Distant Island Lot Prices Dictated by Market, Not by Owners
Posted by Todd Covington on Friday, October 21st, 2011 at 12:59am.
I had a conversation the other day with a property owner at Distant Island, one of Beaufort's premier deep-water neighborhoods. The water access at Distant Island is spectacular -- deep and protected.
Our conversation was about Distant Island property values, which, like every other neighborhood in Beaufort, have depreciated these last couple of years.
A few years ago, some deep-water homesites (no house on the property) in Distant Island were listed for more than $900,000. Currently, asking prices for these same deep-water homesites in Distant Island have dropped into the $600,000 to $700,000 range, with one homesite currently listed at $585,000.
There were two deep-water sales on Distant Island in 2010, for $449,000 and $425,000, respectively.
My friend, the Distant Island property owner, was upset because he felt like these two 2010 sellers had hurt neighborhood values by selling in the mid-$400,000 range.
My friend was also upset because another is thinking about listing his deep-water homesite in the low- to mid-$500,000 range.
We in the real estate community have these conversations on a regular basis, and we need to be clear -- sellers don't dictate real estate values. The real estate market establishes values.
Your decision as a seller to not reduce your deep-water homesite below $600,000 has absolutely no affect on the market. You will not prop up neighborhood values one iota with an unrealisting asking price.
Real estate values and prices move to meet the market. These two Distant Island sellers who sold for less than my friend would like were simply listening to the market. And, just for everybody's information, the homesite which sold at $449,000 was originally listed for $750,000. The property which sold for $425,000 was originally listed for $985,000.
Trust me, these property owners wanted to get as much as they could for their homesites. But they also wanted to sell them, so, to their credit, they listened to the market.
There are currently 10 homesites available on Distant Island, including six on the deep-water of either Cowan Creek of Distant Island Creek, which traverse either side of the neighborhood. The median asking price of these available homesites is $602,500. The median asking price of the deep-water homesites is $625,000.
There are five homes currently listed in Distant Island, at a median asking price of $995,000.
Our conversation was about Distant Island property values, which, like every other neighborhood in Beaufort, have depreciated these last couple of years.
A few years ago, some deep-water homesites (no house on the property) in Distant Island were listed for more than $900,000. Currently, asking prices for these same deep-water homesites in Distant Island have dropped into the $600,000 to $700,000 range, with one homesite currently listed at $585,000.
There were two deep-water sales on Distant Island in 2010, for $449,000 and $425,000, respectively.
My friend, the Distant Island property owner, was upset because he felt like these two 2010 sellers had hurt neighborhood values by selling in the mid-$400,000 range.
My friend was also upset because another is thinking about listing his deep-water homesite in the low- to mid-$500,000 range. We in the real estate community have these conversations on a regular basis, and we need to be clear -- sellers don't dictate real estate values. The real estate market establishes values.
Your decision as a seller to not reduce your deep-water homesite below $600,000 has absolutely no affect on the market. You will not prop up neighborhood values one iota with an unrealisting asking price.
Real estate values and prices move to meet the market. These two Distant Island sellers who sold for less than my friend would like were simply listening to the market. And, just for everybody's information, the homesite which sold at $449,000 was originally listed for $750,000. The property which sold for $425,000 was originally listed for $985,000.
Trust me, these property owners wanted to get as much as they could for their homesites. But they also wanted to sell them, so, to their credit, they listened to the market.
There are currently 10 homesites available on Distant Island, including six on the deep-water of either Cowan Creek of Distant Island Creek, which traverse either side of the neighborhood. The median asking price of these available homesites is $602,500. The median asking price of the deep-water homesites is $625,000.
There are five homes currently listed in Distant Island, at a median asking price of $995,000.