I think it’s time to update you on some of the local action (or lack thereof) that I’ve been keeping my eye on. I’ll take these in the order that they were originally posted.
First up, we’ve got the park-backing property down the street from me. The last time I mentioned it (way back in mid-June), it had been languishing on the market for two and a half months, at a price comparable to recent nearby sales. Well it finally sold, closing about a month after I made that post. The sale price was $50,000 less than the asking price, and the poor deprived seller only made $72,500 (assuming 6% agent fees and no buyer closing costs rolled into the sale price) for doing nothing more than sitting on a property for two years.
Next up, the million-dollar new construction on my drive home. Apparently I wasn’t the only one that thought $1,625,000 was a ridiculous price, because so far the fancy house on three primly-manicured acres (with a waterfall!) has taken two price drops (for a total of $130,000—8%), and is pushing four months on the market. Will the seller end up slowly chasing the market down? We’ll see…
Of course we can’t forget my California-bound coworker. She and her husband moved down to their new home town about a month ago, but unfortunately for them, their house still has not sold. Oddly enough, although their house has been on the market now for 73 days, they are holding firm on the asking price at $490,000. Also worth mentioning is that at around the 1 month mark, their home was de-listed and re-listed, with no change to the listing whatsoever, in what (if I’m not mistaken) is a blatant violation of NWMLS rules.
Lastly, I may as well mention yet another workplace anecdote. This coworker requested a transfer to the greener pastures of Moses Lake, and therefore is selling his home in rural Snohomish County. Purchased in 2000 for $165,000, the original asking price for his “custom built 3 bedroom 2 bath rambler” on 1/2 acre across the street from a lake was $350,000. Three price drops (down to $305,000) and 51 days later, still no takers, and I recently overheard the increasingly distressed owner talking about the possibility of taking on two mortgages at once. I guess he’ll have to if he’s serious about the latest price reduction being the “*FINAL PRICE REDUCTION*” he is claiming it to be. On the one hand, I feel bad that a good person like that is having trouble selling with an impending move. On the other hand, he’s still asking for 85% more than he paid just six years ago. Is he just being greedy, or has he cashed out $120,000 in equity and honestly can’t afford to reduce the price further?
In case anyone would accuse me of it, I’m not cherry-picking the anecdotes that fit my view on housing. These are just the housing stories that I know from the circles I run in.
As you can see, the Seattle-area housing market is still hot, hot, hot!
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