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Local real estate update
Mar. 14th, 2008 11:00 pmIt seems that generally asking prices for houses are down about 10-15% from a couple years ago in areas like Santa Clara. In certain neighborhoods of San Jose (downtown, burbank, and east) more like 20-30% down from the high point.
Two years ago there were only a small handful of fixer-uppers under $500K. Now there are more than 100 homes under $400K and apparently not all of them are in bad shape. Some duplexes less than $450K (instead of $600K) even. Santa Clara houses asking prices still only go down to $450K and that only for tiny ones on tiny lots.
I did wander in to a couple of open houses lately though, and the $349K listed one in Burbank area was pretty severe. The floor plan and the real wood floors were nice, but it would need massive renovations to be at all livable. First the entire bathroom needs replacing, then the walls all need serious cleaning and refinishing. Realtor was babbling on about how she was afraid to even drink water in there, which I think was extreme. She said it was owned by an old guy who was mostly blind and got tired of life so he got all his papers in order and shot himself to death on his couch. I can see how if the place is structurally sound it could clean up nicely, but there are cracks in the ceiling that should be inspected. Doesn't matter, I definitely don't have the time or inclination to take on something with that much work required before I could move in.
So one agent was claiming it will all pick up again when the Fed cuts the rates again next week, but I doubt it'll be that big a turn-around. I wonder if we'll get to there being any houses that aren't postage stamps, in Santa Clara that are closer to or under $400k? Or nice ones in the high foreclosure areas that are $350K or less?
What a mortgage that's comparable to renting a place not 3 times more? Wacky wacky idea!
When I posted this on patrick.net last summer it seemed like much more of a long shot than it does now.
Two years ago there were only a small handful of fixer-uppers under $500K. Now there are more than 100 homes under $400K and apparently not all of them are in bad shape. Some duplexes less than $450K (instead of $600K) even. Santa Clara houses asking prices still only go down to $450K and that only for tiny ones on tiny lots.
I did wander in to a couple of open houses lately though, and the $349K listed one in Burbank area was pretty severe. The floor plan and the real wood floors were nice, but it would need massive renovations to be at all livable. First the entire bathroom needs replacing, then the walls all need serious cleaning and refinishing. Realtor was babbling on about how she was afraid to even drink water in there, which I think was extreme. She said it was owned by an old guy who was mostly blind and got tired of life so he got all his papers in order and shot himself to death on his couch. I can see how if the place is structurally sound it could clean up nicely, but there are cracks in the ceiling that should be inspected. Doesn't matter, I definitely don't have the time or inclination to take on something with that much work required before I could move in.
So one agent was claiming it will all pick up again when the Fed cuts the rates again next week, but I doubt it'll be that big a turn-around. I wonder if we'll get to there being any houses that aren't postage stamps, in Santa Clara that are closer to or under $400k? Or nice ones in the high foreclosure areas that are $350K or less?
What a mortgage that's comparable to renting a place not 3 times more? Wacky wacky idea!
When I posted this on patrick.net last summer it seemed like much more of a long shot than it does now.
Buyer 574 Seeking 2/1 for $400,000 5% down Posted 2007-06-25 16:59:17 Wants to buy in Santa Clara, CA |
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