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We've been casually looking for a larger home (ours is around 2200 sq ft now, and we need about 1000-1500 or so more, really... we both telecommute regularly and need home offices that are separate for TCs and such).
We've been looking in a variety of homes (at a variety of price points) in the same general area.
The neighborhoods we are considering:
Wessex
Weston Manor
Weston Pointe
Weatherstone
Preston (Preston proper, not Preston Village/Preston Oaks/Preston Forest)
All of those (except for Preston proper) have an easy connection to the greenway and to mountain biking... husband likes to have this close without having to strap the bike onto the rack to go riding in the warmer months.
Preston is the outlier because there are so many bike paths and the golf course is a nice view (that we don't have to mow) while biking/walking.
I've noticed that occasionally, in one of these neighborhoods, a house will pop up that's priced much higher than the comps in the same neighborhood (I'm figuring Preston according the the area within Preston proper.. I'd never compare a house in Preston Estates with one in Preston oh... Ponds, for example).
Why do people do that? I've theorized that they bought high, and now need to get every dime they can out of the sale.... but sometimes, the tax database doesn't reflect that the seller paid an exhorbitant amount for the property. When I look at the pics of some of these places online, I cannot figure out if they took an equity loan, as I cannot see ANY improvements that might've been done to warrant the spike in selling price.
Example: There's a house for sale right now (that I have zero interest in buying). The asking price was originally 675k... no clue what it is now. The house seems to be in good repair (from the pics, anyway), but doesn't look like the appliances have been replaced since it was built, roof hasn't been redone, etc. Other houses nearby it of similar size/build quality have sold for around 520k... one even sold for 425k, but that was outside the curve, I realize.
I don't think any of the ones that sold there have listed so high initially (again, I've been following these neighborhoods for about 6 months).
This isn't the only house I've seen that is mysteriously expensive. It doesn't back up to the golf course or anything... it backs up to... the train tracks and power lines.
Soo... whyfor the large list price?
I'm singling this house out, but I've seen it in other neighborhoods.
And before any of you sweethearts tell me that I want a house with diamond countertops for 300k...
Nah... solid surface is fine. I'm not really a princess.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 02-21-2011 at 04:14 PM..
Reason: No discussion of mod activity, per the TOS
Hard to tell why people do what they do. We sold our house in NY last year...we wanted to sell fast, and did - in 2 weeks we had 3 offers, and accepted the best one. We priced it fairly aggressively. Could we have gotten more? Probably, but we were late getting it on the market and wanted it SOLD. The house was completely renovated, in a great location, and the town we moved from sells itself....think of the town as Preston. But pricier.
Now, I keep checking the MLS for the town we moved from and I'm seeing houses that were on the market with ours last year, still on the market. These houses fall into the same category that ours did, and they have not been updated at all, and people are asking $50K-$100K more than we did. I don't know if these people are up against it with their current mortgage, or they want to upsize and are willing to "wait it out" or if they are just entirely delusional but it's sure been interesting to see. It's really hard to pinpoint the reason these people are asking the amounts that they are, but just today I was online and took a couple of "virtual tours" and I was literally shaking my head.
The only 'hood you posted about that we looked in was Weatherstone and I thought the houses we saw were overpriced by about $100K considering that they weren't that different from where we ultimately ended up buying. Not sure what the mindset is over there. Neither house we saw last year sold and both are off the market.
Meh, have you not seen any homes that fit your criteria? There has to be some homes that are priced to sell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by meh_whatever
We've been casually looking for a larger home (ours is around 2200 sq ft now, and we need about 1000-1500 or so more, really... we both telecommute regularly and need home offices that are separate for TCs and such).
We've been looking in a variety of homes (at a variety of price points) in the same general area.
The neighborhoods we are considering:
Wessex
Weston Manor
Weston Pointe
Weatherstone
Preston (Preston proper, not Preston Village/Preston Oaks/Preston Forest)
All of those (except for Preston proper) have an easy connection to the greenway and to mountain biking... husband likes to have this close without having to strap the bike onto the rack to go riding in the warmer months.
Preston is the outlier because there are so many bike paths and the golf course is a nice view (that we don't have to mow) while biking/walking.
I've noticed that occasionally, in one of these neighborhoods, a house will pop up that's priced much higher than the comps in the same neighborhood (I'm figuring Preston according the the area within Preston proper.. I'd never compare a house in Preston Estates with one in Preston oh... Ponds, for example).
Why do people do that? I've theorized that they bought high, and now need to get every dime they can out of the sale.... but sometimes, the tax database doesn't reflect that the seller paid an exhorbitant amount for the property. When I look at the pics of some of these places online, I cannot figure out if they took an equity loan, as I cannot see ANY improvements that might've been done to warrant the spike in selling price.
