A local example of the tough residential market
Real estate professionals will often correct me when I’m interviewing them. It’s not right to say we’re in a housing slump, they’ll tell me. It’s just a different market.
I have to disagree. This is a bonafide slump.
We all know the numbers: Housing prices are down or stagnant. Sales are way down across much of the country. Foreclosures are up. Sales times are up.
But sometimes we all need a local example to remind ourselves of just how difficult this residential market is for sellers. I got mine last weekend. My wife and I stopped by an open house of a gut-renovated home in our neighborhood. The place was beautiful: It boasted hardwood floors throughout, high ceilings, a shimmering kitchen, brand-new windows and a lovingly restored center staircase.
Yet, the home had been on the market for months. The price had already been lowered some $30,000.
I talked briefly with the builder, who was staffing the open house. He admitted that it was one tough market. You could just tell he’d sunk a lot of money into the house, and desperately wanted to avoid having to lower its price once again. But I think we both knew that in today’s tough residential market, the house wouldn’t sell until he relented and did lower that price once more.
The challenge sellers are now facing is a simple one: Even though housing prices have dropped, many buyers are waiting for them to drop even more. Sellers, though, feel that they’ve lowered their prices enough, and are hesitant to drop them even lower. And that is today’s slumping housing market in a nutshell.
Tags: local real estate market, real estate troubles, selling homesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Buying a Property, Educational Tools, Insights and Commentaries, Real Estate Tools, Real Life Stories, Road to Profits, Selling a Property
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