Ann Arbor real estate market is bizarre...wish someone could explain it to me! (Jackson: for sale by owner)

[pfam4]

We have been searching for a home in Ann Arbor for about 4 months. We have nothing to show for it except 2 failed contracts both of which were for sale by owners and contracts killed by the sellers.
Can someone please explain the market out there? The inventory for homes that don't need to major over haul is minimal, the homes that would be of interest are selling prior to going to market, and if homes do go to market, they are incredibly over priced!!!
This is starting to break me down and rethink our relocation entirely, which would force my poor husband to commute to the east coast on weekends to see our children!
We have adjusted our price range up, down and all around. We have adjusted our needs in a home. We have done everything except bend over backwards and beg someone to buy their home!!!! Our agent is just as exacerbated
WHAT AM I MISSING????
We are a family of 5 (soon to be six) 2 older teenage girls, 2 young boys and my husband I. I have said that our minimum would be a 4 bedroom 3 bath, but it would need to have a LOT of other living space so that my children to turn on each other. Our children will be going to catholic school on the east side of town, and my husband works downtown.
Any one have ANY insight????

Sorry for the exaggerated use of question marks, exclamation points and capitals...this is starting to really drive me over the edge!!!

Thank you in advance

[zthatzmanz28]

May be you should avoid FSBOs (For Sale by Owner)? Sellers want to FSBO to get away from paying the commission.
Deal with a real estate agent who will show you houses from the MLS. As a buyer it costs you NOTHING. Homes listed with an agent are less likely to be pulled.

[belleislerunner]

It sounds like you need a new real estate agent. No point in limiting yourself to just one.

[beachmouse]

You're looking in an area where the 'good part' of town contains a lot of fairly old housing stock, and it probably wasn't common to get more than 2.5 baths in new construction until the late 80s or so. So problem #1 there. It's also always been one of the more expensive non-lakefront places to live in the state because of a mix of high levels of white collar professionals with good incomes, the amenities of downtown & the campus areas, and an urban school district with a generally good reputation. And because it's a desirable area, it's always been at least something of a seller's market, even when there were large layoffs in the area. So there isn't huge pressure to put in the granite/stainless/hardwoods before putting the home on the market because there's probably going to be someone willing to pay asking price in order to get closer to the cool stuff of A^2.

Might be time to get really flexible on location if you need that large for the area home at a reasonable price.

[canudigit]

Have you totally ruled out all of the outlying areas that are only minutes from the amenities of AA but not actually in AA? I'm thinking Saline, Chelsea, Lodi Twp., and Dixboro, just to name a few. If your husband works downtown and your kids go to school on the east side, all of the above places are still within 20 min. of both of those areas, with the probably exception of Chelsea. Lodi Twp., in particular, is really nice; quiet, peaceful, some newer housing stock that would be more likely to meet your requirements than the homes in the heart of AA, and right next to the AA city limits.

If are already including these areas in your search, then disregard this, but if not, maybe you could at least consider it. Old town AA is, IMHO, quite overpriced for the quality of the housing stock, although I can understand why, with its proximity to the campus and the chronic shortage of housing for both students and faculty.

[sweet life]

Based on your earlier post, it sounds like you are really looking for 5+ bedrooms. Houses that size are a little less common even in a really big market. Still, a quick search of a popular real estate site shows 47 homes with 5+ bedrooms and 3+ baths for sale in Ann Arbor and another 45 in the rest of the county. I realize that many of those already have contracts, etc., but still the market doesn't sound that bad. If you are looking for the perfect house, you might just have to rent for awhile to give more time for that house to appear (or to build one). Or you might just have to accept that whatever you buy will need some kind of work to meet your requirements.

Try getting another agent, and definitely look more outside of the A2 city limits.

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Have you totally ruled out all of the outlying areas that are only minutes from the amenities of AA but not actually in AA? I'm thinking Saline, Chelsea, Lodi Twp., and Dixboro, just to name a few. If your husband works downtown and your kids go to school on the east side, all of the above places are still within 20 min. of both of those areas, with the probably exception of Chelsea. Lodi Twp., in particular, is really nice; quiet, peaceful, some newer housing stock that would be more likely to meet your requirements than the homes in the heart of AA, and right next to the AA city limits.

If are already including these areas in your search, then disregard this, but if not, maybe you could at least consider it. Old town AA is, IMHO, quite overpriced for the quality of the housing stock, although I can understand why, with its proximity to the campus and the chronic shortage of housing for both students and faculty.

This would be my advice, too. Even Jackson is only about a half-hour drive, barring traffic jams. There are some very nice areas in Ypsilanti and Pittsfield Township, just a stone's throw from Ann Arbor; Saline of course, Dundee, Pinckney, Whitmore Lake (the latter is probably one of the cheapest areas to buy in the whole county); also nearby are places like Manchester, Milan, South Lyon, Belleville...and ANY of these places is less crazy to buy a house in. Everyone on earth wants to live three inches from the dead center of town in Ann Arbor, so you have these tiny huts selling for $500K and it's impossible to even get a look before they sell -- your AA house-shopping experience is almost universal.