Need to sell your house? Now is not the best time, Realtors in the valley say. The housing market hasn”™t stabilized. And, they say, they are putting in longer hours dealing with clients who wonder why their house is not going to fetch a higher price than they”™re being told it”™s worth.
Subprime mortgagees are scrambling to find new lenders; some of those borrowers are finding themselves facing foreclosure. Those who bought high, poured more money into their dream house and now own more than they bargained for have learned a hard lesson.
At the other end, some of those who own their houses free and clear may feel they”™ve been somehow cheated: They aren”™t going to get the same bang for their buck as they might have during 2005 and 2006.
“People who are ready to move to a different location and it”™s going to be a move up for them, they”™ll make money on their home ”“ then they are in a position to adjust to the change in the market,” said Ann Garti, president of the Orange County Association of Realtors. “For others, especially those who have a subprime mortgage, most of the reputable mortgage companies are reaching out to these people and trying to help them find a different loan product.”
Garti also said that despite the flattening of New York”™s prices, “We are very fortunate. Other states were hit much harder and have many thousands of homes in foreclosure.”
Advice from Realtors? “If you don”™t have to sell your house, don”™t ”“ it”™s that simple,” said Stephanie Patton, associate broker with Century 21”™s Alliance Realty Group in Poughkeepsie.
Like many in her industry, she”™s finding the sales are “still out there, but sellers have to be realistic and price their houses based on what”™s happening today.”
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Realtor Kathleen Kushner of Prudential Rand in New City is marketing a house in Monroe. The two-bedroom, one-bath ranch has an asking price of $290,000. Kushner said the house is priced right, but for people who bought when prices were high, those now trying to resell find themselves dealing with negative sticker shock. “It has been especially hard for those who bought high and made needed improvements.”
Jay Balloe, director of the Dutchess County Association of Realtors, has been in the business for 16 years. “The upper end of (the) market, especially new construction, has gone very soft,” he said. “Anything over 600 (thousand dollars) is sitting on the market and it”™s brought all other housing prices down. Median amount is significantly lower than the mean number, most of the sales are coming in at the lower end. That”™s where our market is ”“ in the $400,000 to $500,000 range.
“You would be hard put to get a ”˜nice”™ house for under $400,000 in Dutchess right now ”¦ part of that is market-driven,” Balloe said. “Realtors are having problems with appraised values; appraisers have to extrapolate the prices, but at one point during the boom, house prices literally doubled. And the rate of increase has slowed but not the values. The market will continue to go up.”
“It”™s more challenging to sell your house ”¦ we got very spoiled,” said Garti, who has been tracking residential housing numbers for Orange and Rockland counties for 27 years. “The days of putting your house on the market and selling within a week are gone. Be prepared to have it on (the) market for a longer time and price it realistically.”
Rick Dutra, a retired NYPD detective, joined Billingsly Realty Inc. in Mahopac three years ago. “I love the business, but I have to work harder,” he said. “It was nice when everybody was trying to outbid each other, but those days are gone ”¦ House prices are averaging $400,000 to $500,000. Some developers have been reconsidering their projects, building smaller homes as a result ”¦ 4,500-square-foot homes are being brought down to a 3,000-square-foot range.”
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Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty in Ulster has offices in Kingston, Woodstock, Wyndham and Stone Ridge. Lisa Halter has been a Realtor for two and a half years at its Woodstock office, joining the industry during the boom. “The first year was fantastic ”¦ we had a slow period with a lot of talk about the bubble bursting but we have seen a huge surge of buyers within the last month. People are realizing interest rates are still reasonable ”“ the rate is currently approximately 6.25 percent and home prices have come down.”
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