Star Wars Comic Book, Issue #1
When I was a child, I used to read and collect comic books. I read them for fun and enjoyment when I was in elementary school, but when I reached 12 years old or so, I fancied myself to be a serious comic book collector in the making. I purchased the ”Official” comic book value guide, and made my purchases based on what seemed would be likely to appreciate in value. Someday, maybe one of my purchases would be the next Action Comics #1 (the one which introduced Superman), or X-Men #1. As I got more serious about it, and made my purchases, I began to discover that what the “Official” book said that a particular item was worth, and the price that I could get for that same item, was very different. I found out, and what many collectors (whether it be baseball cards, Hummels, antique vases, etc.) have known for years is this: Your _____________ (insert item here) is only worth what someone will pay for it.
I think that is where we are with real estate values in our market here in Columbus and Central Ohio. As everyone by now must be aware, values have dropped here in our market in the last two years, although we never had a crazy runup that other markets had. There are many frustrated sellers trying to get more for their home than the market will bear. Is that 30-year old house that has been wonderfully updated, with the gorgeous landscaping, in a respected school district worth the $100/square foot that they think it is? In my opinion, probably so. If you had to buy land and hire a contractor to replicate the house as it stands, it would most likely cost much more. BUT (and it’s a big,big but), if that homeowner had to sell it in the next ninety days, they probably would not be able to get that magic number that they want to get. Will they be able to get that price in a couple of years? Probably. Maybe. Depends. Now for those folks that built a new home during the 2004-2007 era, in the $300k – $1+ million market segment, that is a totally different story. I have NO crystal ball for our friends in that arena. This conversation is for the folks that own homes in the mid/median market for our communities.
So is that wonderful house WORTH that $100/square foot? YES! Can they get that out of it right now? Most likely, no.
