Local Market Observations!
What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Defaults? “Hawaii’s foreclosure rate tripled in April, with a 218 percent increase over the year-earlier period. ‘There’s no good way to put a positive spin on those numbers,’ said University of Hawaii economist Carl Bonham. ‘There’s no particular reason to think things are going to get better in the next year. The sky’s not falling, but it’s getting a little cloudier.’”
“On a recent Sunday, Laura Ellis and Lorrie Travers of St. Charles-based River City Real Estate packed about 20 buyers into a bus and toured foreclosed houses in St. Charles and St. Peters. There were 992 foreclosed houses in the county in April, up from 146 a year ago.”
“Among them are prospective buyers like Brandon and Jamie Wunderle, who are looking to upgrade from their house in north St. Louis County to something in the St. Charles area. ‘We want to find the biggest house we can afford,’ Brandon Wunderle said.”
Builder problems? “Jason Anthony Manor on Cottontown Road was planned as an all brick-and-stone community. But development stalled last year with one home built and three more under way. The developer, Anthony Inturrisi, has built homes in Forest for at least 10 years. This is the first time that foreclosure documents and multiple liens have been filed against him in Bedford County.”
“A Realtor involved with the project said Inturrisi ‘caught the brunt of the national housing market’ when a bank pulled his credit line with fears of how $400,000 homes would fare. ‘It’s just a shame,’ said Teresa Polinek of the real estate company that marketed the homes. ‘He’s one of the most prominent builders in the area.’”
Lower prices? “The suburbs of New York City were late entrants in the downturn that some economists think is already a recession. The main cause of the current weakness was the bursting of the American housing bubble.”
“‘In 2005, it was almost impossible to overprice a home,’ said Christopher Otteau Otteau, who has been appraising property from northern New Jersey to Delaware for six years. ‘In a tough market, nothing is overlooked,’ he said as he examined a shallow hole near the front door where a tree had been planted. ‘In a good market, lots of things are.’”
Or speculation? “Bob Scott’s Fiddler’s Cove at Prairie Pines, a 51-lot, high-end housing community near K-96 in Maize, was publicly unveiled Tuesday. ‘I guess I timed this thing with the (housing) market so we’d be right on top of it,’ he said jokingly to a group of Maize city officials, real estate agents, bankers and guests during a midday luncheon at the tree farm.”
“Homes will be a minimum of 1,900 square feet and will begin at $500,000. Some will reach $1 million. Scott admits the project is a leap of faith, but its location and amenities make him optimistic.”
“‘My heartburn only comes about 4 a.m. in the morning,’ he said, chuckling.”
Oh yeah, when I think about spending $1M on a house, the first place that comes to mind is MAIZE Kansas!
That one was a joke, right?
No kidding - for $500K you can get a decent 1900 sqft home in our neck of the woods - 5 miles from the pacific ocean.
Good luck with this one buddy.
This strikes me as an FLDS type scam going on. The mormons are famous for scams, counterfeiting, exc.
Probably a Utah based company doing this. Construction loan scams.
Hey! IIIIIII am the one who disses Mormons on this blog, Mr. Man!
Oh, very well…you can, too.
No, that’s MY job.
Well, Wichita has quite a few aerospace companies. When I lived there in the mid 1990s, people were getting paid by Boeing about $65K a year to push a button on the assembly line. Then, inevitably, they would get laid off for several months and head to the unemployment line, before getting rehired at Boeing.
Does Boeing even have such a thing as a stable job?
As an add on, I’m in Kansas right now visiting relatives and on the local real estate show on the radio, our Congressional representative Nancy Boyda, who voted for the bailout, was on talking about how we must keep home prices from dropping since it affects “everyone” who pays a mortgage. This was in response to a caller into the show who suggested that this legislation served to do little more than reward irresponsible behavior (the guy also mentioned that he should get money for being responsible while his neighbors spent home equity money to buy 4-wheelers and now want taxpayers to rescue them).
In response to this article, no way I’d pay $500K or even $150K to live in a slimy cesspool like Wichita.
What’s up with the wholesale brainwashing by Congress to support housing prices?
Are the so-called experts saying this the same ones who initially turned a blind eye to the largest asset bubble in American history?
Give me an eff-ing break!
I know of one. Client I worked with out of their Renton, WA facility has worked there since WW2!
That one was a joke, right?
I would like to think that the following was but it is not;
This is not indicative of my whole area but it shows what kind of a Dichotomy we have here particularly in some area’s of my zip….Area code 95051….A very well done 2600 sq.ft single story home goes on the market…1.25 mil….Based on past sales it is priced correctly albeit it is finished so well I believed it would attract a lot of attention…On the market for one week….7 offers….Hearsay (from a losing bidder that bid 100k over) is that it went for 1.5 mil (250k over ask)….Move a ¼ mile away and its a 180 degree reversal….
Pitiful. I hope the hearsay was BS. $250k over asking? Now? What idiots. Santa Clara is not that special.
UNbelievable.
BayQT~
hearsay was BS ??
I don’t think it is…As a courtesy to the unsuccessful other bidders they were told what the accepted offer was…It will close shortly and we will know for sure…
Nevertheless, it’s still a sad state of affairs.
BayQT~
scdave
I live in 95051 and I definitely see that too.
The area of 95051 falling under Cupertino schools is hot, with overbidding, multiple offers. The prices in this pocket are insane. 1 Mil+ for ~1700 Ranch homes in Santa Clara ?
But across the street (in my case Pruneridge Ave), is the part of Santa Clara that does not fall under the Cupertino School district. Nothing seems to be moving there at all. I see some reduced price signs there.
We truly live in a wonderland, where people are paying 1 Mil or more for a very ordinary home in Santa Clara !
We rent (2100 for a 4 BR/1600 Sq ft SFH in 95051). Our home would easily sell for 850K (after say 30K in renovations). The rent vs buy math makes no sense whatsoever. There’s always the “I am going to be priced out forever” argument though.
Lurker;
I hear ya…Cupertino schools are a huge factor…But their are other examples such as; The old quad…They are paying $600 + per square foot for those old crap shacks…I have never in 30 years seen the disconnect like we have today…Pockets of huge strength with pockets of severe weakness….
It really, really, really pains me to say it, but used houses are still selling pretty quickly (and at high prices) in the nicer towns in Silicon Valley.
“We want to find the biggest house we can afford,’ Brandon Wunderle said.”
Sigh.
Most notably, Ellis said, is that foreclosed properties are sold “as is.” The seller, typically a bank, will not pay for an inspection.
That makes potential buyers nervous that the house may have hidden problems.
“What they don’t know is they can get their own inspection done,” Ellis said.”
The “clients” these short-bus tours attract are typical passengers.
These “clients” ARE worthy of the “short bus”.
Why would the seller pay for a buyer’s inspection?
I had forgotten about that realtor-marketed rule of thumb.
It’s Groundhog day again in reporterland. I think I have decoded their script:-
Casey Chavez Billabongo, aged 42, an undocumented Mortgage broker, and his Realtor wife, Shirley Summiss-Steak, bought their American dream 3 bedroom rustic house in the desert, 4 hours drive from work which could have sold for 900,000 at peak of market in 2005. Purchased in 2004 with 125% No documentation mortgage and wanting to build their nest egg, they refinanced out to invest more equity into their home. Things started to go well in Casey’s and Shirley’s jobs and they used opportunity to jump in and buy 5 neighboring properties that they would flip for more profit. They got their idea from a popular TV program.
Nobody could have foreseen that market would suddenly downturn and the Billango’s efforts to sell their investment properties to investors from California and Europe, came to nothing, despite Shirley’s plan of providing cupcakes and planting statues in the yards.
At the same time, nobody could of foreseen the price of gas for their Hummer going up so Casey had to pick up 3 part time jobs.
Shirley cashed in the 3,000 they had in their 401K and opened up her dream business: selling dog manicure sets on ebay.
Then disaster hit, their dreams came to an end when an unforeseen medical emergency happened. During a golf game where Casey was working as a Caddy, he was struck in the testicles by a freak lightening bolt. Requiring Cosmetic surgery, the Billabongo’s maxed out their 50 credit cards and took out a HELOC.
Unfortunately, nobody could have foreseen the interest only ARM reseting to 5 times Billabongo’s monthly income. Casey said “When I spoke to the mortage company, they said ‘did you even read your contract ?’ I mean who reads that stuff”. The Billabongo’s now facing foreclosure have appealed to their politicians for help. “We have been taken advantage of” said Shirley. “I am a classy person. I am a REALTOR and I have a Rolex.”
Fantastic.
