Looking to sell house as Tear Down in Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

Kehoe Construction has built at least one house (perhaps two houses) on our street in Bethesda in the past two years. They still regularly send letters to the rest of us on the street to ask if we'd like to have them purchase our house to tear it down and then build a new house. The houses that they are built look really nice, even if it makes the other (original 1950's) houses on the street look shabby and small.
https://www.kehoeconstruct.com/portfolio

[Anonymous]

We had a lot of work done on our home and realtors keep stopping by to see if we are selling. We are just upgrading. We may have a list of ten people interested and we aren't even in Bethesda. We live in Rockville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, you're looking to sell "As is". This does not mean that your house is so damaged that it's a tear-down.

Second, we bought an "as-is" fixer-upper in Bethesda, gutted and renovated and have lived in it for 15 years. Usually these types of listings do not mention the words "tear-down" or "fixer-upper" - that would open the door to low-balling. They say something euphemistic like "renovate to your liking, or rebuild on this expansive lot!".

In boom times, developers flocked like crazy to these listings, but now with mass layoffs in the federal government, it might be a different situation.

OP Here. I get what you're saying about maybe someone would like the house in it's current condition and size.

We want to sell quickly and don't have time to get it ready for listing and photos. We were planning to build an addition onto this house when we bought it, but at this point, we don't want the hassle of going through that process while living here. We'd prefer to move into an existing house and make cosmetic improvements like painting and kitchen/bath renovations.

It's not deteriorated or damaged, just not much difference between Zillow/redfin estimate and what houses are being sold for that are torn down. Maybe a 100K difference in most circumstances.

Sounds like maybe there will be some benefit to listing "as is." We did renovate bathrooms, kitchens, and repaint when we bought 10 years ago. There may actually be some money left on the table if we don't try to list it.

PP you replied to. Sure. I live near downtown Bethesda, where people have more money than sense. My neighbor renovated her house to sell it - a charming storybook cottage in pristine condition. The buyers she selected swore up and down they wouldn't touch it, then as soon as she moved out, tore the whole thing down and built 3 times larger (and uglier).

I think your best paid plans will run afoul of this area's poor economic outlook, however. There are more federal layoffs on going and planned and this will have a snowballing effect on the region, which is built on services to the federal workforce. Whatever you do, it might not sell for the price you want.

If you don't need the money, I'd try renting it out instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

It’s the same in N Arlington and McLean (and NW DC) but unfortunately when you bring this up on here, a bunch of people get really agitated and it devolves into an “I feel” vs “The data shows” situation.

[Anonymous]

OP don't narrow down your market or exclude a segment of the market. All the builders look at mls listings as they come on. Most have in house agents, while others have hungry agents who troll the market b/c they want to bring them deals w/ the idea of then listing it to sell when built. Just put it on as-is. You don't have to put money in to stage it or do repairs but spend some serious time decluttering and making it look clean and fresh. You may be surprised at how many bottom of the market buyers you are appealing to - this could be their only entry into a neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Developers are not going to offer you top dollar. A family who can’t afford a new build might be happy to buy your house and renovate it for themselves. List and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

[Anonymous]

All this debate about the state of the market is pointless. This is why you list the house on the MLS and see what happens. If OP does that, I think OP will be pleasantly surprised as long as they don't have unrealistic expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

What is the problem? This is exactly what is happening in my neighborhood and is what two real estate agents I know say is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

What is the problem? This is exactly what is happening in my neighborhood and is what two real estate agents I know say is happening.

I repeat - the bolded section, where OP refers to "starter homes" at ~$1.5m, is idiocy.

How was that all unclear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

What is the problem? This is exactly what is happening in my neighborhood and is what two real estate agents I know say is happening.

I repeat - the bolded section, where OP refers to "starter homes" at ~$1.5m, is idiocy.

How was that all unclear?

Are you a moron?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

It actually makes a lot of sense if you’ve seen the quality of 1.5 homes in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

What is the problem? This is exactly what is happening in my neighborhood and is what two real estate agents I know say is happening.

I repeat - the bolded section, where OP refers to "starter homes" at ~$1.5m, is idiocy.

How was that all unclear?

Are you a moron?

No. But if you think a starter home in Bethesda is $1.5m, you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo builders are sitting on a glut of inventory with not enough demand and the threat of tariffs. That market has really, really, really slowed. They're not anxious to buy property and potentially pay carrying costs for a while.

There's tons of demand in Bethesda. The Bethesda houses that aren't selling have major flaws, but anything decent and reasonably priced sells quickly. Builders have gotten very greedy and are overpricing like crazy, in ways that are not justified by their costs. The market is really favorable for sellers right now in Bethesda, especially closer in (20814, 20816, and some parts of 20817). I know this may be different in other parts of MoCo but Bethesda remains a hot market.

I'm the PP who lives in Bethesda. Not quite. The spring market started as the usual sellers' market, and in March/April, started to really slow down. The expensive end of the market (5-7M) is frozen. The only houses that sold well were the bottom of the market starter homes at ~1.5M (some in As-Is condition).

Now I feel it's a buyer's market... except that a lot of buyers have left the market. So brace yourself, OP.

This post made a lot of sense until the bolded, which calls into question everything else in the post. It's a shame, really, that the PP undercut herself with such idiocy.

What is the problem? This is exactly what is happening in my neighborhood and is what two real estate agents I know say is happening.

I repeat - the bolded section, where OP refers to "starter homes" at ~$1.5m, is idiocy.

How was that all unclear?

Are you a moron?

No. But if you think a starter home in Bethesda is $1.5m, you are.

But many of them are. Calling people names doesn’t change the facts.