My lemonade went sour (Seattle, Index: sales, real estate, to rent)

[burlshoe114]

I know a lot of people love Seattle, but it is just not, not, NOT for me!!! (I say this as I huddle in my office with a sore throat and cold at the end of June, wearing polar fleece, and looking out at another grey, dank day.)
I gave this place 10 years to grow on me and it never happened. Not that the experience has been all awful, but this is just existing for me... Not living.
I had finally convinced my husband to let us move, and get us to a better place where we can do things we enjoy (sunshine, riding bikes somewhere that dosen't involve heavy traffic and death-defying hills, neighborly neighborhood potlucks and socializing, being able to reliably picnic in May...).
Then our property tax assessment came. Our house is now valued at $60K less! And coworker whose spouse works in real estate says to brace for another significant drop next year!!!
So now no move in the future. At least not the near future. And I am pretty bummed.
Does anyone have any insight into this? ARE we going to see another drastic drop in house prices? Does anyone have any insight into whether the house values are going to get back up again at all in the next 5 years?
Or am I stuck here indefinitely?

[azoria]

Seattle Bubble • local real estate news, statistics, and commentary without the sales spin.

[Ira500]

I'm a fairly regular commenter on Seattle Bubble. Opinions are all over the place. Personally, I don't think we're going to see a significant additional decline in home prices, but I don't see home prices going up much in the next five years. I wouldn't recommend hanging on to wait for higher prices. it might take a while.

[wowyouhaveyourhandsfull]

agree.....I don't think they will drop as significantly as they have the past few years, but they sure as heck aren't going up either. Be glad you aren't more than 60K under. Just ask yourself if it is worth living here another 5-10 years to get more equity out of your house. If not, sell it!

[funyoncity]

The market in Seattle is down, but it's also down in other areas that you could move. What you lose in Seattle property values you can gain/offset somewhere else in their depreciated property values. Chances are that when housing values in Seattle recover, it'll recover in other areas you'd want to move.

Sometimes it's best to cut your losses. Plus, how much money does it cost to buy back years of your life? The housing value is already gone, and it's gone all across the country, it's just a matter of making a decision about the future. Just my $.02. You can only ride a dying horse for so long.

[CityGirl72]

You are in the same "stuck" spot I was. 5 Years in Seattle and I wanted to leave no matter the cost.

I've found to enjoy my life without assets, such as owning a home. I was only a homeowner for 5 years, and the amount of stress that's gone because I rent now is amazing.

Don't worry about less for your house - worry about the amount of time you might flitter away from not making a decision and sticking with it.

[pilgrim7578]

SELL NOW before it goes down even more.... We are at a generational correction in home prices in this country. Take your advice from economic specialists, not those who have a vested interested in the answer to your question.. Sell and be negotiable.. Many economic specialists are projecting the median home value to fall to about $150k... in most US suburbs... All about salary vs price.... Better to live your life now than put it off... you could have a heart attack or worse in the next day or so......... sorry .... happy thoughts !

[irrational exuberance]

Seeing the stock market stagnant both Dow Jones unable to sustain 11k for more than 2 months and the S&P 500 at 1997-98 levels, all dealing in stocks which are a lot cheaper than real estate. House prices have no where to go but down. The job market is the overshadow of all of this. When people are overly optimistic they spend money they have or dont have. It trickles right up to banks. Now, jobs are fewer, paying less while everything is going up. In Summary big ticket items are the least of people concerns, housing is the biggest and the one getting hit the hardest. Depending on when you bought your house ie 2005-2008, you probably are stuck, but anytime before you can most likely sell and make a few bucks. Unless they perform a miracle and start creating some real lasting jobs people can live off of economically we will continue to decline as indicated in our stock markets, I personally dont rely on GDP or Consumer Confidence Index because its a bunch of handpicked stats that tell part of the story. I like to watch the stock market because that is the place where people are trying to make money not spend it.

Sorry to sound gloomy but the housing market is only going to decline...But they say you make your money in real estate when you buy but with equity non existent for many that saying may have changed.

[texastrigirl]

Burlshoe, I think you want to move to Austin TX, correct? So rent your house out here and rent in Austin. Or sell your house here at a loss and buy in Austin as it is less expensive for sure...200-300K can buy a house in a nice to very nice area though property taxes are huge there. Austin real estate below 300K did not see a big drop or a drop at all in certain areas in the past few years so if you want to get in at a good price there, now is the time. It is scary to seize the moment but if you are as miserable as it sounds, you need to get out. I'd recommend not moving to TX until October so you can miss out on the heat. At least benefit from the nice summer weather here first. Good luck!

[burlshoe114]

Thanks Texas,
I think we are probably going to do like you suggest - Spend the next few years beating down the mortgage as much as possible, and then renting the place out and using that money to rent in Texas. Maybe in 10-15 years we might see a rebound? Never know!
It just kills me, because I was totally nagging my husband to sell before the market fell!
In Texas, do you have to pay property tax on a townhome?