Kessler Park Area - Housing Market (Dallas, Bedford: for sale, foreclosures, rental)

[GuestDallas]

We've been looking at homes in the Kessler Park area for a few months now, and have noticed that many sellers are still listing their houses at what appears to be price levels from 1-2 years ago (Between $200-$225/sq ft). Very few of these homes are selling, and when they do it's usually much lower than original listing price (Between $150-$180/sq ft). I keep hearing that the Dallas area has not been hit as hard as the rest of the country because home prices did not bubble up, but in areas like Kessler Park they absolutely did ! Are the sellers being overly optimistic ? Are Realtors helping to fan expectations ? It can be frustrating to buyers, because once a home is listed, you know it will take months before a seller will come to their senses. I guess I'm just venting....

[Philip T]

We came to the same observation and conclusion of that exact area late last year.

We decided to by-pass it.

If folks want to keep For Sale signs in the yards for [a] year[s], they are welcome to do so. But if they actually want to sell, they are facing very large downside in doing so.

Dunno about the why side. No longer so much into the motivation on any side, just do not want to be part of their crash.

[loves2read]

first of all--none of your info means that you can't submit an offer for the price that you think is fair for the house listed...and I guess you can resubmit at various intervals ...either they will or they won't consider the offer...

second--most people are hoping that home will sell for what they list and only lower their price after their need exceeds their greed--like they start losing money by not selling or have other considerations that outweigh price they take from the sale--everything is relative...

I think most realtors will always allow sellers to list for more than market because it puts higher % of fees into their pockets and they don't want to chance offending the sellers who would go to an agent who would list at what they want to sell for...
you have to consider how much the sellers have invested in the home, if it is their only home or they have rental property and might have gone through sales process in recent months...if they bought the house 3-4 yrs ago they paid an inflated price compared to market now...they don't want to lose money and be upside down in the mortgage...if they have owned the home for 10+ yrs, they probably have invested in remodeling and want to recoup those monies as well...

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by loves2read

I think most realtors will always allow sellers to list for more than market because it puts higher % of fees into their pockets and they don't want to chance offending the sellers who would go to an agent who would list at what they want to sell for...

In a buyer's market like this, if a property is not priced right to begin with it is most likely going to languish on the market and go through numerous price reductions. By the time the price is where it needs to be, the listing has become "stale" in the minds of buyers and other realtors. So a realtor is actually going to cause themselves more work by taking an overpriced listing and they are certainly not going to make a higher commission because the property is not going to sell at the inflated price anyway. Most smart realtors know this and will do everythihg they can to persuade a seller to look at the market realistically instead of the way it was 2 years ago. There are those who will take a listing at an inflated price provided the seller agrees to lower the price after a certain length of time if no offers are forthcoming. Then there are those who haven't figured it out yet and will take a listing at any price, no matter how ridiculous.
They are wasting their time.

[Lakewooder]

Excellent advice DN -- if all Realtors could just put that in a bottle and open it at listing appointments...

[Grainraiser]

I learned long ago that the current market is just that, the current market. It does not care what you have into a house or how much you spent on remodels. Buyers never ask how much did they buy the house for or how much did they put into the house remodels. My house has lost value because of some recent foreclosures. In order for me to get what I need out of it I will have to wait awhile until the market strengthens period.

[loves2read]

I know a buyer may not care about refurbished investments or initial purchase price but the seller probably does--there is never just one side to a house sale

and I think realtors are having as difficult a time adjusting to this market as the sellers/buyers...
for every realtor that thinks the market is stale and a house needs to be marked accordingly, there is probably another who thinks that the right buyer will pay the right price...
I know that houses are languishing one the market--I see the same ones day after day when I go through the MLS...
but the price won't drop until the need is more severe than the desire to hold out...for many people the emotional baggage is a prime factor in listing/selling their house...
frankly when we get ready to put our Bedford home on the market I think we will be lucky to get what we paid for it after paying realtor's fees and refurbishing it for the market--the only house we have really made a profit on was our very first house...the second and third one we made minimal profit because they were sold for company moves and we paid no realtors' fees or closing costs...even then we made minimal profit on them...
so we are used to not making a killing...

[GuestDallas]

Here we are....one month later, and the same overpriced homes are still sitting on the market....there's additional inventory....more price cuts (baby step type cuts)....and the same realtor signs on the front lawns....talk about buying the listings (sellers need to demand more realistic feedback and data from their agents). From a buyer's point of view recent sales are still nowhere near where listings are at. Loving an area or a particular house is no longer enough, buyers (serious ones...not the window shoppers) are a lot more careful, and will continue to be rare until sellers wake up.

[billdfw]

In my area in East Dallas, very few houses are selling, at any price. So it would be foolish now to list your house for a low price, because chances are it will not sell for a long time anyways.

Also, if you are looking at a $20,000 to $40,000 price reduction (or more for areas like Kessler Park), a seller might be better off financially to at least try to sell it for more and let it sit on the market for a year or two, as $40k will buy you a lot of mortgage payments. If no sellers are willing to sell the house for low prices, then buyers will eventually pay the prices for desired locations.

I think the market will pick up once the ecnonmy stabilizes. With very low interest rates an an $8k tax credit for 2009, I think it will happen sometime this year.

[houston135]

After spending MONTHS last year looking for a house in Kessler, we came to the same conclusion. We ended up buying elsewhere.