I also watch the comps in our small town and neighborhood via sale listings in newspapers....and also check www.zillow.com occasionally.

Luckily Narberth is one of the most affordable and family-friendly areas of the "Main Line" outside Philly; also great public/private schools and public transit access via both commuter train and bus. It's also a walkable community.

I think this combination has helped support the values a lot. Out of 34 houses around our little green "commons" area, only one has sold in the past year. The 2000 SF house was purchased about 3 years ago for $630k and sold in spring 2009 for $637k....not a bad comp to have Our home is 2500 SF; is more modernized; has a double lot; and a lot more "charm". OTOH, the $2MM and $3MM homes in adjacent more upscale areas are not selling.

A great thread Lainey....thanks for starting

 

Cars and boats. I'll get a lift too, so I can be like Erick.

 

Excellent. The New England S2KI club house. If you build it we will come!

 

Someone mentioned Zillow.com. I don't believe that the prices posted on Zillow are accurate. I checked my property on Zillow and according to them, the value has increased 8% since January. In good years, property values in Kentucky increase around 4%, so 8% sounds completely off the charts.

 

^^ I agree Glenn. Zillow is a helpful reference, but the numbers always seem to be "off" in our area....sometimes too high and other times too low. I'm guessing that all of their estimates are based on Sq Ft and recent comps in your 'hood....no QUALITATIVE factor for aesthetics, condition of house/ property, etc.

 

There are some amazing buys out there but people are having great difficulty obtaining financing. Darla and I recently decided to take advantage of the down market and low interest rates to buy a property overlooking Lake Chelan (a beautiful area with 300 days of sunshine about 3 hours east of Seattle). It's an area we would like to retire to in 20 years or so and in the mean time use as a weekend/vacation home. We were pretty surprised to learn how difficult it is to get a loan. Basically only the big banks are offering fixed rate jumbo loans, the smaller mortgage companies only offer ARMs. (Which I wouldn't even consider). To qualify for the fixed loan the banks now require at least 25% down (we were quoted as high as 40%) plus closing costs AND you must have 6 months worth of mortgage payments available in a liquid account. They also want to see that you haven't touched your other investment accounts at closing. To even be considered you have to have FICO scores of high 700s/low 800s, spotless credit.
Luckily we were able to make it happen and should close by the end of the month.
Now I know why there are so many beautiful places in the 800K+ range around here that are languishing on the market.....buyers just can't get financing. I would hate to be selling anything right now.

 

Just played with zillow. Found their listing for the value of our home, added in our improvements, and the figure did total closer to what I think the house may be worth in today's market. Not as large a drop in value as I feared. Of course I can only be sure by listing the house for sale, or by applying for a mortgage. Neither of those things is about to happen...... Do they use the town assessed figures for their starting numbers?

 

Dr T that's some story; I knew it was tough but......

 

rates are really low right now but bankers know that won't be permanent and rates will rise.
they don't want to get caught on the short side unless risk is incredibly low.
the 6 months of payments is a bit much though. especially if you're coughing up 25% down.

 

Congrats! Yes, as if lowball appraisals aren't bad enough, the financing is the other issue. I saw two three-bedroom condos here that had sold in the past six months, both in the mid-$800K range (low for here). I wondered how the people who bought those got appraisals that were close and got financing.