Tony Perez

We are finally under 10,000 active listings in Naples current total as of May 8th 2009 is 9,784 listings. What you might find interesting is how those listings break down.

• 81.5% of all listings are Regular Deals (though we know probably half of those listings are over priced)
• 16% of all listings are Potential Short Sales
• 2.5% are REO’s Bank Owned Properties (I thought that number would be higher)

I’m sure all of you have felt the market has changed for the better since March 2009 a lot of multiple offers going on out there making it harder to secure the deal. Here’s some stats that show just exactly what’s been going on since the beginning of 2009.

• January had 4,131 new listings and 541 sold that’s 13%
• February had 3,266 new listings and 625 sold that’s 19%
• March had 3,705 new listings and 904 sold that’s 24%
• April had 2,920 new listings and 970 sold that’s 33%

FYI- so far these first 8 days in May has shown no slow down currently 972 new listings and 299 sold that’s 31%

2nd FYI- To put the under 10,000 listings in perspective Naples was as high as 15,000 listings just over 18 months ago.

P.S. Keep doing what you have to do to get that next sale and Happy Mother’s Day to all MOMS!!!

Here's 2 bar graphs of Pending Sales in the last 12 months as well as Pending Sales per quarter over the last 4 years.  As you can see over the past 3 months there has been an increase of 36%  26%  &  37% respectively over the previous month in Pending Sales.

•·         If you compare 1^st qtr 2009 to 1^st qtr 2008 we are up 59%

•·         Compared to 1^st qtr 2007 we're up 64%

•·         This quarters 3,600 Pending Sales are in between the Pending Sales of 2^nd & 3^rd qtr of 2005 when homes were selling like hotcakes.

Share this info and buyer's it's time to get off the fence or miss out on your oppurtunity to own property in beautiful SWFLA...  Also based on last year's trend this 2^nd quarter 2009 will increase more than this 1^st quarter, possibly hitting over 4,000 pending sales so get out there and make sure you grab a piece of paradise.

FORECLOSURES

There could be new meaning to "home for the holidays." Gov. Crist said Monday he's considering a temporary freeze on housing foreclosures in Florida to provide some holiday relief from housing and financial turmoil.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-112508.cfm

DEVELOPERS

Saying they've been labeled "toxic" by lenders, Florida's home builders are upset over the way lending institutions are using the $700 billion bailout fund that Congress and President Bush approved in October. They say the money isn't being passed along to the slumping construction industry.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n4-112508.cfm

REAL ESTATE ECONOMY

"October was the height of the economic crisis, and the shock factor for consumers has not yet been fully reflected in home sales," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said on Friday at NAR's convention in Orlando. But Yun notes that some of the hardest-hit areas of the country, including Florida, show "consistent, solid gains" in pending home sales.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n2-111008.cfm

BUYERS & SELLERS

NAR released its latest consumer survey of home buyers and sellers. A key finding: First-time buyers have risen in market share, and they plan to own their homes longer than buyers in the past.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n4-111008.cfm

Below are my answers to questions from Laura Layden reporter for The Naples Daily News that she asked me about the Golden Gate Estates real estate market. Article will appear in the paper at a later date which i'll pass on to you when i know it's available.

•1. Foreclosure judgments i feel are affecting sales positively because thus far in the last 12 months there has been a total of 1,993 single family homes sold in Naples, 349 of them have been in Golden Gate Estates that's 17.5% of all sales in Naples. Of the 349 homes sold in the Estates 48% of them are in the $100,000 to $199,999 range.

•2. Primarily most sales have been Bank Owned Foreclosures/Real Estate Owned (REO's) or regular deals where the seller has owned the home for a five or more years and is in good position to sell because they didn't take out equity in their home during that time. Some Short Sales have been selling but not as much as Bank Owned Foreclosures because the time frame to close Short Sales is much longer. I have notice though in the last couple months banks are working quicker on Short Sales and are starting to close them. In fact I'm part of a Short Sale Team at VIP Realty Group, INC. in which we're positioning ourselves to close more and more of these potential Short Sales.

•3. For the 3^rd quarter of 2008 the median price in the Estates is at $160,000. In the 3^rd quarter of 2007 it was $333,500 and $370,000 in 2006. Median price means half of the homes sold for more than that price and the other half sold for less than that price.

•4. The reason there's so many foreclosures in the Estates is because during the boom years that was the last area of affordable Single Family Homes in Naples, matter of fact I was getting buyers that were squeezed out of Miami and into Golden Gate Estate homes. Those that couldn't get a home in the Estates decided to relocate to Cape Coral & Lehigh Acres where currently there's high foreclosure rates as well.

•5. The Estates currently have 1,068 homes for sale and new listings have been up and down all year long but in the last 3 months have been trending down. Compared to July 2008 new listings are down 23% and compared to October 2007 listings are down 12%. All great signs for the Estates and here's why if you compare September 2008 to the same time a year ago Pending Sales are up 500% from 14 pending to 84 pending, Closed sales are up 185% from 14 sales to 43 closed sales and the Median Price has dropped 42% from $275,000 to $160,000.

Again all great signs showing now's the time to buy...