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My question is for people who have recently purchased or are under contract in Maplewood, South Orange and Montclair. So many of these homes are going 10%+ above asking price and people are pulling out all the stops to win bidding wars. We have already lost out on 4 properties, and each and every one was submitted well above asking price.
My question is --- are these houses actually appraising? Or coming close to the appraised value? Our agent keeps assuring us that comps are being set all the time -- and she is right because we know what other properties we bid on previously went for and they are super high vs. asking price. But has the appraisal market actually caught up to the buyers?
Any thoughts/advice/input on this subject would be super appreciated!
above asking is a useless question since I can just ask $1, and get way above it
But, if you are asking, "does the bank appraise the house for what I paid when going for a mortgage", that is useful. If you are asking about tax apprasials, then they can be totally random
@RG79022-Just wanted to pipe in that my husband and I are in the same boat. Haven't put in any bids yet but anything we have thought about bidding on goes within days. I find it outrageous! Fortunately we have time and don't need to rush so I'm hoping something will work out at some point this year.
Would also love some feedback on your question. Thanks and good luck!
I moved to South Orange early last year. Our house was appraised at what we paid for it. The market seemed crazy enough then. We lost two houses to all cash offers (the offers weren't more, they just didn't need a mortgage).
Spring is supposed to be the worst time to buy in the area, since that's when people are trying to buy so they can move before the school year starts, so it's definitely not the best time to look for deals. The only advice I can really give is to just keep at it. Things will slow down in the fall/winter. Inventory will be lower too, but you won't be competing with quite as many people as you are in spring.
If the houses are closing, either they're appraising or they will be soon. Might want to consider West Orange.
My neighbors in West Orange sold their house last year. They got 3 offers at full asking price. The appraisal ended up coming in 20K less so they ended up having to drop the price. They were really annoyed because the buyer's bank was using comps from a half mile away where house prices are noticeably less.
I think appraisals in general are rather subjective depending on what bank is doing the appraisal.
There was apparently a house down the street from us that was appraised for more than the mortgage amount and the buyers had to put more into a down payment. That was the first house near us that we saw go for money that looked absolutely crazy (as opposed to the normal crazy that the area had been and what we were used to from Northern Manhattan). We've since seen more houses go for crazy amounts, so I'd imagine the comps for value are going up.
According to the Zestimate feature on Zillow - which is ultimately bogus, but likely to be similar in method to what an appraiser would use - our house has appreciated about $70,000 since we moved in last Feb.
There was apparently a house down the street from us that was appraised for more than the mortgage amount and the buyers had to put more into a down payment. That was the first house near us that we saw go for money that looked absolutely crazy (as opposed to the normal crazy that the area had been and what we were used to from Northern Manhattan). We've since seen more houses go for crazy amounts, so I'd imagine the comps for value are going up.
According to the Zestimate feature on Zillow - which is ultimately bogus, but likely to be similar in method to what an appraiser would use - our house has appreciated about $70,000 since we moved in last Feb.
Zillow is completely useless. I'll give you an example. The house next door to me sold for $350K a few months ago. If I look on Zillow it shows that my house has an estimated value of $280K (70K less than the house next door sold for). The house that sold has a completely outdated kitchen that has not been updated since the 60's, a bathroom that an average adult can barely fit into, and a garage that is on the verge of collapse (literally). My house had a complete gut renovation before we bought it nearly 8 years ago, new kitchen, new bathrooms, etc. So the Zillow analysis makes absolutely no sense.
Zillow is completely useless. I'll give you an example. The house next door to me sold for $350K a few months ago. If I look on Zillow it shows that my house has an estimated value of $280K (70K less than the house next door sold for). The house that sold has a completely outdated kitchen that has not been updated since the 60's, a bathroom that an average adult can barely fit into, and a garage that is on the verge of collapse (literally). My house had a complete gut renovation before we bought it nearly 8 years ago, new kitchen, new bathrooms, etc. So the Zillow analysis makes absolutely no sense.
Well, I did call it bogus for exactly that reason.
For what it's worth, both the co-op I sold in Manhattan and the house I purchased in SO are within about $20K of the sale prices. You certainly can't count on it, but if it looks sensible there can be an ounce of truth to the information it gives.
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