Carol Zingone, Broker Associate, GRI, LMC,SRES

I search the MLS daily for foreclosure listings for investors, and the search I just ran turned up 17 foreclosure listings. This includes all the Intracoastal West areas along Hodges and San Pablo, and all of Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach.

The prices range from $139K on San Pablo to $699K in Queen's Harbor. Seven of these listings are in Queen's Harbor, two in Hampton Park, one in Pablo Bay.

These are all decent looking listings that do need little work, especially the ones in the subdivisions, as the bank will have ensured yard maintenance was kept up to make the property attractive.

If you have financing in line, and are interested in purchasing a foreclosure property close to the beach, this is a great time to buy and take advantage of the market opportunities!

Here are the numbers of active property listings, those under contract, and sold properties for Condos in Jacksonville Beach, FL for the month of May 2008:

• Active 362 active listings for condos (no single family homes)
• Pending 13 pending (inspections & financing have been done)
• Sold 9 sold (prices ranged from $125,000 to $650,000)
• New Listings 51

This is the first market report for condos that I've posted. The active listings have declined 23% year to year. I imagine most owners decided to rent their units and wait for the market to rebound in this category rather than take a hit now. The pending listings are technically flat, however, there is one more unit pending right now, which is better than the Single Family Data I just posted.

New listings are down 17% year to year as well; sellers are really looking at what is going on in the market to determine if they will realize a profit or not before they list.

The sold listings are down, almost identical to single family homes; I imagine as we move through the summer months and financing gets settled we will see more condos move, especially as they are more affordable for 1^st time homebuyers at the beach.

Here are the May 2007 numbers for comparison:

• Active 470 active listings for condos (no single family homes)
• Pending 12 pending (inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 23 sold (prices ranged from $141,500 to $1,525,000)
• New Listings 62

It is a wonderful time to buy, so if you are ready, give me a call, and I'll show you all the options that fit your lifestyle and budget.

And, if you are selling, I will give you solid pricing information based on where the market is now.

Here are the numbers of active property listings, those under contract, and sold properties for Single Family Homes in Jacksonville Beach, FL for the month of May 2008:

• Active 318 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 17 pending (inspections & financing have been done)
• Sold 7 sold (prices ranged from $146,000 to $500,000)
• New Listings 39

The active listings have decreased 14%, which helps stabilize prices. The pending listings this month are flat, which is good: we are keeping pace with last year's activity. The new listings are down 41% year to year, which means sellers are more serious this year rather than simply testing the waters. The sold listings have declined quite a bit from 2007 to this year; in my opinion, part of that is the result of the changes in the mortgage market from 2007 to 2008.

Here are the May 2007 numbers for comparison:

• Active 368 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 20 pending (inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 18 sold (prices ranged from $146,000 to $1,620,000)
• New Listings 67

It's a great time to buy - whether for a first time homebuyer or an investor. I can show you the right home for your needs, one that fits your lifestyle and budget.

If you are considering selling, contact me for a complimentary market analysis - I'll show you exactly what the competition looks like compared to your house.

Got closings? Do they all have happy endings?

Mine from yesterday does - a cute 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 78 year old beach bungalow that I had listed for an incredible period of time, CLOSED yesterday at 9:30am!

The buyers went straight from the closing to the house, and started pressure washing, trimming trees, cutting grass, etc.

This poor house had been vacant for at least 1 year, and really needed to be "adopted".

My seller is thrilled the buyers will be fixing it up and renting it out - she sent me an awesome thank you note and copied my broker.

I was happy to drive by and see this house being cared for again - I really felt as though I had fostered it for the past while, and now the new "parents" were taking over - made me feel so good! I told the new owners I would be stopping to check on their progress every now and then and take pictures.

Here are the numbers of active property listings, those under contract, and sold properties for Single Family Homes in Jacksonville Beach, FL for the month of April 2008:

• Active 320 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 6 pending (inspections & financing have been done)
• Sold 7 sold (prices ranged from $180,000 to $460,000)
• New Listings 44

Great news all around! First, our total area inventory (for Jacksonville overall) has decreased from approximately 19 months of inventory to 16 months, a reduction of 15%.

The active listings have decreased 6%, which is a good start for stabilizing prices. The pending listings, while down 33% statistically, are flat in terms of their relation to active listings at approximately 2% of active listings being in a firm contract, or, pending. The new listings are down about 56% year to year, which helps in narrowing down inventory and stabilizing prices.

Here are the April 2007 numbers for comparison:

• Active 340 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 9 pending (inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 17 sold (prices ranged from $179,000 to $475,000)
• New Listings 78

Interest rates are still around 6%, and there are plenty of well-priced homes to choose from.

If you are thinking you'd rather wait, I encourage you to compare your current rent for the next 12 months, and look at that as your down payment. If inventory remains fairly constant, but interest rates rise, you could, in reality, end up paying $100-$200 more per month for your dream house if you wait.