Thanks for an extremely interesting discussion so far. I have a question for all of you bright minds out there.. I'm looking at list prices vs. sales prices and there's a huge discrepancy here. Why are list prices in L.A seemingly untouched by the market decline, and how come sales prices are so much lower? According to Trulia the average listing price for a 3BR is $832K. The average sales price is $573K. That's a 31% difference! Why is this? Something's not right. Are realtors staying their ground in hope of a swift return to 2007 peak levels? Am I right in offering 30% less than the list price for a home at the moment?
Thank you for your answers! I'll talk to a lender about this. Because of my job I have to travel a lot these days and won't be able to start looking for my home before the end of 2009 but as this is my first home purchase I want to do the proper research and come prepared. The advice you have given me is great. I've read in the papers that the prices could continue to fall for another year or two, but I guess they could also go up. It seems SoCal is more stable than the rest of the market, though. I suppose at one point you just have to dive head first and hope for the best, right? It's a scary thought. So many questions. What if, what if, what if!?! It's great to see so many helpful people here. Thanks a lot for taking time to answer me. I'm looking forward to maybe working with one of you come 2009! - Fri Aug 1 2008, 10:03
MVPs or 'Most Valuable Players' are key Trulia Voices members who have been contributing high-quality content throughout 2008 and providing valuable advice to consumers and real estate professionals.
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