Housing Bust Leaves Most D. C. Area Sellers at a Loss

The Washington Post reports:

Never mind a profit. Breaking even would have been nice.

But Tammy and Charles Bloomer are losing more than $100,000 on their Silver Spring home, which they bought for $525,000 four years ago. The house, now under contract to be sold, lost value even though the couple had remodeled the kitchen and replaced the roof, furnace and windows.

"Unfortunately, we bought at the peak of the market," said Tammy Bloomer, a federal worker who is moving to take a job in Chicago. "The market is terrible now."

In the past six months, most Washington area sellers have lost money on houses they purchased since prices started climbing in 2000, according to a Washington Post analysis of residential sales. In the first three months of this year, 62 percent of local home sellers accepted less than they paid for their homes, in part because aggressively priced foreclosures have dragged down prices around the region.

The National Association of Realtors used to say it's always a good time to buy. I guess not.