Free-Falling

I kind of idly keep track of houses and house prices in Takoma Park, Md, where my mom lives. It's like fantasy life shopping--what if I lived...there? I do it for a few places. We're starting to see some serious reductions, like this four-bedroom house for $225,000. There was nothing in this range a year ago. Sad to say it's slipped into foreclosure during the time it's been on the market and is now a bank-owned REO. Some people haven't gotten the message, though, so we have someone offering a merely OK 1500 sqf house (on a big lot) for $619,000, while just a few blocks away (in Silver Spring, admittedly) you could get a huge, really attractive house built in 1918 for the same price (virtual tour here). These links are likely to decay, so you might have to take my word for it...and looking more closely I see the lot for the one house is 3 times as big as the other. I guess it's nice to have a big yard; my mom's place is on a double lot too. It would be good if you wanted to expand. I don't know, does the land around your house have a lot of value in the context of buying on a city street like that? Maybe it's not so crazy. The takeaway message is that both are still overpriced and should cost $450,000, based on nearby rentals.

Comments

[dmh]

Lot size can matter if it is configured in such a way to accommodate another house. I see it all the time in my neighborhood across the river in VA. Need to consider lot size that could be subdivided when considering house value. Plus, being in Takoma Park and near a metro adds value. Location, location, location.

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[jim]

There's a good deal of dislocation in the market in the DC area right now. In Alexandria (which I look at because that's where I live), there's a West End condo that sold in 2005 for $268K listed -- listed! -- at $68K. On the other hand, there's an enormous waterfront townhouse that sold in 2001 for a million and a quarter listed at two and a half.

[belle waring]

sounds like some people are facing the music and others not. the higher end stuff is less likely to be a forced sale. but 268 to 68, that's brutal!

[fnook]

We're living in a 1938 Cape Cod near the Silver Spring/Takoma border on Flower Ave. Bought in Jan 2006 at ~477K. Zillow says it's fallen about 10% to 430K. Not bad all things considered but further southward trends are likely in 2009.

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