Example: There's a house for sale right now (that I have zero interest in buying). The asking price was originally 675k... no clue what it is now. The house seems to be in good repair (from the pics, anyway), but doesn't look like the appliances have been replaced since it was built, roof hasn't been redone, etc. Other houses nearby it of similar size/build quality have sold for around 520k... one even sold for 425k, but that was outside the curve, I realize.
I don't think any of the ones that sold there have listed so high initially (again, I've been following these neighborhoods for about 6 months).
This isn't the only house I've seen that is mysteriously expensive. It doesn't back up to the golf course or anything... it backs up to... the train tracks and power lines.
Soo... whyfor the large list price?
I'm singling this house out, but I've seen it in other neighborhoods.
And before any of you sweethearts tell me that I want a house with diamond countertops for 300k...
Nah... solid surface is fine. I'm not really a princess.
Meh, I think sometimes people feel they 'deserve' a particular amount for their home. Maybe based on how much they assumed it should appreciate when they bought it, or what they need to sell it for. They just don't get that the market determines what their house is worth, not their needs or desires.
A realtor doesn't have much choice when faced with a delusional seller!
Recent comparables tell the story of what REAL market value is.
Sometimes sellers don't listen. Sometimes sellers aren't motivated to sell but just want to see "what happens".
Sometimes buyers look at the low comps and sometimes sellers look at the high comps and although both think they are right...the true value is somewhere in the middle.
Pricing a home can be complicated. Pricing a townhome is much easier!!!
Recent comparables tell the story of what REAL market value is.
Sometimes sellers don't listen. Sometimes sellers aren't motivated to sell but just want to see "what happens".
Sometimes buyers look at the low comps and sometimes sellers look at the high comps and although both think they are right...the true value is somewhere in the middle.
Pricing a home can be complicated. Pricing a townhome is much easier!!!
Vicki
I think all of the above mentioned hypothesis are accurate/plausible and I offer another one.
It could be a corporate relocation. My company's relocation process takes the average of a couple of appraisals, and makes that the price the relo company buys the house if it doesn't sell in 2 months. However, if you can sell it in under 2 months, you get a couple of points bonus. [It wouldn't make sense to list it for less than you are guaranteed to receive for it at the end of 2 months].
I have neighbors who's relo package was even better, offering them what they paid for the house originally instead of the appraised amount (with the company eating the difference of course).
Either scenario could have a house listed for above the current market rate.
By picky, I don't mean spoiled or wanting those fabled gold inlaid floors.
I mean, he wants trees, he wants privacy, he wants greenway access, he wants bathrooms with no gold/brass accents (he hates refinishing bathrooms, but he'll bend if the price is right), he wants kitchens that have no white or antiqued cabinets (he will bend on that one, though), and he wants to be in one, very small geographical area. OH... and he wants room to park all 4 of our cars without having to rotate them to get in and out of the garage (yet not park on the street).
Oh, he also doesn't like neighborhoods where there's no landscape lighting. Doesn't have to be all of the houses lit up, but when there's none, he doesn't like them.
Now, I agree with many of his sentiments (I don't need to be in one specific geographical area, but I generally like the same area that he does), I don't mind if some of the trees are small as long as there are bigger trees, green areas nearby.
He wants a 2-story entryway. I think those are pretty, but unless the house is huge, that's wasted space. I'd rather just have high ceilings on the first floor.
I also don't really care about rotating cars to get out of the garage. Just not a huge issue to me, and lots of the houses we have seen could accommodate a parking pad so that's just some concrete poured, which is no biggie. One of our cars isn't going to be driven that often, as it's our old truck to haul stuff around.
You see how hard it is to be me hunting houses?
Add to that the fact that our price range is pretty large. We can buy more, but we would love to find the right place that's a bit more affordable so we can add the difference to our savings account, believe me.
Oy. Yeah... a few have come close to fitting the bill, though. Since we are not in a hurry to find a house (I'd like to find one right away, but we don't have to... we have the townhouse already)... we will just keep our eyes peeled, I reckon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theS5
Meh, have you not seen any homes that fit your criteria? There has to be some homes that are priced to sell.
If I ever go into real estate, I hope to work my way up high enough that I can refuse unrealistic sellers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by librarySue
Meh, I think sometimes people feel they 'deserve' a particular amount for their home. Maybe based on how much they assumed it should appreciate when they bought it, or what they need to sell it for. They just don't get that the market determines what their house is worth, not their needs or desires.
A realtor doesn't have much choice when faced with a delusional seller!
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