Difficult time selling home in northern Kentucky, real potential buyers, home improvements, house appreciation, exotic loan programs, slow market, median Florida home prices

traysea · 07-31-2007, 12:11 PM

Is it just me or is the market going nuts? I have been on market for 14 days with only 2 showings. I am priced lower then most of my "comps". Is it that I missed the season or is there really a melt down beginning to happen??

Keep in mind 3% appreciation is all we're talking. I am not sure I will get any appreciation over the last two years and the massive improvements I made to my house. So we're talking a potential slide and in all the reports I've read Cincinnati is very stable and really hasn't seen this sort of slide in appreciation when other parts of country have.

Is this all hype because of the real problems with Florida, Cali and of course the exotic loans???

Throw some reality my way.
I've had 9 showings in 14 days but only 2 of those were real potential buyers, the rest were agents or cancellations. If I am priced too high, fine we'll lower but I am being told a million different contradicting things by my agent.

Some thoughts? Anyone else in the same boat in KY???

Croce · 07-31-2007, 02:11 PM

I think the market is definitely slowing down. A lot depends on your price point. The median price homes seem to be selling more rapidly than the higher priced ones. Right now there are more resale homes on the market then ever before. Try to compare sold prices - but that's difficult because you don't know what incentives (buyers points/closing costs/rebates, etc.) the seller may have had to toss in to make the deal happen. I believe that if you have the house priced right it will sell. If it's priced below the "comps" and they haven't sold, maybe they are priced too high.

The last house I sold, was bought on the first day listed. It fell through when the buyer got cold feet. No other offers in 6 months. I dropped the price by 50k and gor two offers in a week and sold the house. Sometimes you just do what you have to do.

Since you have only been on the market 14 days, I suggest you give it a little more time (like 45 days) before you do anything else. Certainly your realtor has given you advice on the pricing, etc. Don't panic - it takes time to sell a house in this market.

Hopefully a NAR member will chime in with a more informed opinion.

Best of luck.

tomocox · 07-31-2007, 03:58 PM

Unfortunately, Kentucky homes have the measles. Some spots are hot and others are not. If your home is in one of the not-so-hot spots, it's going to take some extra effort, but it will sell. Here is a short checklist:
1. Make certain that your curb appeal is fresh, clean, & inviting. Every home that I have ever sold started at the curb. The curb view won't necessarily sell your home, but it will prevent a sale.
2. Clean, clean, and when you are done, clean some more. Rent storage and make your home look "wow". A used home is like a used car, it's got to shine.
3. Odor control, if your home doesn't have a fresh fragrance, forget it.
4. Offer higher commissions, give an extra 1 or 1.5% to the selling broker. It's a huge incentive to agents to show your home. It's not about fairness, it's about incentives.
5. Be absolutely real with your price. A fairly priced home will sell!!! Never had one that didn't.

Respect your listing contract. If you signed a 3 month listing contract respect it, but don't let your agent sit in idle mode. Make them work for you, get a weekly written report of their advertising, number of internet hits, etc. Expect more.... demand more... The agents who are working the business are selling their properties....

K. Dunn · 07-31-2007, 10:08 PM

Just wanted to say, being a CA who is looking to move into the area, I am really astonished at how many nice homes in our price point {$200,000 - $250.000], on REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale for just one area in Northern KY, we pulled up over 400 possibilities! Combine that with about 4 other area's, a new home buyer is almost overwelmed with all the choices. Compared to where we are coming from, good houses are scarce. So my comment basically means that it does look like there is a bit of glut of houses for sale in your area at this time, I would think that could effect your pricing and showings. Just my thoughts as a outsider looking in. Ciao.

DoubleBRanch · 08-02-2007, 05:46 AM

I think the markets in KY are slow because people are having difficulty selling their homes in FL, CA, etc. and cannot buy until they sell.

Off Topic · 08-02-2007, 07:28 AM

It is not just you and the market has gone nuts. A huge slump not seen for a long time. It's actually not as bad in Kentucky as it is in other areas - we did not have the big highs other locations had, so we're not getting the big lows as it evens out.

The mortgage industry being in total disarray doesn't help either.

traysea · 08-03-2007, 11:55 AM

We are in Villa Hills, KY. Kenton County. Going backroads about 15 minutes to downtown.

Below is our property. I guess I am just concerned and want to get a feel from others in the area about our market.

We put about 30k into the home which definately gave it back it's curb appeal and updated all mechanics. We had not moved into rehabbing bathrooms and kitchens to get this house up to the 340k and beyond price range, however it's not like the bathrooms are hideous or the kitchen isn't decent. We have a brand new stove and fridge plus a silestone sink and updated countertops.. it's just not rock star upgrades. We chose to upgrade the furnance/ac (so our bills are low low low) and windows and new siding outside with a nicer color. We also sunk money into a new sump pump, water heater etc. Good luck with your house in CT.

MLS

Off Topic · 08-03-2007, 12:40 PM

Wow - that is a very nice home! Good size, nice yard, not cluttered, well kept. I feel very comfortable blaming this on the market and not your house.

DoubleBRanch · 08-03-2007, 01:14 PM

Careful Traysea, I got in trouble for a similar post. We are having the same problem as you are with our place, priced under market value. You can post it on the classified section of this site (city-data.com) for free but people cannot reply to the post so make sure you include your contact info or MLS # in it. It is difficult for people looking to move to Kentucky as there are many MLS sections. You can't search the whole state of Kentucky for what you want like you can on Florida MLS. The best thing for anyone looking for a place in Kentucky (and my husband is a former realtor, so realtors please don't get mad at me) is to go to a search engine and type in what you are looking for (i.e. brick home and acreage, Kentucky acreage, Kentucky waterfront or whatever you are looking for). Using a realtor is still the best way to buy if you know exactly what city you have narrowed it down to. Also using a realtor is still the best thing to do if you are selling and have enough buyers in your area that you can sell it locally. Marketing it is the whole key and that is why I kept my husband's former real estate site to market ours. We get about 100 unique visitors a day, but still no contracts. Try posting your place on the free classifieds on city-data.com like I said above. I have had a lot of people viewing mine. Good luck as our sale time (May to August) is almost gone, although we came from Florida 3 years ago looking in February and also September and October. You never know. I know this is the best place I have ever lived.

K. Dunn · 08-03-2007, 09:14 PM

Agree with some of these previous post to you. Housing market is soft, and it is a lot because of the bad loans and area's like where I live in that went up 25% per year 6 years in a row, now have settled back down about 50% in my area over the last year, still leaving us with lots of equity [Southern CA] but not what it was just two years ago. We bought a house for $250K 7 years ago it jumped as high as $650K, now is back down to about $550K, still amazing. That does slow down those types who used there house like a ATM and took out 2nd's, or re-financed using there equity to buy toys or put back into the home, now leaving them with very little equity.

Read this article that just came out..

Housing market downturn hurts Detroit
Lately, the Big Three U.S. automakers have looked set to recover from the slump that has plagued them for the last few years. But more difficulties are on the horizon. By MSNBC.com's Roland Jones.

Housing market downturn hurts Detroit - The Driver's Seat - MSNBC.com

It talks about why the housing market is down and how it effects other business. We have been saying for years in my retail business that we ride with the housing market!

The good news is your area is much more stable than ours, and is attracting people like us who can't step up in our area, so we are moving into your area to take advantage of incredible home values! The selling of our homes will take longer, and some people may be greedy and want to wait this slump out, but sooner or later they will come. Good luck. Ciao.