I have insight into one of the fall listings – this is Jim’s story:
Jim had his house on the market in Sep, Oct and Nov – there was little activity and no offers although he was priced in the lower end of his market. Jim took his house off the market in December so he could come back on in 2007 as a ‘new’ listing.
Now, a house down the street has listed for $50K less than the lower end of Jim’s listing price from the fall.
Since Jim doesn’t have to sell he is now thinking about his options in light of another $50K drop in prices.
Jim still thinks his house is worth its peak 2005 price and now a neighbor is on the market for a full $100K less than that peak price – ouch!
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I think this may be happening for some of San Diego’s would-be-sellers – they have a number in their head for what their house is worth but the market (reality) no longer supports that number. In Jim’s case, there is a full $100K difference between the current market and the number in his head – if he sells at today’s price he will be ‘losing’ that $100K. Jim hasn’t decided whether to re-list his house or not – he may remodel instead of selling and buying a move-up home.
