Yes, Orlando, it is time to get off of the fence and purchase a home. Let me qualify that. That is if it is within your means to do so financially. The previous mentality that we’ve seen has hopefully stopped, but unfortunately, once things get better, people tend to forget. Sad but true!
There have been several articles over the past week and half that I’ve read that have shown once again how Florida and especially Orlando have bucked the national trend in real estate.
According to NAR (the National Association of Realtors®), not only did the number of existing home sales dip 19.3% below the previous years sales in March, but they also slipped from February to March of this year. Now, before I get into the Orlando numbers, I must state that there is some conflicting information. While ORRA (the Orlando Regional Realtor Association) reported 1080 closed sales on April 14th for the previous month, in today’s Orlando Sentinel, it was reported at 1312 homes sold.
But even going with the lower figure, sales again increased from February to March as they also did from January to February. I have to admit that at first I pleased with this trend, but was also a little skeptical. Granted, it’s been a couple of months and January’s #’s were quite low.
The national median price is $200,700. In Florida it is $205,600, which represents a 15% drop from the year before. In Orlando, the median housing price is $220K, which is down $20K from or 8.3% from the same period the last two years and in fact is over the 2005 level by 8.2%. In the big picture, that is not too shabby at all. Remember, and I can’t stress this enough, real estate is a long-term investment. Actually, let’s repeat that again – real estate is a long-term investment!
Now back to the original premise of this article. Consider the facts. Interest rates are quite low and this is a buyer’s market where they tend to be much higher. There are so many excellent properties to choose from that are priced correctly for today’s market.
I keep on hearing buyers are concerned and waiting for the prices to hit bottom. Personally, I think this has occurred. Now, while I may not be a seer or have a crystal ball, this is a quite educated stance. If a funny thing, OK well may be not so funny, but people will wait for the prices to rise more and then by the time they get in the game they have risen even more. Just look back over the past couple of years and you’ll see what I mean. Many saw others getting into the market and making some money. They figured that if they can do it, so should I, but they got in too late and are in many cases struggling with the properties that they’ve acquired.
Additionally, Orlando’s affordability index increased in March to 102.35. That means that buyers earning the median income make 2.35% more than necessary to purchase a median priced home.
Orlando, get off the fence and start being realistic about our current market.
Yes, you heard me correctly. Now is an excellent time to purchase that Central Florida home that you’ve been dreaming about! You don’t believe me, well then read on.
If you look historically, you will note that the real estate market is cyclical, but this can also be said of many facets of our society. Check the relationship of recession and inflation in the basic economic cycle. I’m not going to go into that for this article, but you should be able to see my point. One more point, think of a fad, any fad, and you will realize that they as well are cyclical. OK, so onward.
Today, December’s statistics for Monthly Sales and Inventory were published by ORRA (Orlando Regional Realtor Association). Now, while the number of homes being sold in the past month is not equivalent to the sales records that we’ve seen in the past several years - homes are being bought and sold everyday!
We are so very lucky to live in the type of democracy that we do. We have what some may call a Supply and Demand Democracy, whereas the simple aspects of supply and demand control the market and price. Yes, there may be other external forces, but we are just dealing in the basic concept here. No offense, but this is just simple Economics 101. There is no reason to further complicate the matter.
The one main issue that we are experiencing is that the inventory levels are comparatively quite high, but they have been showing a downward trend over the last couple of months. This is a very good sign and will hopefully continue this trend.
OK, I’m sure that some of you are thinking, so what about the subprime debacle that I keep on hearing and reading about in the news. This needs to be put into perspective. According to some of the many articles that I’ve read, the subprime mortgages represent only a quarter of all loans procured. How about the other 75% of the conventional, FHA and other loans that are supposedly performing well? And there have been an extraordinary amount of loans that have been written over the past several years.
We all saw the run up in sales and prices. There was no way that this could have been sustainable for an extended period of time. Yes, the median sales price has dropped as has the average list and sales prices as well. But they are still above the levels of 2½ years ago while this so-called run up was going on.
