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I think what we're dealing with these days is the fact that many folks bought during a crazy bubble. Prices were only supported by voo-doo financing that no longer exists yet people still have the expectation that they should be getting a price that exists in that realm. The fact is that the US housing market as a whole isn't likely to regain solid footing until prices come closer to meeting actual income levels.
My heart really goes out to you. Unfortunately, we're in a very similar situation, but on the opposite coast. A few years ago we tried to sell our place (an historic farmhouse with barn). It was on the market for a year and we heard that our kitchen was too small and some buyers wanted more bedrooms (we had three). So, we added a huge new kitchen and built out our attic into 2 bedrooms and a full bath. Since that market had tanked by then, we had it appraised and actually ended up listing it again for LESS than we had before. We've had a total of 3 showings. Our last was in early July. We were so confident that it would sell this time that we enrolled our oldest into a small private school in Austin. We're now on the hook for their tuition while she attends the public school up the road from us.
We've asked everyone - they all say the place looks great ("Out of a magazine!") and that it's priced well. Even so, we did a major price reduction over the summer to no avail. We're planning to take it off of the market after Thansgiving and relist after New Year's. If it doesn't move by early summer, we're going to have to fire sale it. Our poor agent keeps saying, "It's not you, nothing's moving."
It just kills me on so many levels that we can't move on. All of our lives are literally on hold. We've watched as houses in Austin are listed, we fall in love, and they are sold or pulled off of the market. A couple have even gone into foreclosure, which breaks my heart for the family. If we could get out of here, we could have bought their place and helped them out of a tough situation.
The worst part is that there is nothing you can do. You can fire sale your place and just try to dump it and there's still no promise that it's going to sell. If you can find someone to rent it to, you're taking a financial risk there plus you have no downpayment money for your new place. From what other posters have said in the past, the condo market in Austin is a bit shaky. Do you plan on keeping the condo and renting it out down the road or would you try to sell it once you're out from under your new place?
Wouldn't it be great if you could just swap your place with somone in Austin?
It would be if people were looking to leave austin in the same numbers..unfort a one way street there...would be great if you COULD though...dont give up on that idea..
I'm not meaning to sound harsh, so please don't take it that way, but if your house isn't selling, it's overpriced for the market, it is as simple as that. We moved here without selling first and needed to take some time to ready the house before we put it on the market.
We started our house at what we'd hoped to get with the understanding that if it didn't get any interest we would start to aggressively lower the price. After two weeks we lowered the price and then we got an offer. Other houses in our old neighborhood were sitting but the houses that were priced right went reasonably quickly, including ours.
I don't know that you'd say our house went for "fire-sale" because it went for about 100K less than it might have, had we put it on the market a year earlier. We still got more than what we purchased it for in 2001. I think the problem is that houses were inflated so drastically mid decade, now more realistic prices seem like they are in fire-sale territory.
I think anyone trying to sell a house in what were once overheated markets are kidding themselves if they think prices will rise to where they were in 2007 within the next decade.
Jen, not that simple...means there is a glut of inventory in the market, and even price drops will not create interest, unless it is DRASTICALLY marked down ala totally giving up the farm/equity...many people have the lions share of their assets in their home...wiping out all the equity just to sell is insanity...and Austin is not a cheap place to purchase either..no fire sales there...wrong per dropping prices...unless you drop it to the point where you are pricing it the same as the foreclosures, which also sit for a long time even marked down, though may sell a little faster than resales..
if anyone is desperate enough to lose ALL the equity in the house, AND dip in the bank to pay the remainder of the note off, sure that could drop it hugely, but very very few have the means to do so...so, after all is said, price drops help, but not by much, and only when drastic witll they move it quickly...as there are a ton of shorts and foreclosures that even the drastically cut price will STILL have to compete with...
Jen, not that simple...means there is a glut of inventory in the market, and even price drops will not create interest, unless it is DRASTICALLY marked down ala totally giving up the farm/equity...many people have the lions share of their assets in their home...wiping out all the equity just to sell is insanity...and Austin is not a cheap place to purchase either..no fire sales there...wrong per dropping prices...unless you drop it to the point where you are pricing it the same as the foreclosures, which also sit for a long time even marked down, though may sell a little faster than resales..
if anyone is desperate enough to lose ALL the equity in the house, AND dip in the bank to pay the remainder of the note off, sure that could drop it hugely, but very very few have the means to do so...so, after all is said, price drops help, but not by much, and only when drastic witll they move it quickly...as there are a ton of shorts and foreclosures that even the drastically cut price will STILL have to compete with...
