Another miracle of real estate…

I had the opportunity to hear all about yet another miracle of real estate. It seems that the property that I visited recently on a potential listing appointment was somehow overlooked by the angry gods of real estate and spared any apparent loss in value. Nestled in a neighborhood that was ravaged by those same angry gods to the tune of 45% value losses over the last few years, this property was somehow passed over and has retained its peak value, according to the homeowner.

Not only have the gods of home devaluation smiled upon this house, but many of the minions that associate with those gods have also decided that this house will be the exception. The god of home mechanicals has determined that the 30 year old furnace probably has another 30 years in it, so there is no need to replace it, nor the water heater which is after all on 15 years old. The goddess of roofs has decreed that 30 years have not diminished the sturdy shingles that make it up and indeed she has directed many of the shingles to curl up in smiles in celebration. The goddess of the galley kitchen has joined the celebration by assuring the owners that retro-look vinyl countertops are back in favor and that Harvest Gold appliances are again all the rage in kitchen design.

The owners also took offense at my suggestion that replacements for their old aluminum framed windows might add value. They have been assured by the window spirits that aluminum is much sturdier than those new-fangled vinyl windows. They also assured me that air conditioning is not required, since it only gets hot a few weeks each year and the goddess of comfort is perfectly happy with just opening the windows during those warm stretches.

Needless to say, we could not arrive at an agreement on a listing price. They certainly felt sympathy for the unfortunate other homeowners in their sub whom the gods had not passed over and who have sold in the last 2-3 months for so much less than their home is worth; but they opined that they certainly aren’t going to give their home away, so they’ll find someone else who will appreciate its value more than I did.

I thanked then for their time and wished them luck and stood outside for a while looking for any visible sign that the gods may have used to mark this house for the various miracles that have occurred for it. I couldn’t see any through the overgrown bushes that completely obscure the front of the house.