If you bought your home 3 years ago December in Central Florida utilizing the average sales price, you would have seen an 18½% increase over that period of time. And that translates to over $50K. That is not chump change in any way whatsoever. If you’ve read my past posts, you will note that I’ve stated time and time again, that real estate is not now nor has it ever been a short term investment.
Not all areas of the country are experiencing a downturn in prices. In many areas of the country just the opposite is happening.
I’m not going to sit here and blame the media totally for this negativity. Yes, we know that there are only a few major media conglomerates and they are trying to shore up revenues on all fronts and we know that sensationalism sells. But I also think a good part of it is that they do not understand real estate as well as a professional realtor does. Don’t underestimate your realtor’s knowledge.
In 2005, we were seeing monthly year over increases in the median price of homes of almost 35+% fairly regularly. In 2007, the largest decrease we saw was a little over 10% with the majority of months showing a much less than 4% decrease in year over median price.
We are very lucky to live in Central Florida and the Greater Orlando area. Our region has been for many decades been a destination area. This has helped us greatly. This region is the best performing region in the state of Florida because of such.
There are some great values out there and with interest rates relatively low - This is a great time to buy that dream home!
For more information on Central Florida and Orlando real estate and Central Florida and Orlando homes for sale in addition to Central Florida and Orlando relocation contact Marc Grossman, your Central Florida Realtor @ 407-463-1034. Additional information is available for Seminole County real estate, Orange County real estate, West Volusia County and South Lake County.
To learn more about Marc and the services he has to offer, visit his profile & website.
Marc Grossman, GRI - http://www.OrlandoHomes-4u.com/ - 407-463-1034
Marc donates 10% of his net proceeds to Hospice of the Comforter.
Marc It Sold!
Yes,
Lake Mary Homes for Sale - Now is the time to buy! You may read this and say to yourself, “What is this guy on drugs?” No and hardly are the answers. But let’s look at the facts and take a couple of things into consideration. If you have decent credit and have some available cash for a down payment, then you will most likely be able to get a loan at a decent interest rate.
You think I must be joking, but that’s because you’ve been reading and hearing and have now succumbed to believing all of the doom and gloom about the mortgage and real estate markets. Truth be told, now is an excellent time to purchase a home. With the availability of so many homes on the market in varying sizes, shapes, location and condition - the choices are abundant.
OK, so you are still a little skeptical. Let’s look at the facts a little. The median price in the
Central Florida Greater
Orlando area for homes for sale is $235,000. Let’s take this a step further and put it a little more into perspective. The median price in
Seminole County for homes for sale, where
Lake Mary is located, is just a little over $240,000.
Now to my point. You can buy a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car-garage single family home with over 1500sf that has been totally renovated with a brand new kitchen, brand new bathrooms including tile surrounds, wood laminate flooring in the living and family rooms with a fireplace located in an ‘A’ rated school system close to shopping, major highways and rated by CNN as
# 1 Best Place to Live in Florida and the # 4 city in the U.S for less than $240,000.
This home would have sold for approximately $275K+ a couple of years ago. This home will most likely appraise for much more than the asking price. Automatic equity in your new home, something many have not seen in the last couple of years. And with the market stabilized, you should see a continued growth of such.
Stop listening to the doom and gloom and look at the facts! Now is a great time to shop for and purchase that dream home of yours.
For more information on Lake Mary real estate and Lake Mary homes for sale in addition to Lake Mary relocation contact Marc Grossman, your Lake Mary Realtor @ 407-463-1034. Additional information is available for Seminole County real estate and homes for sale, Orange County, West Volusia County and South Lake County.
To learn more about Marc and the services he has to offer, visit his
profile &
website.
You should! Yes, we’ve read and heard about the all the doom & gloom in the real estate and mortgage industries. And there is a lot of truth to this. But at the same time we need to look at the larger picture. I know that for some that may have gotten caught up in the fiascos of late, that this will be next to if not impossible to do; and, I can greatly understand that. The long and short of it is this - Real Estate was never meant to be a short-term investment and as a long-term investment, it has proven itself time and time again.
