Not The Sharpest Tool….

Did you see the Sunday Seattle Times front page article by Elizabeth Rhodes? This condo owner, Paul Kelly, that is crying the blues over his inability to unload his $639,900 condo is NOT typical, as Ms. Rhodes would lead Times readers to believe. His situation is an anomaly, due almost entirely to his own folly, not the current real estate market trends. Follow along as I provide the facts that Ms. Rhodes conveniently omitted:

1. The Worst Part: Contrary to the article’s implication that Paul Kelly purchased his condo in 2004, he actually purchased it 0n April 20……..2007! for the extraordinarily inflated price of $604,000, from a private party. Apparently, no agents were involved in the sale, as I am unable to find a listing relative to his purchase, just the King County Tax Record.

2. Overpaid: Check out this Competitive Market Analysis for city view 1 bed/1 bath condos in the South Lake Union Area dating back to March 1, 2007. The average sold price per square foot is $644. Paul Kelly paid $799/foot.

3. Dumb, then Dumber: First he pays too much, then he asks too much. Oh, WHAT A TERRIBLE MARKET!! His problems have nothing to do with the market. If he paid 24% above the going rate to start with, what makes him think that he can tack on another $55,000 4 months later, taking the value to $871/foot, a 35% boost above what he paid? Yea, I feel terrible for the guy. There just has to be a bigger sucker than him around……isn’t there? Not likely.

4. Accountability: It is unfortunate, but Paul Kelly is the source of his own misery. How Elizabeth Rhodes manages to turn his situation into something that even remotely reflects  current regional real estate market conditions can be attributed to one simple fact: by Ms. Rhodes own admission to me via personal email, “I am a reporter, not a real estate agent.” Nuff said.

5. The Damage: There are many sellers in our market that would like to sell their homes for a fair price. It is the minority that may still be out to gouge someone (call Paul Kelly). It is true that sellers are still adjusting to the changes in the market i.e., learning to price more competitively, improve conditions, stage properly, etc. It is a shame that such brazenly careless reporting likely adds to the hesitancy many buyers are feeling today.