Thank you all for the advices. I agree that it is tough to price and sell a house at this time without any loss because of many of distressed houses in the market. At this moment, my temporary option is to rent it out and hope for house market return and sell it. In my opinion, althought we are still in the recession, big companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, etc.. still produce their products and may have future jobs coming. I think house market in King county is getting better than some of other areas.

Wander, unfortunately, if your neighborhood is predmoninantly distressed or bank-owned, then that will more dramatically affect your home price than in other areas where, say. only a single home in the neighborhood is distressed. You dont' say what proportion of the neighborhood is bank-owned or short sales.

By the way, bank-owned are rarely short sales. Typically, bank-owned are actually owned free and clear by the bank. Short sales and bank-owned are two very different animals.

My advice: market your home as you normally would, but know that people are (on the inside) measuring your home up against a bank-owned property in terms of any work they might need to do to the bank-owned property. They are also comparing your property and its price to the time and uncertainty they will go through in a short sale negotiation that will take months but might allow them to buy at a steeper discount.

(Assuming you are not also in distress) Think about it like this: you should get a premium for not being short sale or bank-owned. How much? That's is up to the buyers running around your neighborhood.

This isn't a simple problem you're dealing with. I certainly understand a seller's point of view - in a seller's market - when they question the value of an agent and market a home themselves. But in this buyer's market (and especially since you are asking the right questions) it's imperative that you work with someone who knows what they're doing.

I hope that helps.

BTW, David, to answer your question about the "consusion" my profile caused, you only need to read a bit further. You found this confusing: "Currently a lot of buyers have an interest in short sale and bank owned properties."

The very next sentences in the profile are: "For the right buyer, these properties can present good opportunities. But each has some significant downsides and thus for many buyers the best advise is to avoid either short sales or bank owned properties. For clients desiring to go that route, we are capable at guiding them through the process."

The point is, a lot of people when they first hear about short sales think: "Great--lower prices!" But when they learn of what short sales are all about, relatively few of them have any continued interest. But for those with continued interest, I'm more than happy to guide them through the mess.

David, you apparently aren't even an agent, but instead a loan broker. So not only do you don't know squat about our market up here, you don't know squat about selling property. So don't bother giving people here advice. Your advice is bad advice.

Maybe I should start looking at the Florida boards and start answering questions about getting financing.

The bottom line is I sell properties up here, with the mix of short sales and REOs that we have. Unlike you, I know what I'm talking about.
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Well I was looking at your market and it looks like it is down: http://www.wcrer.wsu.edu/WSHM/2009Q1/2009Q1-snapshot.pdf

It also looks like foreclosures are high: Last month 2,149 property owners in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties received such notices, RealtyTrac said. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2003749470_…

Here are some nice distessed properties: http://www.homepath.com/search.html?st=WA&ci=Auburn&ps=10

This company stopped keeping track but we can see the trend: http://www.housingtracker.net/reo/washington/seattle

All of these are distressed


I am confused Kary says : The thing is, short sale properties have a very limited market
and then on his profile says: Currently a lot of buyers have an interest in short sale and bank owned properties.

Just leave me alone Kary.

The market is what it is at this time. Imagine yourself as a buyer looking at your house and the comparable houses around you. Does your house match up with the other comparables? To get the most for your house your house must be in the top 10% to sell in this market at top value. Best of luck to you!

Again I'd caution agents from other state about answering questions from our state. In the past that was because of legal differences, but here it's because of market differences. Our market is a lot different than Florida's market.

Locally short sales are only a relatively minor problem. Earlier this year I sold a listing for more than $50,000 over a short sale listing, or about 10% more. It was also over a relocation property. Both houses were the virtually identical model house, built by the same builder, but there could have been differences in condition.

The thing is, short sale properties have a very limited market, and that affects their price. Your typical buyer simply doesn't want to wait 3-4 months for an answer to whether their offer will be accepted. That's the playground of investors. The limited market means lower prices.

REOs are a slightly different matter. Banks actually tend to get even less for properties than short sales, which is surprising. Many/most REO properties simply are not in very good condition, and then you also have the issue of their usually oppressive and sometimes poorly drawn contracts. Both can scare away buyers.

That said, these things do push the market down a bit. But that doesn't mean the owners of normal listings have to go down to their level to get a sale. So you're competing against them, but you have the upper hand.

Wander,

I tell all my clients that our competition is the bank owned properties. There are only a certain number of buyers to go around. My clients know that we have to have a home that is comparably priced to the bank owned competition and our home will win out because it will be in much nicer condition. If you are unable to meet their price and get your home in perfect condition, then is may not be reasonable to sell your home.

Good luck, Check out my website and call or email if I can help more, Gary

It is difficult with a lot of distressed properties on the market, good luck.