Let’s first look at what brought us to this point. Firstly, we found ourselves in a seller’s market, in which the demand was greater than the supply. Part of what led us to this was the attraction of ‘easy money.’ Lenders where making loans & people where procuring loans & in many instances neither should have. We’ve seen interest-only loans, 100% financing with loans, no documentation loans, adjustable-rate mortgage loans, etc. These in themselves are risky, nevermind that fact many did not see or in some cases were never shown the complete picture.
Then we come to the people that were trying to ‘flip’ houses. This is fine and dandy if you bought it at the low end of the market, but many were out there buying at the top of the market and are finding themselves encountering losses or worse yet, a foreclosure.
The lack of buyer confidence in recent months has been one of the principal reasons for holding back sales. That and the fact of high inventories and also that housing prices are out of sync with incomes in many areas. But we are now seeing an increase, unsteady as it may be, in buyer confidence.
It has to be understood that the market changed quite quickly. Builders in general do not have the ability to respond that quickly to market changes. It takes months of planning, permits are pulled, supplies are ordered, etc. This has added to our increase in available homes for sale and has pretty much dampened the existing home market. Builders have been discounting their homes to get rid of inventory. But, we are seeing a cutback in construction and this bodes well for the market in that it will lower the existing inventory & help to steady home prices.
It also appears that the mortgage market conditions are improving and that we are seeing more availability of loans. Granted, most of these are conforming and not subprime, but here we are seeing a resurgence of FHA backed loans.
Yes, we’ve seen a lot of doom & gloom, but there are also a lot of positive signs as well. Everything is relative and has to be put into perspective. This is not the first time that the real estate market has had to deal with a downside. This will also not be the last time. The real estate industry as with almost everything else is cyclical.
Right now interest rates are still relatively low at approximately 6¼%. We are entering an election year; and historically, this has also worked well for real estate sales.
We keep on hearing about the median price and lately we are hearing about it dropping. But much of this could be contributed to the fact that there are fewer transactions at the top of the ladder, so to speak; and, this will just distort the figures downwardly. I still feel that a better judge is the average sales price. Except if you purchased within the last two years during the market run-up, if you wish to call it; you will find what I consider a great deal of appreciation for most of us.
According to the average sales prices in the Greater Orlando area, if you purchased a home 3 years ago, it would have appreciated over 32%. That isn’t too shabby! If you bought that home 4 years ago, we’re looking at approximately a 52% appreciation. Most people on the average own their homes for at least 5 - 7 years. If you bought that home in Sept. ’99, your home would have appreciated approximately 113%.
Again, this just goes to show you that real estate is a great long-term investment if not one of the best. There are many great homes out there & some great deals also. Most expect the value of their home to appreciate over the next five years.
In general, home sales and home prices should increase in 2008 as compared with that of 2007.
Til next time – Marc It Sold!
We are all aware of what’s going on in today’s real estate marketplace. There is no way that you can escape the news. It’s all over on the radio, television and in print. So where do you stand?
Firstly, the situation is not going to change anytime soon. There are too many factors that have contributed to our present market. One of the greatest, that most people are not aware of, is that of the mortgage lending business. This has greatly contributed the our present set of circumstances.
A little history. A long time ago when someone took out a mortgage, they generally had a relationship with their lender, who more often than not was their banker. The banker knew of their ability to repay a loan and lent money on this criteria. The banker also kept and serviced that loan for the life of that particular mortgage.
Well, the industry changed greatly in the past twenty years. Now, the originating lenders take the mortgages that they’ve made and then bundle them up and sell them to investors. Thus, giving the original lender money to go back out and sell more mortgages. This is great in that it brings more available money back into the marketplace. The downside is that the original lender no longer has the risk of carrying that loan. So, therefore, criteria became quite lax for procuring loans.
This is why we are seeing so much trouble with the subprime market. Too many loans were made to people who could marginally afford a home. With interest rates rising so has many adjustable rate mortgages and this further pushed many more people into that group. They couldn’t afford the higher payments and especially with the addition or higher insurance rates & property taxes.
