[quote=sdrealtor]CAR,
All I can say is that even when prices were crazy high, few properties were sold by very old people or their families. From what I have seen, homes make up most of an estate in a lower end area but in an area like this, the elderly have other assets and arent as reliant on selling to fund a retirement.
This is and has been a very small niche market as long as I can remember around here. There are plenty of buyers ready to leap on those so they would be contested anyway. Banking on that as a strategy is a bit of a crapshoot in my eyes.[/quote]
It’s not dependent on the market cycle (i.e.: when prices are high), but rather when they need/want to sell.
You and I have very different opinions as to the “wealth” of these local owners. Most of them are very regular families who happened to buy a home before the crazy credit bubble destroyed affordability. We know a lot of people in these older neighborhoods, and very few of them are what I would call “rich” or “wealthy.” All of them have been devastated by the lack of returns on fixed-income investments, and those who had stock have also lost a tremendous amount of “wealth.” I cannot overstate how much the Fed has decimated the financial plans of many older families (and young ones, too!).
There were plenty of homes for reasonable prices for most of our local history. What’s happened in the past decade is an anomally, it is NOT the norm.
I acknowledge that it’s a leap of faith, but it’s a bet I’m willing to make. All that’s required is lots and lots of patience.
Mind you, we’re looking in the older sections. We have no interest in the newer, “upscale” planned communities. We are seeing more and more properties lately that are getting close to what we’re looking for…and they are NOT flying off the shelf like they were just a few years ago.
