At what price should you list your downtown Durango house? Open letter to Durango Real Estate Sellers….
I was just asked by a past client to reassess what they could sell their downtown Durango historic property for. It’s a 2800 SF home on a double lot, located on our historic Third Avenue, absolutely a great location. The house has some upgrades but is really in need of a serious remodel/rebuild. I thought I would share with you the advice I gave them(click on the links to listings for more information as well).
“About your house… hmmm …. we had it listed for $659,000 two years ago, when the market was better, and really didn’t get much response on that price then. Now it’s a different market, even tougher.
Here is a link to all active listings in the historic downtown area with more than 1800 sf, there have been no sales in this size range downtown in 2009…
I also searched for all in-town, 2-5 BR, over 1800 SF, and here’s the summary. There are 81 listings and only 11 sold in the first 5 months of this year. Of these 11, 9 sold for under $500,000, one for $533,000 ($50,000 under asking) and one for $733,000 ($60,000 under asking). That means that 1. only about one in 8 houses will sell every 5 months and 2. 8 of 10 houses selling are under $500,000. and 3. it’s a buyer’s market. People are downsizing and definitely not spending what they did a few years ago.
All that being said I’d say we could list your house for $550,000 to $600,000 and not be out of line with other listings, but given the current market and buyers and the fact that nothing downtown has sold, if you really want to sell this year I’d price it at $425,000 to $475,000 at the most. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, but I don’t think I’d be doing you any favors by not being realistic. You are probably better off waiting for the market to get better. Or sell at a loss and reinvest in cheap properties in Denver??? I’m sure you would get significantly more cash flow over there. (these clients have moved to Denver).”
If the links don’t work (they are only good for 30 days) or if you’d like my price opinion on your house, or see links to different listings just call or email. We are here to help.
Claudia Williams
Owner/Broker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
Your Durango Colorado Real Estate Source
970 749 3555
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