Mixed signals or a clear signals?

edited March 2007 in Seattle Real Estate
While we hear of many home selling for full price, close to it or higher, I bumbed into an interesting sample of a home (s) struggling to sell. New Construction mind you.

http://tinyurl.com/yuwg6f

I would have never noticed until a new listing company sign went up a few days ago. So I checked.

These homes (condos) were listed for about $100,000 more with the previous company just days ago. So it was a $100K reduction in price. And, they have not been on the market for 8 days as Redfin displays today. Much, much longer. So if these homes in this development sell for $325K, the sale to list price ratio statistic will show 98% (just a rough quick figure). The question is, without knowing the details, would the public think the market is doing just fine? What if they sell for full price at $329K. Will the public believe the market is hot?

I would say that this kind of a reduction is sending a clear signal.

Comments

  • The only signal that should send is that the seller/builder is smoking crack if he thinks those little crackerboxes on *2300* sq ft lots are worth $450,000. Even at $329,000 they're still $100,000 too high. There's no "message" here, it's just an isolated incidence of unmitigated greed and stupidity which the market obviously didn't respond positively to.
  • Redfin's software geeks didn't pick up on the CDOM (cumulative days on market) data that the MLS makes available to it its agents. The CDOM clock isn't supposed to reset to zero until the property has been unlisted for 45 days. In this case either the MLS goofed at their tallying it at 88 days as of 3/25/07 or the listing agents gamed the system by not putting a valid tax ID (the tag that the MLS software tracks such things and a rules violation to omit) in the listing. In reality, it's been listed since 06/09/06 for a total of 284 days.
  • JD-

    Thanks for the update. I like your style. Have you seen those condos?

    S-Crow
  • I haven't previewed them but I know the neighborhood. It *definitely* isn't a an upscale real estate kinda place.
  • Redfin made some concession to play nice with the realtors and not supply true CDOM. They have to eat too.
  • That makes sense, CDOM and a lot of other fields on the listing data aren't available to the public. You'd have to call your Redfin (or any other) agent to get that and I'm guessing he won't give it up that easily.
  • Are they stand alone units? I can't tell from the picture but it looks like a small house. Why listed as a condo?
  • They're condos in that the dirt they're on is all common area. External maintenance is most likely a function of the condo association rather than up to the individual homeowner. Going condo is also the only way you could put those crackerboxes on 1500 to 2300 sq.ft. lots. COnventional SFR zoning would have required at least a 5200 sq.ft lot.
  • Gotcha! 330,000 seems ridiculous!
  • You mean $330,000 *still* sounds ridiculous; they started at $460,000. :shock:
Sign In or Register to comment.