Shockingly Low RE Price!

[Zoocat]

Here's a 3/2 house built in 2005 in Longmont, CO about 20 min N of Boulder , bank owned, selling for $112,900! When I saw this I thought it has to be a mistake! This is incredible.
Listing Detail

Zillow says it last sold 2/2008 for $133,620. Other similar houses in the neighborhood sold at $144-$154K. Maybe this one is trashed. Probably.

I started looking closely at more listings and, all I can say, is holy sh*t! There are a ton of foreclosures in Longmont. I wonder how low prices will fall?

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

what is shocking is how quickly it foreclosed. zillow shows last sale was just on 2/21/08 for $133,650 (zillow est. $155k). i hope that so-called sale is just the bank taking back the property (can not find through county appraiser to confirm). either that or they certainly didn't do much to qualify the last owner who only held on to the property for a few months.

area looks pretty rural. city-data shows less than 3500 units in zip code (2000 census). the medium home price in 2005 was just over $400k so i guess this subdivision must be on the wrong side of the covered-wagon trail.

now if you want really shockingly low prices, come shop in south florida. or if you just want to see where the rest of the country is headed with their prices, again, come shop here. florida: we lead the way up. we are leading the way down.

in case of emergency, ladies and children first. follow me, your captain.

 

[socca]

house is tiny, lot is tiny, garage is tiny, out in the boonies, entire subdivision is probably filled with exactly the same model - may be priced about right. I'm glad I'm not the new owner.

 

[NW-Bound]

house is tiny, lot is tiny, garage is tiny, out in the boonies, entire subdivision is probably filled with exactly the same model -

Come on man, the price is also tiny. It may make a good retirement home for some.

 

[RockOn]

IMO a 1060 sq ft two story house with no basement should be worth about $112k right now. It never should have been $150k. Even in Colorado.

I live in a different area in Colorado where a house in our neighborhood that sold for $1.2M three years ago was recently sold by a bank for $800K. There's another that sold for $930 which is now being offered by a bank for $675. It hasn't sold. According to the media prices are only down about 10-15%. There is a harsh reality if you have to sell.

Your comment...."I wonder how low prices will fall?" ......I think a lot of people (and not just in Colorado) are kidding themselves on what the "bid price" for houses really is. There is a reason banks are in trouble and the ABX indexes make fresh new lows every month. The market price is not the asking price, it's the bid price. Those prices are not as easy to find. There are few bidders in the market right now.

It would be a good time to buy, I'd offer 30% to 40% under the last reduced asking price. Someone would take it.

 

[Zoocat]

You're right that it probably isn't worth more than that price. I haven't been following the price reductions except in a general way, so my "shock" was in response to the difference between prices last year and now. Yes, this house is in the "boonies"in the sense that there's a lot of open space around there. Longmont was really overbuilt. But it's not that far and people regularly commute from there to Denver. At least they have done so in the past.

Some odd things are happening in my neighborhood. Two people who have really nice expensive townhomes have said they are selling but there's no signs out front and they are not listed on MLS. They did have signs out briefly but then not. The owners have told neighbors they are selling and I know the places have not sold yet.
What do you suppose is the deal? I have read that some foreclosures are not being listed on MLS. Why not, I wonder?

 

[socca]

Come on man, the price is also tiny. It may make a good retirement home for some.

I never said it wasn't a desirable home for the right type of buyer. When I lived in Chicago, I owned a fixer-upper house undesirable to the majority of buyers (one bathroom, 900 sq. feet, etc.), but did quite well with it.

 

[CitricAcid]

Buying a house has to be fun with all of these asking above bid prices, simply because the bid is so out of whack with the asking prices that the seller and buyer can never really find out what the house is actually worth. If I were buying a house and had multiple options, I could just go around spouting out bids 30-40% below asking. Maybe they will reject (as expected, because they are asking a price to keep up their irrationalities on the true price), but after a while one will have to realize that the price they will get is far below the asking. Great way to bring somebody down if you really want to buy.

 

[al_bundy]

i have family in Ft. Collins and have looked at RE in the area

buying a house is like buying a car, no one wants last year's model. there is so much free land that once you buy a home someone will build one with more amenities next year.

and a lot of prices were too high for the median income of the area

 

[Westernskies]

I am working with a Realtor, looking at homes on the Olympic Peninsula in WA. She lamented that most buyers are only trying to "punish" the sellers right now. Interesting perspective from someone who was happy to help those same sellers "punish" buyers just a few short years ago.

We are looking at homes that have been discounted 150-300K from the sellers original starting point- and we think they are still 150-200K high. Most of the really overpriced properties we have looked at have only been owned a few years, but have already been on the market a while. To the best of my knowledge, none of them are short sale, bank owned, or open distress sales. Probaby just people who thought they were going to make a killing in the market and bought on the wrong side of the curve. We have looked at recent sales, price per square foot, etc. and come to the conclusion that fair market value is "$X" per square foot for homes in the area- and will use that criteria when making an offer on any property in that market, adusting up or down a few $ for view, age of the home, amenities, etc.

