Open House Picks: Price Cut Edition

Well, I must say, this is starting to feel like vindication for those diehard brokers/owners who insisted NYC prices could never come down much... and this is just the beginning. While this may sound gleeful, I am actually cautiously hopeful that there will just be a correction (which I would like, since I personally could buy a more affordable property, and others I know can get into the market since they were previously priced out), and not an all-out free-fall collapse (since this could really hurt the city as a whole and as resident of the city, I'd be worried for all of us - think 70s, crime increases, etc.). I do, however, think prices have a lot farther to drop, given the unbelievable run-up of the last decade.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 10, 2008 2:14 PM

"I disagree" - I feel vindicated since I've had conversations with brokers about their pricing strategies as the market highs have looked increasingly unsustainable and a few have looked at me as if I have 3 heads and *I* was the deluded one. I don't hide my self-interest in my posts, since obviously, as someone in the market to buy, I would of course like to get a good deal so I'd welcome a significant correction, but I am sincere when I say that I don't want a total meltdown since that would be bad for everyone, myself included.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 10, 2008 3:27 PM

11233 - we priced below market value at the time - so much so that we got many offers over ask and sold almost instantly. Now, if we had held out for a higher price, and/or pulled the kinds of tricks some sellers did at the peak (i.e. going with one buyer and then dropping them when another higher bidder came along), then yes, I would feel badly. But the people who bought our place really wanted our place and to this day, feel like they got a good deal (I'm friendly with them). Will the value go down? Probably. Am I glad I sold? Yes. But do I feel badly - no, because at the time I sold, there was no way to know for sure what would happen. In fact, I even felt seller's remorse pretty intensely since I loved the place and given how fast it sold, I indeed wondered it was priced too low. But I knew better than to be greedy, and I truly feel that our transaction was one where both parties felt they benefited fairly given what was known at the time of the sale. And, as for what is happening now, we simply lucked out that we cashed out when we did - but that's only just starting to be apparent since NYC prices were holding strong up until recently.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 10, 2008 3:35 PM

P.S. 11233 - as to claiming the buyers of my place are "under water" - I know for a fact they plan to stay there for a long time, so their losses due to softening market will be on paper only. (In fact, I think this "under water" argument is specious for many homeowners who plan to stay for a long time.) I should also point out that they are currently living in a much nicer place than I am (we opted for a modest rental in our school zone of choice to get our kids in a good school while saving for a place we could stay in life-long). So, no, I truly don't feel badly. I do hope the buyers don't find themselves unemployed, but that is not so much about my culpability as someone who benefited from the run-up (and I've never denied I did), as it is about broader economic factors.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 10, 2008 3:43 PM