Jan 09
I made the mistake of checking our estimated house value on the home site Zillow yesterday.
True to form every $1 we’ve invested in the house has lowered the value of the house by $2.
Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?
I then realized who is behind the sales pitch that says: "every $1 you spend on your house is $2 back."
It’s what Home Depot and Lowes and the contractors say.
Much like the jeweler that says you should spend three months salary on the wedding ring.
It will be nice and we will enjoy living in the completed project (we’d better) but it would have been interesting to enter the real estate market here in Stockton now instead of 8 months ago.
9 Responses to “Home Values”
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January 9th, 2008 at 11:25 am
If you keep your nose clean so you can keep your job for a few years, you should recover. We’re watching the market and hoping we can get in at the right time. Our neighbors have seen the value of their house drop by over $100,000! That hurts.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I received some “zillow shock” when I saw their estimation of my home’s value. I guess I’ll stay away from the home improvements to keep the value up.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
We really wanted to rent in Flint for a year, but there was just no way to pass up the favorable conditions in the market. I read an interesting article after going on our house hunting trip about the effects the foreclosure crisis is having on the rental market. There’s a trickle down effect in that the families that should own their homes are now renting homes, which is driving the rental prices up. That’s pushing families that use to rent houses into apartments, and families that use to rent apartments into living with family members or even into homelessness.
The amount we are paying for our house is less than the rent for three bedroom apartments we looked into and much, much less than the three bedroom houses we looked at renting. And on the upside, we get to keep Cody.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Keep in mind that at the time most of us purchased wedding rings, three months salary might have bought low grade cubic zirconium. Maybe that’s the principla Zillow is working under.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
You mean you’re not going to finish the project and then move out??
January 9th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Ouch. It reminds me of the film from Superman where Lex says, “when I was 16 my father said to me…”
Ms. Tesmacher: “Get out.”
Lex: ….no, he said people will always need land.”
Or something like that.
Anyway, the market will turn around and you’ll be fine. Afterall, it is the only thing they are not making any more of.
Thurman8er’s comment cracked me up. It is like he knows my wife.
See you in Fresno.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
All I can add to this exchange is that houses are NOT selling in Memphis. A young family member has had his house on the market for almost a year. He and his wife found a house they really, really wanted and put down an amount to hold it contingent on the sale of their house. Time was running out, so they went ahead and closed on the one they want, moved, and their house still hasn’t sold. While I can only say “high five” to someone who can make two house notes, wish they hadna dun it!
January 10th, 2008 at 5:17 am
I think of you guys and your situation a lot, praying for you often. I have no idea how much our place is worth, and, in my case, ignorance is bliss.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
like thurman8er, when i hear of improvements i ask when they’re planning to move. my husband always cringes at the idea that we reside in mediocrity, and then make those improvements for other’s comfort. (an other commodity vs memory debate)…
i hope that the improvements will prove satisfying and that the value will turn around for you.