That was then......

With all of this bad news on the California real estate market, you would think that most sellers got the memo that things have changed. Apparently, there are still some sellers who think it is still 2005, and that none of these things effect them. So here are some examples about how things have changed since that 2005 market. Maybe some sellers will get a clue.

Then: Hoping for multiple offers on your home Now: Hoping for multiple showings (i.e., more than one) a month

Then: Buyers writing cute, heart wrenching letters about how badly they want the house Now: Sellers writing desperate, heart wrenching letters to potential buyers hoping they buy the house
Then: Listing agents putting a “Coming Soon” sign rider as soon as the sign goes up Now: Listing agents putting a “Price Reduced” sign rider on as soon as the sign goes up

Then: Sellers informing buyers that they will look at all offers a week from Tuesday at 4:00 PM Now: The lender informing the sellers that their home will be sold a week from Tuesday at 4:00 on the courthouse steps

Then: Smug Realtors telling someone who works at Starbucks that they don’t make enough to qualify to buy a home Now: Desperate Realtors working at Starbucks learning that they don’t make enough to refi out of their option ARM

Then: Sellers worried when their home is on the market for more than 5 days Now: Sellers relieved that their home was only on the market for 5 months

Then: 30 year old homes with green shag carpeting and harvest gold appliances are “retro cool” Now: 30 year old homes with green shag carpeting and harvest gold appliances are Expired Listings

Then: Sellers want to interview 3 top producing realtors to list their home Now: Sellers have a
hard time finding 3 top producing realtors

Then: Homeowners using their home like an ATM Now: Homeowners realizing their home is overdrawn

Then: Appraisers doing drive by appraisals, not even bothering to go inside the house since values are going up Now: Appraisers doing drive by appraisals and not going inside the house because they want to avoid getting beat up by angry, unhappy sellers

Then: Buyers buying houses “as is”, with minimal to no inspections Now: Buyers getting 27 inspections, including soil samples, air samples, written interviews with neighbors, deposition style interrogation of sellers over the disclosures, satellite images (from multiple angles at different times of day), and a comprehensive inspection from that hyper guy on Extreme Home Makeover

Then: Buyers having a minister or family priest bless the house after they close Now: Sellers having a minster or family priest perform an exorcism on the house after it has sat on the market for 8 months.