The Saint Paul Condo Blog

There seems to be a few distinct pricing categories in Downtown right now.  I thought it would be fun for me to comically break them down into five sections.  Enjoy!

2005 Priced homes.  Otherwise known as pie in the sky prices.  These tend to come from listers that can't deal with the current reality of what the market is doing.  Chance of sale - 1%

Fair Market Value.  This is where most of the homes that are on the market are priced right now.  Not over priced, but definitely not under priced.  On the long haul, purchasing one of these will be seen as a good deal.  Chance of sale - 40%

Investor Owned.  These are units that are not owned by corporations, banks, or government agencies.  These are typically units that were purchased for future gains and were rented out in the mean time.  Pricing on the investor owned properties seem to be pretty fickle.  Some seem to line up with the 2005'ers and others closer to the Bank Owned places.  Chance of sale - 50%

Short Sale Pricing.  Run, run as fast as you can from these.  Rarely will you see a short sale home actually result in a sale.  A short sale is kind of a pre-foreclosure.  The home owner is trying to sell the place for less than their current mortgage.  By doing so, they need the bank's approval before they can actually close.  Banks take weeks to respond to offers, and half the time, the bank will counter for higher than the listed price!  Very frustrating to deal with, you really need a zen-like attitude to try and purchase one of these.  Chance of sale - .00000001%

Bank Owned.  AKA REO Property.  These are typically priced drastically below market and typically sell quickly.  You will know it's a good deal when it's already too late.  Fence sitters be warned.  Chance of sale 100%