We are seeing some very postive signs in the area and much needed stabilization. So why is stabilization important? Because value can not recover without it. Just a recap of some of the postives from the Residential House market:

1. Number of listings is remaining at their lowest levels in the last few years @ 1,342 for all of Flagler County & 969 for Palm Coast
2. Number of Sales is slightly above this time last year with 773 houses for all of Flagler County & 716 for Palm Coast Year-to-Date.
3. Foreclosures for sale have remained very light at 20 for all of Flagler County and 17 for Palm Coast.

Click here to see the full market statistics for the area.

Short Sales

This is one area which has had many concerned, but agian there are some real postives in respect to Short Sales in the area. Of the total number of properties for sale right now, Short Sales comprise 28% of the listings for all of Flagler County & 35% of the listings for all of Palm Coast. The great thing is that Short Sales (one of the most difficult property scenarios to sell) comprise 50% of Residential House sales for all of Flagler County & 43% of Residential House sales for all of Palm Coast. Although these types of sales can be lengthier than normal sales, these properties are selling.

Flagler County Active Residential Houses For Sale

Palm Coast Active Residential Houses For Sale

Click here to see the full market statistics for the area.

It's no secret that many owners today find themselves in situations of having to sell their home as a "short sale". It's not an easy time for these owner. They are having difficulty making the payments, other life situations are probably adding to the stress (i.e. loss of a job, divorce, etc.), and the property has become more of a burden than a "pride and joy" in their lives. But these owners actually have a significant competitive advantage over regular property listings . . . buyer attention. Why? Buyers look for "deals". Short sales have a buyer expectation of "deal" associated with them in much the same way as ‘foreclosures'. Obviously, unlike foreclosures . . . the seller still owns the house and must get the most for the property to be able to minimize the difference owed and negotiate with the bank how to handle that differnce after close (i.e. ‘forgive', repayment plan, etc.).

So why are short sales remaining on the market far longer than all properties sold in the area? Many would probably say that it's the lenders' fault. They are holding things up. Partly true, but I will tell you that condition and presentation are rearing an ugly hand in the whole process. And owners are missing out on relieving themselves a lot of stress by not addressing these things to help move the process along quicker. Let me explain.

Let's look at this from a buyer standpoint. You go out to shop for a house. What are you looking for? The most you can get and at the best possible price, right? Right. We all do. You look for the "deals". So what are the "deals" in Real Estate? Foreclosures and . . . Short Sales. Most buyers don't want to deal with auctions for foreclosures and only have about 20 to choose from that are straight-up listings right now in Palm Coast. So what do they look for next? Short Sales in which there are a little over 300 to choose from. So what is our expectation as buyers when we go to purchase "deals"? Our expectation is lowered in terms of condition and we are willing to overlook minor issues in lieu of deep discounts. So when a buyer arrives at a foreclosure, they already have in their mind that it probably will need some work and probably has damage, but they will negotiate hard on the price. Guess what they expect when they get to short sales? That the property will need some work and probably has damage, but they will negotiate hard on the price. So what happens when a buyer arrives at the foreclosure that is immaculate and barely been lived in? It sells quick and the buyer will offer close to or at the list price because their expectation is exceeded and they know it will not last. So what happens when a buyer visits a short sale that is immaculate and is presented well? It sells quick and the buyer will offer close to or at the list price because their expectation is exceeded and they know it will not last. Making sense yet?

After visitng a lot of short sale properties and visitng houses that owners wish to sell that will be short sales, it's apparent that condition and presentation is holding a lot of these owners back. It's understandable that the property has become a part of their stress. But it's also a fact that to reduce a good amount of that stress is to get the property sold quickly. To do that, the owner has to be able to bring to the lender a reasonable offer that will minimize the loss as much as possible. So what can short sale sellers in terms of presentation to capitalize on the attention they have from buyers without having to incur further or minmal costs:

1. Make it your goal NOT to allow the property to be foreclosed on.
2. Keep the lawn cut. Trim the bushes. Keep the yard looking nice. Curb appeal!
3. Patch up any minor damage in the house such as chips in paint.
4. Clean up any clutter and put any storage items out of the way. If you have to, box it up and put it in the garage neatly. Stored items in a garage are normally understood by most buyers. The living areas are most important to them.
5. Take down all personal pictures and items.
6. Keep the house clean.
7. And other basic staging when selling.

Sound familiar? It's all the basic staging items that regular sellers already know. Unfortunately, many short sellers are not doing these things and playing right into the buyer ‘foreclosure' expectation and missing out. The hard part as any seller will tell you, is getting showings. And I can tell you, showings with great presentation will sell much quicker than those with no so great presentation. Short sales are getting the showings. Presentation will increase the chances of getting the property sold much quicker.

We are seeing very positive signs at this point with the number Palm Coast residential homes sales for the year slightly above the same period last year. We are also seeing the number of homes for sale dropping slighly from month to month. Below are the stats for Flagler County. Click here to to get the full report which includes Palm Coast, FL.

