Archive for the 'Market Update' Category
Bank Owned – Single Family Homes in Weston, Fl Under $300K
February 10th, 2009 categories: Communities, Great Deals, Market Update, Tips For Buyers
Get your Pre-Qualification Now or Have Your Check Book Ready!
Knowing how much you want to pay every month for housing or how much you can afford is a must. Please forget the old times of “no docs”, “stated income”, “I don’t need to see any paperwork”… You will know what you can expect, it will save you a lot of time and when you fall in love with your new home the offer will be taken seriously.
Before you present an offer on Bank owned properties you must be pre-qualified or be ready to provide proof of funds to close if it is a cash transaction.
Click on the Image to enlarge and see more details.
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Weston Real Estate in Numbers as of Feb. 09, 2009
February 10th, 2009 categories: Communities, Market Update, Tips For Buyers
The following stats are based on information gathered from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
for Single Family Homes.
Weston,Fl Sales
The high number of Pending Short Sales might be due to the fact that they take longer than regular sales. It’s interesting to note that even thou 38% of the inventory in Weston are Short Sale Listings they represent only 15% of the closed units. Lenders are being more cooperative in the Short Sale process.
I thought it could be interesting to look at the closed sales by neighborhood and calculate what percentage of sales were short sales listings. Please note that the communities with no Short Sales are also communities with little activity.
Closed Sales by Weston's Neighborhood
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Do You Want to Buy a Short Sale Property?
February 4th, 2009 categories: Market Update, Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
5 Things you should know to avoid loosing your mind in the intent:
Everyone is talking about short sales* and there is a reason for it. More than 30% of the properties listed for sale in almost every neighborhood are short sale listings. Listed prices are normally a bargain and way below regular sales and even below foreclosed properties*. The problem is that some prices are unrealistic and just a gimmick to attract buyers that will end disappointed because the bank will never accept the offer. One of my main concerns is that some potential buyers think those are realistic prices and use them as a reference for the rest of the market. As attractive as a short sale deal can be you must beware…
1.Set up your expectations upfront! This is not your typical real estate transaction. Since there are third parties involved: the lender(s), homeowners associations and/or contractors it takes time to get it approved. The time varies in every transaction and can be take as long as 9 months or a year is the buyer has the patience for it.
2.Make a Reasonable Offer! Before a bank accepts the price you are offering they send a Broker to prepare a Broker’s Price Opinion (BPO) and that is the value used by the lender as the property’s potential sale price. Remember that every dollar the bank accepts under the original loan amount is a loss for them.
3.Don’t fall in love! Falling is love is fun but not with a house that might never be yours. A Short Sale is a “business transaction” in which you pay with patience the money you are saving. Many things can go wrong or get delayed in the process… Until the last minute the transaction may fall thru.
4.The house should be vacant prior to the closing date! If there is a tenant living in the property make sure the seller has negotiated with the him his departure from the property at least 15 days prior to closing. You should not close while the tenant is in the property unless you want to become a landlord or you are willing to evict him.
5.Be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars and loose them! Until a short sale closes you there is no certainty that it will and you might end paying for inspections, appraisal and even an extensions of the locked rate.*It’s important to distinguish between short sales (properties where the loan(s) amount(s) are higher than the market price of the property) and Bank Owned/Foreclosures/REO’s (properties owned by Lenders after the foreclosure process is finalized).
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The Real Estate Market Bottom-Are We There Yet?
January 6th, 2009 categories: Market Update, Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
What's ahead?
I wish I could answer …we are just 2 hours away honey!!! But that’s not the case when I am asked about the real estate bottom.
We are all affected by the current real estate crisis…
A synergy (for the bad) of events caused it; a few measures from all parties affected have been taken and there is a lot of uncertainty in the near future. Every industry goes through good and bad times and you all know which one we are facing now. The good news is that sooner or later it has to end.
After the dot.com crisis investors were looking for alternatives…
And it funneled a lot of cash into Real Estate. It seemed to be a “secured asset”. Land, bricks and mortar were much more tangible than stocks and sexier than bonds. Money was available, return on investment was very attractive and it started a party of speculation where many people had too much alcohol and got short sighted. Most Banks and investors lend money to anyone willing to get a mortgage. Some Appraisers played with prices. Many buyers, real estate agents and mortgage brokers got dizzy and gambled on real estate as the forever winning slot machine.
We all suspected what was going on…
How many forged loan applications were dancing as the band played. How many people cheated on basic personal finance principles? How many promises of eternal love and richness were told and believed? Everyone was doing it so it must have been right…..But as every party, even the best, ends one day…. and we are supposed to leave with good or bad memories depending on how we decided to enjoy it. That was not the case in this one. When the party was over a caravan of cars left the place with drunk drivers in front of the wheel. The sad part is that even if we just drank water …. all got involved in the accident caused by drivers under influence. The crash left behind blood and tears.
The good news is that the market in South Florida is showing some interesting signs
Inventories have decreased: Miami-Dade County in 6.1% and Broward County in 13.8%
Closed Sales have increased: Miami-Dade County in 40.6% and Broward County in 48.3%
Pending Sales have increased: Miami-Dade County in 75.5% and Broward County in 51.6%
What is really going on?
We all wonder….Should I sell now? Should I buy now?
Even though I don’t like attorney’s answers and I prefer the ones in black and white I would respond…..It depends!
If you plan to stay in your home for a few years and you can find a fair deal…it’s your time to buy. Most of us stay in our houses even knowing prices might still go down because our roof is our home and not a short term money machine.
If you need to sell in the near future ….you better sell now; at the best price you can realistically get (not what you want or need). If you are upside down I would advice you to talk to an attorney, an accountant and an honest Real Estate Agent to help you fully understand the potential consequences of a short sale.
Getting to our destination will take a trip on an uncertain and bumpy path with many unforeseen events. Even thou it may not be that easy since there is too much debris on the road; when we get there we will look back and be happy for all we learned from it.
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