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Do your local real estate prices (homes and land) reflect what is being said nationally about real estate prices? I've read articles in money magazines saying real estate is starting on a ten year downward turn. My own home was almost sold and the buyer lost his financing. It has been very slow since. We will probably lower our price soon. However, the prices of what is available to buy locally are outrageous. A basic home with ten acres is $525,000. Unfortunately, the high prices are spreading to the smaller farming communities around us that we are interested in. We are in West Virginia. Where are you and what is real estate like there?
 

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It's roaring here. We have 4,700 jobs at $80,000 each relocating here as part of a Base Relignment and Closure Commission decision. All coming between now and 2010. Those, plus all the new employement they will create, will generate about 25,000 total new jobs here.

In 2001, you could buy raw land easily in my county for $1,000 an acre. By 2005, that was up to $2,500-3,000. It is now $5,000, even way out in the sticks.

I live in a county of only 34,000 people, with 580 square miles. But our neighboring county is getting these jobs, so everyone is waiting for rich folks to come in and buy. And they're doing it.
 

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I'm sure it depends on the area. My step-dad sold his dad's house down in LA and it took almost 6 months and had many many reductions before it finally sold last february (basic house and it ended up selling for $525K but I think it was originally almost $600K). Our area is still really booming. Subdivisions are going in everywhere around me (literally!) and the plots are sold faster then they can put them on the market. I don't anyone that's sold a regular house though lately around here, so I'm not 100% sure on that aspect.
 

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In Western PA, many homes with acreage are listed and re-listed as new listings... same properties, different pics. Prices are up there but no buyers. I don't know what sellers are expecting with this market. We bought ours one year ago and is worth less today :Bawling:
 

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there is a place around me that is 22 open acres and a 3 bedroom 2 bath home that is priced at $119,000. Then about 20 minutes from here there is an older farm house (3 bedroom, 1 bath) home, a second 1 bedroom one bath home, pole barn and shop-- with 40 open acres that is priced at $215,000. You can buy 98 vacant acres for $155,000.
 

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Friends of mine just recently sold their place in Washington state and are moving to Kentucky. They listed it last summer, reduced the price either two or three times, and it finally sold for about 2/3 of the original asking price, which was also the appraisal price at that time.

A neighbor here has been thinking about selling her place and moving closer to town (elderly, poor health, no close family) and what it seems to be happening here is that land prices are pretty stable. Building costs have skyrocketed ... but more local people are looking for places closer to where they work and/or shopping, doctors, etc. so the existing places closer to town seem to be holding their value better, at least the listing prices don't seem to be going down. And there seems to still be a good supply of "outsiders" moving here, retiring, that are buying "country places".

In my neighbor's situation, being further out, with poor paved road access, only 3 acres and a single wide trailer, she has had no interest in her place when it was on the market and had it sold, could not have purchased a place in town for the price she was asking.


Prices on raw land in small parcels for building seem to be holding steady or going up, depending on how close to good highway access or towns it is, and good farm land is holding it's value as well ... but the price per acre hasn't gone up a lot over the years as long as the land is more suited to farming than "building".
 

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It's outrageous here--the 1200 sq ft double wide 3BR, 1bath next door to use sold last year for $126,000. Hmm, let's see--the lot is 80x120, if that. They are building a motorsports park near where we live and not only are prices climbing up, but so are rents...ugh! And we live in a rural area of our state!
 

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If you are near either coast, your land is worth a fortune.

Our 20 ac was 40K 5 yrs ago. It's pretty for this part of TX. About 1/2 trees, patches of prairie-type flat land, a little creek that dries up in the summer & small pond that also is seasonal. Hope we can build a home someday.

On the other hand, our home in a N. Dallas suburb has not appreciated that much in 20 years. We are in a nice neighborhood, all custom homes that do not look alike, mature trees. Paid 94K 20 yrs ago & probably can't get more than 135K now. Its a 3-2-2 1900 sq ft. brick.

Patty
 

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It is dead here for homes with acreage and slow for other homes. I think the gas prices are hurting us. There aren't many good paying jobs out here and commuting is now very expensive as well as time consuming. Most jobs out here pay $10-$12 dollars an hour and that's for jobs that require some skills. Homes with 5 or more acres are $250k and up. Subdivision homes close to Atlanta are selling well.
 

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Here in the western part of NC we are not participating in any downturn related to real property. Larger acreages are continuing upward in price and there are no small ones for sale. Prices south of us are moving upward slowly but there are still some good buys on timberland in SC.
 

