Real NEastate: Is my new house worth less now?

Q: I just bought a house in Rhawnhurst on Horrocks Street for more than $150,000 and I just found out another house listed on Horrocks Street just sold for $40,000! Is my house worth less now?

A: The average sold price in Rhawnhurst is $155,000 right now. Of the 43 homes sold in the last four months, the lowest priced home was a two-bedroom bank-owned property for $85,000, so $40,000 would be a steal in Rhawnhurst.

Are you sure this home is close to yours? It could be miles away. Horrocks Street is a long street that runs through more than one Northeast neighborhood. You would have to live close by for this home to be the cause of a loss in value in your neighborhood. If the $40,000 home sold was in Northwood, then properties in Castor Gardens or Rhawnhurst wouldn’t be affected.

Even if the $40,000 home were on your block, just because it sold right after you bought your home does not mean that your value is diminishing today. The home could have been a distressed property, meaning it was a foreclosure or short sale. It could have needed a lot of work and not even compare to your home’s value.

If this home had been in Rhawnhurst, it would affect someone’s value who is selling in the next few months, but unless all the homes in Rhawnhurst started selling for $40,000 or less, I wouldn’t worry about one well below-market sale. It’s likely you’ll live in your home for at least the next five to seven years and it will be a whole new real estate market then.

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams. Her Real NEastate column appears every Wednesday on NEastPhilly.com. See others hereRead other NEast Philly columns here.

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