Falling Prices

I am not making this up.  I am seeing homes listed in the MLS that have been reduced in price by $100,000 dollars.  in one case the home was listed for slightly more than $200,000, when it went on the market a year ago and is now listed for 108K.  I am watching it now to see how many days it remains on the market.  It is bank owned and some of the banks have figured out if they make the price low enough they can get multiple offers and get more than they ask for it.

Some sellers still price themselves out of the market, basing their asking price on how much they paid for the home, or how much they owe on it, or how much they need for a new home they want to buy.  The sad truth is that buyers don't care how much sellers want for their home, they are looking for bargains and finding  them. 

Comments

[Carole Cohen]

We had a home on the Lake listed for almost a year (we being NE Ohio, not me lol) It was listed for $450k. It sold a month ago for $250k. That is surprising to say the least!

[c]

I promise, this is not a snarky comment, I am really interested in an honest answer to the following:

You wrote, "The sad truth is that buyers don't care how much sellers want for their home, they are looking for bargains and finding them."

My question is, why is this a sad truth?

[Teresa Boardman]

c it is the sad truth for sellers becasue some still home out hope that they can sell their home for a price that is higher than buyers will pay. . . the word "sad" comes in because the are not happy about it.

[c]

fair enough.

sometimes when reading about the whole housing thing in the news it is easy (for me) to forget that there are real people who got the short end of the stick (whether or not it was their fault is important but does not, i believe, make it any less sad).

good point.

[John Juarez]

Teresa,

Prices are falling in many areas. Prices vary across the nation, but most are moving down. For an insight into a different market check out my blog on this subject at www.mostlyrealtestate.com

John Juarez

[Patient Buyer]

What I am still interested in seeing is the moment of recognition among sellers.

I understand that some will never face reality, but there are still a large number who are not seeing the big picture.

I am looking in the SW and NW metro suburbs, and I see the same houses from last fall, with a 5K price reduction. I think it's crazy that anyone thinks that 5K is actually a reduction. I KNOW that I can get that much off the ask of almost any house right now. Probably ten. Maybe a lot more, even.

Sellers are living a nightmare of missed opportunity. Not only that, the entire psychology of 'real estate only goes up' is probably responsible for a lot of the denial that we're seeing.

I think that a lot of homes in Richfield, Bloomington, New Hope, and Crystal could all use about a 20K reduction. Some need a 40K reduction. That is how laughable the pricing is. I'm seeing houses bought in 2004 where the seller is looking for a 20% gain or more. I'm seeing quarter-million dollar asking prices in neighborhoods where median incomes would more likely justify 180K homes.

It's a good thing I'm patient. I don't expect a bottom until 2009 at a minimum. There is too much denial right now.

PB

[Sue Brown]

Great article...I think it holds true for most of the country. In Arizona, we are seeing offers anywhere from $80,000 to $105,000 off list price. And that's on homes that are seemingly priced at market... whatever that is.
Sue Brown
Prescott Real Estate Round Up

[Sean Malott]

Our prices are dropping like crazy. We have seen a decrease by 25% in the last year or so. Buy low and sell high. In the words of John D. Rockefeller, "The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets."