I had to laugh out loud when I saw this new listing in Warrenton. First of all, the price was -- ambitious at $470K for a bank-owned in White's Mill in Warrenton. There currently are no less than twelve resales there (I think that's a new record), and four are priced lower than $470K. But I digress. Here's where the real humor lies, as I cut and paste the listing comments:
"Description:I should also mention that Pulte (the developer) gave up towards the end and also is selling three empty lots for about 120K. So buyers, take your pick. But whatever you do, "don't be late".
This bank owned property presents a great opportunity own this specious, bright and gorgeous house at unbelievable price. Gourmet kitchen, granite counters, upgraded appliances. Specious and bright florida room has ceramic tiles and full windows. Basement is framed and electric has been done. Deposit em with la. Call la for bank addendum. Don't be late!"
17 comments:
That is just too funny. FWIW, it sounds like a nice home...no pix unfortunately, but still...I could not imagine living in BF-Warrenton (no disrepect to LoCo readers) and making my commute to Crystal City. You'd be reading about me in the Post in less than a week.
I can never understand the typos and misuses of words in the MLS listings, and they are all over the place. If the agent can't be bothered to put in the additional 15 minutes to do something as easy as proofread (or ask a colleague to do so), how much HARD work is s/he going to do to sell your house?
spe·cious
Pronunciation: \ˈspē-shəs\
Function: adjective
having deceptive attraction or allure
Just as Ive said, lots are worth ~50k out there in PWC and Loudoun, so SFH's will drop down to the ~200k range before this is over.
If you look at the cost of new homes out there, people were paying 400k+ for a 1/4 acre lot back in the boom! Thats the only way you can justify 650k for a shoddily built track home.
Compare that to 500k in North Arlington for the same size lot - you can see why PWC has a LOT further to fall.
The errors are noticeable as is the lack of information on many listings. I have been browsing homes listed by the Houston Association of Realtors. Take a look at some of these yourself.....you'll find it refreshing to find multiple photographs of most houses (proper photographs, not snapshots) and very detailed information on such things as taxes. It seems that the realtors in Houston are actually making an effort to sell homes. That's probably because they didn't experience the bubble in the same way we did in NoVa......they didn't have people camping out overnight to bid on homes which allowed so many of our local "professionals" to be lazy.
/No offense to FranklyMLS......I think his site is a great step forward for NoVa.
//Edison: I think Warrenton is in Fauquier County, not Loudoun County.
doug - the fault in your logic is in thinking that lot prices in outlying can and will fall but that lot prices in close-in areas can't and won't.
John,
Nah, that's what's "specious" about his argument.
John,
I never said that - please argue what I SAID, not what you THINK I believe.
Unbelievable what people resort to when they are arguing.
I NEVER said prices of lots in Arlington wouldent fall, I said that the ones further out in PWC would fall a LOT more.
Learn to read or dont reply to my posts any longer.
Cara, why dont you back up your insults with a concrete argument? Or is an intelligent reply be too much to ask from you?
Seems that way.
That was levity Doug. A comedic tie in to the original post.
Geez.
Doug
Reasoned discussion. Okay. The first two paragraphs I agree with whole-heartedly:
"Just as Ive said, lots are worth ~50k out there in PWC and Loudoun, so SFH's will drop down to the ~200k range before this is over.
If you look at the cost of new homes out there, people were paying 400k+ for a 1/4 acre lot back in the boom! Thats the only way you can justify 650k for a shoddily built track home. "
Yup. I had that exact same reaction when I first moved to the D.C. area and was walking around a tract of 1950's post-war housing and reading the fliers, going, what? 500k for what?? Oh! The house is only assessed at $80k, that makes much more sense, the land underneath it is supposedly worth $420k (comparable to the total cost of construction of a nice new house...) My head hurts!!!
The third paragraph:
"Compare that to 500k in North Arlington for the same size lot - you can see why PWC has a LOT further to fall."
was unclear to me. It seems to imply that the 500k lot price in N. Arlington is part of what's driving down the prices in PWC. Based on your response to John F. I'm guessing the "why PWC has a lot further to fall" was actually the culmination of all 3 paragraphs not just the phrase directly preceding it. But I'm still not sure what exactly you were trying to say.
Hence, rather than respond to what I couldn't decide how to interpret, I made a joke. Given that this post was originally about making fun of a realtor, I felt that was appropriate.
So care to flesh out what it was you were trying to say in the third paragraph?
doug, what are lots in north arlington worth (a range will do)? i'm just curious how much you expect lot prices to fall from present levels (similar to how much you expected prices to fall in outlying areas).
Well, let's be sensible here. A lot in N. Arlington is worth many times what a lot in PWC or LoCo. That won't change. The same factors protecting home values in N. Arlington (proximity to Metrorail, attractive neighborhoods, low crime, excellent schools, closeness to DC, escape from the metro area's perpetual traffic nightmares and sky-high gas prices) ensure buyers will pay a hefty premium for land as well.
Interestingly, in my limited data mining, neighborhood premiums (as a percentage) stayed flat as prices increased (e.g. neighborhood A that was price at 80% of neighborhood B in 1998 for an otherwise equivalent house was priced at that percentage in 2007).
On the way down, the traditionally lower-priced neighborhood could fall faster, increasing the price premium for traditionally more expensive neighborhoods. The question is: when all is said and done, will these premiums still be "priced in", or will they increase?
My gut tells me that there might be some that increase their premium, but ultimately, most places will eventually fall back to their relative levels.
//Edison: I think Warrenton is in Fauquier County, not Loudoun County.
Still, you have to admit that LoCo has more of a ring to it than does FaCo, which sounds vaguely obscene.
as usual, doug maintains his reputation as a hit and run artist (the "hit" being when he makes unsubstantiated claims and the "run" being when he fails to back them up when challenged). this happens over and over again with this poster.
I agree with Doug. There are very compelling reasons why Arlington County real estate won't fall as much as outlying areas. Number one is that it is close to most of the major employers - and offers excellent transportation options for its residents. Arlington has more metro stations and more bike paths than any of its nearby jurisdictions. It also offers a low crime rate. And its a great place to live.
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