Stan,
Agents/Sellers are always fiddling with prices. Given the time of year this is when you’d expect people to adjust their expectations. The truth is its not the quantity of reductions but rather the size of them. I review a hot sheet everyday and when i’m scanning I try to find big price drops. The housing market doesnt move in unison and its about finding one or two good deals at any given time. Finding the person who is truly motivated to sell and willing to step out of line. Or better yet finding someone who made a big mistake in pricing when no one else is looking.
To your point, prices are working their way downward.
I would absolutely agree with sdr about the season…Fall is a good time to buy as that is seasonally when the most price adjustments are. Also as previously mentioned in this thread it is good to see price drops but something to consider is how realistic were the original list prices to begin with?
In general I have REALLY been puzzled by the resale pricing that homeowners in 4S Ranch have been starting with considering the abundant stock of new housing available at much lower pricing. If I were a reseller at 4S I would try to undercut them if anything but then again, they probably cannot afford to do that.
Finally in terms of stickiness, I think the builders have been continuing to set the bar at 4S pricing and will continue to do so. As long as buyers keep buying there, (albeit at a slower pace) the stickiness in pricing will remain. If I were a buyer at 4S I would hold off until some of the distressed properties start showing up. Once we get ALOT (more then a single property here or there) of foreclosures and then REOs then the pricing will really start to move.
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