signonsandiego.com: http://tinyurl.com/afg6n
“S.D. blazes new trail in housing slowdown”
signonsandiego.com: http://tinyurl.com/afg6n
The market is giving Teresa Generas the jitters, causing her to pray for somebody to buy her 1931 Mission Revival bungalow, which has been on the market more than six months.
“It’s getting a little bit scary right now,” she said. “I’m not a person of means. I’m a retired nurse and a widow and I don’t have millions to call upon.”
Generas, 64, moved to a condo in Tierrasanta last spring and put a $1.1 million asking price on her 1,879-square-foot, three-bedroom home in Kensington. Since then, it’s been in and out of escrow three times and is listed at $950,000 to $975,000. Her son Tony is house-sitting and helping cover her two mortgage payments, which total $6,000 a month. But she’s not ready to accept lowball offers.
“I just refuse to believe that there’s been that much of a dip,” she said.
Lowering the price more doesn’t interest her. “I think people who can afford this house wouldn’t care that much anyway,” she said.
…Karen Peterson, last year’s president of the realty association, said sellers shouldn’t panic and buyers should not hesitate if they find what they want. “I think we’re still adjusting,” Peterson said. “Last year was such a hot market.”
She said that in a few cases buyers are outbidding each other. Areas where prices are down saw rapid increases earlier. But the big bugaboo remains the anticipation that the proverbial real estate “bubble” will burst.
“People think prices are going to go down and the statistics keep telling us they’re not,” Peterson said. “They need to buy. We have an excellent inventory, excellent interest rates. What are they waiting for?”
