Well, it's been "selling season" here in Phoenix since Feb, but we're sitting at 7 weeks on the market, only 9 showings total. Thought we were very well priced, but did a major price reduction 2 weeks ago with only 2 showings since. You'd think we had RAISED the price. Market has 5x the typical inventory and only "steals" and low-priced homes seem to be moving most (like under $300-250K). Keep hearing the same two complaints about the house (which we had hoped we priced accordingly!), but too expensive for us to fix -- older small kitchen and cluttered back yard. :(

juliebatt, I understand about the kitchen...but what's so expensive about cleaning up a "cluttered back yard"?

Well, here in Tampa things are very slow. We listed 10 days ago and not one showing yet. I'm getting suicidal;-)My agent says very few are even looking, but that those that look are very serious. Wish they would start looking in my neighborhood.

It seems like there is a story in the paper or the nightly new everyday telling everyone about slow home sales are and high number of foreclosures. I really wish they would shut up!

We had a broker OE today and 15 agents came. Sure surprised my agent to have that many. All said that they loved the house, but that it is deceptive from the front. Not great curb appeal and it appears smaller than it is from the front. Not much more we can do about the curb appeal since it is the dry season and the problem is the lawn and major watering restrictions. Several said that if we could get someone in the door, it would sell easily. For whom?? I'm exhausted and have muscles that I never knew that are keeping me awake at night. Keeping my fingers crossed that this stimulates some interest.

Good luck everyone!

Donna

Well in Richmond Virginia things have picked up themselves even though we have never really had much of a slow-down, just a slight slow-down in pricing and rather than having a few hours to make offers you might actually get a couple of weeks to think on it. My sister who had not even actually listed her house yet had some potential buyers brought in by agent friends this weekend. After all that, she receives not one but two contracts both for more than she had planned to even list. She ended up selling for 12k more than she was listing. She was stunned and was not really prepard to move that soon, but she jumped on the chance to get it sold that easily. Now if she she can avoid moving in with the in-laws or with DH and myself, they'll really be doing well!!

Jellyben we're in NoVa and it is definetly still a buyers market. We went on the market on 3/2, have had probably 6-8 showings and one wacky offer. Homes are selling, just slowly.

tuscanlover, how about green lawnger or some other turf paint for your lawn? That's what we did since we didn't plant a winter lawn.

infodiva, the "clutter" in the backyard is from a broken pond (now a converted garden), ramada, RV/boat parking space with awning, shuffleboard court, arizona room (screened porch), two other patios -- one with a spa, the other with a built up "deck" thing, three storage sheds, and a very very large (old) diving pool with a slide. Not to mention various vegetation, though trimmed nicely and "in control."

And THAT'S after we de-cluttered it!! LOL This was all from the previous owners. It will take nothing short of a bulldozer and a dumpster to fix the yard.

DEAD grass!
{{!gwi}}

Green Lawnger grass!
{{!gwi}}

Best photo of the "cluttered" backyard AND more "green lawnger" grass!
{{!gwi}}

PA here.
Listed this week. 3 showings so far. I honestly don't expect to sell before May though.

Rosie, I'm also about to list in So. Md. I'm sort of re-thinking it, though because I was looking for something all on one floor, no basement and they are just SO hard to find in my price range. I might not have anywhere to move TO!

PS: yours doesn't happen to be one floor, does it?

We are hoping to have ours on the market next month. Houses in our area are either going very fast (under 45 days) or sitting for a long time. Not a lot in between. The ones that are sitting all have issues like needing updating, the main entry to the house through a bedroom, over priced, etc.

We are lucky that we are not competing against new homes since ours is an older neighborhood.

pdg777 (or anyone else) - getting ready to sell a 2100 sq ft rambler (with 1500 sq ft unfinished daylight basement) in St Mary's county (S. MD). Obviously I am very interested in the state of the market. Getting an appraisal tomrrow.
3 bdrm, 2 bath lots of upgrades, 1.3 acres.

Working my butt off to hopefully list in 4 weeks. Hopefully will have a POD next week to start taking stuff out. Getting hard to work in here with 2 rooms under construction.

Lots of houses for sale here, hoping my rose gardens will entice someone. Thankfully we have one of the best "curb appeal" houses

jstevens: sounds nice but I'm looking for all one floor, no basement.

