Why would anyone want to spend 300K or more on a piece of property that is less than 1500 sq. ft. and your property taxes are at least 4k?? where the market went wrong is how much $$ per sq. ft.; which no one thinks about anymore- I think home prices in balt city are finally coming back to where they should be; also, everyone I know who has purchased a home in the last 3yrs has had to do some work on it- kitchen, bathroom, carpet, etc..... no one is selling move in perfect homes because their isn't money to be put in to them.... that update would only add to selling expenses which is rarely in most people's budget these days-

Why would anyone pay $300,000 for a gigantic house with massive utility bills, maintenance tasks up to wazoo and with a 90 minute commute?

Real estate is about location, not material value.

I sold my house earlier this year because I felt it was smarter to sell then buy rather than trying to align the two to ease moving. I did a TON of work to my house to get it ready and, as a result, got just below full price. I blindly did everything my agent suggested because I trusted her. In addition to fixing or replacing things, she also had a list of things that I should not do because it wouldn't affect the sale. What is the point of hiring an expert if you ignore their advice?

I've been looking at homes in the $250-300K range since then and it's depressing. Like the buyer in your post stated, there is always a major issue. If the house is amazing, the neighborhood stinks. If the neighborhood is great (rare in Baltimore), the house is a shack. If they remodeled the kitchen, they used cheap materials or it's ugly as sin.

If every room is covered in hideous wallpaper, guess what? YOU should remove the wallpaper before you even list it. I'm simply not going to be excited about your house if I see future projects everywhere. I personally think sellers are being passive\aggressive and not making repairs or updates to sort of make a statement that they aren't getting what their house is worth. "I'll take less money but I'm not fixing anything!"

Do sellers think I'm too picky? I don't care because it's a buyer's market. When I bought my last house in 2005 it had major issues and I ignored them all because it was a seller's market. I bid $5K over the asking price and didn't even consider asking for closing assistance knowing I would have to make repairs. I did the same on 3 other houses within days of being listed and was outbid each time. But it's not 2005 anymore.

i've spent 4-5 months of looking and touring at least 30 houses. tthis isn't; a big number, but its virtually every decent house listed in Southeast Baltimore above the tunnel and within my price range. i've only seen 3 houses in my price range sell during this time--all of them were aggressively priced with good location. everything else has sat on the market a long time, sometimes with more than 1 price reduction. some houses even went off the market for a time then came back on (apparently, this generates attention because the listing services view it as a new listing then and you don't see its been for sale for a year or more unless you look at the details).

all the intelligent commentary i have seen (meaning, economists and policy makers) seems to say that housing is still somewhat above its historical mean, in terms of inflation adjusted prices compared to median incomes. moreover, like this blog has noted, there is over a yr's worth of inventory on the market! and that's not counting all these foreclosures that will be leaking onto the market... eventually, when the paper work gets straightened out.

i know its mean, but i can't help but shake my head at these delusional sellers who say things like "i guess i could drop my price $5k... but no more". it's like--"then why list your house at all?!?!" so many times you see a shabby house with 20 yr old carpet and 70s era kitchen priced at 20% more than the foreclosure just a block away. sadly, the foreclosure is way more appetizing because at least the bank isn't emotionally attached to crappy 30 yr old cabinetry and tacky drop ceilings.

i'm pretty sure 5 yrs ago you could sell an ugly house for a decent price. now, not so much.

I have the opposite problem from the other posters here, namely I tend to like most houses that I see and I usually concentrate on their strong points.

All houses have their charm, but if you look for "everything" in a house, I imagine you're bound to be disappointed.

I see many people downsizing when looking for a home nowadays. They are also looking for the deal. I know the market is depressed but buyers are expecting too much for their dollar. On the other hand sellers must be more realistic in their pricing.

I just represented a client who purchased a home through an auction and got it for about $100,000 under market. The home needs about $30,000 in updates.

Bottom line, buyers are not out there right now. The economy has everyone worried.

If you are so pressed and picky, why don't you just build your own home?

Seriously! If a person is selling in this market, it probably isn't because they are trying to make a profit, or have tons of money in reserve to sink further into their depreciating asset!

Really, would you sink more money than was spent redecorating the Titanic? Seriously!

People looking at houses need to be realistic too...Personally, I think buyers should just wait another year. I bet that is when all that juicy shadow inventory is going to hit the market - and it is going to be way cheap, so everything you put down on a house today, will be flushed down a toilet!

This is further reason why you would be an idiot to buy anything right now...And why you would be an idiot to keep hoping that one day your depreciating/underwater home will recover...

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/joseph-stiglitz-corporate-crooks-to-jail/19684353/