Are there realtors, or buyers or sellers on DU? Are you being impacted

[babylonsister]

by this current situation and if so, how so?

[tularetom]

1. I'd like to be a seller but it doesn't look promising

We have a large piece of property with an older home and we're in our late 60's. It's getting to be too much to take care of and we'd like to down size. At the same time I've made some improvements to the property and I'm afraid I won't recover the cost of those improvements. We have no encumbrances or liens on the property and we can still afford it financially but we don't need such a big parcel. It's not listed but a lot of people around here know I'd be receptive to offers. Two years ago we'd get unsolicited offers to buy the property - now, zip.

[gaiilonfong]

2. Here is So. Florida it is a mess!

For an example;In my area in one of these really nice town-house complexes, a particular townhouse sold for 740,000 dollars a year and 1/2 ago. The same layout townhouse in the same complex which has been on market for a year has just sold for 600,000....that is 140,000 less in one year. There is so much for sale here now, I don't know what is going to happen. IT IS A MESS!

[babylonsister]

10. Dang! a $$740,000 townhouse, in Florida?

:wow: I know CA prices are up there but had no clue FL was following in those financial footsteps!

[gaiilonfong]

13. I know and this is only mid-range homes! n/t

[Kurovski]

3. Just as a side-note, my sister was told by a realtor friend

that nearly 75% of the houses for sale in the town of Plainfield Illinois are foreclosures.

[shireen]

4. some parts of the country are in for really rough times

I don't work in real estate and I'm still in kindergarten when it comes to economics. But I have been house-hunting for more than a year, and have learned a lot about this nightmare. I've decided to rent for a bit longer ... right now is not the time to buy, even tho' we're seeing prices drop. To get a sense of how bad it will be in some places, go look at this article in Fortune, http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/06/real_estate/home_prices.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007110711 . It's an interesting analysis by Moody's Economy.com.

Click on the link for "price/rent ratios" (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/price_rent_ratios/)
That table is an eye-opener. There are three types of data:
- click on the "home prices" tab at the top of the table to see 5-year projections for 2x local median home prices in 25 metro areas.
- clicking on "P/R ratios" shows the ratio of prices (annual mortgage payment) to annual rent, and the expected correction over 5 years.
- the third tab will take you to a table of % home price change over 5 years vs. % rent change over 5 years.

For example, in Baltimore, home prices are expected to fall 27.8% over 5 years, and rent will increase by only 11% over that same time-frame. The PR ratio for Baltimore, as of June '07 was 20.7! Compare that to the average over the prior 15 years, which is 12.6. Over the next 5 years, that ratio is expected to decline by 39.1%


It's brutal ...

[no_hypocrisy]

5. I can only speak of a real estate business in my small town.

It was run as a business independent from the national franchises. It was owned by a man who was once the mayor of this town. He knew the territory, knew the community. His office would be open at 10 at night sometimes. (His office was next to another independent realtor, both from store fronts). I would see signs for his office in neighboring towns as he was trying to expand.

I noticed his office closed for business yesterday, brown wrapping paper taped to the windows.

[SoCalDem]

6. My son will benefit.. He is getting married in May '08

and when they get back from their honeymoon, they will be house-shopping. He and a roommate rehabbed a HUD home a few years back, lived in it for 2 years and basically doubled their money.. That will not be the option this time around, but with his skills (he's a self employed contractor) I'm sure they will find a great house, for less money than they thought..

They are debt-free and have close to 80K in the bank, so I think they will get a decent loan rate too..

I just hope they find a house in our town, so we will get to see them from time to time :)

[earthlover]

7. It's not a bust everywhere.

Not everywhere is impacted as bad as the horror stories we see in the news. My community was not part of the big "booms" and we have not seen decreases in home values, actually they went up this year.

The number of sales, however, has decreased. The number of houses on the market is higher than usual, and getting higher.

Part of the problem is the credit crunch. There are few foreclosures in my area, but because other parts of the country have had lots of them, the credit tightening has had impact here as well.

Borrowers who could have got a loan a year ago are being turned away now. Which, means of course, a seller won't sell their house to them.

All this doom and gloom is bound to put a damper on sales, even in areas of the country not in the crisis.

All real estate is local. But national news affects buyer's confidence.

[ThomWV]

8. Yet ....

[trof]

9. Alabama gulf coast hard hit.

Thousands of condos on the market as opposed to a few hundred 3 or 4 years ago.
Prices have dropped drastically.
One that sold for $750,000 a few years ago is now on market for $450,000.
Some owners just trying to get enough to pay the mortgage off.

Real estate sales people leaving for other jobs.
And I think the worst is yet to come.

[babylonsister]

11. Again, I'm shocked. Condos in Alabama going for

$750,000, for a condo? Even $450,000 sounds outrageous to me. I think I'm living in a time warp. We bought a house in the 90s for $70,000 ARO, about 1,700sf. w/a pool. To spend that much on a condo blows my mind. How big are these things anyway? What's the draw?
And I ask because we're getting close to retirement age, but is there anywhere to go in the US that's reasonable w/o freezing our tookuses off?

[trof]

16. High rise 'luxury' beach condos.

Some, like penthouses, 360 degree water views, etc., are priced in the millions.

Check out the Caribe Resort

http://www.cariberesort.com/

[babylonsister]

18. Ahh! In the early 90s we used to drive between TX and FL; those were

not there then! Is that close to that warship? Let me guess, the Alabama? Wow, I've been so secluded! I can't imagine in living in one of them, but that's me. I wonder how efficient the elevators are? :D
Sign me 'logical'.

[trof]

19. They're in Orange Beach, AL

There's been an explosion of high rise beach condos in that little town next to Gulf Shores. It's really ugly.
You can't even see the beach from the highway any more.

[mmonk]

12. A little.

The market I serve is not in as bad shape as much of the nation as people keep moving here (triangle area of NC). I have seen some slippage in home prices in pricey areas. The continual climb has slowed in most areas and a slight decline at our coast and in the triangle.

[NC_Nurse]

14. I have to sell a house here in NC this spring. I am crossing my fingers.

We have to move to Atlanta to help my parents (mom has dementia). I hope we can get the place sold fairly quickly without losing a bunch on it.
We shall see....:shrug:

[babylonsister]

15. If you're in the triangle area of NC, meet mmonk (post above yours).

Sounds like a NC realtor. :shrug: I'm sorry to hear about the reason you have to move, but I hear Atlanta is a fun 'little' town. My nephew moved to the outskirts recently from a small town, and likes it. Good luck, NC Nurse. :hug:

[NC_Nurse]

20. Thanks!

:hug: Back at ya!

[dmallind]

17. Both buying now and selling in 5-6 mos

Once the rest of the family moves with me.

Market in sales area has seen no decline and has about normal inventory.

Market in purchase area is soft but did not have far to fall as area has had declining population since long before the regionally-biased real estate bubble. Pretty heavy inventory in all but upper end.

It's just as wrong for me to extrapolate national trends from this however as it is for those who had extensive bubbles now contracting to do the same.

[Pakhet]

21. just sold my house

lost 3400 on the deal, but had to get rid of it now

[aikoaiko]

22. In my area houses are selling ok when listed at 85% of peak value and sell at 80%

...of their high peak values. But thats the worst of it. Lots of prices just stayed the same over the last year -- no appreciation in 12 months.