Hang in there!! Maybe it's good news for everyone. We never had a big real estate boom in our area and never expected a big crash in our area -- but things have definitely been slower since September. Hopefully it will all pick up around here a bit before we have to list this spring.

Wow, could just be anecdotal coincidence but I'm seeing the same thing here in the Seattle suburbs. We haven't really had a downturn per se but according to several of the realtors I've spoken with their was a real lull in activity in the late Fall.

We may be relocating soon so I've been following the market closely since the late Fall and going to open houses when I have time.

In the last two weeks, there have been four houses which are either under inspection or in escrow. That's about a quarter of the current listings in our town. All of them had previously been on the market for at least 6 months and these are $1.8 - $3 million houses. Two of those did drop their price about 5% in December but the other two stayed the same.

The open houses around here which usually get maybe a dozen people total were swarming - I mean about six or seven people came or went in just the the ten minutes I was in each open house.

Who knows if this is a positive trend or just an aberration?

I wish it were true, but as i see it in the Northern NJ and SE PA area, the buyers are missing..I keep a watchful eye to the Northern NJ area from where i left 6 months ago..Homes are sitting without offers/interest..In SE Pa, the same situation is evident..There will always be homes sold, it is just the volume is very low for sales right now..But there is always hope...My best guess is that the spring will bring a ton of inventory onto an already saturated market,but only time will tell..Best of luck to all sellers

I'm in a Seattle 'burb too and have witnessed the uptick in house sales - of course, I don't think anyone had been predicting a problem in the Seattle markets. The employment picture is good and the land that is squeezed between Sound and Mountain is getting scarce

That is awesome.....I am glad people aren't fearing the market anymore...

I've noticed the same thing as dabunch. We're in NE CT, and things actually picked up right after Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if it was the unusually warm weather, historically low interest rates, or the fact that sellers have been making reasonable price reductions, but there have been quite a few actual transactions taking place, not just showings. We're set to close on our sale & purchase at the end of February. Woo-hoo!! If it can happen to us, it can happen to you, so keep the faith!

I have seen an uptick in homes being sold in S FL too - starting just after Thanksgiving and things are still moving now. I think soon, the realtor statistics for Dec will be out and will show the obvious swing in the market. Then many of the fence sitters(buyers) that were waiting for the market to go down more, will realize that the bottom was in Oct 2006 and they missed bottom.

Now the market is more "normal" - like it was prior to the crazy years of 2004 and 2005.

I am also noticing investors starting to post on local web sites looking to buy property. So interest has picked back up all around.

The house next door to the one we're closing on next month just sold. It was on the market for much of last year, and the sellers were waiting till spring to list it again. I don't know if it sold to someone who had looked last year, or to a new buyer who had been asking around, but it sure did sell. And it gave a huge boost to our mortgage appraiser's comps, as well!

Central Massachusetts waterfront, for anyone keeping track.

What I said above regarding sellers making reasonable price reductions really rings true with us. Since we were looking for a house to buy while ours was on the market, we found that we, on the selling end, had to follow prices down in order to remain competitive. In the end, we contracted for 92% of our original listing price, and 88% of our appraised value from last summer. We still made a small profit, not enough to do the happy dance, but we're counting our lucky stars that we made enough to move where we wanted. In any case, that seems to be the norm here; between 10 - 15% reductions across the board from last year's highs. I don't think it was as deep as the experts predicted.

In other areas that have increased activity, what are the pricing trends there? I'm curious.

Congratulations! I'm also in CT & just listed my house about 6 weeks ago (probably the worst time of the year to list), but I was eager & excited to get it on the market. I didn't go with an open house (just the caravan) and I've had 1-2 showings/week on average. An offer ($10k below asking) came through 2 weeks ago, but I wasn't ready to let it go at that price because I've seen so much activity & have gotten such great feedback from the showings that I think I can get closer to asking. As a matter of fact, my realtor just emailed me to say we might be having another offer come through today. If your home is priced right & shows well, it'll go even in CT. You're right about the media, though. They blow everything out of proportion. You have to go with your gut & use some common sense & a little prayer & you'll be good to go.

Hi, Babyv7,

If you don't mind my asking, how much is the asking price on your home? An offer $10K below asking seems like a very reasonable offer. If you're asking $500,000, it's only 2% below asking. I've read and heard countless stories of sellers holding out for every last dime only to have it bite them in the rear later on.

When you get your next offer, you may want to think percentage rather than dollars.

IAE, good luck with your sale,

Kevin

Hi Kevin-

I've heard those stories, too. The pig gets fat - the hog gets slaughtered. But, there are other factors involved which I won't bore you with in this post. The house is listed at $299k & I feel good with my decision. I'm actually waiting to hear back from my agent today as there may be another offer coming through this afternoon. But, you never know. If I did shoot myself in the foot & my agent isn't able to get another buyer prior to March (when I'll have my real estate license), I'm going to be the listing agent which gives me some flexibility on the price (i.e. commission savings) & some experience getting my feet wet in the real estate industry. I love real estate. Are you an agent?

Here's a quote (from today) from the CEO of the nation's largest homebuilder:

"said "we're in the very early stages" of the current housing slowdown. "Most of these downturns are longer and deeper, and right now we don't see anything on the horizon that would change that opinion," the CEO said." Link here

I wouldn't count on this slump being over just yet...