Whooops !…and I thought he was aiming at the Rolex
ha ha Casey…there is a God and he does aim those lightning bolts.
mikey humbly…scrambles for cover
That’s what they call “Ball Lightning”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning
LOL
I laughed so hard that I have tears streaming down, and water sopping all over my clothes.
Thankfully, the keyboard and the computer have been spared most of the brunt.
Sometimes the comedy just writes itself….
There is a lot wrong with this story. I won’t even go near the lightening bolt hitting you know what.
However, I was struck by the 50 credit card statement. Heck, 50! Even at an average of 5K, that is 250K in credit. I realize that some of that might be for business (doggie manicures on eBay?), but that is still a lot of bling on plastic.
Anyway, Istill like TX’s idea comment from a while back. Just use debit and treat it like a CC by pying yourself back. Oh yeah, I forgot. Already in the hole. No way to save anything to pay yourselves back.
I still can’t imagine 50 CCs. In my worst previous life, I was between 5-10. Good grief!
It does seem like a fantasy number, doesn’t it. But according to this msn article, it’s not.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/HowManyCreditCardsIsTooMany.aspx
Crazy.
BayQT~
For the first paragraph, I thought this is for real. Great fake reporting! Billabongo-Steak, hehe!!
The very fact that you briefly were deluded speaks for itself.
Good one, Houstonstan…..anyone still have the link to that article from a while back were the Realtor lady was talking about how **classy** she was…..ya know, she wore pearls and shiny gew-gaws to work every day.
Banks are acknowledging that property values are still declining in NJ. I just had a friend who bought in Bergen County tell me that his equity line was cut off. Another friend just sold his house in South Jersey after a year on the market for considerably less than was offered on it a year ago.
I haven’t sensed capitulation yet, at least among those I know. I still have family members and friends tell me that “real estate is a good investment in the long run”. The same people who advised me to buy at the height of the bubble, still advise me to buy now. I just smile and say I’m happy renting.
Have to comment on this one since I lived in Bergen County for almost 20 years. The tax burden is going to crush these people. Why do you think all the hotshot wizbang 20 somethings keep this whole fradulant economy going on WS? It’s so they can afford to live in places like Bergen County or Suffolk County in LI. It is not just the uberwealthy in the Hamptons!
I checked the tax rate for last year and it was 2.7 % in Ridgewood and more than 3% in Fair Lawn. Imagine having no mortgage on a modest 400K home and still paying anywhere from 10-15 grand a year to the local assessor. OUCH! The streets better be paved w/gold at the rate of more than 1K/month just live in Ridgewood.
Now just imagine a 700K home w/annual payments close to 21K a year, or almost 2K/month! Holy tax payments, Batman!
Whatever happened to “No taxation w/o representation”?
“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.”
Patrick Henry
three syllables: prop 13
Property taxes are a problem all over NJ, although particularly out of control in Bergen county. My parents are still living in Essex county and are up to around $14k a year in property taxes. My guess is their house would sell for around $500k, but in this market who knows.
You make a good point about the dependence of North Jersey on Wall Street. I am still wondering who is going to buy all of the $700k 2br apartments that are still being built all over Hudson county.
We live in a very small place for our town and our property taxes run around $3,300. Typical house is $6K to $8K per year. The town has been voting for school district stuff, municipal stuff, etc. It doesn’t bother me at all because we pay a smaller dollar amount for the goodies that others vote for.
One guy I work with has a $1 million home and he complains about taxes, electricity, heating, etc. Well, it goes with the territory.
Dublin, CA
D.R. Horton is holding another “UNauction” sale at the Elan at Dublin BART Station development (257 units). Up to 40% off of “select” units.
“Home prices range from $351,000 to $512,000. There are only 35 units available at these discounted prices.”
Now, the real interesting thing is that they pulled the pricing from their website sometime in Jan/Feb 08 and never reposted. The only way to find out what any of the units are selling for is show up at their sales, walk into their on-site sales office, call the sales office or have a have a spreadsheet on those suckers like I do. I live and work in the area so I’ve been watching them build. My documentation began on Feb. 2006.
