Articles for December 19th, 2007
My Love Affair
With a house, of course. There have been so many, (sigh). But this one — this is someone else’s affair and it brings back sweet memories of youth. I think those strong, handsome twirly trees are part of the appeal.
Where I Meet Realtors - Neiman Marcus
Ellen Terry, Lynda Adleta, Eleanor Mowry Sheets… I run into all these fine ladies at Neimans. Saw Ellen and Lynda last night in the couture department — I was just passing through, of course — but where else would you run into the city’s top agents? CONSISTENTLY?
Calling All Suckers
Whoever pays $28,000,000 for this home..… please call me. I’ve got some great investments to tell you about — really I do.
How Some Home Prices Get Distorted
Great story in the Wall Street Journal today about how discounts and hidden incentives given to entice new home or townhome buyers aren’t usually reflected in the sales price, which means the price on record isn’t how much the home cost/is worth. At my townhome, I got a 5 percent discount through a friend at Centex that brought my purchase price down, and received some free appliances that of course weren’t reflected in the sales price, so the home’s “true value” may have been off a bit. That said, I also had a serious offer six months later for 20 percent more than I paid, so I don’t think I got bad deal. I thought the property was undervalued then, and I still do.
Who Is To Blame For Overpriced Homes? You.
So says Roboblogger Jeff Duffey, who apparently doesn’t sleep, as this was posted after 4 a.m. this morning. His point is that the market sets the price, but too many stubborn sellers refuse to listen, demanding their agents get them a certain amount for the home so they can “make X dollars” on the sale. I have some experience in this. When I sold my house earlier this year, I wanted to price it 10 percent less than I did. (Again, I have a sixth sense about acceptable sales prices. Trust me.) I let my agent (a great agent, btw) talk me into trusting the comps for the neighborhood, which seemed over-priced to me and perhaps skewed by some new construction. The home sat for four months. The day I dropped it 10 percent, I got a full-price offer from a couple that had toured it weeks earlier. If I’d trusted my market sense at first, I wouldn’t have made nearly six months of mortgage payments on it while living in my new place. (Still hurty in my pocketbook.)
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