I know that in my area, homes in general, are just overpriced. But, if your home is priced right & shows well, you're going to be ok. Gone are the days of bidding wars, but people are still buying & selling homes. I think you just have to be smart, do your homework, and remain optimistic. In the same article, which does speak to more negative new housing numbers, I found these quotes:

"Recently, a growing body of evidence suggests that housing demand bottomed in late 2006, an encouraging development as we await the advent of the spring selling season," added Citigroup analyst Stephen Kim in a Monday note.
The spring sales season typically begins after football's Super Bowl weekend.
"Data on mortgage applications and inventories, homebuilder cancellation rates, builder expectations surveys and even Lennar's earnings commentary last week all have turned noticeably more positive relative to three months ago," wrote Kim, one of the most bullish analysts on home-builder stocks."

Hi, Babyv7.

No, I'm not a real estate agent, though I have been in sales for 30 years. I have sold four of my own homes over the last 25 years, and none has taken longer than two weeks to sell. I went to contract on the sale of my current home on Long Island last Friday. I sold it on my own to the first buyer. Selling price was 97% of what the realtors I were interviewing were going to list it for, plus the buyer's allowing us to stay until June.

Could I have waited to get more offers? Sure. Would I have sold it for more? Who knows. What I can tell you is that I netted more than if a Realtor sold it at asking price, plus I didn't have to have any open houses and have the satisfaction of knowing we'll be moving when we want.

Good luck to you and your new career. Selling for a living can be very rewarding.

Kevin

I haven't seen a slump here on Eastern L. I. Houses may be staying on the market longer, and not appreciating as quickly, but no drastic reductions. Waterfront properties here are still in demand and getting high $$. My neighbor just accepted 2.1 million for hers, buyer will probably knock it down.
Kevin, where on L.I. is the house you just sold?

Hi, Kathleen.

It's a waterfront home in West Babylon.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,
Good luck in your new home in Fla. I taught for 33 yrs in the district next to WB, NB, which of late has been on the news, and it wasn't good!
Out here on the south shore of the South Fork, the waterfront properties and waterfront communities with beach rights, are still holding their own. A lot of people were sitting on the sidelines waiting for the big drop, but it didn't happen. I am sure properties away from the water fell a bit though, but as they say they aren't making anymore waterfront land!

Hi, Kathleen.

I had two homes in the NB school district but moved to WB when our son was in first grade.

My wife teaches in Massapequa. She's Tier 1, as I'm sure you were, and she'll have 35 years in when she retires in June. She's only 55, and I'm 52, so we're planning on working in FL. Though teachers are paid a lot less in FL, DW will start at the top level, so when added to her pension, she'll be making more than she does now.

DW also works part time in the NB Public Library. The money she earns there gets added to her FAS for pension benefits.

Prices for waterfront in our area are down from the peak, but we still did well. When we found the house in 1987, my wife was scared to spend that much ($325,000). I told her it's waterfront, and on Long Island, that's almost as good as gold.

Thanks for the good wishes,

Kevin

Kevin,
Yes, I too left as soon as I turned 55. I am a Huntington native and lived there till I retired. We bought s "shack" in Southampton in 1980 by the bay, and summered there. My husb redid the place, and we had many good times in this jewel of a bayfront community. We knew we wanted to retire here, the taxes are low, and I love the beauty and peace of the area, esp in off season. We built a new house in 2000.
I hope your wife gets to enjoy her retirement. 35 years is a long time, and enjoy your free time while your health is good. I probably know some of the people she does, from the Library. Small world!
So how about the RE prices in Fla? What have you observed price wise???
And, I checked my friend's house on Zillow. It is off by a MILLION!!!

Hi, Kathleen.

It is a small world. Southampton is a beautiful place. Too bad it gets so crowded in the summer.

RE prices in FL? I don't pay too much attention to them. We bought our lot for $130,000 in 1/04. In 2006 other waterfront lots on the street went for $400,000. They're probably down from that now since prices are pulling back. No matter what, FL is definitely no longer a cheap place to live. Our waterfront home on Long Island has taxes of about 11,500. We're expecting the FL house to be in the $15K to $20K a year. Add homeowners insurance of $6,000 and you're talking almost $2,000 a month to carry the house without a mortgage.

I hope the market values keep falling in FL. The real estate taxes are based on full market value. Taxes on the lot quadrupled in three years - $900 when we bought, $3500 this year. If the values fall, so do the taxes. Once the house is done, we'll homestead it and then the taxable value can't go up more than 3% a year.

Never thought I'd be longing to pay Long Island real estate taxes! :-)

We'll enjoy retirement. Even though we'll work for a few years, my bride will still be taking it easy because she'll only be working one job instead of the two she does now.

Kevin

babyv7 - you turned down an offer that was 96.5% of asking price? $10K less than your asking is only 3.5% less. I would have considered that an excellent offer.

The historical average annual appreciation in the U.S. is 5% which includes the wild fluctuatons experienced on all coasts. When home values appreciate substantially greater than this, for a period of time, you know you are headed for a market correction. This happens because home values become out of synch with appreciation in employee income.

Homes at the lower end of the scale tend to appreciate more than on thehigher end simply because more people can afford those home. The further up the food chain the home value goes, the less likely it is to appreciate above and beyond expected levels.

Homes continue to sell well allover the U.S., when they are priced based upon the facts of recent and relevent closed comps. Pricing to the competition in anything but a robust seller's market is a fool's game. The further way from right right pricing and the long it takes to adjust to right pricing almost always means the home will sell for less than it could have, had it been priced right to begin with.

Too often consumers choose the agent that gives them the best price which of course encourages agents to compete on price and none of this has anything to do with the reality of where a home should be priced.