Don Pickett

Not as many as we would like; but, the fact remains there are homes being purchased by BUYERS that are looking to purchase. They have a smorgasbord of 1,974 homes currently on the market for sale in Leon County. Now if you are a SELLER, with the help of your Realtor, you need to take heed to the advice appraiser Greg Lane has given in my earlier blog entry. Single Family home sales in Leon County thus far in October are just a little less than the same period in September. There have been 58 homes that have closed so far compared to 67 closed during the same period last month. In the same period in October 2007 there were 83 homes that closed. Currently there are 93 homes that have contracts Pending to close and 107 with Contingent contracts.

If you are a BUYER, a recent quote by Warren Buffett in an article in the New Youk Times is just as apropos to you buying a home as his buying of stock. "A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." And we are all aware there was plenty of greed in the real estate market of recent years by all evolved. And now the buyers can benefit from others folly. There are plenty of homes available at bargain prices. A good example is the currently advertised 10 day sell that Coldwell Banker has been conducting as well as many others advertised in real estate publications and online advertising. Another major consideration that Buyers need to be aware of is that mortgage lenders have plenty of money to provide you with very low rate home mortgage loans in the 6% range. Another quote of Buffett's can relate to the mortgage rates as well. "So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over." These low interest rates may not last in the months ahead as related in an article in RealtyTimes and in past history of rates have increased following general elections.

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.

Greg Lane, Appraiser with Timberlane Appraisal has provided the following advice to those trying to get their homes sold in this difficult market.

During the real estate boom years, it was much easier to market and sell a home without any professional assistance. Once you found a buyer, you could put the necessary pieces of the closing package together, find a helpful title company, pray the buyer was working with a local lender, and close the transaction. However, in today's market, you will never put a fingerprint on the closing table if you home is not priced right to begin with. In fact, studies have proven, and my professional appraisal experience supports, the fact that homes which are initially priced too high will eventually sell for less due to an excessive marketing period. The first 30 days represent the crucial time period in the listing of the house. My Realtor friends use the donut analogy, it is best eaten when the sign says HOT, and every hour after that moment, that donut looks less and less appealing. Local Realtors use the terms "stale" or "dog" listing to refer to a property which has been listed too long. My wife uses the analogy of the two (or ten) times when I left clothes in the washer too long, they soured. Buyers start to ask, "what is wrong with the home" when it has been exposed to the market for an excessive amount of time without a contract. Don't let your home become one of these listings, use the current market and other sellers' 2006 pipe dreams to your advantage. You ask, "how can I use what some describe as a "declining market" to sell my house". First, get a Realtor, trying to sell without an agent in this market is like going into battle without ammunition. Second, forget the old school notion of pricing the home higher so you can "come down" in price that does not work in the current market. Finally, use the 5/10 formula to your advantage to keep your listings from getting lost in the crowd. This is easy math, no fancy algebraic equations, no word problems. Simply take the list price of your nearest competing homes, those as close to the quality, condition, lot size, etc. of your home and subtract 5%. Listing your house for 5% less than your closest competitors will generally create activity. If you want even more activity, potentially a quick sale, subtract 10% from your nearest competitor's list prices and get ready to pack. This may seem over simplified, and it certainly does not work in every case, but it is very effective in neighborhoods of homogeneous homes. These days, most of the contracts that come across my fax are those homes which were priced 5% below the competition; they were picked up on the radar of incoming buyers. Make sure your home is listed (flying) below the crowd (clouds), so you get picked up on the radar of today's informed buyers.

Ask yourself, do you really want to sell, because pricing up the clouds will cost you and your Realtor wasted time and money, it is not worth it.

The Florida Association of Realtors Media Center has released the August Statewide Sales Report for August. It shows the Tallahassee Metro Area August sales of 156 single family homes was a 42% drop of last August sales; however, this is part of our normal annual cycle of sales. Last year's big drop of 37% was in September. So far it appears that sales in September will remain about the same as August. Our Median Sales Price dropped to $186,700 where it was in March and April of this year and this does not seem to be very significant as of this date. In September; however, it appears that the Median Price will continue its slide downward. On the bright side is the continued very gradual drop in Active homes for sale; which again is a usual trend for this time of year.

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.

On the bright side of reviewing the Tallahassee Metro Area's real estate activities was the continued slight decline in the number of residential properties on the market for sale for the past few months. The Tallahassee Metro Area is made up of five counties. There are currently over 4200 residential (single family, condo & townhouse) properties for sale. There were 257 residential properties that closed in August which is about 6% of what was on the market. In Leon County, alone, there were 151 single family detached homes sold. There are currently 2106 active single family listings with 118 with Contingent contracts and there are 125 additional listings with Pending contracts. In Leon the average DOM (days on the market) is 144 days. Sellers may need to be asking their Realtor what they can do to try to attract a buyer so they can be part of this very small successful group of sellers each month. What are they doing that you are not? This past twelve months closed sales were down about one-third compared to the previous twelve month period. While property Location and Condition play a very important part in attracting buyers, the number one factor in today's market is PRICE. Your listed price needs to be lower than other comparable properties currently for sale and those that have previously closed in the past three months. That is, if you are truly interested in getting the property SOLD! Many sellers are still wasting their time with their over priced and "not ready for the market" homes, with little chance of attracting a buyer.

Below are the appreciation values back to 1994 for Leon County. You might find this can give you a "ball-park" current value. There are other factors that come into play in determining a good Listing price that your Realtor can be of help. Another consideration is having your property appraised.

Annual Single Family Appreciation for Leon County

1994 6%

1995 .2%

1996 10%

1997 2%

1998 2%

1999 3%

2000 7%

2001 8%

2002 6%

2003 15%

2004 8%

2005 19%

2006 8%

2007 -04%

2008 -5% through August

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.

I recently received an email from Dana Cummins, mortgage loan officer, with BB&T that relates some great home mortgage opportunities for residents of Leon and Wakulla Counties. She states due to Tropical Storm Fay, the following counties in Florida have been declared disaster areas: Brevard, Duval, Hendry, Lee, Leon, Okeechobee, Seminole, St. Lucie, Volusia and Wakulla. This means that until August 23, 2010 you do not need to be a first time home buyer to qualify for a bond loan or down payment assistance. Also, previous owners will not be required to take the 6 hour face to face homebuyer education course. Buyers still must meet income guidelines. There are 3 sources of down payment assistance: (1) $10,000 second lien which is deferred, (2) $5000 second lien that is repayable over a 10 year term, and (3) a 3% grant (free money). There is also a community Heroes option if you are employed by law enforcement or fire department, hospital, nursing home or long term rehab care, military veteran or active duty personnel. The interest rate is slightly lower for this option. Maximum Sales Price and Income limits vary by county. You may want to call Dana for more details for qualifying for one of the money saving loans.

Don Pickett, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Hartung and Noblin, Inc. Tallahassee Real Estate N Data Services, 850-591-4725, donpick@aol.com Search the entire Tallahassee Area Real Estate Market.