Yeah, pretty much.
We're finding that finding a house is pretty darn stressful. It wasn't not so long ago. Housing prices were reasonable (ok, cheap) and you could find really nice value for your dollar. Now the market has suddenly become remarkably hot and prices have jumped by about 40%, notably in the area we want to live. It is, of course, the hottest part of the city from a real estate perspective. For us, it's just a logical area though, close to my wife's work, closest part of the city for me for my commute and the neighbourhood is loaded with kids, something we find important for our daughter. Our current house is fine and the neighbourhood is great, but it's definitely on the older side, with fewer kids and on the wrong side of the city.
Prices have essentially gone to the point where you are paying absurd values to inherit other people's messes. Worse, bidding wars ensue for piles of dung. Building makes more sense from a strictly financial standpoint, but we're not sure about the associated expenses with living in and paying for one house while building another.
The whole point being I'm not putting up more shelves only to have to take them down and fill holes in the wall and then repaint the room. So many toys sitting in bags, bins and boxes. It's no fun