The smaller units (1/1) were selling in the high 300s but some of those were selling in the $200s at a sale a couple of months ago. Of course, they said they only had so many units at that price. On the upper end (3/2, 1456sf/1549sf), the high price was 744k and 799k, respectively. The prices for those units dropped in Jan. 2008 to the low 600s, and low 700s (below the last stated price of 704,900). Who knows what they are now. I may pay a visit just to resolve my curiosity.
http://financial-cents.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-homes-for-sale-up-to-40-off-in.html
http://www.drhorton.com/corp/GetCommunity.do?dv=Y9&pr=41936
BayQT~
I posted this ludicrously overpriced property in Nov. when it was offered at $1M. Now down to $803,766 and on its fourth realtor. My guess is this is the price they “need” to break even with commission after helocing all the equity out already. It’ll never sell at that price. The only buyer would be a spec builder now. With 800K in the lot they’d have to end up with a 2M house to make any money and there ain’t any market for those east of WR Lake.
http://cbdfw.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=11004480&PRM_MlsName=NTREIS&VAR_AgentCode=0305112&VAR_OfficeCode=94200504
Okay, TX. I am not going to argue with you on Texas. You know that area better than I. However, I can’t imagine that home, which looks like something outta the Brady Bunch should go for more than 200K. Please tell me it should be less. Okay, maybe 300K, if the ‘hood is that nice!
800K+ is just ridiculous. Considering it is Texas, what are the taxes on that sucker at 800K? That has got to hurt!
Yeah…200k for the house.. being generous.
View of visible water in Tx..priceless:)
My rule of thumb estimate for Texas residential property taxes is 3% of the value. Texas has no state income tax so they need to raise revenue somewhere.
Did a little Data Mining for you on this one Chick…I will email you the info…
What’s really telling is that there is only one photo of the house and eight photos of everything but the house. I was looking at the photos and wondering where the house was until I saw and. Looked like a $50K fixer-upper.
It’s a teardown. They’re trying to sell it to a spec builder for the lakeview lot. 3 years ago they would have gotten that price.
All last summer it was a FSBO with a sign out front that said, “make an offer.” I wrote $”150K” on a piece of paper and put it in the box with my phone number.
They never called me
400 K make-up job in Davis. Don’t they know everyone Zillows and this just looks hokey in today’s market.
House:
Incredible house , new paint, tile, carpet, custom details. Finish garage, etc,etc, to much to list
Sale History
09/26/2007: $594,500
List Price: $995,000
List Date: 04/01/08
News from Manhattan. Two friends, both using agents from Corcoran. First pal is being divorced, husband is in Greece with girlfriend, so she is left to sell the apt. and divide the spoils. Great apt. in good co-op, two bed with big office, huge kitchen. Told me she had 4 agents look at the place, the price they suggested was all the same ballpark. Gloomy though, the price ” is not what I thought I would get”. Hers is easily a 1.5-2mil place, circa 2005-6. Now, 980k.
Second friend, the doctor with the 1/0 mortgage, cash buyer fell thru on advice from buyer’s accountant. I bed priced 595k–cheap by Manhattan standards…not moving. Agent says 1 beds not moving…even when they’re “priced well”. Whatever that means.
Her mortgage is 360k, so she has equity in the place. Emailed me that she plans to rent it out if it doesn’t sell soon. Will sell again in 2 years. Does not have time to read HBB or CR. Plans to talk “to people” to keep in touch with market. Well,ok then.
Wishfull thinking beats financial reality again.
If they’re not moving, they’re not priced well. THE END.
The rest is just realtor BS.
$595K is not “modest” by NYC standards. A nice one bedroom in a nice neighborhood in Manhattan rents for $3K-ish.
You do the ITIM (interest, taxes, insurance, mortgage) calculation on that $600K sucker, and tell me that they even compare, and don’t get me started on the amount of ARM debt that the “co-op” corporations have loaded up on.
The price needs to be slashed. It’ll never move otherwise.
595k for a 1 bed on UWS..yeah, cheap compared to dumps on the lower east side going to 800k a year or two ago. Seriously,that’s a real kicker from what folks think their place is worth. And that’s what interests me. If the market is slow, or dead, it means prices are about to really slide. When places are marked down,and don’t move, the market is waiting to tip. A lot of the buyers for 1-beds are junior analysts, young traders, etc. who are being laid off in Wall Street’s stealth reductions.
This was how the market in Manhattan froze up in 91, 92, when you couldn’t unload a studio or 1 bed coop for love or money…and couldn’t rent it for enough to cover your costs. NYTimes had tons of articles in the RE section on coping strategies for stuck owners. I suspect we are heading slowly back in that direction.
