Looks like what you may have on your hands is a seller who can afford to wait for someone who’s either desperate or dumb. Or both.

@apoorplayer Yup and we’re neither so it’s okay. It’s a nice place and checks most of our boxes but a place sitting since September is either too good to be true or the sellers have unrealistic expectations.

@apoorplayer It’s a modular home built in on 2.4 acres that’s all wooded except for where the home sits at 2,000 square feet listed for $700,000 in an area where homes are $450-$650 unless they’re exceptionally crafted with history and many dozens of acres (rural Vermont). I offered $550 with no contingencies, not even appraisal and crickets.

Wow. When I was visiting my daughter in Olympia WA we took a quick look at housing prices there and they seem so out of line. I think sellers may not yet have caught up with the realities of the housing market. So few young people have money to buy these homes at these prices and with rates this high.

@apoorplayer Indeed! At 700K at 20% down at 6.9% interest, it’s a HUGE monthly payment. Vermont appears to be floating around $500K is “average” now and you’re going to have some things to fix up but it’s a ton of money to get into your first home and it’s entirely rural.

@apoorplayer Quick Chat GPT math on a Vermont community $500K w/ $100K down and today’s property tax / insurance / interest for 30-year fixed is $3700 a month. so that’s $11,000 household monthly income to meet that 30% housing debt-to-income rule or $132,000 a year. And that’s “average”

sigh. This makes me terribly sad. My house is paid off, and my plan is to stay here until it’s impossible not to. I’ve already deeded it over to my children, and I hope they have the good sense to hang onto it as a last refuge for their retirements.

@apoorplayer Indeed. $130K a year is way higher than Vermont’s “average household income” which is $78,024.