My friend has been a realtor for over 20 years. He is very busy right now. He told me that he has 5 homes in escrow. In contrast to other realtors, he has told his clients to be realistic in their pricing. For example, I mentioned that I knew someone who has a north Scottsdale 1,600 sq. ft. condo for sale. My friend is not representing this particular seller. The seller paid $188,000 in October 2002 and put down about $10,000. The property was put on the market 72 days ago at $420,000. The price was lowered to $405,000 last week. My friend says that the seller is getting very bad advice from her realtor. In his view, if the seller wants to have a chance to move the property quickly, it should be priced at $375,000 to $380,000 NOW. He says that if the price remains at $405,000 there will be almost no foot traffic. He thinks that $400,000 is a key price point in today's market for lower end homes. But he believes that the market is deteriorating.
My friend told me that he represents an extremely motivated seller of a house in north Scottsdale. The price has dropped several hundred thousand dollars from its initial listing price, and there still is no taker. He said that the price of this particular house is far lower than comparable homes in the extremely high end development in north Scottsdale.
With respect to mortgages that have been or will be reset, at least in the mortgage broker office in which his wife works, there has not yet been a tidal wave of problems. But I will keep this board posted on new developments.
Jim |
