Real Estate: Lives on Hold
Lives are put on hold while waiting for a home to sell.
Sept. 24, 2007— -- Celine Damonte and her fiance Warren Ganda have found their dream house. It's a brand new, five bedroom home that they say is the perfect place to combine their five daughters under one roof. Despite putting down a $7,000 deposit and plans to finalize the purchase next month, the dream house may be out of reach.
Damonte and Ganda first need to sell their existing houses, and like many other home sellers today, they are having no luck as an increasing number of homes are sitting on the market longer and selling for less. In Antioch, Ca., where Damonte and Ganda live, almost 1,300 homes are for sale - creating a backlog of inventory that could take nearly two years to sell.
Damonte spent weeks primping her house, and even has a website for her home, but has yet to find a buyer after 65 days on the market. The delay has put the couple's wedding plans on the back burner.
"I just need one buyer," said Damonte. "How could it be there's no buyers?"
To see Damonte's house, click here!
Her fiance Ganda is also frustrated by the situation.
"We never thought that the real estate market ... was what would hold us back," he said.
Suzanne Lambertson and John Anderson of Fountain Valley, Ca. are another couple whose life plans are held hostage by today's real estate market. Lambertson and Anderson are getting a divorce but need to continue living together until their home sells. Despite their house's stellar selling points -- it's a new five bedroom custom home that is close to the beach and near good schools -- they have had no offers after two months on the market.
ABC News arranged for realtor and author of "Flipping Confidential" Kirsten Kemp to meet both families and help them with their home sales. Despite today's tough market, Kemp says a sale is possible, with the right marketing plan and pricing strategy.
"There's a lot of buyers out there willing to buy it because they've been waiting on the sideline for this very moment. And they're gonna look for value," Kemp said. "You can't just throw a 'For Sale' sign up now and get it sold. It's not gonna happen in this market."