Because so many of these loans were heading towards default, that it why we are seeing a collapse in the subprime market. It used to be that you could find a loan for someone with credit scores of less than 580. Now, that the subprime market is drying up, it is difficult to find a loan for someone with a FICO score under 620.
This fueled a lot of the buying and selling that we saw over the past several years. This, in addition to the fact, that a lot of people as they saw the prices of real estate moving up so quickly wanted to get in on the action also. Unfortunately, a lot of these people should not have. Many used their available funds or even home equities in their primary residences to purchase second homes or rental properties. When they could no longer afford these properties, they tried to sell them, but found that they couldn’t at a profit.
Many also used the increased value of their homes as a sort of spending account. Since incomes were not increasing relative to the value of their property, they would take money out, utilizing home equities, and use this money to buy cars, trips, etc.
But, this had to stop and it did! We were finding more homes languishing on the market. The builders were still building at an expanded pace. Therefore, even more homes on the market. The statistics show that most of these builders made profits last year, but that is now changing. Many, if not most, have seen losses this year. Many builders have stopped building speculation homes.
The combination of all of the things that I’ve just written about has contributed to the glut of properties available for sale. And yes, has driven down the price of homes. If you purchased a home within the last two years, you will find it quite difficult to sell it now at a profit and in most cases breaking even, if you are lucky.
Yes, there are many more factors that have also contributed to our state of affairs, but this is to just give you a general overview. So, now to the title of this blog.
It is definitely a buyer’s market and will remain so for quite some time. Right now in the two counties that make up the majority of the Greater Orlando area, there are over 20K single-family homes, condos, townhomes & villas for sale. This, when in what might be considered a normal market, when there was much less than 1/3 of that number of available properties for sale.
Buyers have a wide selection of properties to look at & choose from. Never has it been greater & especially when you note that the builders are offering such great bargains. Some even $100K and more off of the selling price. Others offering discounts, closing incentives & even a Harley-Davidson in addition. I’ve recently seen a home that was almost 2000sf with a starting price of approximately $250K. And this home wasn’t in the boonies or even near to such, it was right in the metro area.
Now, to the sellers. Unfortunately, there are many that just have to sell. They have to move whether it be for a job transfer, familial reasons, health, etc. These people have no choice. What I’ve stated over and over for these people is that you have to show Price & Value. Your home has to be in tip-top shape. People do not want homes that they have to do work on. There are too many others out there & they will just go to the next one. People are not going to overpay for a property. And this is where it also comes in – sellers have to be realistic in their expectations and pricing. 2005 is a long time ago and has nothing to do with our present real estate market.
Some may read this and think that I am a pessimist. I am not by any means, or at least try not to be. I consider myself a realistic optimist. We are still selling homes, but granted, they are selling at levels that we saw in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. There is over a 16-month supply of available homes on the market.
Real Estate is a great investment, but it has always been meant as a long-term investment. Not, the short-term one it was considered in the recent past. It is no longer the cash cow that we saw through the past several years. There is no real estate bubble that we are going to see burst. But at the same time, you are not going to see lenders utilizing the line-up & sign-up routine of the past for mortgages. The criteria for such has been tightened.
One of the things that quite concerns me is what is going to happen when Wall Street feels the effects of the subprime market. Are we going to be asked to bail them out as we have with property insurance companies, etc? I hope not, they took on the risk & that is where it should stay. It’s not the public’s responsibility to bail out all of these companies. We, as individuals, cannot afford that.
Just remember – Price & Value. If you can show that, you can sell your home.
Until next time – Marc It Sold!
I’m sure that many are asking the same question. I continually keep on hearing that the buyers are waiting for the market to settle down. Buyers are waiting for that killer deal. Buyers are waiting….
OK, so we’ve had a reality lesson for sellers. It’s time for a reality check for buyers. In the Central Florida area, as I am sure with many parts of the country, the real estate housing market has settled down. Yes, there is a great deal of inventory out there, but homes are being sold. Granted, not at as fast a clip as the past few years. But let’s get realistic, that was an anomaly. I doubt if we will see anything like that for a very long time to come.
