Some sellers do not have to sell, or, are not in a rush to sell. The real estate business is cyclical and if you have a seller who lives in a very desirable area, they will wait until the curve begins to rise upward again. I work in the lower Hudson river valley in Westchester county. Because of its close proximity to Manhattan, it is a desirable place to live. Small historic towns of 8 to 12 thousand people with lots of services which include restaurants, theater, shops, parks etc.

Buyer's should hang in and wait for more reductions. Could take 4 years to hit bottom. Don't panic, no need to, it will be a long time before things move up strongly if at all, 8 years++.

Buyer's should hang in and wait for more reductions. Could take 4 years to hit bottom. Don't panic, no need to, it will be a long time before things move up strongly if at all, 8 years++.

Sellers may be thinking about the coming market where we will most likely see a swell of new buyers - and by the way, since mortgage rates are now at lows not seen since 2004, our office here is already seeing a lot of activity. Our market performance from 2006 to 2007 does not justify reductions in all neighborhoods. My recent analysis of the Belle Sherman neighborhood (completed last night) shows that while we had 4 fewer homes sold in that neighborhood, the average price per home sold went up roughly $16,000. Not every home in Belle Sherman will move up in price - but it is an average mark of how the neighborhood did last year in terms of supply and demand. I agree with others who have advised that if there is something you have your eye on, make an informed offer - and see what happens. Sellers are negotiating more - sometimes they don't want to tip their hand, but will pursue an offer that comes in.

Hi Ithaca:

Others have answered your questions in many different ways, so I won't repeat.

My question for you is, as a buyer and assuming you are interested in one of those properties, why don't you make an offer at a price you think is worthwhile for you?

This is in general a buyers market and buyers are at the wheel, so make an offer, you never know what will happen.. Sometimes sellers do change their mind about holding onto the price when a real offer is right in front of them.

Sylvia

People lower their prices depending on how urgent they are. Assuming a home is marketed agressively:

ex 1 . A seller starting a new job in another state in 6 months will continue to lower the price until the supply/demand price is reached. Very Motivated.

ex 2. Another seller, who does not have to move, but wants to see if he can get those high prices his neighbors have been getting back in summer of 2007. This seller wil NOT lower the price one dollar. Not Motivated and house will not sell.

That simple.
http://www.henrycunalata.com

If you read the reports and listen to what is being said...prices have supposedly bottomed out.

There are a lot of reasons why someone might not further lower their prices:
1. They are priced in line with recent comparable sales
2. They are not motivated to sell
3. Their Realtor has not properly advised them of the market
4. They are chasing the market instead of getting ahead of it

Ithaca Buyer, First of all, Ithaca is consistently ranked as one of America's most desirable places to live--and I don't think that that designation is going to change anytime soon. In response to your question, I agree that sellers should price homes to sell. After all, why else are they in the market? It's beyond weird to put oneself and others through the expense and complexities of putting a home up for sale and then to price it in a way that guarantees that it won't. As kids, we'd call people like that "mental". But stick to your guns. Mkae offers within current market values--someone will have to bite if they need to sell. Good luck, Gerry

From my experience in the Western New York area I can tell you this. There are many people who have their houses for sale and don't move on the price because they CAN"T. They may feel the noose around their neck getting tighter because of all of their other debt ( Expensive auto leases, credit cards etc) and may have even had a very creative financing package when they bought their home that would allow them to afford the original payment and then ease into an increase as they lived there a few years, also referred to as an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). Well, in many cases, people are not adjusting well with the increase because their income has not adjusted as much, thay may have also incurred more debt outside the mortgage and now have to sell the house. I have seen this senerio so many times in the past year and the reason they can't come down in price is because they owe so much and can't lower the price any more. Maybe the Feds will provide relief for those people because there are more and more surfacing every day.

don't they know that 2008 housing market will be worse?

No, many don't agree that '08 will be worse.. in fact many feel that '08 will improve, some are just stubborn, and some just don't have the option of coming to the closing table with money in hand. Some can't do it. It has nothing to do with Ithaca, it's happening all across the country.

But not everyone is desperate, and not everyone MUST sell, and ANY price. Some are just on the market, hoping against hope, that the market will improve, or that someone will walk into their open house, fall in love, and will just HAVE TO own their home.