BINGO. There is no real market for 1-bdrms really. Even 2-bdrms when you get right down to it.
The junior analysts, childless couples, etc. were just speculating.
If ii ever get enough money my preference is a 1 bdrm old supers apartment on the ground floor with a back yard….you know apartment 1A
who cares if the pluming fixtures or carpet is 30 years old as long as its cheap.
It’s not different in Manhattan. Everybody thinks it is, but it’s not. Please don’t tell my co-workers on me. The crash works from the outside to the inside, from rural to urban.
SACRAMENTO
Asking: $44,900
04/09/2008: $89,250
03/29/2004: $160,000
08/29/2003: $105,000
Asking: $49,900
05/30/2007: $170,000
Asking: $50K
06/05/2003: $137,000
Asking: $59K
10/31/2005: $274,000
and on and on…
City of Madison takes over Lake Point Condominiums
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/286837 a revitalized area.
The developers struggled in a slumping housing market in which potential buyers couldn’t get loans for purchases…
Hmmm…maybe lower the price??
Depending on sale prices, the CDA [Community Development Authority] would have between 10 and 37 months to sell remaining units before losing money, the analysis shows.
If Madison takes the project over quickly, it will have to pay over 2 million in liabilities. If Madison allows the foreclosure to occur, those liens will be wiped out. I have mixed feelings about this - the contractors should get paid but not with my tax money, but I’m sure the City of Madison will make sure everyone gets paid and the developer gets off free.
In Calgary & Edmonton — a million population each — inventory has risen to 15,736 properties (in Calgary) and 14,885 (in Edmonton).
Someone on the Alberta Bubble blog posted a link to this listing on the MLS:
http://tinyurl.com/4oprss
A dollar to buy the house, 10,000 cash back from the vendor to assume the mortgage — $277,000 at 5.78% closed until JULY 1, 2012, principle and interest $1740 a month. Apparently it’s in a lousy area.
Tiny hairline fractures are beginning to appear in the dam…
One quick addition to the ‘buy my apartment for a dollar and I’ll give you ten grand’ MLS listing in Edmonton:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/55ta3k
A quick scan of the area in the MLS shows that 277,000 will buy you a 2 story 3 bed 3 bath house, just around the corner.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6cfxw7
All this without resetting ARMS, interest only mortgages or teaser rates…
DC Metro continues it’s slow slow slow price declines. In the range most 3-1.5s are in — 350K to 650K for a SFH, but add 100K if in most of NW DC or Arlington VA or add 250K if in Chevy Chase DC or MD — only 5K gets knocked off say every 3 months. It’s no suprise that MD and DC led the nation in sales declines durign the first quarter.
Other metro HBBers feel free to chime in, but I would say that we are off only 15% from peak at most (well, perhaps 20-25 off in some parts of PG county, Manassas, or Ashburn) and there is a long hard adjustment still waiting in the wings. In may ways, the older folks near or in retirement selling their houses are the worst about prices. They want top dollar for something that hasn’t been renovated in 7 or more years, and of course they can’t believe that their house they bought 20 years is worth less than its current assessed value. Sorry… it’s not my job to fund an upgrade to your retirement.
The only friend I had working in the mortgage industry has now left… he got tired of sitting around with no calls and everyone one else in the office was let go, so he had no one to talk to.
It is more than 15% in the new condo buildings, but who wants to buy into a building where a substantial number of your neighbors are likely to stop paying their maintenance fees any second now.
There is a lot of money in DC. We are going to have to see a real serious credit crunch (much more than now) before the prices come down.
Patience isn’t just a virtue, it is money in the bank.
LOWELL — When Tanya Hirschfeld’s mom gave her the Princeton Boulevard home she’d lived in for 47 years, Hirschfeld got a loan in June 2006 to do some renovating.
The California-based loan company valued her home at $310,000 and she took out a mortgage for $254,000.
But then her company reduced Hirschfeld to part-time hours. And with her elderly mother and aunt still living in the house, she quickly fell deeper into debt.
“All of a sudden I found myself one month behind, two months behind,” she said.
When Hirschfeld applied for a reverse mortgage, the lender valued the home at $196,000.
———–
That’s a lot of renovating!
http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_9293408
Tanya is so full of it that she’s blind. The closing costs on the mortgages she’s hit the home with are probably over 10% of her original mortgage amounts.
