Reply to Are these H St. NE / Capitol Hill houses priced appropriately?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well-priced houses that show well will have few problems selling, even with the market in a downturn.

But as we've seen with numerous houses brought up in this thread recently, your house is no longer going to fly off the market if it has some flaws. And I'm seeing a whole lot of obviously flawed houses in this area just languish on the market these days. Last year they would have been gone in a week. Those days are over, for now.[/quote]

Having been through a few downturns, I’ve been trying to say this for a while when people are arguing about how much the market will drop. The average market price is just an average and a cooling market disproportionately affects houses with flaws that aren’t fixable (or at least not for a feasible amount of $$).  People who bought perfect houses in desirable locations may lose a bit if they need to sell quickly, but will be ok. [b]People who paid top dollar for flawed houses will be hurt more[/b].  
  [/quote]

I think the bolded is why you see a lot of angst in this neighborhood specifically. Inventory has been really tight for Capitol Hill and H Street for the last 5-6 years. It's a very desirable location to buy for a lot of people, due to the popularity of the elementary schools, the feel of the neighborhood, the appeal of H Street, Eastern Market, and Navy Yard, and the easy proximity to work for a lot of people. As a result, I think a lot of people bought compromise houses -- houses with major issues but that were in their price range and in the neighborhood they wanted. Those are the houses that are now sitting. And for people who bought them in the last 5 years, I don't really feel bad for them. It's not realistic to expect to realize gains on a house you bought at the the peak of a cycle in just a few years, especially not if the house has some significant downsides like being located on a very busy street or lacking outdoor space or having a weird layout or being in desperate need of a new kitchen. The old 7-10 year rule still applies -- don't buy a home you can't see spending at least 8 years living in before selling, and you will generally make a sound investment. Never assume you can sell something for 20% over what you paid in just 3-4 years. If it happens, bully for you. But don't bank on it.[/quote]

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