How are sales in Worcester? (Leicester: real estate market, 2009, foreclosure)

[Micah Girl]

We are probably moving in the next year and have a really nice four year old 3 BR 2.5 BA townhome with no condo fees in a nice area that we will be selling. How sluggish is the market right now? How long is it taking for property to move in Worcester in a nice new development? Just trying to look ahead to our future plans!

Thanks.

[NY'er lost in MA]

You can get a brand new single family construction in the Worcester area for under $375K- probably 4 beds in some cases. The market is extremely sluggish right now. I have a condo on the market and sellers have been dropping their single family home prices lower and lower- decreasing the price gap. In some cases, I have seen single family homes for less than many townhomes and condos. It's very competitive because of the inventory.

If you can wait, fast forward to 2009. Otherwise, I recommend pricing according to the condition of your home and recent sales (which will most likely be lower than you are expecting)

Good luck with it and stay positiive. If you have alot of equity, I recommend taking more of a hit on the sale; you will make it up when you buy on the other end.

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by NY'er lost in MA

You can get a brand new single family construction in the Worcester area for under $375K- probably 4 beds in some cases. The market is extremely sluggish right now. I have a condo on the market and sellers have been dropping their single family home prices lower and lower- decreasing the price gap. In some cases, I have seen single family homes for less than many townhomes and condos. It's very competitive because of the inventory.

If you can wait, fast forward to 2009. Otherwise, I recommend pricing according to the condition of your home and recent sales (which will most likely be lower than you are expecting)

Good luck with it and stay positiive. If you have alot of equity, I recommend taking more of a hit on the sale; you will make it up when you buy on the other end.

Thanks for the input. I am hoping that since our home is very nice "entry level" family housing that there will always be a market for it and that people who need to buy will buy lower rather than higher...

[Parsec]

Developers built too many condos in Worcester in recent years. You may have trouble selling yours, since you'll be competing w/the new builders who are trying to sell their new ones at discounted prices too.
http://wbjournal.com/j/index.php?opt...344&Itemid=128

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by Parsec

Developers built too many condos in Worcester in recent years. You may have trouble selling yours, since you'll be competing w/the new builders who are trying to sell their new ones at discounted prices too.
http://wbjournal.com/j/index.php?opt...344&Itemid=128

The competition does have me worried, but I am hopeful that since our duplex is not really a condo--no fees--and the neighborhood is nice that we will be able to sell it sooner rather than later. When we were first looking to buy we avoided condos because those monthly fees can really kill you and can keep going up!

I will have my fingers crossed...

[smarty]

The key to selling fast also depends on the right price at the right time. I wish there is a crystal ball. With highest foreclosure rate in recent year and sub-prime mortgage companies going out of business, prices in general are lower compare to a few years ago.

The only way I see housing prices going back up is to have more jobs. However, I am not seeing high job growth rate in this region. do you?

[Roadismyhome]

Smarty -

I work in Worcester; however, the job growth is very stagnant in all fields. In fact, a cursory glance at the area seems to reveal a negative growth figure, though I cannot back that up with hard data.

They are still building townhouses on route 9 (built into the hillside in some cases) on the Leicester-Worcester border, and more are yet to come as the old mill sites in the city are changed into even more condos and townhouses.

Perhaps if CitySquare provides all that it aims to, you may have better luck selling your property at that point.

[NY'er lost in MA]

....even though job growth is slow, salaries have increased steadily over the years. It is also easier to get a mortgage (interest only), so home sales won't tank- they are just slow. That combined with the tremendous inventory makes the selling process lengthy. When the average time on the market used to be 90 days, it is more like 180 now!

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by NY'er lost in MA

....even though job growth is slow, salaries have increased steadily over the years. It is also easier to get a mortgage (interest only), so home sales won't tank- they are just slow. That combined with the tremendous inventory makes the selling process lengthy. When the average time on the market used to be 90 days, it is more like 180 now!

Wow 180 days! That's long. I want to to know what to brace myself for. The hardest part I think will be keeping the house "staged" indefinitely with 3 kids! Is summer a good time to put a house on the market, or does it really not matter when??

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by smarty

The key to selling fast also depends on the right price at the right time. I wish there is a crystal ball. With highest foreclosure rate in recent year and sub-prime mortgage companies going out of business, prices in general are lower compare to a few years ago.

The only way I see housing prices going back up is to have more jobs. However, I am not seeing high job growth rate in this region. do you?

I don't see high job growth necessarily, but unemployment's not crazy and my house will be reasonably priced and a good value (unlike most real estate around here, I think) so I am hopeful! My hope is that there is always someone who needs to get into the real estate market--a young family like us--and what has been good for us will be good for them.