Please post your local house search updates, MLS finds, on-topic ideas, and links here.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Northern Virginia Real Estate Statistics
REAL ESTATE SEARCH
County Assessment Websites
Buy/Sell Without an Agent
Local Real Estate Agents
Housing Economics Blogs
Local Interest
Housing Bubble Links
Eastern Regional Blogs
Western Regional Blogs
- Bakersfield Bubble
- Bay Area Real Estate Blog
- BubbleInfo (N. San Diego)
- Burbed (San Francisco)
- Dr. Housing Bubble (SoCal)
- Patrick.net (San Francisco)
- Portland Housing Blog
- Professor Piggington's Econo-Almanac
- Rancid Truth (Orange County)
- Sacramento Land(ing)
- Seattle Bubble
- SoCal Real Estate Bubble Blog
- Socket Site (San Francisco)
Real Estate Blogs
REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS
15 comments:
This listing has a few problems: Condo at the Byron
Asking: $1,129,700.
2010 Assessment: $670,900
Remarks say "Low Condo fee inc. Gas/Heating, water sewer". Anyone think $952/month is low?
One more problem: you can buy this place for about the same price. The back yard borders the Byron property line.
The condo looks very nice, but not sure how they're gonna get $1.129M for it.
It's not only the high end of the market.
Check out Falls Church
Maybe it's just my personal taste, but I don't think that oak trim and granite countertops are worth almost a doubling over assessment.
OK, this board is pretty slow on weekends, which are my only free time to spend on stuff like this, so here I am. Since I have the time today I want to bring up a subject that is bugging me.
Just what IS it about granite countertops?
Years ago, when I first saw them in top end houses owned by rich people I thought they were kinda cool. However, talking over the years to owners of granite countertops, I know about the disadvantages: weight-bearing load is problematic for insufficiently designed and reinforced counter bracing, requirements to reseal annually, they stain more easily than many other surfaces, and if you are accident-prone (like me) accidental bumps and drops can crack the counter.
That's not what bothers me. What bothers me is the proliferation of granite everywhere and the automatic article of faith that that spending a few grand on granite countertops equates to a 300% or more Return On Investment. Seriously? .Aside from realtor bombast, has anyone proved it by running the numbers? I think that granite belongs in McMansions (granite, walk-in closets and crown moulding are de rigeur for a McMansion) and in fancy condos and designered-to-death city brownstones and whatnot. But heck, not only does granite automatically show up in every flip (somebody on the board called them the Granite Mafia) but granite countertops are now considered a selling point even in mobile homes trailers. seriously
So, I'm asking. What IS it about granite countertops?
Well, c, I think it comes down to a matter of personal taste, like flat screen TVs. Some people gotta have 'em, others would rather spend the same money on going to Redskins games, etc.
However, granite does NOT require the kind of care your friends said, unless they are using their countertops as cutting boards. I had them for 8 years in the 2nd house, never resealed them, and they looked perfect. People always ran their fingers over them (they do this with marble too, but marble is fragile. Never had a stain. You can also put hot pots directly on them, though I don't do this.
I've had them nearly that long in this house, and ditto on the condition.
For me, in a small kitchen, it makes perfect sense. They don't cost that much in a small space, they look great (some granites are especially beautiful), and they are extremely durable if you simply use but don't abuse them. In a McMansion size kitchen, they are probably de rigeur, but now you are talking about a huge cost.
I've never had concrete countertops but the shortcomings you listed are consistent with those I have heard for them.
novahog-
Yeah there is no way that the house will get $1.1MM. I agree the condo fee definitely is not low, but it is not that high for a 2200 sq.ft. place. Generally for nice buildings condo fees are ~$400 for 1000 sq.ft places so if you scale it up $900 is about what you would expect. Either way I will amazed if this ends up going for that much.
103 Months to Clear Housing Inventory
"103: The number of months it would take to sell off all the foreclosed homes in banks’ possession, plus all the homes likely to end up there over the next couple years, at the current rate of sales.
How much should we worry about a new leg down in the housing market? If the number of foreclosed homes piling up at banks is any indication, there’s ample reason for concern.
As of March, banks had an inventory of about 1.1 million foreclosed homes, up 20% from a year earlier, according to estimates from LPS Applied Analytics. Another 4.8 million mortgage holders were at least 60 days behind on their payments or in the foreclosure process, meaning their homes were well on their way to the inventory pile. That “shadow inventory” was up 30% from a year earlier.
Based on the rate at which banks have been selling those foreclosed homes over the past few months, all that inventory, real and shadow, would take 103 months to unload. That’s nearly nine years. Of course, banks could pick up the pace of sales, but the added supply of distressed homes would weigh heavily on prices — and thus boost their losses."
novahog - 2300 sqft is sure nice for a condo. But, why would anyone not buy a SFH for that price - makes no sense to me.
