Lest we start believing the open house chill is limited to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Brad Inman checks in from the upper west side of America with an equally bleak weather report:
Yikes. Walked into an open house on Sunday in my suburban San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood. The place was immaculate -- beautiful new expanded kitchen area, nice carpeting, a new redwood deck, impeccable landscaping, fresh paint, a new fence, large corner lot, spacious storage shed. The only other person we saw in there was the desperate Realtor (didn't have the guts to tell her we just bought a place last year). The house has lingered on the market for months already, even after a price reduction and numerous enhancements. Just about a year ago the place probably would have had multiple bids before the homeowner could whisper "sell." Oh the times, they are a-changin'.Meanwhile, Property Grunt follows up to note that not only are buyers fewer in number, they're--how do you say?--less tolerant. He writes, "At one open house a pair buyers whispered audibly how an apartment I was showing was crap...As far as buyers are concerned this seller's market is so OVAH!"
· That Sinking Feeling [Inman Blog]
· Report from the Open House Front [Property Grunt]
· Open House Drought Reports: UWS Chills; Brooklyn Crazed [Curbed]