One of the biggest concerns on past and present buyers minds in Florida (as well as other parts of the country) is prices. Where are they headed? Should I wait? Should I buy now? Will they shoot back up again? So forth and so on. First of all, "timing" a Real Estate market is NOT possible. If you wait for the "bottom" or "top", you'll miss it every time. One reason is that "bottoms" and "tops" of markets can never be realized until a consistent trun has happened for a period of time. In addition, there are many many various factors which play a hand in the performance of Real Estate. I do recommend keeping an eye on trends to gain a better "picture" of how a market is responding. Let's take a very interesting look at the Florida Real Estate Market from 1994 to 2008 in terms of number of sales and median selling price from data provided by the Florida Association of Realtors (http://media.living.net/).

And here is the data that comprises these two graphs.

Now, with those dips it looks "bad" right? Look again . . . there's always positives present.

1. In terms of number of sales, 2008 compared to 2007 began to show a "flattening out" and was the lowest decline (-4%) since 2006.
2. Median sales price still remained slightly higher than 2004 levels.
3. We saw an interesting spike in December 2008. December 2008 +28% to December 2007.

Couple this with the Florida Association of Realtors 2008 survey of buyers which showed that one of the most important factors in the decision to buy was . . . price. And if one looks at trends, quantity of sales and price are going hand-in-hand. If number of sales are "turning" then . . .

It will be a very interesting year in my opinion.

You can't do a home search without coming across what is designated as a "short sale". Many buyers are often not sure what this means. Simply put, a "short sale" is a pre-foreclosure situation and is a sales transaction in which the seller's lender agrees to accept a payoff of less than the balance due on the loan. These are situations where a seller owes more than the property sells for. Unlike normal listing situations, the lender is provided a Comparable Analysis, but does not approve an accepted price until an offer is made. Therefore, setting listing price has obvious challenges. These are transactions which (in most cases) take a bit longer to close after making an offer because the bank must determine what is an acceptable loss to them once an offer comes in and will seek to minimize that loss.

Recently, the term "approved short sale" has been coming up on listings. These are Short Sale listings in which an offer has come in, the bank approved a price, and the sale did not close for whatever reason. This situation is more optimal because we now know what the lender is willing to accept as an offer. The time frame for acceptance of an offer in this scenario is often shorter.

Short Sales are often priced to sell the property quickly, and can be "great buys". The best strategy for seeking to purchase a property which is a short sale is:

1. Get with a Realtor. These are 'tedious' transactions and you want someone educated and experienced in dealing with these types of Real Estate purchase situations.
2. Look for 'Approved' Short Sales. Listing Agents are often designating this in the description.
3. Be prepared to wait for an approval once the initial offer is made. It could take 30+ days for an acceptance.
4. Don't expect to be able to be too aggressive with negotiations since this is a loss situation and the lender is attempting to minimize that loss as much as possible.
5. Have a backup properties you are interested in purchasing.

In Palm Coast, FL there are 514 Residential Houses for sale that are designated as Short Sales. 39 are designated as 'Approved' Short Sales with prices ranging from $79,000 to $424,900.* Contact me today for an 'Approved' Short Sale list.

* Disclaimer: Information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS as of 2/16/09. Information may be deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed.

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Disclaimer: Information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS as of 2/8/2009 for Residential Houses. Information may be deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed

Visit www.PalmCoastHomeShow.com for more information on beautiful Palm Coast & Flagler County as well as the unique services we offer!

Get listings based upon your criteria sent directly to your email. See listings as they come on the market.
Click here to get started today!

Click here to find out how much your property is worth!

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As we enter ino a new tax year and you are considering buying a home, I wanted to take a moment to remind 'First Time Buyers' that you may qualify for a tax credit up to $7500 for the 2009 tax year. This a program which was set in place last year and below are some highlights on the program from the website www.fedralhousingtaxcredit.com :

• The tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.
• The maximum credit amount is $7,500.
• The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before
  July 1, 2009.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
• The tax credit works like an interest-free loan and must be repaid over a 15-year period. \

Some questions from this program are:

1. What is the definition of a 'First Time Home Buyer'?
   1. The law defines "first-time home buyer" as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse. For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has owned a principal residence, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. Ownership of a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer as a first-time home buyer. (from the Federal Housing Tax Credit wesbite)
2. How is the tax credit determined?
   1. Just as an example, assume that a married couple has a modified adjusted gross income of $160,000. The applicable phaseout to qualify for the tax credit is $150,000, and the couple is $10,000 over this amount. Dividing $10,000 by $20,000 yields 0.5. When you subtract 0.5 from 1.0, the result is 0.5. To determine the amount of the partial first-time home buyer tax credit that is available to this couple, multiply $7,500 by 0.5. The result is $3,750.
      
      Here's another example: assume that an individual home buyer has a modified adjusted gross income of $88,000. The buyer's income exceeds $75,000 by $13,000. Dividing $13,000 by $20,000 yields 0.65. When you subtract 0.65 from 1.0, the result is 0.35. Multiplying $7,500 by 0.35 shows that the buyer is eligible for a partial tax credit of $2,625.
      
      Please remember that these examples are intended to provide a general idea of how the tax credit might be applied in different circumstances. You should always consult your tax advisor for information relating to your specific circumstances. (from the Federal Housing Tax Credit wesbite)
3. Click here for more FAQ's regarding this program

So, if you qualify under this program as a 'First Time Home Buyer', you can take advantage of some great components that truly make this great time to buy:

1. Great selection with many homes on the market that are less than 5 years old
2. Great prices. See my last article showing the average selling price trends for 2006 through 2008 in Palm Coast.
3. Historically low interest rates.

Visit www.PalmCoastHomeShow.com for more information on beautiful Palm Coast & Flagler County as well as the unique services we offer!

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When you are considering to sell your home, one question that often comes up is "When is the best time to sell?" Since Real Estate is local, every area could be different. Below is a graph which shows Residential house sales trends month from 2006-2008 here in Palm Coast, FL.

So when's the best time to put your property on the market? Here is Palm Coast . . . Now. Remember, that you want to allow for about 90 days to sold. Over the last 3 seasons, March through August are the busiest times of the year. Add that the fact that if you look at December, we are seeing a very positive spike in activity right now due to great prices in the area (see the second chart to see average selling price trend) and great interest rates. In addition, there are currently 324 Pending and Contingent sales for Residential Houses in Palm Coast. Last year, January was the lowest sales month for 2006-2008 but the remainder of the year was noticeably better than 2007.

If you are considering buying and wondering where prices are headed next. Notice below, that they are the best they have been since 2006 and are trending towards a 'leveling off'. Again, coupled with great interest rates that are truly at historical lows . . . now is truly a great time to buy here in Palm Coast, FL.

Visit www.PalmCoastHomeShow.com for more information on beautiful Palm Coast & Flagler County as well as the unique services we offer!

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Click here to get started today!

Click here to find out how much your property is worth!

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Disclaimer: Market data information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS. Information may be deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed