An increasing number of sellers are slashing their asking prices to generate interest, pushing down the median price. In Sarasota-Bradenton, for example, the median price went to $277,900 from $340,700 during the year-over-year period ended in October. Economist Stan Geberer of Fishkind and Associates notes that most homeowners who sell this year after making purchases last year at the market’s peak will be “upside down” in their mortgages, though Geberer believes these homeowners would be in the same situation even if median prices were rising at the typical 4- to 8-percent rate. Rather than lower asking prices, C.J. Hahn of Transcontinental Lending Group says sellers would be wise to offer to buy down the buyer’s mortgage rate. This would reduce their losses and give them a competitive edge while enabling buyers to save more money than they would with a traditional price reduction.
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) (11/30/06) Pollick, Michael
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