Comments on: This is how we’re tracking home prices

By: real estate

real estate — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:09:43 +0000

According to OFHEO, prices are down only 2.6% from August 2005. The S&P/Case-Shiller index puts the decline at 17.0% while the median asking price implies a 29.7% logarithmic decline in San Diego.

By: Trees Full of Money

Trees Full of Money — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:27:56 +0000

“I think if we bought now, it would be like trying to catch a falling knife!”

I love this! One of the best colloquialisms I’ve heard yet to describe the current mortgage fiasco!

My wife and I used a similar tracking method 3 years ago when we were looking at purchasing a home!

Unfortunatley, at the time, prices were still going UP so we were more interested in spotting a good value rather than trying to pick one up at a rock bottom price.

In the end we decided to build our own home (hiring a contractor) by that time the new construction market had started to die off and we got a favorable deal (even by today’s standards) on a custom home.

Good luck with your future home purchase, I hope that you get a “might bargin”! HA!

Ben

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:57:18 +0000

You have really gone all out to find the best deal. I have always been a shoot from the hip type of guy and jump on whatever seems like a good deal at the time, do I always get a good deal, probably not, but I think it saves me a lot of time from searching and when you run your own business, time costs a lot.

By: Armen Shirvanian

Armen Shirvanian — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:02:05 +0000

This post describes an appropriate plan-of-attack. There was some uncertainty about the current housing market, so you have begun a procedure that will give you a much clearer idea of the direction of home prices in your area of interest. Pro-activity similar to this yields results that are of high value.

By: BizBlogged1

BizBlogged1 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:34:05 +0000

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is at record levels, financing with adjustable-rate mortgages is near the all-time low as is financing with multiple mortgages.

By: Caleb

Caleb — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:21:40 +0000

My aunt runs a lot of real estate business down in FL. She says the best thing about it, is that it is more fun for her clients when they get involved. Plus, clients really get what they want when they become as active as you seem to be. I know you guys will get what you are looking for. You are doing more than probably 90% of people out there.

By: John

John — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:12:51 +0000

I was in the same situation a few months back. While we both wanted to buy a new home, her schedule was faster than mine. We had the added pressure of having our 3rd child on the way, living in a 2 bedroom condo. I kept saying we should wait, but you know how it goes. We bought early summer, and paid about 40% less than the peak. So while we got a good “deal” at the time, I’m sure it’s worth at least $50k less now. The mortgage is not a problem, but it’s hard to deal with the dropping value. Same goes for the condo which we still own. I know it wasn’t the best financial decision, but not doing so would have been a bad decision for our marriage. What are you going to do…

By: Helper

Helper — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:47:23 +0000

Another good metric to track is discount from (or premium on) assessed value. You can take a home’s sold price, and calculate how far above or below the auditor’s assessment, as a percentage of the assessed price, the sale was done. That makes it easier to account for amenities beyond square footage.