Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm planning on moving to the Asheville area. I'd like to wait till spring and I was wondering what people's opinions were on how long home prices are going to remain low. Or maybe go lower?
Sales and prices aren't going to go up until there is enough cash in the economy again for banks and mortgage companies to give out loans. Foreclosures are still happening (we had several in my neighborhood in the last couple weeks) and that will also keep prices down. Banks have a hard time lending more money when they're still hemorrhaging cash--Larry
And it only going to get a whole lot worse before it even begins to stabilize. We've been discussing this for almost two years now; we were considered naysayers / pessimists / negative / you-name-it by those who refused to face reality. Well the music has stopped and there isn't just one less chair...there are a whole bunch of empty chairs and it's going to get uglier.
The bloodbath ain't over. Wait until late 2009 at the earliest before you make any decisions.
If you want to buy now, offer at least 50% less than the asking price and be patient. You may be pleasantly surprised.
It's not that you will get a 'killer' deal; no, you will get a piece of property at a fair and reasonable price.
Good Luck
Moderator cut: off topic
Last edited by autumngal; 09-09-2008 at 06:35 AM..
And it only going to get a whole lot worse before it even begins to stabilize. We've been discussing this for almost two years now; we were considered naysayers / pessimists / negative / you-name-it by those who refused to face reality. Well the music has stopped and there isn't just one less chair...there are a whole bunch of empty chairs and it's going to get uglier.
The bloodbath ain't over. Wait until late 2009 at the earliest before you make any decisions.
If you want to buy now, offer at least 50% less than the asking price and be patient. You may be pleasantly surprised.
It's not that you will get a 'killer' deal; no, you will get a piece of property at a fair and reasonable price.
Good Luck
Moderator cut: off topic
Well, it depends on the neighborhood and the price point in question. Reasonably priced homes are still selling at a profit - we bought ours in 2005 for $181,000, and sold a couple months ago for $214,000.
Not many around right in town for this price, so they get snapped up. Now I agree that some of the overpriced stuff in other parts of town have room to come down. Everyone needs to study their area of the market and make decisions accordingly - one size does NOT fit all here.
Last edited by autumngal; 09-09-2008 at 06:35 AM..
Reason: Mod edit quote
Well, it depends on the neighborhood and the price point in question. Reasonably priced homes are still selling at a profit - we bought ours in 2005 for $181,000, and sold a couple months ago for $214,000.
Not many around right in town for this price, so they get snapped up. Now I agree that some of the overpriced stuff in other parts of town have room to come down. Everyone needs to study their area of the market and make decisions accordingly - one size does NOT fit all here.
Your situation is highlights the fact that homes below $300K are more reasonably priced and they are doing well relative to the rest of this market. These homes are affordable albeit most still may be out of the range of the working class here in WNC.
Homes in the $500K and above are the ones taking the worst hits. Go to $1.0M and above range and it gets a lot bloodier. This is where if you are patient can buy homes 50 cents on the dollar.
Homes in the $500K and above are the ones taking the worst hits. Go to $1.0M and above range and it gets a lot bloodier. This is where if you are patient can buy homes 50 cents on the dollar.
The mortgage bubble was based on debt instruments that allowed people to buy houses they would not have been able to afford in the past. Unfortunately those debt instruments in essence broke, and now people are stuck owning homes they really can't afford, or banks with homes they can't sell.
Conventional thinking has it that you can afford a home 2-3x your annual income, with allowance for existing debt load, size of downpayment, etc.
So when you see a neighborhood of million dollar homes, ask yourself: do the owners make a combined $350-500k a year? Does the area support jobs that pay those kind of salaries? If not then the bubble is still losing air, and the value of those homes must decline until it reaches a level that is supported by the economics of the area.
The Asheville real estate market experienced annual price increases of about 10%--that's a 50% increase in the last 5 years! After such as sustained bubble, that leaves a lot of room for prices to go down. The fact that you sold yours for $214K instead of the $241K that you would have made based on the 10% per year increase means you lost $27K on paper due to the recent pop in the Asheville bubble. The good news is that you were able to sell at all and that because the market is tanking almost everywhere now you won't be limited in buying a similar house elsewhere. When you look at maps of houses for sale using Zillow or Trulia it looks like there are thousands for sale in the Asheville-Hendersonville area and with all that competition prices will definitely continue down in that market--Larry
The Asheville real estate market experienced annual price increases of about 10%--that's a 50% increase in the last 5 years! After such as sustained bubble, that leaves a lot of room for prices to go down. The fact that you sold yours for $214K instead of the $241K that you would have made based on the 10% per year increase means you lost $27K on paper due to the recent pop in the Asheville bubble. The good news is that you were able to sell at all and that because the market is tanking almost everywhere now you won't be limited in buying a similar house elsewhere. When you look at maps of houses for sale using Zillow or Trulia it looks like there are thousands for sale in the Asheville-Hendersonville area and with all that competition prices will definitely continue down in that market--Larry
We didn't "lose" anything - don't really understand your logic. Also, prices did not necessarily appreciate 10% each year, and definitely not the same appreciation all over town - some neighborhoods are more "desirable" than others. But one thing I agree with, there seems to be a lot more for sale now, so I am glad we sold when we did.
Anyway, we sold and with our money purchased another home in another state for only $185,000 - a much nicer home than we had in Asheville, so we feel we did rather well.
The comments on here should allow you to see why you really should stay away from Asheville...and not due to the real estate market.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
