The super high ceilings help too).

Ditto.

But "open" isn't a single idea. It's a spectrum. I like our Santa Fe home's degree of openness. Some rooms elide into others. The main living room, for instance, adjoins the dining room on one side, and the front entryway on the other. But there is a sort of "see-through" fireplace between living room and dining room so the space feels somewhat divided. The kitchen isn't isolated. It has a breakfast area and a second family room attached, but this combo is separate from the living room / dining room duo. And there is a den/office with lower ceilings where someone can retreat for privacy. Like many open floor plans, it offers nooks and dividers to break up the space a bit. If you want every room completely separate, however, this openness will probably annoy you.

I'm sorry you didn't get the house, pique. I understand wanting to move to a particular location, and then missing out.

The market in Portland is weird. We have a growth boundary which limits availability. There are also a LOT of people wanting to move out of downtown proper and out to the 'burbs or "outer" Portland. As a result, houses (and rentals) that pop up in those areas are going like hotcakes. Our house is a hot commodity right now (not that it matters because we're not selling), but if when we do relocate or downsize we're seriously considering keeping it as a rental.

Something will come up again, for sure. I always fall back on the ol' "it just wasn't meant to be," approach. And, as you say, sometimes things pop up again, and deals fall through. In that case, it was "meant to be."

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
I don't think this is going away. The pandemic will hopefully end, but people being able to work remotely won't. And if you can live anywhere, this is where a lot of people want to live.

This statement struck me, and it ties in with my post about working from home causing an exodus from cities. The article did not talk about it specifically, but if this trend keeps up a lot of the movement is going to be in to resort areas and it will definitely change their character.

I understand Jackson Hole is like that and the locals don't much like it.

Jackson Hole was ruined a long time ago. That's a trend I am familiar with and understand. I don't quite have my mind wrapped around how working remotely *becoming ubiquitous* is going to change our communities, but I think I don't like it.

Way back in ancient times, one of the main reasons I chose to become a writer was because I wanted the freedom to live wherever I wanted. When I was a graphic designer, if I wanted to be successful, I was pretty much limited to NYC or LA, and I didn't like big cities.

As you've no doubt heard, being a writer is financially very challenging. But the beauty of being able to live anywhere means you can live where there aren't many good jobs which means the cost of housing is low. When I first moved to Missoula, in 1992, you could buy a modest house in town for $30k. Having the freedom to live anywhere meant it might actually be possible for me to own a home.

Now that working remotely is here to stay, the whole landscape changes. Pockets of affordable real estate in the country are vanishing overnight. And it is completely disconnected from the local economy, because the buyers' money comes from elsewhere. Now the freedom to live anywhere is utterly transforming the housing market everywhere. This is different from Jackson Hole, or Aspen, because those places were resort towns developed to attract the rich, and we writers and artists knew better than to try to live there--there were plenty of other affordable options. This new phenomenon means there is NOWHERE to go.

I've just spent too much time looking at real estate markets, including where I live now, and prices are skyrocketing everywhere I look. In the middle of February! We could get $200k more for our house now than we paid 2.5 years ago. Its kind of terrifying to think about where this is going to take us by summer. Furthermore, all the properties--and there aren't many--are under contract!

This bothers me in the way that the internet itself bothers me. As a reporter, my adeptness at uncovering information that my editors had no knowledge of was my stock in trade. But that is an utterly useless skill in the age of the internet, because everyone now knows everything, or can Google it.

Just as I had carved out a professional niche for myself that the internet obliterated, so now as well, it seems, the internet is obliterating any leverage I had to find a geographic niche. And also, I expect, this means that places will lose their uniqueness, local cultures will be diluted.

At least I managed to buy something in 1994. What about all the young locals today? They can't even find a place to rent. The online rental boards for Missoula are a nonstop Greek chorus of distraught voices.

There are still plenty of cheap place to live. They just aren’t the attractive ones.

Dayton, Ohio. Rochester, NY. Birmingham, AL. You can still find affordable houses there. You just have to make a set of compromises that were necessary before.

This is capitalism at work. Money goes to where people want to live. That used to be big coastal cities, and beach communities within reach of big, coastal cities. Now it’s Missoula and Santa Fe and Bend, Oregon.

Yes, I'm seeing real estate prices going up in Santa Fe. Fortunately, we got in before that happened or we probably wouldn't have gotten in!

Nothing quite as extreme as Missoula, however.

pique, Sorry you did not get the house.

My place has appreciated more than I imagined it would. So have the places I have considered moving to. Denver prices have gone nuts. WTF?

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
There are still plenty of cheap place to live. They just aren’t the attractive ones.

Dayton, Ohio. Rochester, NY. Birmingham, AL. You can still find affordable houses there. You just have to make a set of compromises that were necessary before.

This is capitalism at work. Money goes to where people want to live. That used to be big coastal cities, and beach communities within reach of big, coastal cities. Now it’s Missoula and Santa Fe and Bend, Oregon.

This. And I’m willing to bet that at some point people will still want to be close to coastal bigger cities for the reasons that attracted them in the first place. Especially after a few winters in the colder places like where I live now.

Then I look forward to more snowmageddons. I remember after the brutal winter of 96-97, newcomers fled. They'd watched the movie A River Runs Through It, and came on vacation during the summer, and real estate went crazy. I personally spoke with a few who couldn't take the brutal winters and left that spring. And a sociologist at MSU wrote a paper on his findings that the average newcomer left after 4 years. Most often cited reasons--climate, lack of jobs, and social isolation. Only now the only reason left to leave is the climate. This winter has been much milder than normal, until about 2 weeks ago.

Quirt,I wouldn't be surprised to learn that artists are moving to those places. They are moving to Detroit. If that happens, we might follow suit. Or grab us a big city pied a terre before everyone moves back.