Why is ANYONE considering buying a house right now in this market unless you have to? (Chicago: real estate)

[team_evans]

FMV:

You have your perspective, I have mine. Simmer down.

Let's agree to leave it at that?

[fairmarketvalue]

sounds good!

[Humboldt1]

FMV,

I am not going to do the whole preach thing. I neither gave money to Burma or China. You could have given more if you chose but I admire your efforts. I gave none, instead choosing to focus on other causes, including my home church.

No one should ever say "I gave all I could.". Maybe it is semantics but statements like that just don't hold true to me.

Your situation sucks but you have made money on your old house if you have been there 9 years. You are fortunate if you are able to make 2 mortgage payments, though I am sure this is getting old.

Just reduce your price 20-40M to get rid of your old house. Holding out for your price in a declining market is gonna be tough. House prices in the Chicago area, including Wheaton are forecast to drop another 10-14 percent over the next 12 months, so better to reduce your price now and get rid of your extra payment.

Please let us know when it sells and how much you ultimately had to reduce it to sell as it will help guide both buyers and sellers going forward in the Chicago suburbs.

[fairmarketvalue]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

FMV,

I am not going to do the whole preach thing. I neither gave money to Burma or China. You could have given more if you chose but I admire your efforts. I gave none, instead choosing to focus on other causes, including my home church.

No one should ever say "I gave all I could.". Maybe it is semantics but statements like that just don't hold true to me.

Your situation sucks but you have made money on your old house if you have been there 9 years. You are fortunate if you are able to make 2 mortgage payments, though I am sure this is getting old.

Just reduce your price 20-40M to get rid of your old house. Holding out for your price in a declining market is gonna be tough. House prices in the Chicago area, including Wheaton are forecast to drop another 10-14 percent over the next 12 months, so better to reduce your price now and get rid of your extra payment.

Please let us know when it sells and how much you ultimately had to reduce it to sell as it will help guide both buyers and sellers going forward in the Chicago suburbs.

The only thing I'd like to ad, once again, trying to explain myself. It's interesting to me how people take things out of context and seem to run with it.

We are heavily involved in our church, which is the venue we used to donate to these causes as well as many others. We raised $ for the sunami, hurricane catrina, and several cancer charities were also adressed through our local elementary school. Examples of this are, "kidscaring4kids" (featured at Wheaton North HS and started by a 12 year old Wheaton girl who was surprised by Bll Clinton at WNHS and then chauffered to the Oprah show, in a limo with him, for a taping with them and Andre Aggasi.) Our school has raised over $5,000 to her $1,000,000 goal and it has been such a rewarding experience for our family and especially our children. The charity goes to aids orphans and this little girl, now 15, came up with this idea while lying in the Hospital with a liver transplant, necessary to save her life. We also participate in relay for life, run for brain cancer, and so, so many other oportunities to help raise or directly give money, with our children involved. Additionally, I work for Central DuPage Hospital, where we are constantly adopting different charities to give to.

In conclusion, it is so unbelievable to me that after attempting to give my opinion about REAL ESTATE, that it could spin so out of control and lose it's purpose, in the end.

I and we are only trying to sell our house and figure out why the buyer mentality exists the way it does, offer opinions as well as facts, as to what's going on out there and in the Chicago. suburbs, and just overall attempting to get the word out there that "the bottom is not falling out" and that it is a great time to buy, answering the original question of the title for this thread. And yes, we have lowered the price, too many times, and it is not helping. Do you expect us to absolutely ruin any prospects of this market to recover if we all give in and sell at prices that are 10 years ago? Again, we are NOT in California and our prices were NEVER that inflated, period. The ridiculous predictions of them falling another 10-14% are crazy!!!!! These predictions are only the exagerated opinions of a market like California, where they were inflated to over a 100% profits in the last decade and THIS is what these predictions are based on, not the average markets in most cities and their ares in the US. I guess I give up.

When I said we did all we could for now, obviously we are in a different financial situation, as of this moment and all I was suggesting, to the previous neysayer is that WE DO GIVE and have perspective, as she criticized us for appearing self absorbed and at a loss of perspective.

Thanks for the sound opinions and advise that came from many on this thread and I, like many, believe if we hang in there, the market will come back and talk of "lowering our prices" and letting this small percentage of buyers "steal our homes" will eventually go away. Sales of recent prove that. We just have to wait our turn.

