State of the US housing market

[ZAEM]

We are closing on the sale of our house today. We listed with one realtor at high end price for our area. It had some activity in the beginning and then nothing. We knew it was the price. But then as time went on we realized that the realtor was just kind of sitting back doing nothing--but we had signed a contract for 6 months. We rode the contract out! Got a new realtor who is very known in our area. Dropped the price by 35,000. She had the house underagreement in under a month. In that month it took the buyer two weeks to come to grips and make the offer.
The house was listed at 399,900. The first offer came in at 375,000. The realtor told them to go back and look again at comparables and we would entertain another offer. The 2nd offer was 395,000 but they wanted us to pay closing costs. The realtors knew we wouldn't go for the closing fees. So the offer was accepted and the realtors are splitting the closing fees out of their commisions.
We turn the house over today.

[Seakony]

Originally Posted by ZAEM

We are closing on the sale of our house today. We listed with one realtor at high end price for our area. It had some activity in the beginning and then nothing. We knew it was the price. But then as time went on we realized that the realtor was just kind of sitting back doing nothing--but we had signed a contract for 6 months. We rode the contract out! Got a new realtor who is very known in our area. Dropped the price by 35,000. She had the house underagreement in under a month. In that month it took the buyer two weeks to come to grips and make the offer.
The house was listed at 399,900. The first offer came in at 375,000. The realtor told them to go back and look again at comparables and we would entertain another offer. The 2nd offer was 395,000 but they wanted us to pay closing costs. The realtors knew we wouldn't go for the closing fees. So the offer was accepted and the realtors are splitting the closing fees out of their commisions.
We turn the house over today.

I'm surprised you didn't go ahead and lower the price after a couple of months. It's always the price. Many people think the realtor should do more to sell the property, like ads, open houses, etc. It really boils down to the MLS. That is what you are paying for..the MLS. That tells every agent and potential buyers across the country that your house is for sale and they have access to info about it. The agent also earns their commision by doing most of the paperwork, presenting offers, working with title companies and mortgages and inspections.
My agent has an assistant...and that girl worked her butt off getting everything together for me and making sure all steps were taken to get things done.
When a listing agent shows you the market analysis in your area..it pretty much tells you the story of what properties are selling for. Setting the price too high will only result in a their "for sale" sign rusting in your yard.
The Market here is pretty good if the property is priced correctly. My neice had her house on the market one day and got an accepted offer. She also made an offer on another house that had been on the market one day.
The house we bought had been on the market a long time. First, because they were way over-priced, .....they lowered the price and re-painted the inside....I happened along and made an even lower offer...My agent pulled up the comps in the hood and showed they were still asking too much. We finally agreed on a price. Even though I could have held out on alot more money on my other house, (if I could find somebody to pay that much), I knew it wouldn't appraise for anymore than what I had it on the market for. The appraisals can kill ya. No bank or lender will loan money for more than the property is worth.
Sometimes it is better to buy down the interest rates if you have extra money to put down. It really depends on the loan amount.

[ZAEM]

Yes I know we were definitely over priced! But we weren't ready to just give it away. We actually purchased an acre of land last December. The realtor that was involved in selling the land was the same one that listed our house first time around. This may have been a mistake on our part not getting our own realtor.
We also had two other houses on the same street for sale at the same time. All different prices for almost identical houses. Same size-just different added extras. But the icing was put on the cake when we found out that she giving incorrect comparisons. It was brought to her attention and that was kind of where everything went south. She basically promoted the other houses without knowing it!
Im not trying to imply that it's her fault it didn't sell. I did feel though that she thought it would be a quick sale and make herself a buck. We bought the land and didn't care if our house didn't sell for years. We would have the land for the future or now.
No biggy it's a done deal at this point. And I hope the new family will have as many happy memories in the house as we do/did!

[Seakony]

It's always better to use a real estate agent who works in your area..IMO. Of course i did not do that. My agent was from the other end of town and mostly sold mansions. I told her what streets to pull up for comparisons and she emailed me the info. I basically did the market analysis myself since I was more familiar of the area and used to sell houses there myself. We both went over it together and we also went to look at the other houses to see what improvements, if any, to see what the competiton was.
I know of course, that not everybody is as experienced in selling or buying a home...I had a better advantage and understanding of the process. It never appealed to me to be a "for sale by owner". I did not want strangers calling me to see the house. I wanted an agent to show it, who had already pre-qualified the buyers. I also did not want to handle all the paperwork and schedule all the inspections, and other stuff involved. It was worth the commission.

[abachechi]

Originally Posted by Seakony

The Market here is pretty good if the property is priced correctly. .

Here in Albuquerque, that's about how the story goes. We've got a couple of houses up for sale in our neighborhood that I checked out and they are priced too high for the quality of home. We bought a year ago and the home we have is an investment. Once we put on a little corner addition we'll add 500 sq ft. And, heck, if the market doesn't go back up until 2009, that's perfect! Overall, though it is a buyer's market here and things are slowing down a bit, but we are still seeing tons of growth, both in town(downtown) and out of town. Also, prices are lower then other places in the nation. Hey, we're makin lots of movies though and that brings jobs and growth. By the time we're ready to sell, somebody might just grab up our house in three hours after being put on the market, just like we did when we bought it ( I can only hope!)

[Seakony]

Bottom line... overpriced homes will not sell.
The market MAY be in a slump...but it's nothing to worry about. It's just re-adjusting and correcting itself. Just like the stock market did. Stocks rose rapidly and then fell.

[MWC]

Originally Posted by Seakony

Bottom line... overpriced homes will not sell.
The market MAY be in a slump...but it's nothing to worry about. It's just re-adjusting and correcting itself. Just like the stock market did. Stocks rose rapidly and then fell.

Agreed. There was probably way too much "irrational exhuberance" in certain real estate sectors. But overall, the economy is stronger for that surge, even with the correction it now seems to need.