I know that prices have been falling like a rock that has been dropped from a 50 story building in the inland areas and now they’re beginning to fall in north county and the rest of San Diego, Orange County and the western portions of L.A. If this seller attempted to ride it out, it;s highly likely that they would have waited 15+ years just to get back to the $500k range. Housing prices in SoCal are so out of wack with the majority of the rest of the country that things are going to be bad for a long, long time. If you look at the sales history of that specific home, it sold in 1986 for $129,500 and again in 2000 for $281,500. If the seller knew for a fact that he would never have to move out of San Diego and could afford the payments until the mortgage was paid off, then I guess one could make an argument that you have to live somewhere. Me……I would have unloaded that turkey. post-haste.
The seller made the smart decision. Your mileage may vary.
