« Bird Blog: Week 19 Open House Picks: Price Cut Edition »

October 10, 2008

Open House Picks: Six Months Later

OHPsixmonths-040608.jpg
Comment: Some good news, some bad.
Open House Picks 4/6/08 [Brownstoner]




Posted by Brownstoner at 12:34 PM | Comments (16)
Categories: Six Months Later

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/6616

Comments


So much has changed just this week that makes info from closings just a month or two ago completely useless data.

Posted by: IronBalls at October 10, 2008 12:38 PM

Well all 4 places got some reductions but not really relevant given the dramatic economic changes of the last few days. We know hindsight is 20/20 but the buyers would have saved a ton if they waited....
219 Washington was lowered just a few days ago but we think it is still way overpriced by @ least another 350K. Boy the sky is not falling but it sure feels like it in the markets

Posted by: pierre de taille at October 10, 2008 1:31 PM

PDT, maybe the buyers would have saved a little if they had waited, but you overlook the fact that getting a mortgage in today's environment is a heck of a lot tougher now than it was even six months ago and it was tough then.

Posted by: jurist at October 10, 2008 1:36 PM

Putnam's demise was their own fault. They got a firm offer of $750K (arranged by the broker) but they refused it. By the time they realized their mistake, it was obviously too late.

Posted by: MacD at October 10, 2008 1:37 PM

I feel badly for the folks on Washington. The house is really lovely and sunny with beautiful views and touches throughout.

Problem is that they should have started around this price point to begin with. Had they started here or even just a touch over (my husband and I thought it should be about 2.2 when they had it listed just under 3 back in the early spring - I think this place went through 3 hair cuts) I think it could have sold relatively quickly.

Now who the hell knows.

Posted by: Nokilissa at October 10, 2008 1:40 PM

Jurist... the less you have to mortgage, the easier it is to get a loan!

Everyone can have great credit and a great job, but the key is that the bank has to see the VALUE of the home having some relation to the loan you are asking for. Banks are gonna look at this a lot closer now.

When everything was going up up up... why not give a $1.2 million mortgage for a property that was worth only $600k a few years ago?! That ain't happening anymore.

Posted by: tybur6 at October 10, 2008 1:43 PM

jurist your point well taken but even with that in mind we still think the savings would have been huge i.e. in the $200K range.
Noklissa we think you guys were being generous @ $2.2m even back then. Remember there are better homes for sale on Washington and this one is next to that wood frame (221) that needs to be gutted.

Posted by: pierre de taille at October 10, 2008 1:58 PM

I saw the house on 11th St and was seriously considering putting in a bid. At the time, I was surprised that it took a while to sell since that's a very cute block and the house, while small-ish, was in lovely condition. We ultimately decided against the house due to school zone issues, and also because despite the good condition, it still needed a decent amount of updating/renovation. I think they got a good price for the time, but I'm glad we did not buy this past spring since, as the Open House picks today show, prices are at last really coming down.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 10, 2008 2:18 PM

"PDT, maybe the buyers would have saved a little if they had waited, but you overlook the fact that getting a mortgage in today's environment is a heck of a lot tougher now than it was even six months ago and it was tough then."

You overlook the likelihood that prices will adjust to that reality and thus cancel out that factor completely.

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at October 10, 2008 2:33 PM

Guys, yes, there is a point at which a mortgage is so low that even in this environment one might breeze through the process. However, the prices at which these houses are listed are not in that range. (Let's face it, these houses wouldn't list now for half of the price that they listed for six months ago. Ten percent lower, I wouldn't argue with that.)
Also, recognize that some of these buyers may have sold places at the same time they were in the market to buy. If you are a buyer hoping to do that now, you're in for long wait since properties aren't flying off the shelf. Six months ago, things were moving faster. (I know because that is when we sold and bought--and I am ecstatic that we did.)

Finally, you have to keep in mind, that (depending on the downpayment) these homes closed in the temporary window of reduced conforming loan limits. That window closes December 31 and I read that some banks are trying to move up that date. People who are looking at homes that are priced at nearly a million dollars or more are going to be looking at jumbo rates in very short order.

And don't kid yourself by thinking that just because the Fed lowers interest rates that banks are passing along that savings to their customers because they most certainly are not. So yes, if you close on a jumbo loan on January 1, 2009 you will have a high interest rate, which will probably offset whatever gain you think achieved by waiting to buy.

Posted by: jurist at October 10, 2008 3:11 PM

In the 1980's interest rates were 13%.

Keep that in mind when you talk about 6 or 7% being outrageous.

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 3:19 PM

"11217", you are right on the money. I don't think interest rates are going to go lower any time soon. If you were in the market and smart/lucky enough to get a formerly jumbo loan at a 6% (30 year fix) interest rate, you did just fine. For those who are waiting for prices to come down $100K on million dollar homes and end up with 8%(+) interest rates, don't think you got a deal.

Posted by: jurist at October 10, 2008 3:41 PM

100K? more like 200.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 10, 2008 4:01 PM

Ditto,

Be clear about this: it is not easier to get a loan on a $1.1M house versus a $1.3M (assuming down payment percentage is roughly the same). Especially now when banks are hoarding cash.

Posted by: jurist at October 10, 2008 4:13 PM

?
I was commenting on your optimistic idea that house prices will fall by a mere 10%.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 10, 2008 4:20 PM

Dittoburg your last comment was what we were alluding to, prices will fall so significantly that the difficulty of getting that low rate mortgage will be worth it many times over in savings. We are thinking price corrections in the >25% range in many "fringe" neighborhoods.
Alas this is clearly a buyers market even with the credit crunch.

Posted by: pierre de taille at October 10, 2008 7:24 PM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions