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WendyJean · Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 7

I live in Middle Tennessee and we are getting ready to put our house on the market; however, with all the news reports about the housing market, we don't know what to believe. We have some people saying it isn't slow in our area, which I tend to believe with all the new construction and the houses selling. What do you think?

PJ · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 3

The housing market is very bad in some area and some are holding their own.It will probably get worse before it gets better.

DJB0242 · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1

Wendy, what has your Realtor told you? Did they paint a good picture? Did they tell you the truth. The market is a little difficult in places. It's best to make sure your property is the best it can be and priced better than the rest in your neighborhood. You may not get what you thought you could in this market. I just had an offer for a $398,000 house - offer was $360,000. I had another offer of $175,000 on a $200,000 house. So expect this kind of thing. Also it may take quite some time to even get an offer. Just some "maybe's". But want you to be prepared for the worse. Good Luck!

Sue · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 4

You should talk to a professional. Don't believe any joe down the street from you with unfounded optimism in his head. The new construction is part of the problem. The biggest problem right now is that is harder to get mortgages and rates on those mortgages are up nationwide. Forget about the selling part, what about the buying part after you've sold? Have you and your husband thought about that yet? How much would you be paying on the new mortgage vs the one you already have? You really need to talk to a professional in your area about all these things. I don't know anything about Tennessee but good luck!

thinking-guru · Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 7

Hard to answer this briefly but I'll try.The housing market is in a huge corrective state - meaning there were various recent factors that caused the current slump: over priced homes (not overvalued), too many homes for sale and not enough buyers, side-show Bob mortgage brokers who put people into incorrect loans, similar brokers who lied on application to make a quick buck (but didn't care about their clients future - i.e. option arm loans), lenders who were willing to give loans to people with VERY shaky applications, etc. etc. What you here on the news is nothing but overblown doom & gloom - which is exactly what almost ALL news is (ever hear anything good coming out of Iraq? not from the news - go talk to an actual Iraq War veteran to find out the true facts). Also what you hear (housing market) in the news is geographical. Certain areas of the country have major problems with overpriced homes (California, Florida, Texas). Oddly enough these areas are often the same places where the bad loans were issued. The vast majority of home loans are fine - no defaults. The news won't tell you this because it is boring. They will tell you nothing but fire and brimstone.Here's my advice: be sure of the value of your home before you market it and know all of the costs associated with selling your home prior to listing it. It is a buyers market right now but if you are certain of your homes' value, you'll come out ok. Don't get beat up by low-ball offers made by uneducated buyers due to their equally uneducated realtor. List you home with a reputable realtor and use someone who has been in the business for at least 7 years (which takes you prior to the housing boom).

surfbum68m · Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Posts: 6

The real estate market sucks. and today the fed didn't lower the prime rate so it's not going to get any better. Also with lenders dropping programs almost daily there are less and less buyers who will qualify.

VOLLEYBALLY · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

Pretty horrible in the NorthEast