Columbia/Ellicott City Real Estate Market (for sale, mortgage, townhouses)

[TuborgP]

Sold couple of months ago and thought things were picking up. I am hearing different things now and am wondering how slow the Columbia market is or has it picked. Seems like some zip codes are dead. Is that accurate?

[Rmx Christina]

hmm..i'm not sure I would call it dead anywhere right now...

It's more of people who think they can get 2005 pricing aren't selling for that and would rather not sell....

[tluv00]

Originally Posted by Rmx Christina

hmm..i'm not sure I would call it dead anywhere right now...

It's more of people who think they can get 2005 pricing aren't selling for that and would rather not sell....

And then there are the people who think they can BUY for 2002 prices and are holding out. Plus after watching House Hunters and Flip That House they are expecting way more from homes.

[TuborgP]

thats sorta the way I found the market. Most buyers expecting unrealistically low prices and many sellers expecting prices to high. Like any market price there a certain number of people willing to buy at a given price. With others willing to pay more and others less. We found are match and were fortunate as were they.

[ChosenGSR]

Originally Posted by tluv00

And then there are the people who think they can BUY for 2002 prices and are holding out. Plus after watching House Hunters and Flip That House they are expecting way more from homes.

Usually it's the sellers lose more so than the buyers. The buyers often are not in a rush to get in a place however many sellers have a place they are waiting to get into. A better question would be what is the typical compromise off the price of a house around the area in term of %. Say a house is going for 300k, what would it typically be negotiated down to these days?

Edit: mortgage rates aren't helping either. The rates are up more than half a percent in the last month alone. Something has to give.

[Gabrielle]

I don't know if this is the information you're looking for, but here was our situation:
We listed our townhouse in Ellicott City (21043) for $314,000 in October 2006. Other townhouses in our development had sold for as much as $340,000 just a year earlier, but unfortunately the real estate situation has gotten worse for sellers. We ended up selling for $300,000.

On the plus side, we were able to get our house in Carroll County - which was originally listed for $429,000 - for $400,000. So it works out if you're buying but sucks if you're selling.

[irishmom]

Originally Posted by TuborgP

Sold couple of months ago and thought things were picking up. I am hearing different things now and am wondering how slow the Columbia market is or has it picked. Seems like some zip codes are dead. Is that accurate?

In my area there are never any houses for sale....maybe one a year. And some years there have been none. Last year (October) one was sold in 30 days for asking price $549K for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, and there is one that just went up last week...so we'll see how long it lasts. But like I said there aren't many that turn over here so it's hard to say if that's the norm.

[tluv00]

My wife and I got pretty lucky. We bought in 2004 $175k (townhouse) and sold in 2006 ($350k) with no renovations other than a new tile kitchen floor and new carpets. We listed at comp price but had two bidders which drive up the price. Since no one has come within 30k of what we sold for. You need to find out what reasons the seller is moving for. If they have a house purchased, have been on the market and are desparate to sell go in low. You can always go up. Try 15-20% off depending on how desperate they are they may bite.