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In a Downswing, Looking Up
Corbin and Deanna Behnken recently traded up to a single-family home in Haymarket . "It's much nicer than I ever thought I would have," Deanna says.
(Photos By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
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Daniel Moshinsky, 26, a computer programmer for the Census Bureau, also watched prices climb in the five years after he graduated from college, outstripping his wage gains.
"My reaction was horror," he recalled. "I thought, 'Will I ever get a house?' I felt like I had missed the Gold Rush, that everybody was making money in real estate and that I was left out."
Moshinsky, who lives in a townhouse in Silver Spring with three roommates, still can't afford the home he would like. Now, though, he is "hopeful," he said. "I hope prices keep falling a little bit longer. So far they haven't fallen enough to be affordable."
Some people who already own homes but are looking to trade up to a more expensive house are also pleased, even if they are losing out a bit on the selling side. For Deanna Behnken, 26, part of the pleasure of her recent home-buying experience was that she felt no sense of urgency. In late 2003, when she and her husband, Corbin, bought their townhouse in Gainesville, they felt pressured to buy quickly because they feared if they delayed, the property would be snatched up by someone else.
"It was kind of 'Hurry up, find a house, anything,' " she recalled. "Now, time is on your side."
Earlier this year, they found a new, single-family house in Haymarket with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a yard that backs up to a forested area. The price had been cut from $624,000 to $544,000 -- a stretch, but one they could afford. The builder was eager to make a deal because it had been sitting vacant since April.
"It's much nicer than I ever thought I would have," she said. "Everything is top of the line."
First, though, the Behnkens had to sell their townhouse. It took four months and a $50,000 price reduction.
"I still made a profit, and in the grand scheme I was able to upgrade and come out ahead," said Behnken, a hospital contract specialist with a medical diagnostic laboratory. Her husband is an engineer.
The decline in prices is making other buyers wary because they fear purchasing in a declining market. Scott McCrimmon, 34, a software engineer, has been studying the market for a year, since he and his wife moved to the Washington area from Miami. They are renting a house in Germantown and will wait to see what happens in the spring.
"I have a strong suspicion the market is still a bit overpriced," McCrimmon said. "There may be some basis for why others are not buying, so I'm holding back, too."