THANK YOU! Finally someone understands! (And I'll rep you for it ). We had our place appraised before listing it on the market again b/c we knew that the market had fallen off. The appraisal price was drastically lower than we had the place listed for but we sucked it up and listed it for a bit lower than that. When we weren't getting many showings after 30 days, we lowered it again - significantly. Our agent says that nothing within spitting distance of our price point in our Township has sold within the last 3 years. The potential buyers who came through never had anything negative to say about the price (one wanted more land, one wanted less land, another wanted to be further from neighbors). Honestly, we could cut our listing price in half and still not sell. There are just no buyers here. Our agent is actually recommending that we NOT reduce the asking price again as she doesn't feel it will do any good. Unfortunately some areas of the country are just like this now and it's a waiting game until it picks up again.
P.S. Sorry ITC - I have to "spread it around" before I can rep you again.
Last edited by Dr.Mom; 10-11-2010 at 01:11 PM..
Reason: Gotta spread the love
We took a beating on our home when we moved, but we DID sell -- and relatively quickly. You have to stop thinking about your break-even or whatever other number you have in mind and price it to sell. Cut your losses and know you'll be getting a deal on the other end. Sell low, buy low.
One realtor described pricing in a declining market fairly aptly... It's like a chasing a ball downhill. You need to make sure you're below the ball to catch it. If you're above it, you'll be chasing it until it hits rock bottom.
I would price to sell before I'd consider renting. WAY too much added stress.
Again, easy to say...however, if you are at or close to underwater, who out there has the funds in the banks to dip into to pay off the note, short of foreclosures/ssales? Huge price drops are only manageable for those with a fair share of equity in the same, a home value that has not gone underwater yet, and money in the bank to put money down for the new home, as, if you have lost all equity, even if you sell, you certainly aren't even going to buy a shack without any personal bank funds, currently about 10% down on many loans..how many people have 20-30K in the bank in this day, and/or are willing to divest the same, all they have in the bank or most of it, away from investment vehicles...? Hard to get ahead and save/thrive when you have just tapped out of all your assets, especially making a major move to another city.....
Jen, not that simple...means there is a glut of inventory in the market, and even price drops will not create interest, unless it is DRASTICALLY marked down ala totally giving up the farm/equity...many people have the lions share of their assets in their home...wiping out all the equity just to sell is insanity...and Austin is not a cheap place to purchase either..no fire sales there...wrong per dropping prices...unless you drop it to the point where you are pricing it the same as the foreclosures, which also sit for a long time even marked down, though may sell a little faster than resales..
if anyone is desperate enough to lose ALL the equity in the house, AND dip in the bank to pay the remainder of the note off, sure that could drop it hugely, but very very few have the means to do so...so, after all is said, price drops help, but not by much, and only when drastic witll they move it quickly...as there are a ton of shorts and foreclosures that even the drastically cut price will STILL have to compete with...
The market is what it is. It sucks and if you want to sell, you have to price it at a level where people are WILLING and ABLE to pay. People that bought during the bubble or took out money against the value of their home during the bubble may now owe more than the house is worth but that doesn't negate the economic principal that when a good's price is equivelent to what a person is able and willing to pay for it, the good will sell. Right now that price is less than what a lot of people owe on their house. A house is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.
Life is full of risks. Some pay off and some don't.
[quote=Dr.Mom;16221033]THANK YOU! Finally someone understands! (And I'll rep you for it ). We had our place appraised before listing it on the market again b/c we knew that the market had fallen off. The appraisal price was drastically lower than we had the place listed for but we sucked it up and listed it for a bit lower than that. When we weren't getting many showings after 30 days, we lowered it again - significantly. Our agent says that nothing within spitting distance of our price point in our Township has sold within the last 3 years. The potential buyers who came through never had anything negative to say about the price (one wanted more land, one wanted less land, another wanted to be further from neighbors). Honestly, we could cut our listing price in half and still not sell. There are just no buyers here. Our agent is actually recommending that we NOT reduce the asking price again as she doesn't feel it will do any good. Unfortunately some areas of the country are just like this now and it's a waiting game until it picks up again.
