A recent SA post about home values got me looking for what my condo would sell for. It's in one of two high-rise buildings with many similar units, so it's probably easier for me to determine my home's value than for homeowners with a unique house. (On the other hand, depending on the condition, the age of the appliances, and so on, values within our association can vary pretty widely.)
I found a handy site (trulia.com) that lists recently sold homes in a particular ZIP code. They listed six 2BR condos in my complex that had sold between January and late August of this year.
The three that had sold between January and April had been bought for $134K, $143K and $140K, for an average of $139K. Those are scary numbers because I have the condo valued at $160K!
But the three that sold from June to August went for $169K, $165K and $154K. That averages out to $162,500. Even though the most recent sale is significantly lower than the other two, that doesn't worry me too much because there are other factors. But to play it safe, I'm not going to move my own estimate of my home's worth up to $162.5. I'll keep it at $160K, especially since the market has not stopped roiling yet. (Plus, if we were to sell, I'm sure we'd have to do at least $2500 worth of repairs and upgrades to get it sellworthy.)
Kinda glad I missed that bottoming out of the values January-April. I didn't realize it had gotten that bad! (For comparison's sake, we bought for $207K; the home was originally for sale at $200K but we rolled closing costs in and it actually did get appraised at $207K.)
Condo value: inconclusive
October 14th, 2009 at 08:48 pm
October 15th, 2009 at 12:27 am 1255562874
October 15th, 2009 at 01:46 am 1255567608
October 15th, 2009 at 03:30 am 1255573835
bromoney: I just found it by accident Googling my address and "for sale"!
October 15th, 2009 at 03:58 am 1255575533
October 15th, 2009 at 07:50 am 1255589404
our intention is to hopefully make some money from the sale of our house in 10 years or so - but currently it's worth exactly what we paid for it (or less even). am i supposed to be bothered? i have just heard too many people upset over something that shouldn't really upset them. of course prices will go up eventually!
October 15th, 2009 at 03:23 pm 1255616622
Silly, I admit it. If I do go back to negative net worth you'll have to help me snap out of it.