May 2, 2000: $113,500 (Discharged November 2004)
July 12, 2000: $37,000 (Discharged April 2004)
March 15, 2004: $177,000 (Discharged Discharged November 2004)
March 23, 2005: $228,000 (Discharged Discharged July 2006)
March 28, 2006: $255,000 (Delinquent w/Order of Foreclosure)
In 2002, a judgement was obtained against Tanya on the order of $6700, and as is normal, was attached to the home. In July 2002, the home was homesteaded, which is important as the 2002 debt was discharged May 22, 2003 under….Chapter 7.
I’ve checked my dates, and if you look carefully, it looks like either (a) there is an error in the land records and the March 15, 2004 mortgage was never discharged, as this mortgage shares the same discharge notice as the May 2, 2000 mortgage; or (b) at one point Tanya had no debt on the house.
It gets worse: as mentioned in the article, her mother gave her the house. Property records indicate two interesting facts: the gift was indeed a gift: the consideration paid was $0.00 (there are no digits missing from that figure); and her mother had no debts on the house. How does a borrower go from having no debt to Chapter 7 while pulling out over $150,000 in cash from the house in 2-3 years? And how does that person keep getting financing?
Tanya is not an individual worthy of sympathy, she is deserving of shame. She has no reasonable right to keep the house after her loss of her mother’s home of 47 years just as a trust fund kid has a right to recovering millions of dollars spent on a coke binge while at Harvard.
BC - nice research. I love to see this sort of detective work, revealing all the important facts that are not reported by … reporters.
ATLANTA:
Rumor as it that one of the larger local builders of McMansions will be filing BK very soon.
Seeing some good (i.e. pre-bubble, affordable) prices for foreclosed houses sold at auction. The problem with trying to buy one of these houses are the auction terms–there is no financing contingency in most of the aution sales, so unless you can pay cash, you will be F’d if your financing that you had lined up falls apart–which could easily happen since the lending rules are changing daily. So only the already wealthy can safely take advantage of these deals.
Kid Clu,
That’s exactly right - auction sales are not “subject to finance” - they are absolute sales, completion usually required in 30 days (at least in Australia).
However, if you obtain a finance “pre-approval”, with your financier being made well aware that you intend to bid at various auctions for residential property up to the pre-approved limit, then you can also enjoy the spoils.
This does require a good relationship with your financier, though!
Nice to see that the town I live in has its priorities straight…
Group seeks synthetic field for Maynard
By Meghan B. Kelly
Wed May 14, 2008, 01:10 PM EDT
Maynard - A group of residents, mostly representing youth sports, has submitted an article at Town Meeting to install artificial turf at Alumni Field and irrigate other fields at the schools.
Article 21 is asking for a $1 million Proposition 21/2 override, with the bulk of the money, $708,000, to be spent on installation of synthetic turf, said Selectman Tim Lawton, an instrumental part of the effort.
The rest of the money would provide irrigation for the fields at Green Meadow, Fowler Middle School and Alumni, replace the football goal posts at Alumni and replace the track surface at Alumni.
Lawton said irrigation is desperately needed because the fields are used seven days a week, especially in the fall. He said the group began discussing a plan back in August, when the school department was under fire for the lack of watering at Alumni.
Continued at link
Artifical turf on a high school field. “Desparately needed.” LMAO. Only in Maynard, jewel in the crown that is Taxachusetts…
Kind of OT: My little town has a cool Art Deco Amtrak station that’s been closed for years (if you set your luggage by the tracks and wave, they might stop for you).
I’ve been watching the trains for the past 8 months, as I cross the tracks to get to the backcountry. Lately, the passenger trains are probably a good 30% to 50% longer, which means more people riding the rails.
Have friends visiting, consummate travelers,from the midwest, I mean that’s all they do is travel (retired). They’re telling me this is their last trip for a good long while, as gas is just too expensive. They pull a tiny little trailer and he has a great retirement, and he says they’re hurting. They like the trains, do a lot of train riding, so they may continue with that.
He then tells me if he had the money he’d move to my little town and start a tourism business. I point out the inconsistency of high gas and high tourism - they don’t work well together - he says it’s just really difficult to process this new world order and forget the old. I agree. Haven’t eaten out here for ages, we had dinner, couldn’t believe the menu prices, up a good 30%.