Pdg: No, mine's a split foyer. Going to call realtor this afternoon and schedule an appointment for her to come over and see the house and PUT THE DARN THING ON THE MARKET ALREADY!!! We're so worn out cleaning, painting, packing boxes, decluttering. I'm totally exhausted. Hubby is home now painting basement hallway and putting new molding down. He painted gutters and downspouts yesterday. I cleaned sons room until 11:00 last night. Now, the trick is to keep it spotless until it sells. I think I'll buy one more piece of ground -- in the cemetery, cause this is killing me.

Rosie, I can relate! I hope to be putting my condo on the market the end of April~i'm in SD, CA. Anyone know how the CA market is doing, specifically SD? According to comps, i'll be pricing in the low $400's~I recently installed wood flooring in all rooms except the bedrooms, so am hoping that's a big selling feature, along with almost 1700 sq ft. New paint, carpeting, countertop(not granite), sinks/faucets, and a few other small upgrades have me exhausted. Decluttering too!! My condo has four levels.

I'm thinking i'll be getting in while the selling season is still prime, but when does 'prime' end? Talked to a realtor here and he told me the season started in Feb.

I'm 'antsy' to get it done and on the market, but at the sme time a little scared~mixed emotions, I guess. Anyone else feel that way?? ;o)

patty_cakes

I think here in Dallas alot of the houses that sat on the market over winter have sold. At least that's the impression I get from my market watch and talking to a few realtors. Alot of for sale signs have gone up in the last month. And my house will be listed at the end of April. The house next door to me was a FSBO that's now listed with an agent. I live in an area of affordable starter homes. Most have been "updated" with a fresh coat of paint, new carpet or tile, and new bottom of the line appliances. Mine's been remodeled and is probably too nice for the neighborhood. Withe the right price we should get a quick sale. Now if someone can look into their crystal ball and tell me what the right price is....

Juliebatt - you're house is cute! And the backyard looks nice to me. Buyers need to eliminate homes from their list so they'll come up with something negative. The pool would be a negative for me, but the adjacent yard area would make up for it.

patty_cakes,count me in! I have never been so tired in my life and dh seconds the notion. He just finished painting the remainder of the outdoor trim and is now weedwacking again! He is working 60 hours a week, so just what he wants to do when he has a day off

I thougth once it was on the market the work stopped, but it's worse. We have 4 dogs and it is spring. Our live oak trees are dropping leaves and stuff we call moss (I think it is some kind of seed, but who knows). It sticks to everything,especially dog feet. I don't know what I would do without the swiffer vacuum. The house is the best it has ever been and we haven't even had anyone through the door. Hate to think of how long this might take.

FL - CA, I think they are both dead. Good luck

I'm in Central TX and sold my starter home in 2 hours at the beginning of March. Other homes in the area are selling very fast as well, especially homes under $150k.

tuscanlover, I'm with ya!! We have one large dog and even got him shaved, but I still cannot believe the volume of hair he drops in 24 hours! I'm going through the economy sized swiffer boxes! And what's more annoying -- keeping up all this cleaning with no showings just in case you have one at a moment's notice (which I've had THREE!). This is killing me and I hate living like this. At this point, the price is so low, I don't even know if I can GIVE this stinking house away!

We have been on the market 13 months now, and things are picking up. Four couples came to an open house Sunday, and the realtor said they all loved it. One may offer, but with a contingency to sell their own home first. Like I am going to take it off the market while they spend a year trying to sell their house! Luckily, I hang out here, so I know about the kick-out clause and know that I can counter with accepting the contingency with an understanding that the house is still on the market and I will take offers. If an acceptable offer comes along without the house selling contingency, we give them a set amount of time to remove their contingency and set a closing date. I only know about this option because of you THSers out there. Thank you all! We'll see if my agent mentions this option if the offer comes in.

We are living in a market where a prospective buyer may sit a few weeks without making an offer and be fairly certain they will not lose out on the house. We do have fewer houses on the market right now. A handful sold over the winter and some went off the market. A year ago, there were about 122 homes in the MLS in our town. It got up to about 170 over the summer, and is now at 137.