I guess making a fair-market offer is now considered "punishing" the seller. We'll see what happens, we are going back up there next week to try to refine our home search; we've zeroed in on an area, and are now looking at specific homes.

 

[audreyh1]

I am working with a Realtor, looking at homes on the Olympic Peninsula in WA. She lamented that most buyers are only trying to "punish" the sellers right now. Interesting perspective from someone who was happy to help those same sellers "punish" buyers just a few short years ago.

Your realtor will ALWAYS think that way. Realtors are always biased toward the higher price, even when supposedly representing the buyer. Their commission is based on the selling price.

Audrey

 

[Zoocat]

Two people who have really nice expensive townhomes have said they are selling but there's no signs out front and they are not listed on MLS. They did have signs out briefly but then not. The owners have told neighbors they are selling and I know the places have not sold yet.
What do you suppose is the deal? I have read that some foreclosures are not being listed on MLS. Why not, I wonder?

Did some research on Zillow and discovered one of the owners is a realtor. Now he's trying for a $123K profit on his townhome! Some others did sell and reap such a profit last year. But this year? I think he waited too long.

 

[harley]

Your realtor will ALWAYS think that way. Realtors are always biased toward the higher price, even when supposedly representing the buyer. Their commission is based on the selling price.

Audrey

AFAIK, Realtors always represent the seller, even when working with the buyer. It's in the contract that way. I guess it might be different if there is a "buyer's agent" with a different type of contract, but I've never worked with one. Buyers are being mislead if they think their agent works for them.

Harley

 

[Bestwifeever]

I looked the OP house up too. I noticed it also says "no inclusions" at the bottom, which I presume means appliances, lighting fixtures, whatever--it could be one of those foreclosures where the mortgage holders took everything out of it.

 

[Gotadimple]

AFAIK, Realtors always represent the seller, even when working with the buyer. It's in the contract that way. I guess it might be different if there is a "buyer's agent" with a different type of contract, but I've never worked with one. Buyers are being mislead if they think their agent works for them.

Harley

In Washington state, if you are looking to buy and working with a real estate agent, you would have signed an agreement that states that the agent is a buyer's agent and bound to serve your interests.

-- Rita

 

[Westernskies]

In Washington state, if you are looking to buy and working with a real estate agent, you would have signed an agreement that states that the agent is a buyer's agent and bound to serve your interests.

-- Rita

I am looking to buy in Washington State, have been working with a real estate agent, and have not been asked to sign any agreements-
but then I haven't made an offer yet.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

This is a true story.
3-Bedroom Foreclosed Home in Flint, Michigan Finds No Buyer at $5,000.
It Was $110,000 in 2005.

 

[hellbender]

Shockinglyn low!? Please. Check out Danville, VA on realtor.com. This is a town of about 45,000 people. There are 285 homes currently for sale at <$75K and 139 for sale at < $50K.

 

[ladelfina]

Mortgage rates seem to be rising pretty fast. That will mean more downward pressure on prices. If you are not planning to finance a lot.. it could make sense to keep waiting.

 

[Marquette]

Shockinglyn low!? Please. Check out Danville, VA on realtor.com. This is a town of about 45,000 people. There are 285 homes currently for sale at <$75K and 139 for sale at < $50K.

I'll see you a Danville, VA and raise you a Detroit, MI

3,700 properties under $10k

 

[Bestwifeever]

The threat or actuality of mortgage rates rising in our area usually results in buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines coming out of the woodwork to beat the increase--bring them on (and the corresponding increase in mm rates, CDs, etc.).

 

[hellbender]

Now that's shocking

I'll see you a Danville, VA and raise you a Detroit, MI

3,700 properties under $10k

 

[Westernskies]

I'll see you a Danville, VA and raise you a Detroit, MI

3,700 properties under $10k

...and a long long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I remember a newbie on this board suggesting that the massive influx of foreign-made goods might actually have an negative impact on our domestic economy, especially the automotive industry. But of course, that lone voice in the wilderness was shouted down over cries of "I don't really care where the products I buy come from" from the enlightened masses. Anyone else wonder how many of those homes were owned by displaced autoworkers? ...sigh.

 

[Marquette]

Anyone else wonder how many of those homes were owned by displaced autoworkers? ...sigh.

Then shouldn't you be demanding that we buy products from the companies that employ the fewest robots instead? There's a plant in Lansing that was closed as an Olds plant and reopened as (I think) a Saturn plant... but with a fraction of the workers since everything was robotic.

Since my car was made in the US (It's a Honda Accord!), I don't see what the issue is.... of course, you were the one getting mad over people buying nice domestically-built cars like the Accord.

 

[Westernskies]

Nah, I'm over it...mostly.