Real estate deals coming undone more often
As the real estate market slows, deals are coming undone at a rate that's up to twice that of last year, as buyers get much more finicky about what they're willing to put up with when buying a home and sellers continue to expect high prices according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Indeed, in places like San Francisco, where high-end prices have fallen by as much as 20% during the past year, some buyers are jumping in and out of deals, looking to squeeze out concessions or score bargains. Among the more uncommon demands: A sport fisherman buying a condo wanted to put a refrigerator next to his parking space in the garage to store his daily catch. When the condo association said no, he backed out.
Then there's the boomerang effect: Anthony Papadakis, for instance, really wanted a condominium in the city's Cow Hollow neighborhood, but the one he liked was too pricey. So he went to contract on a cheaper place in the Marina district -- even putting down a $27,000 deposit and giving his friends his new mailing address. Then, not one but two buyers for the Cow Hollow home backed out, and the broker called him to let him know it was back on the market -- and marked down. Though it meant forfeiting his deposit on the condo, Mr. Papadakis leapt, getting the place for a little more than $1 million, or about $200,000 less than the original asking price. "It was too good to turn down," he says.