If you decide to take a stroll around the lighthouse, and parks, and marshes, and jetty of Ponce Inlet... and you walk by or even better... you decide to take a tour of the Ponce Inlet Marine Science Center... just outside you'll find this adorable little sign. I think it's perfect, even if it is a bit silly ;-)

Have some fun and visit the Ponce Inlet Marince Science Center! =)

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Ponce Inlet Florida, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

www.LisaHillRealtor.com

This week I got a call from a past client who previously bought a beautiful oceanfront house in Ponce Inlet Florida. They're still in the planning stages of consolidating their real estate holdings, so we haven't placed their fabulous house on the market yet, but since their home is so close to the incredible Ponce Inlet lighthouse, I made a little detour after our appointment yesterday. As you've probably noticed from some of my previous posts, (and the fact that I was born here) this is certainly not my first visit to the Ponce Inlet lighthouse area. But it's always a fun visit, and I never seem to tire of taking pictures of our fantastic lighthouse! So enjoy one of my newest lighthouse photos, and if you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Ponce Inlet Florida, here's some recent real estate data...

Ponce Inlet Real Estate: Active Listings, number currently on the market, and asking prices for each category...

*All content, including the photo, the logos, and the chart, is owned and copyrighted by Lisa Hill. The llittle copyright logo is under Public Domain.

Let's cut to the chase.

Banks are not just motivated by price. I have researched this and lived it. I suggest agents look at the structure of REO deals and see what terms work best.

Some experienced agents have told me that buying REO property or short sales isn't much different than "traditional" real estate. Bull.

If you look at all the sales of single family homes in the MLS on beachside south of the Dunlawton Bridge you will find something interesting. This area includes Ponce Inlet, Wilbur by the Sea, and some of Port Orange. Only 2 homes have sold for under $100,000 in the past 6 years. Both needed repairs. Both were REO. Both were sold this year by the same Realtor.

The most recent sale attracted 23 cash offers. According to the listing agent (disclosed after the sale) 5 offers were higher than the winning bid. Several were over $100K, and one offer was $110K. The sale price was $96,650. 12% below market value. (What is market value? How much somebody with money is willing to pay - in this case 110K)

Terms got the deal. Knowing what the bank looks for can save a buyer thousands. I have seen banks pick an offer 15 grand less than another offer over a very minor issue. And, this was on a house in the 120K range.

I suggest if you are looking to buy a bank owned property or a short sale - work with somebody has listed AND sold plenty of them. Many agents out there just don't get it.

Short sales and REO can be 20 times the work of a regular listing and most people aren't willing to work that hard. One of my brokers held a course on short sales and was amazed that most Realtors in attendance said it was way too much work for them and they absolutely would not do it. Think a short sale is hard? Try an REO!

An experienced REO agent knows what will work and what won't. They also have a better idea of values in a given market because they are constantly required to do research. We are in a dynamic market and you need somebody who knows where they are going and how to get there.

Don't get me wrong. There are some awesome buyer's agents out there that have never listed an REO or a short sale and can get it done.

There are also agents out there that refuse to listen when the listing agents practically puts the deal in their lap. Their buyer's offer will not get accepted and they move on. A few days later a better (not higher) offer comes in. The day after the sale price is published in MLS, they see that it sold for $10K less than what their buyer offered, and then call me and accuse me of not submitting their offer. If an REO agent tries to help you structure your deal, you need to listen.

Thanks for your time,

Phil Hanner

Experienced REO Agent

Concord Real Estate Inc.

ps - I could not get the font to go smaller.

Towers Nine Condominiums in Ponce Inlet - Florida

Presenting you Towers Nine in beautiful and quaint Ponce Inlet. This direct oceanfront condominium building with 50 Two-bedroom / Two baths and Three-bedroom / Three baths condo units.

This is the last Towers condo in the series of 9 seven-story oceanfront buildings that were erected by DiMucci Companies in Ponce Inlet from 1991 (Towers One) and Towers Nine in 2000.

Currently there are 6 condo units for sale in Towers Nine. Lowest priced 2/2 is $499,900 and lowest 3/3 is $499,000. Paradoxes of the market where you can buy a 3 bdr/3 baths condo for $900 less than a 2 bdr/ 2 bath.

There are 42 condos currently for sale in all of Towers in Ponce Inlet starting from $219K in Towers Five for a 2/2, and a 3/3 in the same Towers Five for $369,900 and all the way to a 5 bdr/4 baths 4,009 SF penthouse for $1.8 Mil. The highest priced 2/2 is in Towers Nine and is priced at $597K, and the highest priced 3/3 is in Towers Eight and it is for sale at $824,900.

Below is the table showing you what units in Towers Nine were selling for. The last sales were in 2007, so they are not representative of the prices today, but I still thought you would be interested in seeing it.

If you are fond of Ponce Inlet as I am, please, give me a call at 386-405-4408 or drop me a line in the e-mail.

There are 65 listings of single family homes for sale in Ponce Inlet currently. Start from $179,900 for a 2 bdr/2 bath older (1968) 1,431 sf home and going all the way to a 4 bdr / 4 baths direct Intracoastal 1985 brick beauty with 3,500 sf under air.

Actually this 2 bdr/ 2 baths home for $179,900 is the only home for under $200,000 in Ponce Inlet. A couple of months ago there were 4 or more houses for under $200K, and there were over one hundred of them for sale.

The recession hit Ponce Inlet too. Just look at a 3 bdr/ 2.5 bath 2,711 sf home for only $256,500 and you can be assured that this is an REO, an abbreviation that nobody in Ponce Inlet knew just 3-4 years ago. But with only 5 homes for under $300,000, Ponce Inlet values still look good. There was hardly a home for less than $400,000 a few years back, and now there are 17 homes for less than that, and some are just exceptional values.

Good time to buy in Ponce Inlet, where geographical limitations make it an exclusive community, as with only just over 60 scattered vacant lots and very little acreage left, it is the closest to Key West, where the values are so high simply because there is no more land.

Can you buy now in Key West? Yeah, right... But you can still buy in Ponce Inlet. And trust me, the beaches here are gorgeous. No comparison to Key West. KeyWesters can attest to that.

Not that I am trying to persuade you to buy a home in Ponce Inlet, but if you are thinking of finding a quietest place for retirement, or a quality place to raise kids in Florida, Ponce Inlet can be just the place for you... as it became a place for me.

Call me at 386-405-4408 or drop me a line by e-mail.

Remember, I am only an e-mile away.

* Please, do not "steal" this photo without permission. It is mine and I am proud of it.