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High-End Home Demand Dips In Markets That Once Sizzled By MOTOKO RICH
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
When Michael Peterson and his wife Yevette bought their three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom house for $295,000 in Austin, Texas, in November 2000, they paid the full asking price. "If you didn't snag it quickly, things were gone," says Mr. Peterson, who moved to Austin to work for a dot.com.
A year later, Mr. Peterson was laid off, and the couple decided to sell their home. They put it on the market for $295,000, but got no bites. After three months, they lowered the price to $268,500. Last month, they sold it for $265,000.
In a potentially troubling development, a small but growing number of homeowners are selling their homes for less than they paid. Owners of high-end houses are facing the biggest problems. While many of the cities involved are not surprisingly high-tech areas like Austin and San Francisco, slower growth and instances of price cuts are now becoming more widespread. For example, appreciation has slowed considerably in places such as Baton Rouge, La., Charleston, S.C., and Detroit.
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