STATIC DISCLAIMER: All the stuff in here is purely my opinions, and they tend to change depending on what mood I'm in. If you're going to get bitter if I say something about you that you don't like, then maybe don't read. I avoid using names as much as possible, and would request that people who know me do the same in their comments. Basically, I often vent my frustrations on here, so if you happen to be someone who frustrates me, expect to read a description of someone very much like you in here!

Saturday, December 24, 2005

This is a call

This is something that needs to be said publicly I believe, for the sake of all the people who are frustratedly trying to buy houses while sellers are wondering why they can't get their properties to sell:

If you own a house right now, and are thinking of selling it off, be aware that your house is probably worth AT LEAST $50k less then what you (and most likely your real estate agent) think it is. Now, I can already hear some of you going "not me - I already made a conservative estimate". If that's you, then you're exactly the people I'm talking to. A 2 bedroom townhouse in North Richmond IS NOT worth over $250k at the moment. Actually, I'd be more inclined to go with $200k. And yet I got an email this morning advertising a 2-bed townhouse with zero backyard in that suburb for $299k. It seems to me people who are selling at the moment are about 18 months behind the actual market.

Note that when I say "worth", what I'm saying is "what you'll be able to get someone to pay". The word "worth" unfortunatley seems to collect things like sentimental value, and the percieved value increase of certain renovations the owner might be especially proud of. Let me tell you something as a buyer: I DON'T CARE that you recently retiled your bathroom - your 2 bedroom unit in Kingswood is not a great buy at $220k. It's a crap buy. A retiled bathroom would just make it a little more bareable if someone forced me to buy your unit at that price. I can retile a bathroom myself - I just have trouble making land and houses materialise out of thin air.

We're in a property slump at the moment, and personally I'm just hoping that people selling will start to realise that if they absolutely have to sell, that they're going to have to accept less. Prime example? This property. We went to the auction on this property, and the vendor put in a bid of $235k. The property didn't sell. So what does he do? Relists it at $279k. One word for this: baka. Do you think he's had a shread of interest since? According to the agent we spoke to, no. Surprising? Ah, no. It didn't sell at $235k, it's sure as heck not going to sell at $280k. That's just common sense, right?
The blurb on the property says:
We will give you this affordable, centrally located three bedroom cottage. It has to offer YOU, three generous sized double bedrooms, with high ceilings, with informal and formal living and polished floor boards with air-conditioning, all being conveniently located within walking distance to schools and public transport, and with a low maintenance yard and a carport.
What more could we offer?

How about a REASONABLE LISTING PRICE, perhaps? Bah.

Meanwhile, our search for a house continues. We've made offers on several properties, all of which have been rejected. However, all those properties are still on the market. The only thing standing in our way is not other people making better offers - it's sellers not willing to accept reality. So this is my call to all those selling property: Face reality, or take your house off the market. I don't want to waste a fortnight haggling with you when the truth is you still think you can get more.

Here endeth the rant. However, for something completely unrelated, I found this article on Hammerspace which is well worth a read. Yay for hammerspace.
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