So me and the Mrs. went to look at some houses this Sunday. No, no, no. I didn't get a hold of Larry Kudlow's special Kool-Aid or anything. We aren't about to buy anything, just taking a look.....for now.
Went to one subdivision first. A small subdivision, about 15 homes in all. Nice looking homes, built in 2004 and 2005. Prices paid in the $500K to $600K range when bought new. In this subdivision of 15 homes, there were 7 homes for sales. Of those 7 for sale, 5 were in foreclosure. Of the 8 that weren't for sale, one had just been bought at auction for $350K. One of the 5 in foreclosure is up for auction this weekend and the real estate agent on hand said the bank would most likely take $325K. Big auction this coming Thurs-Sun, it will be interesting to see if the banks have capitulated yet or if they are still playing games and acting as if it's January 2006. When homes start selling for pennies on the dollar, then the bottom will have hit. Until then, it's not worth my time even going to these things.
Saw another one, about 2 miles away that was originally listed for $1.2M. Current listing is for $900K. I started chatting with the real estate agent and he said the owner would take $700K. I told him jokingly I might offer $450K. He practically begged me to write up an offer. Now at $450K for that house, I just might be tempted. Or I could wait another 6 months and offer $415K.
This is really starting to be fun.
But hey wasn't Atlanta supposed to be different? Uhm yea, about that. No it isn't different. No city is different. Every city is the same and the housing crash is in full swing everywhere.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
It's ugly out there
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3 comments:
WOW, talk about a breach of fiduciary duty on the realtor's part!! Man alive, have things been that bad in ATL? I must confess I am a bit ignorant to the finacial world of the East. I am hoping things do not go down the toilet here in TX. I think, when the drop hits, it will not be as severe as other parts of the country. There really has not been that much of a run up and folks are not allowed to use a house as an ATM beyond 80% LTV. ANyway, just a quick line. Dig your blog, be cool.
I don't know if things have been this bad everywhere in ATL. I'm just reporting on what I saw this weekend. And that was bad...or good depending on your point of view.
Thanks for reading.
Your welcome.
From my point of view that would be good. Wife and I are trying to figure out where to move after she finishes with Army career. I want to go back to SoCal, but the state is in deep and broke as ever.
Another big turn-off, that is now changing, was the home prices and the nerve to list a house with the following phrase: "owners will entertain offers between $X and $X+. My response would be entertain this.
Anyway, we are going out to OC in July for a visit and I was planning on doing some low-balling similar to what you described. However, now I am worried that my low-ball offer may be accepted and we still have 4 years to go. Oh well.
Be cool.
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