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Discussion Starter · #12 ·
snowangel said:
In Western PA, many homes with acreage are listed and re-listed as new listings... same properties, different pics. Prices are up there but no buyers. I don't know what sellers are expecting with this market. We bought ours one year ago and is worth less today :Bawling:
I think that is actually what is happening prices up, but no buyers. I truly wonder if people are going to end up paying more than houses are worth here as well. Makes me nervous. Thanks for all your responses keep them coming.
 

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Well, I guess I would say "the bubble" busted. I am about an hour or so south of Atlanta. Things WERE really booming a year ago....just north of me is Peachtree City, one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. So, anything close to it was selling VERY well (2-3000 sq ft homes on tiny lots going from 220K up to 500K depending on location and lots of million dollar plus homes going up IN peachtree city). They aren't selling as well OR for as much now. On the other hand, if you can find land around here anymore, it's still pretty high (from about 10K up to over 60K -again, depending on how close "in" you are). Our 2400 sq ft home on almost 5 acres appraised at 230K last year, and I might be able to sell it for 250 now. (The acreage alone cost us 50K and that is LITERALLY on the farthest edge of the county!)

My SIL is an agent and says land is still selling well, even homes ON land...but the subdivisions aren't doing well. They put up too darn many of them over the past couple years.

Here what it boils down to is: if you have a dime a dozen house in a no name subdivision, you can't sell. But, if you live in one of the "elite" subdivisions or have land, you'll get your money out of it.

JMO, Rachael
 

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the real estate bubble has finally hit here. we are about 10 years behind on everything. :)

the house and land i sold 3 years ago for 80K is now listed for 209k.

i don't expect they'll get it but the realtors are hopeful. they just don't tell potential buyers there aren't any jobs here, unless you like flipping burgers near the interstate. :rolleyes:
 

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Down turn in the housing market is just begining here. Houses are turning over more slowly and gone are the days of auction/high bidder buying.

Neighbor in our area just sold a house here a few months ago. 899,000. 5 A view, nice place. I'll bet the buy wishes they had waited a few months. Would have saved them some money.

Neighbor accross the street. Again 5a, log home, nice. Last year easy 600,000. He's trying to sell it for 550,000. He thinks he'll have to wait a year or more for the right buyer. I say sell if you can get a half way decent offer.

We are staying right here. Finaced 127,000 for this home. Last year was 750,000 or so. We wouldn't get it in this market now. But, we are still in fine shape. We'll stay.

Good luck everyone. It's going to get much tougher.
 

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Not much impact on farm/acreage prices, but the son and DIL of a good friend who lives in the DC area have been looking for an "affordable" town house/ condo in that area for 3 or 4 years.

Just a couple of months ago they purchased something ... same type and same general residential areas they had been looking at all along ... and said the reason they bought now was that this "type" of listing ... had dropped between $150,000 and $200,000 over what it would have been listed at even a year ago. Upscale/urban prices have dropped that much in that particular area for that type of housing.
 

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Kilauea volcano add 23 acres of land mass to Hawaii island each year... so, "they" are still making land!
This is a joke but the truth is that now, you are catching the knife if you are set to buy. If your total mortgage will be 120 times more than your rent, you are OK (a financial guy said that to us). I've seen properties where the sellers where asking for 50 to 75 times more than the assessed value.... in Western PA :shrug: Please, don't be the one catching the knife!
 

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Here in the NE corner of Ga. land prices small and large acreage are still high. All the subdivisions they are putting in with the huge homes are still going in?? The prices are steady but the market is stalled. DH uncle just got a contract on his 75 acres of land for 1,500,000.00. :rolleyes: Nothing special,double wide ,ancient barn,small home , and 5 broiler houses that need alot of work.The broiler houses would probably pay less than 1/2 the mortgage if they can find a company to put chickens in with out spending 100,000 a house to update.
 

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Our area is still considered "affordable" housing in the n'west Chicago 'burbs, but I don't see what's affordable about $250k+ tract housing built in the '50's. My house appraised value has about doubled since I bought it 10 years ago; we had hopes of selling next year, but don't know what the market is going to do.

This reminds me of the fluctuations in the market back in the late 70's/early 80's. In the 70's, people were paying nosebleed-high interest rates on mortgages, realtors were writing offers on the hoods of cars in order to beat out competition, and houses were selling within hours of listing. There was an adjustment in the early 80's, and then things leveled out for a while.

My feeling is that there are too many speculators and flippers, and that financing has become too "creative", allowing those who really cannot afford to purchase far too much credit and setting them up for foreclosure.

Pony!
 
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