Sellers seem to be somewhat more realistic in that they are pricing their homes accordingly. I don’t know what so many have in their minds that the market still needs to adjust. It did that last year and that was really finalized by the end of the year. Prices aren’t dropping. They shouldn’t. There are some great values out there. You can actually purchase a home now and walk in their with some equity. Not like what we saw in ’05. This is the way a normal market is supposed to operate.
Prices are not going to go down lower & the interest rates have remained quite low also. This is a great time to purchase a home. There is generally price and value built into these homes. If there isn’t, then move on to the next property. There are enough out there to choose from.
I know some are now blaming the sub-prime market, but then again, these are people that are just always looking for something to blame. Yes, the sub-prime market took a hit. Well, heck, they shouldn’t have issued so many risky, really risky loans. But, there is money out there for people with ‘B/C’ credit. It can be found.
Hello folks, the market has bottomed out. It’s as simple as that. It has turned the corner. I’m not just saying this because I would like some buyers. The stats prove this out as do some of the articles finally being put into print.
I just sold a couple of homes within 45 days in this market. No, they were not underpriced. But, we were able to show Price & Value & everyone walked away from the tables feeling like a winner.
Til next time – Marc It Sold!
Let me begin by saying that I am a pet lover having had many over my lifetime & enjoying those of friends & family. Unfortunately, there are many people out there that are not pet lovers or at least not of many breeds.
Most of us would not think that this is a problem. But, there are many people that will not go into a home with pets that are ‘on the loose.’ Additionally, there are many people that will spend less time in a home that has pets that are not of their liking. Too many of us this is surprising and may even sound bizarre, but when you put it into perspective it is quite understandable.
So, therefore, we need to take many things into consideration when selling a home with a pet(s). Now, again as I’ve said, I love most pets. I will usually play with the pet & keep him/her occupied while my clients are viewing the home. This usually works for the pet as well as the prospective buyers. A lot of times, you will find buyers that have no issue with the pets. And, yes, we all know about those loveable, cute pets that just pull at your heartstrings just by looking at you. They can almost sell the home themselves.
But here are some things to possibly remember & some tips for all of us.
1. If it smells… That in itself is probably enough to be said. Sorry, but I’ve had cats & very rarely did my litter box smell. Guess what? I don’t want to smell yours. Neither does anyone else. Clean that litter box & keep it clean or put it out of the way. But those are not the only smells. Most odors come from dander. You need to deodorize your home often & keep your pet bathed and groomed.
2. Stains. Clean them, there are many good products on the market for ‘pet stains.’ Clean that carpet before listing your home, or if it is that bad, then consider replacing them. Sorry, but smells, stains, etc. are not going to get you top dollar for your home, nevermind, the length of time on the market needed to sell a home in that condition especially when there are so many other available homes to purchase.
3. Keep Pets from Showings. If it is at all possible, take the pet for a walk while your home is being shown. It will make it a much more pleasant experience for the prospective buyer. Loud barking dogs are not always a pleasing sound & may actually scare potential buyers. This only limits your potential pool of buyers. As your realtor, we are constantly trying to increase this pool for you.
4. First Impressions. The old adage is so very true - First Impressions are Lasting Impressions. This not only includes smells & carpet stains, but also possible gnawed moldings, scratches doors & door jambs, holes in the backyard, poop in the backyard, etc. You obviously get the picture & so will the potential buyer that viewed a home like this. I don’t care how pretty the home may be otherwise, it is the total picture that has to be taken into consideration. And, yes, first impressions do last & will most likely have the prospective buyer out of your house quickly if care is not taken to these details.
5. It’s all about perception! If someone enters a home & it smells & there are stains on the flooring & scratched door jambs, etc. They should also wonder what else this home holds for them. I’m sorry if this seems harsh, but if I enter a home and see this, I do have to wonder what else hasn’t been taken care of & kept up. This is only being realistic & I’m not being mean.
We love our pets & there is no reason that they should hinder a sale. Nor do they have to be responsible for lowering a realistic price on a home. It is our responsibility & this can be taken care of without a great deal of inconvenience to all.