Disclaimer: Information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS as of 7/12/2009 for Residential Houses. Information may be deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed

Visit www.PalmCoastHomeShow.com for the most powerful and comprehensive property search in the area!

The 'Florida Housing Opportunity Program' allows qualifying buyers the opportunity to use the 'First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Program' as down payment monies. Under provisions of the Fedral Tax Credit program, FHA-approved lenders and non-profits were granted the ability to provide loans for access to the credit for down payment assistance. Instead of creating new offices, Florida chose to utilize it's existing home buyer assistance offices known as SHIP. Sounds great and easy, but buyers need to be fully aware of the program before trying to take advantage of it's benefits.

1. The program is administered by local Florida SHIP offices and guidelines for eligibility apply in terms of income level, what is considered 'eligible housing', and purchase price levels. (Click here for the SHIP website)

2. The monies provided for down payment are a loan that the qualifying recipient agrees to repay the loan within 18 months and namely from a qualifying recipient's 2009 income tax refund. Remember, the Tax Credit is not a guaranteed refund check. The Tax Credit applies to one's tax liability for the year. Therefore if the recipient is liable for $1,000 in income tax to be paid and qualifies for the maximum $8,000 tax credit, the tax refund to the recipient is $7,000 ($8,000 - $1,000) and are still obligated to repay the $8,000 on the loan for the down payment. As you can see, the recipient would still need to come up with and additional $1,000 to repay the loan for the down payment.

3. The program is planned to begin August 1, 2009 although it effectively kicked off July 1, 2009 for qualifying Florida Home Buyers. Because monies to fund the program are built up from existing home sales doc stamps income; this may not be the same for all localities due to filing timelines from the local governments. Check with your local Realtor or SHIP office to find out if the program is available.

The biggest difference between the programs is that tax credit does not have to be repaid. The credit reduces an eligile person's tax liability by up to $8,000. In additional, because the tax credit program is Federal and the down payment assistance program is State; buyers may qualify for the Federal and not the down payment program. Again, the down payment assistance program will be determined by the local Florida SHIP office.

This is obviously a great option for qualifying home buyers. Consult with your Realtor or the local SHIP office for more information or direction.

When you watch the commercials for the IPhone and see the sleek design, the bubbly colorful icons, and the touchscreen; it seems like a really interesting gadget. It's when you get a hold of one and begin to play around with the features, sift through the features, and start to play around with the 1000's of add-on applications that you quickly realize how much Apple has truly revolutionized the mobile world. The real power . . . is definitely in the add-on applications, known as 'Apps'.

There are literally 1000's of add-on applications available and more coming everyday. Although games are very popular, there are an amazing amount of the little apps that help organize and make life a little bit easier and a ton of them are FREE (many also have a cost ranging from .99 on up). I'll admit that I haven't been "sold" on this device but when my husband upgraded the software on his ITouch and we began exploring these add-on, we both quickly realized how beneficial this device can be. For example, do you have a ton of store discount cards that you fumble to find or are dangling from your keychain? Ever wonder when someone would make it simple? Someone has! A company known as www.MyCardStar.com developed an app that you simply select the store, enter your number for the card, and it produces and stores the barcode on your phone which can be scanned at the store.

Many of the applications also utilize the built in GPS and email to make finding things easier when you are unfamiliar with your surroundings and/or want to 'share' the information with others. One of our personal favorites is the i.TV app. This powerful little add-on allows you to pull up the latest movies, rad a synopsis, watch a preview, shows the nearest (automatically from your GPS locator) theaters and showtimes, and gives directions to the theater. Netflix subscriber? You can also add the movie to you Netflix que so you'll never miss another movie when it comes out on DVD. And as the company name suggests, there is the TV portion which allows you to pull up your local programming and if you have a Tivo, you can set it to record right on your phone.

It would be impossible to go through them all, but there are apps for almost anything you can think of. The grocery store lists and recipe guides, religion, news, business, book buying, dining out, ereaders, conversions, social networking, so forth and so on. Visit Apple's App store today to browse through the apps available. And here's some of our personal favorites (all of these are FREE as well since we have been surfing through to see what they really can do).

• Barnes & Noble - Shop for books, get a synopsis, reserve it at the nearest store, find events goingon at the closest store and email share it with a friend, and much more. A definite for Book lovers.
• ITranslate - Type in a word or phrase and translate it into one of the 42 languages available. Perfect for the traveler.
• Epicurious - Thousands of great recipes and shopping lists.
• WikiHow - If you can wonder about how to do something, it's probably in this one. How to change a tire, deliver a baby, perform CPR, start a fire, organize a closet, so forth and so on.
• Grocery Gadget - Set up up lists, keep track of spending as your shopping, coupons, import recipes, email your lists, and much more. This free version is limited to one list and 20 items, but you can get the pay version for $2.99 which unlocks a whole lot more.
• OpenTable - Find restaurants nearby, get directions, view the menu, and book reservations.
• And there are more.

I'm not personally a big gadget person. I want things that are real-world and make life easier, and this device and all of those out there putting together these wonderful applications, have definitely created something truly amazing. It defitnitely is on my list for the next cell phone.