[Humboldt1]

FMV,

How are you thinking that housing prices will not decline? With inventories at 10-11 months prices will continue to fall. Bank foreclosures and short sales are having an even more negative impact on prices.

You will have to lower your price. Period.

And, I could care less about your charity work.

Point is, if you want to sell that house now you will have to lower the price or get lucky. You should have sold it last year but by waiting you will get an even lower price. Better to reduce that price now to get it off your hands than hold out another year and get an even lower price.

10-14% declines in Chicago residential real estate over the next 12-24 months is what many expect, including the analysts do this for a living at the bank I work for. For California and Florida our analysts predict declines of 25%.

Sorry dude.

[Johnny Northside]

Originally Posted by Drover

On the contrary, when I go to buy a place, the first person I intend to contact is whoever is the listing agent for the home I'm most likely to buy. I want an agent representing the seller, because studies have shown again and again that an agent representing both parties is more likely to inadvertently work in the buyer's interest because they have a huge incentive to accept a lower price.

Excellent post Drov ... we are working that way too. If you know the area you're looking in and use the available tools on the Internet (Zillow, Tribune property transfers, Cook County Assessors and Recorder of Deeds websites, etc.), there's really no reason to have a buyers agent. At the end of the negotiations, you should be able to get a sellers agent to waive part of the commission since you didn't bring a second agent and agency to the table for their 1.25% each.

[chet everett]

I think that individual segments of the market are very resilient. The sales data shows that some towns have seen average selling price INCREASE. While the the underlying reason for this differs from town to town, the fact is that desirable homes in good areas will ALWAYS be in demand.

As FMV mentioned, his home is a bit more rural, which is what attracted him to it. I have encountered ALL KINDS OF MISINFORMATION that can lead buyers to assume the most bizarre myths. Some folks assume that streets w/o curbs are not plowed, that all homes with "county style" numbers are on private wells and septic systems, that homes in unincorporated areas have no access to park districts or libraries, that schools districts end where the sidewalks do and a THOUSAND other things small and large that have no basis in truth or at least are not valid generalizations.

There is no reason to expect that EVERY property will drop in value, or even that prices will move in sync with other markets. Those "models" that the geniuses at banks are now using are the EXACT same kind of worthless crap that were used to overrate and oversell mortgage backed securities...

Frankly I think that the changes FHA put in for loan limits are pretty much political excrement, with portions of NEVADA, PUERTO RICO and the DC Metro region getting caps HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars than we have in an election year it should be clear that we in Illinois are getting a raw deal.

[Johnny Northside]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

House prices in the Chicago area, including Wheaton are forecast to drop another 10-14 percent over the next 12 months, so better to reduce your price now and get rid of your extra payment.

As a cautious buyer, I'd like to know where you got that statistic, Humboldt. I know the sky is falling everywhere else in the nation, but I thought Chicago was "relatively" safe. Thanks!

[fairmarketvalue]

Humboldt,

Let me put it in simple terms for you. If all markets, fall another 10-15%, this will bring prices at most price ranges to near foreclosure sales prices anyway. Do you honestly think that since they already went through a price correction, adjusted to the individual markets around the country, by continuing to drop, the entire real estate inventory will inevitably sell at short sale/foreclosure prices? Please, read the specifics and stop taking all everything literally, as most is exactly what CEverett said- worthless crap.

I'll put it in even more simple terms for you. A house that was bought for $400,000, 9 years ago, Already listed at a bargain for $500,000 in this market (in a more reasonable, fair market, it would be priced closer to $600,000), not taking into account improvements made, additions, remodeling, or general updates, etc.,, This means by your scenerio, at another 15% drop, the house will need to be priced at $350,000, $50,000 less than it was paid for, 9 years ago. And that's before closing cost, real estate comissions, and the final sale price, since all buyers have been made to believe that whatever the list is, it will still be bought for lower!!!!!NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, period!!! You think our nation is in trouble over gas prices, grocery prices, and overall economy conditions? Please, with interest rates still at an all time low, you need a lesson in economics and business!

[Schnooks]

update.. we bought..
Starting list FSBO $600K
Realtor listed $575
reduced down to $479
Offered $405
Counter was $459
Accepted bid $413