Best Wishes & until next time… Marc It Sold!
Last year, 13% of all homes sold went the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route, according to the National Association of Realtor’s 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (www.realtor.org/Research.nsf/files/2005HBSonlineHighlights.pdf/$FILE/2005HBSonlineHighlights.pdf) That figure will show a drastic decline when the 2006 figures are published. FSBO’s work great when we are in a seller’s market – but that was so last year.
Most FSBO’s go that route because they wish to save on the commission (nowadays I require a 7% commission). But I must admit that my marketing, as a Realtor®, has also had to be altered. I have to offer a lot more to my clients. But that is for another story.
Studies have shown that you can get more in less time utilizing a Realtor®. A recent NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers study showed that a Realtor® can get 16% more for a typical For Sale By Owner home. Everything else being equal & you just do the math, why would anyone want to go the FSBO route, if you figure that they will average at least 9% (16 – 7) more utilizing a Realtor®? I just don’t understand the logic; but then again, I think that too many people do not look at the whole picture & just one little aspect of it. So, who’s kidding whom?
Last year, you could put a sign in your yard & your home would sell within a reasonable amount of time. Nowadays, you need a proven marketing plan. And, utilizing a discount Realtor®, who will typically just charge you a fee for putting your home in the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is not considered a ‘proven marketing plan’, nor should you expect your home to sell too quickly.
Presently in the Greater Orlando area, there are over 16K homes for sale and that’s just in two counties – Orange & Seminole. How can someone think that by just putting a sign in their yard that they are going to garner the attention necessary to sell their home with that much competition? And that does not even include a lot of the homes offered by new home builders that are not listed in the MLS.
A good marketing plan has many different aspects to it & includes advertising in different media. Even a realtor® who just puts a sign in the yard & places the listing in the MLS is not doing enough. You need to show Price & Value to sell a home these days. It’s not difficult, but you have to prove it & not just once. Because for a home to sell, it must first be sold to the selling realtor® before it can be sold to the buyer.
Leaving this all aside, there are still many reasons not to go the FSBO route.
Pricing your property to sell involves more than just comparing it with other houses that have recently sold. The uniqueness of each property and its own values are based on location, condition, financing, amenities and other market factors.¨
Advertising can be very expensive, especially if you continue for a sustained period of time. Additionally, your Realtor can market your home utilizing avenues that are not available to you; including, but not limited to, the Multiple Listing Service.
When prospects inquire about your property and you are tempted to enter into a purchase agreement, how can you protect yourself from non-productive involvement? A Realtor should pre-qualify prospects bringing you Qualified Buyers.
Are you willing to admit Strangers to your home? Accepting unescorted strangers can play havoc with your family life. A Realtor using an Electronic Lockbox can identify the realtor who brought prospects into your home and when.
Selling your home can be a time-consuming assignment. You are literally married to the property and the inconvenience can be overwhelming. You have stay close to the property or you may miss the one buyer you’re seeking.
Financing is very frequently the key to a successful housing transaction. Buyers without the right advice and information may not see their way clear to buy your home. Your Realtor is able to help your buyer structure the right financing to meet his objective and yours.
How do you solve prospect problems? Your best buyer may well be someone who already owns a home, and whose decision to buy another property is premised on selling their present one. Your Realtor can sometimes arrange interim financing or a guaranteed sales agreement executed on the existing property.
It is difficult to Negotiate your own position. A Realtor should be prepared to counsel both yourself and the potential buyer, so the differences can be bridged and a transaction successfully consummated.
Once you’ve agreed to sell, there’s the matter of clearing title, obtaining financing, arranging insurance, working with lawyers and other agencies. You can avoid costly mistakes by relying on professionals who control and safeguard your housing investment. Use a Realtor®.
For quite a while I’ve been professing that to properly market someone’s home, we need to show Price & Value. With so much available inventory, you need to be able to stand out in the crowd, otherwise you can be easily overlooked. I still see listings that are wholly overpriced. These people are obviously being unrealistic in regard to the current market conditions - the summer of 2005 is long past!
