Real Estate prices falling? (Jonesborough: for sale, apartment, foreclosures)

[Tony1790]

Howdy,

I went to my first auction today, (just outside of Jonesborough), a brand new home on .65 ac lot, 1850 sqft 3 bed, 2 bath that has been for sale for over a year went at auction today for $135,000. There were several builders in the crowd observing how the sale went and they were shocked and a little troubled at how cheaply the house went. It sold for less than it cost to build the home, not counting the 2 car garage and the 2/3 of an acre lot.

I've been seeing cheaper land these days as well, try 10.44 acres of flat pasture land for $39,900, man that's pretty cheap, even for Greene county.

Anyone else notice that things are getting cheaper, or am I just imagining things again. While it's nice seeing people get a good deal on real estate, there is someone else on the flip side of that deal that's losing their shirt.

I stopped by the bldg dept in Jonesborough and they said that they are only getting 2 - 3 permit requests a week this spring, compared to 25 - 30 a week last year. I've seen several new homes, fully completed that have been for sale for over a year and are priced near cost levels and still not selling.

So, looks like if you are planning on buying a home, there are deals to be had, at below cost pricing. Good buys for some, goodbye's for others.

Is the lack of buyers this year due to the inability of the Floridians to sell their homes (and buy here) or are people concerned about the recession?

I'm buying land, but now I'm nervous that I won't be able to build on it, or if I do, it'll be near worthless in the future.

Anyone else worried about where the economy is heading and what it'll mean for us as a nation?

[heathdawn]

I think the house/land prices are a combination of both. Economy problems, fear of recession and real estate is very bad in FL. Thanks for the info.

[ljay42]

I'll be in the market soon but probably won't buy until the first quarter of next year. I've been house watching from greeneville to erwin for over a year now and it seems pretty clear to me that better deals are starting to be found.

The wife and I drove around yesterday and looked at 8 houses. For the price range, it was the best lot of 8 houses we have seen since we moved here. I only expect that to get better as we move towards next year.

[jchometeam]

Cheaper homes are doing better than more expensive ones. And with more supply out there, im seeing lots of folks buy the new construction homes and passing on existing homes in the same price range, size, etc. But I think you are right, many of these are the new constructions that have already been built and have been sitting a little while. I believe the builders are slowing their pace now.

I dont have any figures for foreclosures right now, someone might. I believe that for Washington County, there was 1 more foreclosure in 2007 than in 2006. That would suggest that foreclosures arent that big of a problem here, but it seems like there might be a few more now.

But prices arent falling to the extent of the rest of the country. If you bought a house 2 years ago, you shouldnt be losing money if you sell it now. But you wont be getting near the equity gain that you were seeing years ago.

[jabogitlu]

I agree with the poster who said a combination of all. I'm not in the buying market right now (still plugging away in an apartment!), but if I were I'd definitely go for an older, cheaper, smaller house. It just makes more sense, from price to building quality [generally] to heating costs...

[lauragizzi]

i am in california, and the prices here have dropped alot. we just sold my dads house and took a BEATING on it. (we got 100k less for it than our original asking price! (a year ago it was worth 150k more than we got)

alot of people that could not afford a place out here now can. where i live, you could not touch any house for less than 500k, and now, i am seeing lots of decent houses for 350k. so i would say on average, the prices have dropped about 150k for the "median" cost out here. which doesnt sound cheap, but it is for here.

i have looked at property out there, the realtor says its kinda low right now, as it is all over the country allegedly, but he says not as bad there as in other places. (here)

so i dont think its just tennessee.. just my opinion from what i have seen.

[jguillot]

I think the economy will gradually pick up later in the year and homes will begin to appreciate in value again. I bought a 4 acre lot in Tennessee last summer and plan to build on this lot in 6 to 7 years.

[Mistybader]

Funny, we were in JC around Boone's Creek this past weekend looking for a house. We lowballed two builders and one of them wouldn't even acknowlege our offer. The other rejected us. Our realator says housing in JC is not hurting at all because of the growing medical community, We are making an offer on a house today and the builder is coming down a little bit but the two others would budge at all.

[ljay42]

Originally Posted by Mistybader

Funny, we were in JC around Boone's Creek this past weekend looking for a house. We lowballed two builders and one of them wouldn't even acknowlege our offer. The other rejected us. Our realator says housing in JC is not hurting at all because of the growing medical community, We are making an offer on a house today and the builder is coming down a little bit but the two others would budge at all.

Is it YOUR realtor? In other words, did you sign a contract that says they are working for you as a buyers agent? If not, you're just making friends with an agent of the seller.

The market is getting softer. This is just my feeling based on my own research but I'm pretty sure about that.

As a former licensed agent (NC) I can tell you that I wouldn't buy a house without hiring and paying an agent so they represent me and my best interests.... and they better be on their toes.

[Mistybader]

No this is our realtor. We have a contract with her. She isn't connected to to any of these builders in any way. I think the Boone's Creek area is just the area people are buying in right now. One of the houses was in Highland Ridge. It was the cheapest house in the development and they were only will to come off by $5000.00. The other house was in the Hills of Waterford and they just ignored our first offer all together and wouldn't even respond to it. We made a second offer to them and they finally responded with a price that was $12,000.00 more than what we offered and they said the house was as is no negotiating they wouldn't even grate, soding or seeding the backyard. It has been a pretty interesting experience.