How Has The Changing Housing Market Effected You (McLean, Fairfax: for sale, real estate market)

[kenny34]

I want know how the housing market changes have effected you ? Did you buy 6 to 9 months ago now your home is NOT worth what you paid for it ? Are forclosures in your neighborhood bringing down the value of your home, now you can't sell it ? Has anybody put an earnest deposit down on a home to be built in the past 3 to 5 months but now the home is not worth that price ..if so what are you doing about it ? Has anybody waited for a home to built, had a home loan approved , then days before closing find out that your loan program is no longer available ?.......i can think of 100's of ?'s to ask, please share your stories with us.

[5stones]

we bought 2 years ago for 499k 2400sqft sfh. we are being transferred, our house is on the market for 449k....we are lowering to 439k. we have a buy out option of 425k if we can't sell before the transfer takes place in Nov. IT SUCKS!! But we are ok considering we owe the bank about 415k but all our equity aprox 80k from our old house is gone!

we debated renting...but when we did the numbers, we we better off buying since we had 80k to put down. Between rent and taxes we are still ahead by about 10k. so things could be alot worse.

Not too many foreclosures in our neighborhood. we have a few houses up that are original owners or have owned for over 5 years and can sell at 415k and still make 100-200k profit, thats what hurting us. And ALL the new construction of TH etc....

We have a loan for our new house (since we have no debt and have savings for the 20% downpayment we got a good rate etc...)

[normie]

So far my neighborhood has been almost unaffected (IMO). I live in Lowes Island, which is the part of Sterling that is right along the Loudoun/Fairfax line and is also right along the Potomac River.

We bought our 4,000 sf McMansion in 2000 for $300,000. It was 4 years old; at the time many people (including out bank and escrow officers) thought we had paid too much for it. At the time, turnover for home in my neighborhood was 1-2 months.

The value began to steadily increase in 2002, and then reached a plateau. Similar homes in the neighborhood were selling for $650. In 2004, people went nuts. Suddenly a house exactly like mine was selling for $850--and it sold in 2 weeks. There were for sale signs all up and down the street.

Now, just to be clear, houses are no longer $850 here. But that wasn't realistic, anyway. It was just a time of mass nuttiness. The spring of 2004 was also a very short span of time--so I don't think it's fair to consider it the norm. Instead, I compare the current rates and turnover time to 2003, when we had a plateau for over a year. We are now back at that plateau, and homes like mine are selling for $650. Turnover seems to take about 4-6 weeks right now. There is only 1 home for sale in the neighborhood right now.

[The Dissenter]

prices on condos are dropping on the west end of alexandria. as a result a lot of people are moving in and out of my building. if we are still here in like 5 years (let's be honest is my mama stays here 5 yrs, i'll be gone in probably by the end of next yr) she may consider buying. but she is also considering moving to either IL (by STL) or KY (ft. knox) where for the $1350 she pay now for a 2 bed/2 bth condo in Landmark she could easily have a townhome or even a house in either state.

all i know is that the extremely high housing market here will be a major contributing factor when i leave for either NC, KY, or IL.

[goldenmom7500]

I bought a condo in McLean in 1996 that has tripled in value; I've been renting it for several years, still own it.

Then I got married and we bought a large new house on acreage in PW county in 2001 for 400K. It went up to about 850K, but everything there is now falling still (worth 700K if lucky).

Now I just moved to Lexington, KY and bought a beautiful house in a prestigious neighborhood for 329K (originally listed for 389K). I still own the condo, no longer have an "interest" in the PW house. I'll eventually have to sell the condo, but not for a few years. Great tenant and I keep the rent a little bit low since it's the transitions from one tenant to the next where I lose a lot of money.

[Reynard32]

I would consider that the current market is being driven not by fundamentals, but by consumer psychology. Historically low rates and a softening of credit qualification standards made for a lot of optimistic and energetic people in 2003, and on into the first half of 2004. That rates then went up by about two points in two years, and that the increase put enough people with adjustable-rate exposure into a bind to create some pessimism-inspiring headlines, have put a damper on things. But underlying values and the seller side of the market haven't really changed much. It's just that instead of eager buyers with cash in hand, you now have fewer and more skeptical buyers who believe they hold the upper hand and won't make a move unless they are plainly fleecing the other fellow. Reaching deal is hard to do on those terms. This isn't likely to last very long however. Rates for a conventional 30-year fixed are at about 6.25% which is still a bargain in historical terms, and despite their current behavior, people in the long run are fond of buying nice properties at low rates. Not much comfort there for those who need for whatever reason to sell in the current market, but for my money, anyone who has no plans to sell at any point in the near-term can just sit back and look at the trend line and ignore the short-term ups and downs. For sidelined potential buyers, I'd say don't sit there too long. There are bargains out there to be had. Not much chance that the time will become much more right than what it is right now.

[Freelance]

We have been looking at the house market for a little over a year in NOVA. We have seen a steady decline in the prices and are know getting ready to start placing some offers. It is scary since the market is expected to continue downhill but we're willing to give it a shot. We put an offer before for a townhouse that was listed for $335, we offered $300 and the offer wasn't accepted. Four months later the seller called our agent to take the offer... we decided to pass. Now the same place is listed for $299 but we don't want it because we have seen other places that we like better.

I agree with normie, the prices have to adjust to realistic levels. We will be placing offers considering that adjustment upfront, reducing the listing price to today's reality.

[normie]

If you can wait until November or December, the prices usually drop just a bit at that time.

[Flamingo13]

We are thinking of selling at some point, and yes - we missed the "big boom" - but I'm optimistic that prices will start to rise again, granted not to astronomical levels like some were, but I think they will go up again. We aren't in any rush, so willing to sit and watch. I think this area has been okay, no foreclosures that I know of, a good location, quiet neighborhood, low crime, etc. (West End Alex.)

[seldomseen]

"Data" still indicates that current real estate prices are still to high for the majority of buyers. For prices to simply decline by 10-20% and rebound to the same price or higher within the next year still wouldn't improve the market. I personally think a market price reduction close to 40% is needed to get prices back to a strong selling condition. But the downfall of this is it would destroy all the poor home owners that purchased thier homes at highly inflated prices during these past 4 years. It simply doesn't make any sense to pay $500k-$1M for an average sized single family, or townhouse!! Hell a dump is going to cost a person/family $300k right now. The minor price recessions that real estate market is experiencing still isn't enough to reignite the market.