List vs sale

[djrobsd]

Are there any recent graphs of this for San Diego? We are actively looking for a house under $600,000 in the outlying metro areas such as allied gardens, San Carlos, Rolando, la Mesa, etc.

What I have seen lately is a lot of sellers with pie high expectations. When my realtor tries to bring their expectations to reality by showing their realtor the comps they refuse to budge even though their property has been on the market for a while.

I know there will always be those sellers who can afford to hold out and refuse to sale until they get their price but I’m seeing so many sellers right now that are expecting to take a 25-30 percent profit after living in the property for only 2 years and putting less then 30k of improvements in (thank you Redfin for allowing buyers to see the old MLS listing it makes it easy to quickly come up with that information).

We refuse to over pay for a home and I am guessing today that most appraisers will not just give “the value” of the home based on the sale price so the loan can go through so it just doesn’t make sense to me.

Thoughts and strategies for putting offers in on these properties or just walk away and find a seller that has more realistic goals?

[SK in CV]

Forget about what the seller paid and how long they’ve owned the property. It has nothing to do with today’s value. Nothing. Offer what you are willing to pay and nothing more. Until it gets down to the last few thousand, what the seller wants should not be part of your calculation. It is not personal. If an offer is declined, the seller is not rejecting you. They are rejecting a number.

[poorgradstudent]

Our appraisal for re-finance seemed to come in way higher than I would have expected. There was no incentive for shenanigans; 20k lower would not have soured the deal.

I think when prices seem to be going up sellers are comfortable naming a price and holding to it.

You may want to wait until after Labor day and see if tunes change. The housing market has some seasonal fluctuations, and there will always be a few properties who hold out too long, realize fall is coming and can’t/don’t want to stay through the New Year. People with families don’t want to move in October, so although there can be less inventory, there also is often less competition.

[djrobsd]

Low and behold the truth came out about one of the houses we were interested in!

The seller owes a certain amount and can’t sell it for any less without it being a short sale… Crazy they owned it for 2 and a half years. Must have taken out a HELOC and or did one of those interest only ARMS. Oops.

Anyway we moved on and found something else and all worked out well. The seller aggressively priced it reasonably and we came in with a strong offer.

Now the escrow fun begins. 🙂

[moneymaker]

I don’t think an ARM would do it as rates are at all time lows. Just locked today at 2.625% (2.691% APR), crazy if you ask me but what do I know. Having a HELOC never really was a problem and ETF on it was never raised as an issue. Dropped the mortgage payment by $155 on a 15 year.

[gzz]

—Thoughts and strategies for putting offers in on these properties or just walk away and find a seller that has more realistic goals?—

The seller may not know the market as well as an active buyer, but he does know his house better than you do. I live in a 100 year old house with plumbing and electrical completely replaced about 10 years ago. That’s not something a buyer would see looking at my house a few similar ones, but it is something I am aware of and would price accordingly. When people do “comps” they look at basics like size, nothing that detailed.

I also know my house is more flood proofed than my neighbors because I did it myself. Short of close up pictures of the caulk and cement fill I used, there is no way to convey it. For the pipes, at least you can see the pretty gleaming copper. (Yes, it is ten years old and gleaming because I paid someone to clean and polish them where they are exposed 2 years ago, and they are still gleaming)

“We refuse to over pay for a home”

Casting a wide net over several large areas and being patient is the best way to get a deal, so you are doing this right.

But there are plenty of worse things than overpaying for a home. A distant relative overpaid for a house in North Park by maybe 10%, more than $50,000. But this was in 2011, so this “overpaying” for a house has resulted in a $150,000+ profit if they ever sell.

The house had some je ne sais pas elements that made it better than close comps in size, lot, condition. Not even close to $50,000 better however.

[joec]

I don’t think I see sky high expectations around really. Most houses seem to sell within 5% of listing from the ones I see around…sell within 30 days IMO.

That said, with such a small supply, if this is for your 1st primary to live in, just finding a place to live in that you like at this point in your and your family’s life is probably priceless.
I know that was the best thing for us. No more noisy ghetto neighbors. No more rent increases, having to move…

Yes, you don’t want to overpay, like it was mentioned, if you are just paying a mortgage the same amount and living your life, I don’t think you’d think too much about that small amount more or less you over/underpaid.

Just find something which pencils out financially and not have to worry about renting/moving/all the time seems like the easier path…All IMO of course since I hate moving…With kids, it’s even worst.

With tax breaks for higher income folks, it may pencil out better than rent since rent is insanely expensive nowadays, unlike before…

I hear families are renting in Silicon Valley now for like 4-5k/month to “Share” a house with another family.

I used to live for 1k/month I think way way back.

[Bubino]

That was amazing rates! Who is the lemder? Thanks

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