Ron Shuffield is EWM Realtors President and South Florida Real Estate Numbers’ Guru.

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Compared to the same period 12 months ago the number of sales have increased almost 50% and inventories have been decreasing  steadily.

In Weston the Market is Changing Very Fast!

The Inventories have decreased and pending sales are increasing at a rapid pace.

As the Real Estate Market changes it’s very interesting to look at the comparison between the price properties were listed at and the actual price they sold.

When looking in detail at the List-to-Sale ratio I found an interesting difference between the ratio for regular sales, short sales and foreclosures. Motivation seems to be the key to pricing!

“92.53% Average List-to-Sale Ratio for Regular Sales

“95.19% Average List-to-Sale Ratio for Short Sales

“94.91% Average List-to-Sale Ratio for Foreclosure Sales

I can conclude that as we have been experiencing in the last months…Buyers are looking for bargains and apparently they feel prices are as low as they are going to get and the properties priced appropriately are getting those buyers.

]]> http://mywestonblog.com/2009/04/10/weston-fl-single-family-homes-sales-1st-quarter-2009/feed/ 2 http://mywestonblog.com/2009/03/01/how-broward-and-dade-county-compare-real-estate-market-facts/ http://mywestonblog.com/2009/03/01/how-broward-and-dade-county-compare-real-estate-market-facts/#comments Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:03:16 +0000 Ines Garcia, P.A. http://mywestonblog.com/?p=188 Broward County as of January, 2009

Miami-Dade County as of January, 2009

Source: Trendgraphix

Inventories have decreased about 5% more in Broward than in Dade. Many sellers realize that if they don’t “need” to sell and can wait for a long time this might not be the best time to sell.

Sales in the last year have increased almost 40% in both counties, compared with the 15 month trend of 19.4% increase of sales in Broward County and 17.2% in Dade County. This means that as time goes the trend of increased sales goes up. As prices decrease more Buyers have found the deals they were waiting for. Definitively despite the challenges in obtaining financing the numbers show an interesting shift.

Pending Sales have decreased in comparison from the 15 months period to the 12 months period. In my opinion one of the reason is that agents are not putting pending in the MLS weak deals and short sales until aprroved by the lender .

It’s healthier for the market an increase in sales even though prices are decreasing. We all know at the peak of the market the prices were inflated and as they balance prices become come affordable. There was a terrible gap between property prices and the income earned.

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.