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November 29, 2006
Home Sales - Bad News Continues
Existing-home sales in Illinois fell nearly 10 percent in October, compared with the same month last year, the Illinois Association of Realtors announced Tuesday.
But after three months of a double-digit decline in sales, last month's downswing looked almost like good news.
Sales totaled 13,025 in October, a 9.7 percent decrease from 14,430 in October 2005. It was the seventh straight month of falling sales, bringing 2006's year-to-date total sales to 145,678, about 7.1 percent
below the total of 156,746 from the same period last year.
IT'S A BUYERS MARKET...FERNANDINA BEACH - Jeff Timian was sure he was making a good investment this year when he bought and renovated a house east of 14th Street on Beech Street in Fernandina Beach.
After purchasing the house, Timian, who moved here from Telluride, Colo., in 2005, did extensive renovations to make the house more tempting to buyers. The makeover to the 1,100-square-foot, 26-year-old home includes a new roof, new flooring, new appliances, new deck, landscaping, paint, bathroom upgrades, new doors, granite countertops, sinks, and inset lighting.
But now, after the house has sat on the market for months, Timian's sure thing isn't so sure. He's now offering it for sale below its appraised value, "I had the property listed with a realtor for five months and didn't get any offers. I had a few showings, he said. "When I had some interest in the property in August, I had it appraised. It appraised at $235,000."
But that deal fell through. He's since listed the house himself, but hasn't had much better luck.
"I've had open houses every weekend. I've had a lot of lookers, but no contracts," he said.
Last week, he had the house listed for $229,000. This week it's down to $225,000, he said.
"I'm not going too much below $225,000. At that point, I still make money," he said.
But not as much as he expected. That's not the fault of Timian's house, its price or its location, according to local real estate experts. The real estate market has gone soft nationwide after a decade-long boom, and Nassau County is feeling the effects.
Posted by Post Scripts at November 29, 2006 10:16 AM