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House prices on houses like the one I live in (real houses in good repair) are holding steady in our neighborhood. I don't expect the value of our house to drop; my folks picked it up for a good price and we're putting in the work to improve it. The house next door recently went up for sale; they're asking more than I thought they would, to be honest. We live in a college town, so houses are always worth something, even as investment properties, but it remains to be seen if houses will actually move at their list prices. One of the houses down the street has been for sale for quite a while; I think the home belonged to an elderly gentleman who died and now his kids are trying to sell it. They don't seem to be in much of a hurry; it's been on the market for months but the price hasn't changed a bit, despite the distinct lack of street appeal (the house is cute, but the yard is overgrown and full of blackberries, so it makes passerby wonder what state the house must be in).
The value of my parents' home in Washington hasn't dropped either. They're going to put it on the market soon, and are asking $600,000. Admittedly, their property is a rarity in their area (an actual home on the waterfront with a double lot), and they've put in a lot of work to improve it (new kitchen, refinished floors, new master bath, new carpets throughout). They're very encouraged, as they've already received a couple of inquiries, even though the house isn't for sale yet.
I agree with Tully--some markets in our neck of the woods are correcting themselves down to levels that are more realistic. This is true here too--but it's true in more of the outlying neighborhoods without the proximity to the university, and true in the neighborhoods dependent on Hewlett-Packard workers to buy homes.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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