a new house on market over 2 years, what should offer?

[Anonymous]

I live in OK where we have not really experienced the forclosure issues.  We still have lots of new construction going on.  But there is a house we know of that has been on the market at least 2.5 years.  The strange thing it is brand new, never been lived in.  All the houses in the neighborhood are all occupied or in the state of being built.   This one house is still open.  2 years ago when we looked at it they were asking 385k. Now they are offering it for 297K.   It is brand new!  Excellent community and school district.   My DH and I would like to make an offer on it if it still available this summer (June time frame) which it will have been on the market for 3 years.  Can anyone suggest a percentage of the 297K to offer?  I feel this has to be a burden to them to be on the books for so long.  On the OK property tax website it shows the deed signed over on 04/15/05. 

Thank you for any responses.

[Anonymous]

Sure...

The builder likely has about $200,000 in the home and probably wants to move it, especially if it's been on the market that long! You aren't going to make your potential new neighbors happy, but I'd suggest sitting down with someone HIGH UP with that builder (maybe even the builder himself) and offering them $200,000 and tell them it's a win-win for both of you, considering the builder will stop the bleeding cut his losses. Everyday that house sits, the builder is likely paying interim financing on it.

Your potential new neighbors that have already bought homes there will likely be hurt if they try and sell because your purchase price is probably going to hurt their appraisals.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

[Anonymous]

Do not hesitate too offer this builder $200K for the property. By the time summer hits, you may even be able to go lower if the builder has not gone into bankruptcy. If that happens, then you can steal that bank-owned property. I see many builders reducing homes by the $100K's as they forsee bankruptcy in their near future.

It is unfortunate, though, that individual sellers do not understand the severity of the housing market. Most homes listed by realtors are well overpriced. Instead of property educating sellers about the poor market, realtors are 'buying the listing' by agreeing to list properties at the prices that sellers believe are reasonable. Then the properties sit on the market for months to years with no shows and no offers. Some buyers say, "I will just wait out the market to get my price." And the realtors say, "Good for you." But that is not realistic, as the market has not bottomed out yet. In fact, it will not bottom out for several years. So if anyone wants to sell a home, including builders, they prices must be slashed. The longer properties are on the market, the steeper the cuts must be to move them. The higher priced the properties, the steeper the reductions.

Sellers hate to hear the truth, but the market is poor all across the country.