This time last year I was doing the open houses - every Sunday - and we got 2 - 5 sets of people through each week. It really decreased over the summer and just about stopped over the winter, so it is looking a bit like last spring now and that gives me some optimism. There is a bill up in the state legistlature that would stop new buyers from having to pay property taxes at the usual higher rate. It should help the market a lot. Our property tax home value can only go up 3% each year in Michigan. This limit slowed the increase in taxes a lot. But when a house sells, the house kind of catches up on value that it has not had reflected in its taxable value over the years that the homeowner has lived there. So the new legislation will allow new owners to get taxed at the same value we are taxed at, not the new, higher value. I need to go write my state senator, best of luck, everyone!

Not on market, too much to do still. Plus prices have not gone down where I want to move, if anything they are up slightly. What happens is sellers put these upper end homes on the market for the same as last year and then sit on them for months on end until the perfect buyer comes. A friend recently sold a house that had been on the market close to a year for way more than it cost her to buy and build in 2003 and way more than anyone thought she would get and probably about 10% more than the house was worth

So bottom line, my area is down a little and is selling down a little, the area I want to move to seems to be slow but prices are holding. They are 2 miles apart

Can anyone explain this? This is in the NY area

Pattycake. San Diego market is very split. Some areas are going really well. I just heard that one area's medium price was up 12% in 2006 while others were down 6%. The hardest hit market type is condo's because of the all the condo converstions that took place plus the investor's buying up the condo's in downtown. Even the volume figures vary from area to area. I did read this morning that our foreclosure rate was up but still below national average.

Southern MD, 4 BR / 3.5 BA, rambler w/full finished basement on 3.6 acres in nice neighborhood, on the market for two weeks with maybe 7 showings and no offers yet. Couple of buyers agents offered feedback that the house shows well and is priced right but just isn't the one for their clients. I know I shouldn't be worried yet but I am because that's just my nature.

juliebat: "but I still cannot believe the volume of hair he drops in 24 hours! I'm going through the economy sized swiffer boxes! And what's more annoying -- keeping up all this cleaning with no showings just in case you have one at a moment's notice (which I've had THREE!). This is killing me and I hate living like this."
Exactly why we accepted an offer that was on the bit low side, because I have a 1 and 3 year old (and lots of toys/crap), and a dog who was about to 'molt' (drop his entire coat on 2 weeks).
FSBO, so Asking Price was 5% lower than CMA (taking out commission fees).
1st offer =- 7.5% LOWER than asking
we countered, and they came up to 3.95% lower.

We took it. I just couldn't live like that any more. And it was only ~5weeks long. I just couldn't live in a STAGED house w/ 2 young kids.
I don't know how many people w/ 2 young kids live with a SPOTLESS empty stainless steel sink or empty laundry room! That's what we did for each and every showing. All the pots/pans, sippy cup, etc were washed, dried, put away, before setting out the fresh flowers. Every load of laundry was washed, folded, and put away.

Right at this very moment, I have 15 dishes in the sink, 2 loads of laundry to do, 1 load to fold, and 2 loads to put away. THAT is how I usually live w/ 2 young kids, who I rather go play outside with, instead of worrying about a waterspot on the sink. :(

In Michigan, but in a resort community, so we're hoping for out of town folks looking for a summer place. Been on the market now two weeks and have had two showings. I'm already sick of cleaning...cleaning...cleaning. Our new house won't be ready 'til end of September, so we're taking a risk if we get an early offer - we'd have to move twice, but it's worth it if we get our price

Forgot to mention we have three kids under 3 and 8 cats. If we can keep the house even halfway presentable, we're happy.

I'm in NoVa & not selling, but I'm beginning to wonder if we're located on an Indian burial mound or a nuclear waste site (strictly tongue in cheek, folks), we have at least 6 houses in a 2 block radius for sale, (550K-750K), most have been on the market for about a month, & several have dropped their price 20-50K since the initial listing.

Getting an offer today...with a contingency clause. Waiting to see what it says. Today is day 5 on market.

Thanks ruscanlover, you really made my day. Just kidding, all it take's is one buyer to fall in love with my condo. After all, *I* did, and I would do it again.

Justmeinsd, yes, I know there are alot of conversions going on, but 'once an apartment, always an apartment'. The conversions will never give the appearanve of a townhome or a condo~IMO, that will be a turn-off for a lot of prospective buyers. My condo has the feel of a single-family home, and it's apparent as soon as you walk in the door. The rooms are very good-size as compared to the new ones being built with underground parking~most people will find a two-car garage more appealing. Like I said, all it will take is one buyer to fall in love. I pray a lot, too.

