Disclaimer: Information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS as of 3/7/2009 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!

Many sellers have been questioning whether they can sell with all of the short sales and foreclosures on the market. This is a valid concern, but it does not mean that you can not sell and get a good price for your property.

Right now amongst Residential Homes in Flagler County, FL there are:

- 1,754 Residential Homes for sale
- 523 Short Sales (30% of all homes available)
- 26 "Lender Owned" (1% of all homes available)

In the City of Palm Coast, FL amongst Residential Homes for Sale there are:

- 1,354 Residential Homes for sale
- 489 Short Sales (36% of all homes available)
- 23 "Lender Owned" (2% of all homes available)

At 31% & 32% combined in both areas, it seems like a lot to compete with especially since these properties are often priced lower than normal properties for sale. The truth is, that with the right selling strategy and pricing right you can compete without pricing in the range of these properties. There are some unique things with these types of properties that you have to keep in mind:

1. Foreclosures tend to sell at a much quicker pace (currently about half of the average time on the market than all properties sold combined). These often need some repair and some buyers are not interested in this aspect.
2. In terms of Short Sales, pricing can get a bit difficult to understand. Since these are pre-foreclosure situations, the seller often wants to sell quickly before their is not any other option and owes more than it can be sold for due to market conditions. But in listing the property, no one knows what the bank is really willing to accept because they are attempting to minimize their loss. Therefore, an obvious dilemna arises. To sell quickly, you must price aggressively but the offer that comes in (even if full price) may not be acceptable to the bank. Many buyers are beginning to understand this.

So what does all this mean to the normal seller? If your house is in good repair and you are pricing "right", you are in a good position with advantages. You add the benefit of an easier sale for the buyer. Successful selling is about pricing "right", great presentation, and maximum exposure to buyers. It's about more than just being listed in MLS, 3 pictures taken, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms listed to get showings. That's where I come in. The answer is YES when done correctly. Remember that buyers are in a good position right now because interest rates are low, prices have come down to more affordable levels for many, and there are tax credit advantages for some buyers. Palm Coast has closed 156 Residential House sales so far this year and 51 were normal sales at:

- Average Selling Price: $170,540
- Median Selling Price: $148,000
- Highest: $360,000
- Lowest: $72,500
- Average days on the market: 144

Click here to find out about all of the great services I have to offer sellers in today's market.

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

The legal term 'Lis Pendens' is latin of "a suit pending" (click here to see the legal definition). In terms of Real Estate, when there is a legal action being taken against a property a notice is filed with the county clerk called a "lis pendens". Is this strictly for foreclosure or unpaid mortgages? The answer is no. This can also result in terms of hiring a contractor and not paying them. In those cases the contractor can file a "lis pendens" with the county clerk for the amount of what is owed them.

So why do I bring this up? Some foreclosure classifieds websites have gone as far as displaying any property with a "lis pendens" filed with the county clerk to make it appear as though these properties will be auctioned for extremely low amounts. You can check with your county clerk for the status of the action and for properties that are truly going to auction due to foreclosure if you are choosing that route to purchase.

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

I was looking on a couple public forums the other day and realized that with so much information available there is still quite a few myths about Real Estate. I wanted to take some time to touch on some of the myths that exist.

• Myth: With the internet, you can draw buyers in real easily
  • Truth: This is and isn't true. The internet is obviously one of the primary places that properties for sale are advertised. The majority of home buyers use the internet to shop for properties (95% of Home Buyers in 2008 ages 25 to 44 according to NAR's Survey). So it's no secret that you want to advertise on the internet. But just having the property posted on a website does not guarantee showings or the sale of the property. As most Realtors will tell you, it is NOT about just advertising on one website or even two. It's about advertising on hundreds with stand-out presentation, the use of "viral marketing" techniques, and a mixture of offline advertising as well to generate showings and getting properties sold.
• Myth: Pricing can be based on price/sqft.
  • Truth: This would be true if every house for sale were exactly the same. As we all know, they are not. Pricing is extremely important and is determined by comparing the property to be sold to similar properties which have sold in the area within a period of time and taking into account unique features the house has in comparison to the comparable sold properties.
• Myth: I can just find out what my property is worth today by using Zillow's Zestimate.
  • Truth: Zillow is a great service and has a great idea. The issue that exists is the accuracy. As Zillow explains, there is a substantial margins of error. Because of this, relying solely on Zestimates could be very costly in trying to sell the property. I can not stress the importance of price enough. The Florida Association of Realtors 2008 Buyer survey showed that price was a major factor in the buying decision. 2005 was the height in terms of price, but it was not the height for number of sales. In fact, the number of sales dropped that year. Interms of HOW buyers shop online, you can also be missing out on sale opportunities as well since most will put in a price range to generate a list of properties available. If you are priced incorrectly (let's say too high), you will be grouped with homes that have more features and yours will get overlooked. Too low, and you're the bargain but at a significant cost to you compared to what you might have been able to get.
• Myth: Banks aren't lending.
  • Truth: Banks are lending. Approval criteria has "tightened" and blemishes on credit can impact the ability to get a loan. I just had a buyer approved the other day and another pre-approved.
• Myth: Realtors set price in an area
  • Truth: Realtors have no means of "setting" price in the areas they serve. Prices are determined by buyers actually since they are the ones making the offer and the final purchase. Without them, you have no sale. Price is based most on sales of comparable properties because this determines this is the best indicator of buyers are willing to pay.
• Myth: Realtors push sellers to list at low prices to make a quick sale.
  • Truth: Realtors are all independent businesses. As any successful business owner knows, misleading a customer leads to only one thing . . . hurting your business and a good way to put yourself out of business.
• Myth: You can just sell on your own and save the commission.
  • Truth: Some can. And some have. Many think the selling process is easy. When representing a seller, most Realtors will make it look easy. They hired us to do the work. The truth is there is a lot of work done in the background from the beginning to the end. Depending upon the services offered, a good listing presentation can take several hours to put together. It obviously doesn't stop there because the goal is to get the property sold which requires constant follow-up, focus on advertising, setting up showings, negotiation, and getting to close.

As most know, the most comprehensive database of Real Estate properties available for sale is the local MLS system. Unlike other MLS searches provided in the area, now you can be fully in control*:


· Easily customize detailed searches unique to you
· Save properties and come back to view them later on
· Get email updates of properties as they come on the market
· Satellite views linked to every property
· Make changes to your custom searches any time you want
· And much more!

How is this different than other popular Real Estate classified services? You are often not seeing ALL the properties for sale. They are dependent upon the participation of individual users. Besides that, since there is very little or no oversight, the information is not always accurate. The information contained in the local MLS has strict oversight to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding properties available for sale.

Take it for a Test Drive today at www.PalmCoastHomeShow.com!

*Many features require registration in order to be able to take advantage of them. Registration is simple and FREE. Your information is kept private and secure.