An article released yesterday by NAR (the National Association of Realtorsâ) reiterates such:
“NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said sellers need to price to current market conditions if they want to sell within a reasonable amount of time. ‘In some areas home sellers are not making sufficient adjustments in their listing price, so their homes are staying on the market and contributing to the build up in inventory.’”
(you can read this article in it’s entirety at http://www.realtor.org/PublicAffairsWeb.nsf/Pages/ehs_aug06_existing_home_sales_holding?OpenDocument)
We have just experienced five years of outstanding growth and the housing market now is going through a period of adjustment and heading towards a more balanced market. Rising mortgage rates, speculative investors pulling back and many first-time buyers being priced out of some markets during those years have contributed to the normalizing of the housing sector. They also note that 2006 is expected to be the third strongest sales year on record.
On another note, I listen to my clients. In this instance, a client asked me if it would be beneficial to place an info tube on the sign riders in front of her home. I had stopped doing this for many reasons and my first inclination is that it would not help procure a sale. Yet, after careful consideration, I do wish to add this because it might help with more interest since this home is the lowest priced home in the subdivision & that is explicitly advertised on the flyer.
I try to look at all issues from all angles. Sometimes you have to remove yourself & try to view the issue from the ‘outside looking in’ as a third-party to the situation so to speak.
Additionally, some people have asked me what happened to the home in the previous blog entry. Well, the deal has fallen apart. My client could have possibly lost over $23K from the builder that they were planning on purchasing from. We did nothing wrong in this situation; whereas the buyer did not disclose that they had a home to sell prior to purchasing this home. Nevertheless, we are hoping that the buyer will honor the contract & release the escrow to the seller. In the meantime, I am personally purchasing their home. I do not see any reason that they should be injured more than they presently are. This is a terrible situation, but thank goodness I am very lucky in that I have the ability to do this. Most Realtors probably could not do this & it would be a very sticky situation in which there might be lawsuits, etc. involved.
Don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions & comments. Until next time - Marc It Sold!
Wanted to Blog, but wasn’t sure what to write & then I spoke with a friend & she was under the impression that the “Market is Insane!” I won’t deny that I was taken aback by this. But from what we talked about, it seems that quite a few people think this.
Now, I know from talking with quite a few Realtors that the impression is that buyers are waiting for prices to come down. I won’t deny that I still see homes that are priced for the type of market that we saw last year. But, in general, it seems that people realize that they have to price their homes well to sell. With an inventory of over 15K available homes for sale in just Orange & Seminole county, sellers better price their homes well & possibly offer incentives if they wish their homes to sell.
But, now let’s look at the other side of the coin. We are still selling near the same level of homes as was being sold last year. Many do not realize this, but that was a phenomenal year. We sold more homes than in previous recorded history. In fact, in March of this year, ORRA (Orlando Regional Realtor Association) noted that 2878 homes were sold & this compares to 2529 homes in March 2005.
This reverts back to what I’ve been saying in that we have a very healthy market in the Greater Orlando area. In fact, we’ve sold more homes in the first five months of 2006 than we did in 2005.
So, homes are selling. Even with the increase in interest rates. Homes that show well & are priced well - will sell, as long as they are marketed properly. I’ve said this before & even have read it recently, but we are in what most of us consider a ‘normal’ housing market. Granted, the median price has risen to its highest level at $252,990 (May 2006) with an average sales price of $311,119.
Homes are presently taking 74 days on the market & this will lengthen with time. Historically, we’ve seen worse & not all that long ago.
It just proves to me that people need to be educated to the facts. As with anything else, this does put things into their proper perspective.
I, myself, have always believed in education. That is why I’ve gone on and received my GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) & still continue to read & try to improve myself. I also believe at the same time, that it is my job to educate you, the consumer. I believe that if I did not do so, I would be doing you a disservice. I am the Real Estate Professional. This is why you ask me for advice & hire me for my services. And, I wish to thank everyone for that!
Until next time - Marc It Sold!
