Spokane Real Estate Tanked? (Republic: sales, real estate market, mortgage)

[Deena160]

Can't find the thread with the post that said that the Spokane real estate market had finally tanked. I think it was from Coffeepot...
Anyway, I asked my RE agent about it and this was his reply:

"Tanked? Hmmm...I wouldn't say that. The market went up 40% and if it backs up 30% then that's a great leap still! The problem lies where there are buyers ready and wanting to move and buy here but they can't until their properties sell in other areas and that is a major set back I think. The market time frames have 2-3x increased and is close to a normal Spokane marketing time. So I think it's still good here."

I know, it's his job to be optomistic. What are your thoughts?

[ILoveSpokane]

Deena,
Make no mistake things have slowed down in Spokane considerably. However, with the amount of the homes on the market, buyers have the ball in their court and can lowball, request extras etc. and possibly land all their requests. The trick is not only getting your house sold, but also getting approved. It is getting more and more difficult for marginal credit scores to get approved.

I think his 40% to 30% (if I am reading this right) is an interesting approach to todays real estate market. It looks like he is saying that the houses have appreciated 40% (over the last 6 years or so) and even if we lose 30% we are still coming out winners. This view may make sense "looking back" in a decade or so, but living through times where we lose equity in our homes doesn't make anyone feel like a winner.

Bottom line, are we across the board going to lose some equity in our homes...yes. Is it a great time to buy (if you can get approved)...absolutely. Are houses still moving...you bet. But overall we are getting back to the levels of sales pre-2003 where people actually had to qualify for a house and lenders weren't giving them away like free toasters.

[vette-dude]

I purchased a new home this month after 6 months of serious looking, alot of homes available in the Spokane area, but then again some look very nice on the real estate sites, then you go see a specific home and you are shocked that it's nothing like what you expected... This is a big reason we finally went with a new home, little to no surprises obviously, and you have the 1 year warranty with the builder. From what I have seen the housing market is most definately a "buyers market", just look at all the homes on the market in this county, it's just a nice field of choices.. Let's just all hope our senate passes the bill on Wednesday night...hard to purchase homes, with limited funds from banks.

[Deena160]

We've decided to wait till the beginning of the year to list our house now(I probably posted that before, sorry to repeat myself). Hopefully things will be calming down a bit??? It just makes sense to duck and cover while everything is hitting the fan. As it is, our house will probably be worth $40K less then we had planned last year.
I've been watching things drop in the Spokane market. I have homes on my favorites list that have been there for a year and have dropped $50K from their original asking price. It still looks as if we'll be able to sell our home for $100K more then what we'll buy one there. If it all works out we'll end up with about the same mortgage as the 6 year old one we have now.
Here's an interesting link. Warning: It leans heavily to the right, especially half way through, but it does a pretty good job explaining how the government got us into this mess (and I'm sure there were plenty of Republicans who helped). It was actually banned earlier today right after I watched it. Now it's back on with a vengence. Takes a few minutes and it goes pretty fast, but it's very informative.


YouTube - Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

[beaverfan]

I have my home currently listed in a nice area of Spokane with good schools nearby. The home is priced very competitively...(according to other agents). I have it priced as low as I can go just to walk away not owing anything. I just spoke to my agent last night, and she said that activity in the Spokane market has dropped significantly, especially with all the uncertainty with the economy. Terrible, terrible time to sell...

I have no choice, since I had to relocate to another state due to job loss in Spokane. The home is currently vacant and will probably remain that way for a long time. I hate to sound like doom and gloom, but it's not going to get any better for a long time. I respect agents who feel like it will start turning around in the near future, but if I were trying to sell houses for a living, I would think the same way and tell people the same thing. I think deep down, most people know that things in our economy are going to get much worst, before they get better.

Best wishes to all who are trying to sell in Spokane.

