Posted by Rich-CA on March 28, 2008 at 22:37:17:
In Reply to: Possible bird dog deal posted by Jamal on March 28, 2008 at 14:13:35:
In some areas properties are dropping fast enough that 6 months ago is higher than you could get today. You have to know which way your market is going and how fast. Then get comps that match that criteria. If you cannot find any or the comps are really different (age, neighborhood, or there just aren't any close matches and you need to calc out the sq ft), it means that the answer is nothing is selling at that price, which means the property is effectively worth nothing until priced in a range where a buyer makes an offer.
BTW: if the seller is asking $180k, its possible that is the current market value. I always assume that the asking price is at or above market.