What do you think of the housing market in Chesterfield? (Richmond: sales, houses)

[MisnSoFL]

My husband and I bought our house in the Chesterfield area in 2005. We are now looking to move. We haven't contacted a realtor yet. Husband seems to think that we will only break even if we sell right now due to the housing market.

I am very depressed here and want to move back home to FL very badly. Should we cut our losses and go home or wait it out? What is your prediction for our market as to when it will turn around in this area? (Please cite your references if you can.)

[mrstewart]

I guess it depends on where in Chesterfield you are. Some areas are very hot...Salisbury, Rosemont, Founder's Bridge, etc.

[ellieb128]

If you check the government website www.chesterfield.gov you can pull up sales in your neighborhood by date range etc. My neighborhood abuts Salisbury, things here are flat. They are selling, with time at ok prices but not premium prices. Tarrington, Founders Bridge and some of the newer premium communities are seeing some price hits. Houses that were 900,000 a few years ago are now 700-800k. If you bought in 2005 and can break even, right now that might be ok. We bought in 2006, just past peak and we don't think we could get all of our money out although we'd be close. It depends on your neighborhood but being new buyers, you will be lucky to break even... Although it looks like you can get a deal in Florida now.
Why didn't/don't you like Richmond. We love it here.

[jhrichmond]

It depends on where you live, what kinds of upgrades you've done, etc. I sold a house in Feb, in two weeks. Recently, though, I had one taken off the market because the seller had unrealistic expectations about what the house was worth. In general, houses are selling for slightly higher than they were in 2005, but take about 6 months to sell. Send me a private message and I'll be happy to put together a CMA for you.

[onevthoki]

I agree with all of the other posts. It basically depends on where you are. But with that being said, if you have done a lot of upgrades to the home, it will be harder to recoup that (especially if you went high-end).

We just moved to the area in January and I can tell you right now that I could not sell my home for what I paid for it eight months ago, even having made no changes at this point.

Now, if you really dislike the area this much, and you had a down-payment when you purchased, you need to decide if you are willing to take a loss. Also, if your husband is able to secure a job in Florida, are you prepared to stay here to sell the home while he is there, or would you move regardless and have the home on the market until it sells.

You have a ton of options, so just take your time to consider everything.

[farmgirl27]

MisnSoFla,

Hold out a bit longer... we've seen it flat before and it always rebounds. You bought in when prices were peaked, so it's gonna take you a bit longer to recover. I'm a Chas, SC transplant and I so get the "more northern latitude blues" - it gets better, but you have to get involved.

Not so many hurricanes here, and don't let the weatherman scare you about snow - they just say that to get people out of the winter funk. Been here a while now and I really love the fact that we are so close to the beach and the mountains.

[vman650]

If you are that unhappy, sell and take a loss. Chances are good that you will be able to buy a similar house in Florida for about the same or less than what you get for your house here. If you wait here, prices may go up, but they will probably also go up in Florida. I think that baby boomers from places like New York will be moving to Florida and that their housing problems may be just temporary. Waiting to get more money here will not do you much good, and if you are unhappy it just is not worth it. Good luck and I hope it all works out.