[Deena160]

Unfortunately, its not any better here on the other side of the mountains. I was actually over at my prospective agent's house the other day. It was a church related social call but we ended up talking about the economy. Her husband sells cars and she sells houses--it's a very scary time for them. She finally told me that she'd been trying not to think about it too much because it was really upsetting her. "Whoops, sorry!" Unconfortable silence, "So, how's your garden doing?"
Personally, it might get tight, but my family will be okay. Unfortunately it hits reality when I talk to the neighbor across the street who used to work for WaMu and still had a lot of stock that dropped to .45c a share. He's in his 60's and doesn't know what's going to be happening with his 401K that was still with that bank.
And then you hear about a family from church who is just walking away from their beautiful home and leaving it to the lenders. They left it too late and never even tried to sell it. They're trying to sell off all of the rest of their stuff now, too. Breaks my heart.
Then there's my parents who are within a couple years of retirement. My dad just shrugs his shoulders and matter-of-factly says, "Well, what are you gonna do?" He's a true child of parents that lived through the Great Depression and never forgot it--Throwing yourself off of a building or crawling under a rock isn't going to help anyone. You just take a deep breath, buckle-down, and carry on! Gotta love him... :~) D

[WendyK]

Hey Deena - I was surprised to hear about your realtor there having a hubby in the car business, which is what my hubby does, too. Yes, things over here have slowed somewhat but there is still quite a bit of activity. There were tons of people out last weekend for the Fall Home Show, which surprised me because my open houses have not been very well attended lately. It was encouraging to see that people still want to look at new homes and see what's out there on the market. Some price ranges are flooded with inventory. Homes under $130,000 are still very popular with buyers and most are selling in less than a month. Homes over $500,000 are sitting like rocks -- you'll have occassional showings but there are so many to choose from that buyers are taking their time looking. The $200-400,000 range is very competitive and we're seeing a lot of price changes to motivate buyers. Sellers are really having to look at the competition and figure out where they want their home to be when buyers are shopping.
Your dad has nailed it with his statement - you deal with it and get through it. People are always going to need homes and cars, and I figure I might as well be one of the ones who's around to help with their housing needs. My hubby is actually expanding more into retail from wholesale with the car biz to try to capture some of that market.
I keep hearing that song "I'm a Survivor" playing in my head!!

[kaimik]

We're relocating to Spokane in late November, to be closer to our families. We are in the same boat as everyone else. We live in Ohio and just bought our first home two years ago. We bought it with resale in mind, it's only 5 years old and pristine inside and out. We put about $25,000 into a nice finished basement and are now asking below what we paid for it. And it's not moving. There are so many other homes here on the market, if someone doesn't like your wall color, they'll pick the other house! We're taking a huge hit and it hurts!

We were househunting in Spokane just a few weeks ago and looked at over 70 homes! I am totally shocked that in a competitive market such as this, a lot of sellers are not preparing their homes for the market. So many are messy, need paint and carpet cleaning. We did find a house we love and would buy in a heartbeat when our home sells. It has SIX, yes six other interested buyers, but none of us can buy until our homes sell. (Seller won't accept contingencies on home sales.) I hope things start moving soon!

[MMullin]

"Tanked" seems to be a tad extreme in labeling the current market here in Spokane. However, if you don't have to sell your home right now - don't. If you have to sell - then you have no choice so make the best of it and know you are getting a good deal on the buying side.

If you are a buyer - yep, I'd say you have time to be picky, unless you are in the "hot" price range. I'd doubt there will be any price appreciation here anytime before next summer - if then.

Regards getting a home loan - no problem.

Sure, things have tightened up substantially but only for a very narrow range of borrowers. If you want to purchase a home as an investment, have absolutely zero down (and even that is still possible, contrary to what you hear), or a horrible credit report, then you will have a tough time. I'd argue that's appropriate anyway.

If you are purchasing a home priced up to $271,000 in Spokane you only need about 3% of the sales price as a down payment and a decent credit score. We're getting these loans approved every week.

Tanked? No, not yet. Slow - sure.

[ArcticPhoenix]

I can't afford a home in the Spokane area, so I'm really not getting a kick out of these replies.