Good luck to everyone. ;o)

patty_cakes

thistle5 wrote: I'm in NoVa & not selling

The Washington Post yesterday said that nationally the inventory of homes was at ~6 mos while the DC metro area was at ~9-10 months. Homes are selling but it's taking longer because there is so much to choose from and buyers feel no pressure to make an offer or even negotiate.

We just closed in NoVA (Fairfax Station) in Feb after 6 mos on the market in 2006 (lots of showings but only one lowball offer) but we had a ratified contract in two weeks this time and then a 14 day close.

What made the difference for us was a FANTASTIC Agent (obviously not the same one we had last year) and doing every single frickin "improvement" that we (and our agent) could think of so that there was absolutley NOTHING that buyers could find fault with. Interestingly, we didn't lower the list price from when we took it off the market in Oct 2006 till we relisted in Jan 2007 and the selling price was only 5K off list. We did pay a big chunk of closing costs, though but gave no further credit after the home inspection (totally minor/cosmetic issues).

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Turned down the offer.

Laura-we are planning a house hunting trip to NoVa next month, and I am planning on contacting your realtor(Dave Warner) based on your rave reviews!

Our previous house selling experience was ideal. Four years ago we sold a townhome in NoVa, listed on Friday and sat down on Monday evening with a stack of offers to review. Exactly what we needed with 3 little kids. Hopefully when we sell this spring(in Seattle) we will have a smooth go of it!

I'm planning on putting my house on the market by the end of the month...and I'm scared stiff! I live in Maine, but I work in Mass. two days a week. I love my DH with all my heart, but we have different standards when it come to what clean looks like:) What happens if someone wants to see the house while I'm gone? LOL. We can't say no...could lose a sale, but I could lose the sale because the house isn't spotless. I have been cleaning, decluttering and trying to add a few nice touches. We sold our last house in 3 weeks for very close to asking price (no contingencies). That was 3 years ago and a very different market!

Jellyben, you will totally be in the driver's seat (from what I can tell anyway) as a buyer this time!! Don't be afraid to look a little over your price range and make a solid, informed offer (AND be willing to negotiate) some of those houses have been sitting on the market for a loooooooooong time.

Best of Luck--with Dave on your side I think you will have a GREAT experience!!

well, it is 3 weeks since this post was last answered, so, How You Doin' NOW?

I don't know about buyers being in the drivers seat. DH and I are looking to buy and it seems every time we think about an offer, the seller's nix it before the ink is dry. The seller's are not budging and I swear the price has gone up. One house we saw, had an "new price" sign out front, but when I checked it was the same price. No change. It's so bad we are just going to rent until we decide to either build or we get that fixer upper I wanted. Maybe next year we will buy. This year we may just see the world. Go visit my daughter who is moving to Seatle, rent an RV - the heck with it.

This old hog I've got isn't selling in a market where according to the last MLS report for our area Feb 07 sales are up over sales in Feb 06. And houses around me are actually selling for more, which has resulted in an increase in the CMA for my area, and still I go down, but I'm just depressing myself. I'm tired on so many levels.

Melrose.. why did you turn down the offer? Is this a different one from the appaisal offer you accepted? Waht was different about this offer that made you reject it but accept one with an appraisal contingency so far down the road?

Day 1 on the MLS: Had a showing today. Feedback went something like this: house is beautiful and in excellent condition but at high end of comps. Not ready to make a decision...blah blah blah.

It's only he first showing. Hope there's more to come.

My realtor put the for sale sign right next to the rose garden and it's visible from one direction only. I really like her but I wonder what she was thinking when she did that.

Sparks, they were diff offers. The one I turned down had lots of contingencies: appraisal,plus buyer had to sell his own place out of state, plus he wanted us to pay all his closing costs and he offered us less money. The offer we accepted came in later that day. The offer we accepted was perfect as we don't want to move out before June and since our realtor made us believe that the appraisal contingency would be done soon (which it hasn't), it seemed like a no brainer. Past tense...seemed! ;)

Day 2 on the MLS: Two more showings today. One didn't leave feedback. The other likes the house but is concerned about the crack in the living room ceiling, and wants to know if I have a foundation report.

I also get an email from my realtor wanting to know what to say about the cracks.

