Is Your Triangle Home Worth More or Less than You Paid for it?

[duhrambull]

folks are so optimistic about the value of their house across the board.
When time comes for selling, the listing price is way above everything and houses sit on market for years

I just bought a house in an almost done neighborhood. The price i paid is siganificantly less than what my neighbor paid 8- 16 months ago. My house is even bigger and has better upgrades. The bulilder also throwed in additional stuff (3-4% worth the overall price) to make the deal work.

That being said, I am fully expect that the remaning building houses will be sold at even lower price in the near future. The list agent promised a thousand times that he would not do that to decrease the value of the 'hood.
wow, based on my very own experience, i know for sure my future neighbors will get better deals than i just did.

Simple facts. the economy is going nowhere, and good jobs are leaving RTP daily. there is just no way houses here can hold value, period.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by duhrambull

folks are so optimistic about the value of their house across the board.
When time comes for selling, the listing price is way above everything and houses sit on market for years

I just bought a house in an almost done neighborhood. The price i paid is siganificantly less than what my neighbor paid 8- 16 months ago. My house is even bigger and has better upgrades. The bulilder also throwed in additional stuff (3-4% worth the overall price) to make the deal work.

That being said, I am fully expect that the remaning building houses will be sold at even lower price in the near future. The list agent promised a thousand times that he would not do that to decrease the value of the 'hood.
wow, based on my very own experience, i know for sure my future neighbors will get better deals than i just did.

Simple facts. the economy is going nowhere, and good jobs are leaving RTP daily. there is just no way houses here can hold value, period.

all depends on the specific area.

[Grizzmeister]

Originally Posted by duhrambull

Simple facts. the economy is going nowhere, and good jobs are leaving RTP daily. there is just no way houses here can hold value, period.

Tightening lending standards will also drive down the cost of homes but that’s a good thing. That’s why they call it a correction.

Nationally it’s worse than that; our population is aging and no longer needs large houses and the expense of upkeep associated with them. Also, as the Bailout plan clearly proves the American standard of living is actually in decline with no plan to restore it.

[kickchick2000]

My home has gone up in value. know it's gone up in value as homes are still selling in my neighborhood and they are sellingfor much more than what I paid plus they do not have half of the upgrades I do. The reason my neighborhood is still selling for now is because it contain homes priced between $125-$160k in North Raleigh.

[MikeJaquish]

To focus on the original questions:
Nothing in the OP's 2 questions limits the query to new or existing construction.
The first question asks if homes are worth less than people paid, without introducing a time factor. This can be answered anecdotally, as it was asked.
A great many, I would say "Most," homes are worth more than the Owner paid.
The second question is related to wise borrowing as much as it is to appreciation/depreciation.
Neither question asked if homes are currently gaining in value.

I could easily sell my home very quickly, not "lose money" and not have to bring money to closing. I am far from alone in this situation, but homeowners who are NOT in trouble do not make headlines and feed the political machines.
How hard is it to understand that not everyone is in a desperate situation?
We bought sensibly, well within our financial reach.
7 years ago. 20% down. Extra principle payments. Reasonable to significant appreciation. Upgrades and maintenance as needed.
I could give someone a bargain, pocket money, and sell in 24-48 hours, easily.
Oh, and it is NOT for sale...
It is my intent to one day hold a Cancellation of Deed of Trust.
But, I had the advantage of being raised by people who remembered the Great Depression from their formative years.

So, in response to the orignal question, for me, it is worth more than I paid, and I am not upside down.
And in my neighborhood, many homes are owned by the original owners, from 1993-1995. All of those homes are worth more than the owners paid, and again, if they are upside-down, it is from unwise borrowing to milk the equity.

As far as people upside down in a home, yes, that happens. I counted 70+ foreclosure notices in the Cary News a week ago.
Often they are homes that have been listed as "Possible short sales."

Homes go into foreclosure when there is no equity for a Buyer to claim, or to allow the Seller to come to the table without bringing a check, or no agreement for a short sale is reached.
That may be due to a borrowing issue, i.e., no equity when bought or equity stupidly stripped via HELOC to pay for a vacation or a boat, etc. It may be due to loss of value due to depreciation of the property.

I showed two homes yesterday, and both are worth more than the Seller paid.
One for certain, is worth significantly more, since the owners have had it for 19 years in a wonderful location and have cared for it.
The other is a little more tenuous, since they took a neat house and beat it up and let it deteriorate into deplorable condition.
I don't know if either is upside down, but could know in a few minutes by pulling the Deeds of Trust. If either is upside down, that would be the result of inept use of credit, as much as a reflection of the housing market.

Originally Posted by KellyCrash

I was talking to a friend this week and she said the houses in her neighborhood are worth less than people paid for them.

So I was wondering is this a trend all over the Triangle?

Realtors, are you seeing people upside down on their homes where they owe more on them than they are worth?