Closed sale on a Biltmore in Grande Estates

A Biltmore on Houlton Circle sold on 12/11/09 at a final sales price of $335,000.

If you have read this blog, you will recall seeing this listing mentioned numerous times, as this home had 11 price reductions during its 193 days on the market. The original asking price was $414,900 back on June 4th. In the end, this home sold for about a 20% discount to original asking price.

Biltmore...conventional sale and some opinion and prediction for what's coming up!

A Biltmore model on Houlton Circle was sold on 11/30 at a price of $315,000. This was a conventional sale (not a short sale or foreclosure). The home was on the market 62 days at an asking price of $325,000.

The sellers were the original owners who purchased the home in November of 2000 for $222,700.

This sale is a very good example of what I have been saying recently regarding homes that are NOT distress sales: These homes are selling quickly and for prices above what a comparable short sale will bring. Buyers are fed up with the inefficiency and incompetence displayed by the lenders in negotiating short sales and will pay a premium to avoid dealing with that situation.

Couple the above with the expanded and extended tax credit and the next 6 months will be a good time for sellers to market property that is not a short sale.

After the expiration of the tax credit (which I don't believe will be extended again) and the scaling back of the open market purchase of mortgage backed securities, (which will most likely cause mortgage interest rates to rise), I think the market goes into another decline as a result of the removal of those artificial supports.

Here is a little snippet of an article I was just reading regarding MBS: The Federal Reserve is pumping $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to try to bring down mortgage rates, but that money is set to run out next spring. The goal of the program is to make home buying more affordable and prop up the housing market.


The window of opportunity is open now...

Grande Estates, under contract

A Biltmore that has been on the market for 153 days has just gone under contract. The home was originally marketed at $414,900 but was priced at $359,900 at the time of contract. This home was NOT marketed as a short sale.

The home previously sold for $380,000 in February of 2004.

Biltmore price reduction

A Biltmore model that was placed on the market in June at $414,900 was just reduced to $359,900...this was the 11th price reduction on this property.

This home is NOT being marketed as a short sale and was purchased by the current owners in January 2004 for $380,000.

Tiny price reduction

A Biltmore on the lake with a pool that has been on the market since June 4th of this year has just reduced their price by $200 to $368,700. The original list price on this home was $414,900. On a per-sq-ft basis, the original asking price was $168/sq ft and the current price is $149/sq ft.

During the 2005/06 heyday, homes routinely were selling for $200/sq ft and up!

Just for comparison purposes...there have been 11 sales reported in 2009 in Journeys End/Grande Estates. The Average sales-price-per-sq-ft of living area has been $102.33/sq ft...with the high being $118/sq ft and the low being $91/sq ft.

Under contract...NOT A SHORT SALE OR FORECLOSURE!

A Biltmore with a pool in Grande Estates has gone under contract in 17 days. The asking price at the time of contract was $325,000.

This quick contract at $131/sq ft (as opposed to the average $100+/sq ft for distressed sales) confirms our current hypothesis that non-distressed sales are commanding a nice premium at the present time....that finding, combined with the fact that the inventory for non-distressed homes is very low makes it a very good time to place a home on the market that is not marketed as "distressed".

Updated price...Biltmore

The Biltmore on Houlton that started out priced at $414,900 in early June is now priced at $368,900.

New listing...

A Biltmore  with a pool on Houlton has just been placed on the market at $325,000.  The current owners are the original owners and purchased the home in November of 2000 for 222,700. The home is not being marketed as a short sale.

Grande Estates...price reduction

The Biltmore on Houlton (5 posts below) has just reduced their price again...this time from $383,500 to $378,900. It has now been on the market 118 days.

Priced reduction...Grande Estates

A Biltmore model, 1 story, 4/3/2, lake, pool, has just reduced their asking price again. The home is now priced at $383,500. This home has been on the market for 112 days and was originally priced at $414,900.

It has had a sequence of reductions as follows: $405,000... $399,000... $398,900...  $398,700... $398,500... $388,500... $383,500.

The current owners purchased the home in January of 2004 for $380,000.

Grande Estates, Biltmore...price reduction

A Biltmore, 4/3/2, lake, pool, on the market for 106 days, has reduced their price for the sixth time to $388,500. This home was originally priced at $414,900...then $405,000...then $399,000...then $398,900...then $398,700...then $398,500 now $388,500.

The current owners paid $380,000 in January of 2004.

Journeys End-Grande Estates...price reduction

A Biltmore model, 4/3/2, lake, pool, on Houlton just reduced their asking price to $398,500.

This home was most recently priced at $398,700, prior to that- $398,900, prior to that-$399,000, prior to that- $405,000 and was originally price at $414,900.

This home has been on the market for 77 days.