My initial knew-jerk response: Houses move and the drywall cracks!

My more thoughtful response: They're cosmetic. They come and go with the seasons. No I don't have a foundation report but these types of cracks aren't indicative of a foundation problem.

My realtor mentioned the cracks on her first visit and said they'd be an issue. I've already repaired the ceiling crack but it's just going to show up again in about 6 months. Whatever it takes to get the house sold, right?

I hope ya'll don't mind me making this my personal journal.

:-)

civilminded, I am so jealous;-) We have been on the market 5 weeks with no showings. We have asked about dropping the price, but everyone, 6 different agents including ours say the price is right and they haven't had any showings in our area in weeks. Short of dropping the price $50k, we are looking at renting it for a year to see what happens.

Good luck to you and I personally enjoy your journal, although I wish it was me!

Donna/Tuscanlover, I just re-read this thread, and I'm so sorry to hear your situation hasn't changed. I honestly thought I would be in the same boat as the avg DOM for my area is 75. Though my house has been completely remodeled the location's not exactly desireable. It's certainly no longer desireable to me and that's part of the reason I'm selling.

I painted the living room ceiling this morning to minimize the offensive crack. It looks alot better.

Day 4 on the MLS - I think I've sold my house. We're entering the option period and there's still the inspection to get through, but I think I've sold my house!

Under contract to sell and so far so good. Lots of interest both before and after it being under contract and we might raise the price by about $10k for the next round if these buyers fall out of contract, though it is likely that the sale gets closed. Priced it very, very well and that is why there was/is so much interest.

We listed our house in eastern Iowa (small town near the Quad Cities) in early April. We've had several showings and had one offer (buyer backed out after HI; first-time home buyer insecurities). We dropped our price today by $1500 on our realtor's suggestion. Houses in our town are sitting a long time...some as long as two YEARS...though I am starting to see a few "sold" signs. We will wait another two weeks and then probably drop our price again.

Tuscanlover: I listened to agents too - oh don't drop the price it's priced below comps already, blah, blah, blah. But the fact is that the market is slow even for a pretty transient area like where I live. People are watching TV and seeing all these stories about how the bubble has burst in California and they think that is the same everywhere. So they are sitting on their hands. Realtors are all telling me they are having a slow year and the stats support that.

If you have to sell, drop your price. If it hurts to drop your price and pay a commission to an agent, we listed on several FSBO sites, many national sites are free, local sites are better - then really drop your price. I chose to go right below the 300K price point and just above the fixer upper up the street. Good price point - and in 30 days we had a good qualifed buyer.

Not that they didn't drive me a couple of time to the altar of the martini, doing all the inspections before a contract. Ultimately they are terrifically nice people and I feel pretty confident this closing will happen.

Summer is just about here..How was the spring selling season where you live? Updates please :)

Hi!

Listed on 3/5, dropped our price by $7,000 (home list under $200,000)after 3 months, sold 1 week after price drop for 95% of new list price. There were 4 other homes on my street also for sale. Things have been selling quickly here (NE Ohio) since May.

Elaine

Mystic, Ct

Told by local REALTOR just yesterday that DOM is 38 ("if priced right" - whatever THAT means?).

Still lots of inland inventory. Not much available within 1/4 mile of the coast. I'm starting to see price drops. For example, one I've been following was $748K in Feb. '07, dropped to $725K in April, & is now at $699K. The home is empty except for a caretaker. It needs about $200K in remodeling/updating (period home).

New construction houses are just sitting with no price drops from February '07. Hello? We don't have a lot of new construction. One group of four homes priced in the $2.5M range & another 6 priced between $650K-$750K. Then, there are a few single spec houses dotted around further away from the village around $450K.

Lots of Open Houses on Sat. & Sun. Major intersections are full of "House For Sale" signs with arrows...sometimes, 3-4 signs on a corner. These would be outside what is known as "Historic Mystic" but still in the general vicinity...east of New London & before the Rhode Island border along the I-95 corridor.

Tricia

We closed yesterday on a townhome. We are in So. Fla., Broward CO. We sneaked in 3 days before summer. :) Place had been on the market since March. Not a long time for here it seems.

I closed on two houses (buy and sell) in the last week. Glad it's all over! My sale was really smooth once all contingencies were met. Closing date was even moved up which worked fine for us.