Spider-
I think it will speed up a little, because BofA wasn't foreclosing many houses. But my guess is that they actually do spend a good 60-70 months getting rid of the inventory. They will just keep a slow trickle for years to come.
This one is almost 2,700 sqft, with 3br/3.5ba, asking $839K: FA7309497
It's at the Broadway (across the street from the Byron).
Here's a 2,400 sqft penthouse at the Broadway, sold in Oct, 2009 for $675K.
Seems like the highest end condos in these buildings are in the $600s now, with the smaller units in the $400s. A long way from $1.1M.
"Spider said...
Based on the rate at which banks have been selling those foreclosed homes over the past few months, all that inventory, real and shadow, would take 103 months to unload.
103 months of inventory? Hmmm. Makes the 11 months of shadow inventory found in the DC area pretty insignificant.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031104866_pf.html
Anon - What I am surprised about from your link is:
The Washington area has a "shadow inventory" of about 67,000 properties that could go into foreclosure this year, an 11-month supply at the current sales rates...That is slightly higher than the national average but far less than the hardest-hit communities, such as Orlando and Miami, where there is two-year backlog."
Our region is higher than average - completely opposite to what many believe. In a way - it make sense given how small correction we have seen here & how much bubble gains we are still holding on to. May be price/rent & price/income will matter sooner than popular belief.
Anon & Spider-
I think the 11 months is referring to the shadow inventory divided by all sales not just distressed sales. The 103 month number is talking about the distressed sales divided by sales rate. So they are definitely not apples to apples comparisons.
Hi, I am considering purchasing a home at auction, however, I don't have the cash/equity to purchase it up front, I've called several lenders and it seems like they are all saying the same thing which is that they need to have an appraisal done, where someone needs to physically go into the property before they can approve the loan. However, since its an auction and even if you are the winning bidder, what the Trustee that I had called told me was that until you close you do not yet have possession (no recorded deed), but since you don't you then can't go into the property, which is the problem because then you can't get access for an appraiser to go in. The property itself is vacant (no tenants) and seems to be winterized (no utilities, which I think needs to be on for an appraisal as well). If this is too risky I might just forget about it since you risk losing your deposit if you can't come up with the funds within 15 days which would be 20k down the drain for nothing, but I was hoping if anyone who has had experience would know any option how this would work (the lenders i called said in the past you used to be able to do "drive by appraisals" but since lending guidelines have tightened up with stricter underwriting, they no longer do that and it seems they all require an appraisal to obtain financing, but then i've read articles and news reports saying that you can get financing but i guess whats coming directly from the lender's own mouths probably hold more weight then what those the articles say)
dyi-
I am pretty sure that you can figure out, which bank currently owns the house and talk to them. In theory they want to unload this house, so they probably would let you in so that you can get an appraisal done by your bank. The only problem is it may be tricky to coordinate talking to both of them and still close in the 15 days you are given. Goodluck.
c, Ace,
If c means accidentally break other things by dropping them when they're only an inch above the counter I can attest to that. And it's just a matter of time before I get the angle wrong pulling something out of the top of the dishwasher or putting something in and catch the lip and break something. But really, true tile floors have this same problem and very few people object to them. (I prefer thick vynl for that reason, warmth and lack of grout to clean, but I'm a wierdo).
Granite has become de rigouer (spell?). It's a fashion, like any other fashion, just longer lasting. Who knew capri pants would stick around this long this time when they only lasted for ~2 years in the 70s? This time around I think people figured out they were a great slightly more formal looking alternative to shorts as opposed to an odd looking alternative to pants. Granite came into wide-spread use just as everyone (a) had plenty of access to HELOC money, and (b) thought the ROI on spending on their homes was 1 to 1 to better.
I don't care for granite because I'm picky, and only actually like the look of very few stones. The typical speckled slab doesn't appeal to me. Plus what drives me nuts about them is not being able to see when it's dirty. On my counter, coffee grounds, chocolate, flour, bread crumbs, even grease spots are all completely invisible. They blend right in with the existing colors and sheen. My friend had a grey speckled one and this was still true. Sure you clean your counter. But I literally have to wait til it's dry and run my bare hand over the whole thing to see if it worked.
But you hate to tear out something you know was costly and does function fine and replace it with something you do like. Especially when you "know" that doing so can only reduce your eventual sales price.
Oh, and resealing them? Is not any more difficult than windexing a window. Other than taking all your stuff off the counter to do it. The sealant spray I think cost like $13. (though that's a hazy remembrance). One could easily do it every year if one wanted to, my home inspector reccommended (a) we do it before moving in which we did, and (b) we do it every six months.
One thing to look out for? They can be a radiation source. Not that I actually invested in getting someone with a pancake meter out to the house before I bought it but it is something to consider. The granite steps outside my work when I was in college registered easily...
CBS Early Show
Of course those steps were pink.
Post a Comment