[seanpecor]

When we were looking at property in the Middlebury area in January we were disturbed by the significantly elevated asking prices of homes with acreage within 10 minutes of the town. A 200 year old house with structural issues and bad wiring with 20 acres for $875K. A 3 bedroom house with 2 of its bedrooms above the garage and each less than 100 square feet in size, with 26 acres for $975K. A 5,000 square foot house built to double-wide standards on 12 wooded acres for $699K. Yeah, sure, good luck with those. I notice that 6 months later all three of those houses still haven't sold. I'm so glad we opted to stay put in Boones Mill, Franklin County, Virginia, where we've been for over 3 years. We really would have regretted our move back to Vermont, even if we found a suitable equestrian property for a reasonable asking price.

Sean

[flu189]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

When we were looking at property in the Middlebury area in January we were disturbed by the significantly elevated asking prices of homes with acreage within 10 minutes of the town. A 200 year old house with structural issues and bad wiring with 20 acres for $875K. A 3 bedroom house with 2 of its bedrooms above the garage and each less than 100 square feet in size, with 26 acres for $975K. A 5,000 square foot house built to double-wide standards on 12 wooded acres for $699K. Yeah, sure, good luck with those. I notice that 6 months later all three of those houses still haven't sold. I'm so glad we opted to stay put in Boones Mill, Franklin County, Virginia, where we've been for over 3 years. We really would have regretted our move back to Vermont, even if we found a suitable equestrian property for a reasonable asking price.

Sean

Well, Vermont has not seen the drops in elevated values and the mortgage meltdown that many places have seen. It is true that many sellers here are very reluctant and perhaps stubborn to lower their asking prices, rather being content to just wait for the right buyer. Demand will probably slack off in this economy, but supply of housing surely will stay the same along with the prices. Sean, from your experience and knowledge of Vt, the tax savings and health care insurance alone would warrant retaining your beautiful Va property.

[Vt Newbie]

We have been looking and watching the housing market here in SW VT and have noticed asking prices have started to drop and the houses are still not selling right away. I can't help but think that the rising cost of fuel and the majority of older inefficient homes may cause the RE market in VT drop further than other areas. We are going to rent for a while and see where it lands.

[flu189]

Regarding older and not updated homes, yes those prices will have to drop if they are going to move on the market. I guess it really comes down to how motivated the seller is to move out. On the other hand, if a seller has time and resources then relying on the "Vermont brand" should yield a sale, especially to out of state buyers escaping conditions that they don't wish to deal with anymore. No matter how rotten the economy gets there will always be buyers with cash out there.

[seanpecor]

That Cornwall home we were watching that was $875K in January is now $795K and (shocker) it still hasn't sold. It's always a guessing game, trying to sort out when trends have changed from a buyer's to a seller's market. The issue with Vermont prices in my opinion is that they didn't grow at 10-20% annually for the 3 or so years leading up to the market downturn, so they aren't likely to decrease in value as rapidly as in other areas. I agree that fuel prices may prove to be a contributing factor in the pressuring downward of home prices for lower to middle income folks. The $500K and higher market will probably drop faster in VT than it might in other places as well, because high income folks in the top tax bracket tend to make a big share of their income in capital gains from places like mutual funds, which have flatlined in growth and in some cases they've lost wealth. So rich folks will be less likely to take money out of the stock market until it's grown a bit more. I know, who cares about those rich folks But the issue here is there are alot of builders and retailers in Vermont who make a living off the money brought into the state by affluent new transplants. As that dries up it will compound the troubles with local economies. I know a couple of builders in the Middlebury area (one is very very large) that are really feeling the pinch right now.

Sean

[tkln]

We have been looking into building, mostly because almost all the homes we've been interested in have been very old, and it would cost a significant amount to get them up to speed efficiency wise, and they still wouldn't be what we really wanted...I've spoken to a few builders, some in Burlington, some in Stowe/Waterbury, and a couple in the MRV...they are all anxious to see when we would want to start building. Of course, not only do we not have land yet, but we can't move til next year at the earliest anyway.

I should have these builders compete to have our job...who can come in the cheapest with the best quality? Any takers?!

[vter]

An 850K property? Of course its going to sit...with a price like that you've got a very limited pool of buyers. especially in rural Vermont.

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by vter

An 850K property? Of course its going to sit...with a price like that you've got a very limited pool of buyers. especially in rural Vermont.

True but it's in the Middlebury area where up until early 2007 there were alot of comparables that seemed to justify $850K. Land was selling at a good clip in Cornwall at $12-$15K an acre in big chunks. Down in the market where most people shop, I'm really glad to see that inside the town limits of Middlebury there is alot of new housing stock being built in the area of $200K. It makes no sense to encourage rural sprawl when towns exist with plenty of land to be developed sensibly.

Sean

[NYLIER]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

When we were looking at property in the Middlebury area in January we were disturbed by the significantly elevated asking prices of homes with acreage within 10 minutes of the town. A 200 year old house with structural issues and bad wiring with 20 acres for $875K. A 3 bedroom house with 2 of its bedrooms above the garage and each less than 100 square feet in size, with 26 acres for $975K. A 5,000 square foot house built to double-wide standards on 12 wooded acres for $699K. Yeah, sure, good luck with those. I notice that 6 months later all three of those houses still haven't sold. I'm so glad we opted to stay put in Boones Mill, Franklin County, Virginia, where we've been for over 3 years. We really would have regretted our move back to Vermont, even if we found a suitable equestrian property for a reasonable asking price.

Sean

I thought you were happy living in VA? In one of your posts you stated that it was so much cheaper to live in Boone Mills and the area is just as scenic. After reading your post I started researching real estate in that area. I also would be looking for equestrian property but I am a bit worried about the lack of hay down south (wasn't it a problem last year?). I saw a beautiful farm for over $2 million. Way, way, way out of my price range but the yearly taxes were under $5,000. Could that have been a misprint?

[flu189]

Ha, ha, there might be a $2.3 million property in Ludlow coming on the market soon, and depending on factors it might go for a song (except of course for the property taxes). It is owned by one of the two Bear Stearns hedge fund bandits who were indicted today in Brooklyn. Regarding buying and selling in general, I just wish I knew how to time it right. I am far from rich, hence not in the market for the upper six figure homes, but have over the years contributed well into retirement funds on top of a defined pension plan. The problem is that over the last nine months, seven have been negative and with what's on the immediate horizon I just don't want to gamble on making a move soon. However, even if market conditions don't substantially improve in the next two years I can't see staying put here either continuing to hemmorage funds into double digit energy and tax increases. From all the posts over time Sean has posted I have researched quite a bit on the Roanoke area as well as some other locales. From the perspective of climate, outdoor activities, and cost of living the Roanoke area surely is on the list to physically check out and I will be down south for a week in August and plan on taking my first short trip there to get an initial boots on the ground impression and vibe.