I was wandering around downtown Phoenix last night and passed the sales office for 44 Monroe, a new luxury (is there any other kind?) condo tower set to open this fall. Apparently things are a little slow right now, because there’s a Special Sale! going on. A 900 sf one bedroom condo with a “list price” (whatever that means) of $540,000 is now available for $418,000, and a two bedroom 1400 sf condo formerly listed at $980 is now available for around $790. Better hurry–these deals won’t last.
Hey all, longtime lurker but only occasional poster (and comments are usually snarky at best). Figured I’d share my story from yesterday given it is related to the Tucson housing market.
Was out yesterday afternoon driving home after getting a haircut and passed a few open houses - one was in a neighborhood we like (Wilshire Heights - close to center of town) and she asked if we could stop - I left it up to her so of course we did. She is not a housing bear and has wanted to buy for the last few years but thanks to you guys I’ve successfully fought her off and can now point out the fact that we’d be in the red if I’d bought when she wanted to.
Anyway I got a call from work right when we parked outside the house and was on the phone for about 15 minutes…finally we walked inside. Two realtors & the two homeowners were inside and immediately commented on how they weren’t sure if we were ever coming in - I can just imagine them standing at the window salivating at the sight of some potential customers. They were all very friendly and one of the first things out of the homeowners mouth was that his buddy the realtor better sell his place TODAY. Suuuuure.
We get in, 1950s brick house, listed for 340K, almost no updates. Green tile w/ cracks in the kitchen, a brown ceramic stove that has got to be twice as old as I am, a bathroom where you have to hurdle the toilet just to get to the shower, and bedrooms you’d be lucky to fit a standard king in. No carport/garage, it had been converted to another room (to get the extra sq feet in, I’m sure). Only noticeable update was that the mexican tile had been resealed & they claimed to have replaced the roof 7-8 years ago. Stain on the wood didn’t match between rooms so who knows what kind of job was done.
After a little while the homeowner took over in showing us around and was showing us the backyard. Was very unusual because he was really proud of this one cactus that apparently only blooms at night. Looking at the cactus half of it was dead and it was old and unusually shaped and looked as if somebody had puked a cactus in his backyard. OK so maybe I’m a cactus snob; I’ve lived in Tucson almost 30 years.
So finally we’d seen the old house and they were obviously bored so we started chatting. The homeowner had purchased a new house in Silver City, New Mexico and was looking to move there, so he was floating two mortgages. As we left they asked us to sign in and although I was not keen on it my wife did anyway —- and we were the first on the list. A central location immediately off a major intersection in a nice neighborhood in the afternoon, and no visitors for 12 hours…. I never thought I’d see the day. This poor fellow is going to be floating two mortgages for a while.
One last note — I could see paying 250-260 for this place listed at 340, but no idea how I’d even approach making an offer like that. Any lowballers out there with some advice for a newbie? How can you sleep at night? (on a big pile of money with many beautiful ladies, I’m sure)
Here are a couple observations:
6422 W PARADISE LN
GLENDALE, AZ 85306
04/18/2008 STRICKLAND, L C & CONSTANCE H $189,000
05/01/2006 SYAL, LUCY $259,900
04/25/2003 GEORGIS, ATOOR R $147,500
02/25/2002 PECTOL, BENJAMIN G & JIMMIE L $137,000
15001 N 64TH AVE
GLENDALE, AZ 85306
04/08/2008 JIBEAULT, DAVID A $180,000
06/10/2005 MILLER, JOSHUA L & APRIL D $205,000
6409 W PARADISE LN
GLENDALE, AZ 85306
04/08/2008 NEESE, KYLE $180,000
02/09/2006 ROMERO, HUGO $246,500
15802 N 137TH AVE
SURPRISE, AZ 85374
04/18/2008 SANDERS, MARILYN L $165,000
08/08/2006 STENGEL, KAREN $278,000
08/18/2005 STENGEL, MICHELE L $248,000
07/12/2002 VORIS, BRUCE $129,900
11404 W ASHLEY CHANTIL DR
SURPRISE, AZ 85374
04/18/2008 MYERS, NICHOLAS C $186,900
11/14/2005 MULASMAJIC, SONNY $309,710
15129 W STATLER ST
SURPRISE, AZ 85374
04/14/2008 VIGEN, VIRGIL $165,000
06/27/2005 LAMAS, PAUL C & SHANNON I $201,160
what is your point?