quote]
Thanks, DrMom. We are basically in the same position. People who came through our house when we first listed it also remarked "you get a lot for the money", and "well priced". But that didn't make any difference. Our realtor is also not recommending a further reduction in price, as it seems that is not the problem. And we didn't buy in the "bubble"; we lived in the house for 22 years. It is a substantial part of our life savings. (Thank goodness, we have other savings as well, since we are now retired.) If we reduced the price by, say, $50, it would save us rent on the apt, since we could then by in Lakeway, but not $50 worth of rent. At this point, we are thinking of just leaving it on the market. Sure, fall buying season ends soon. But I am thinking that some people may take their homes off the market at that point, leaving a smaller pool of homes. And of course, there will be fewer buyers during the Christmas season, but there might be someone who does need a house during that time. Hope springs eternal.
As for a place here, we are thinking of buying here anyway - just on a much smaller scale than we would have. We may not buy a condo because of all the HOA stuff. But there may be some deals out there on houses that aren't "dream homes" that would suit us just fine for a few years.
Buying a house when you have another one on the market is a BAD idea, no matter what the situation is. Why on earth do that- especially if the bulk of your life savings is tied to your house back home?
THANK YOU! Finally someone understands! (And I'll rep you for it ). We had our place appraised before listing it on the market again b/c we knew that the market had fallen off. The appraisal price was drastically lower than we had the place listed for but we sucked it up and listed it for a bit lower than that. When we weren't getting many showings after 30 days, we lowered it again - significantly. Our agent says that nothing within spitting distance of our price point in our Township has sold within the last 3 years. The potential buyers who came through never had anything negative to say about the price (one wanted more land, one wanted less land, another wanted to be further from neighbors). Honestly, we could cut our listing price in half and still not sell. There are just no buyers here. Our agent is actually recommending that we NOT reduce the asking price again as she doesn't feel it will do any good. Unfortunately some areas of the country are just like this now and it's a waiting game until it picks up again.
quote]
Thanks, DrMom. We are basically in the same position. People who came through our house when we first listed it also remarked "you get a lot for the money", and "well priced". But that didn't make any difference. Our realtor is also not recommending a further reduction in price, as it seems that is not the problem. And we didn't buy in the "bubble"; we lived in the house for 22 years. It is a substantial part of our life savings. (Thank goodness, we have other savings as well, since we are now retired.) If we reduced the price by, say, $50, it would save us rent on the apt, since we could then by in Lakeway, but not $50 worth of rent. At this point, we are thinking of just leaving it on the market. Sure, fall buying season ends soon. But I am thinking that some people may take their homes off the market at that point, leaving a smaller pool of homes. And of course, there will be fewer buyers during the Christmas season, but there might be someone who does need a house during that time. Hope springs eternal.
As for a place here, we are thinking of buying here anyway - just on a much smaller scale than we would have. We may not buy a condo because of all the HOA stuff. But there may be some deals out there on houses that aren't "dream homes" that would suit us just fine for a few years.
G Grasshopper,
Don't give up! Our agent said that last year her best sales month was November. It came as a real surprise to her. People have to move all the time for all different reasons. Good luck!
As for a place here, we are thinking of buying here anyway - just on a much smaller scale than we would have. We may not buy a condo because of all the HOA stuff. But there may be some deals out there on houses that aren't "dream homes" that would suit us just fine for a few years.
wanted to add a bit more to that last thought. How is buying a home if its only going to be sold in a few years better than waiting to see if the old home will sell and THEN buying the home you really want? I think the problem here is that you're assuming the house you buy today will sell in a few years and do so easily. I assume that you all assumed your current house- that hasn't sold yet-would have sold quicker than it is. Thus in buying a second home you would not only have one large financial liabilities, but two. Never assume that a house will sell in your ideal timeframe because nobody can predict what the future housing market or economy holds.
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). We had our place appraised before listing it on the market again b/c we knew that the market had fallen off. The appraisal price was drastically lower than we had the place listed for but we sucked it up and listed it for a bit lower than that. When we weren't getting many showings after 30 days, we lowered it again - significantly. Our agent says that nothing within spitting distance of our price point in our Township has sold within the last 3 years. The potential buyers who came through never had anything negative to say about the price (one wanted more land, one wanted less land, another wanted to be further from neighbors). Honestly, we could cut our listing price in half and still not sell. There are just no buyers here. Our agent is actually recommending that we NOT reduce the asking price again as she doesn't feel it will do any good. Unfortunately some areas of the country are just like this now and it's a waiting game until it picks up again.
