Maureen Loeb

Market Update - Heathrow FL Luxury Homes

(> $400K) 05/12/2010

The Heathrow, FL luxury home market continues to be active over the past 6 quarters. As shown on the following chart, Q1, 2010 sales were only slightly lower than Q1, 2009 sales (9 vs. 11). However, the average price per SF increased this year and the percentage of foreclosure homes increased. This will most likely result in lower prices per square price because of the lag time for appraisers in using comparable sales.

The Active and Pending listings show some insight into future activity. 29% of the pending sales are either short sales (pre-foreclosed properties) or REO/Bank Owned (Foreclosed properties). This suggests that the contract price will be much lower than the asking price of $181.00 per square foot. It also suggests that the active listings are priced too high at $204.87/SF. Recently several homes fell out of escrow because they did not appraise for the contract price. Although I don't have a crystal ball, my personal opinion is that we'll see a decrease in price per square foot over the next several months. So, at first glance it might seem that buyers should wait for this projected decrease. However, this might not be the best strategy because:

•· There are many buyers waiting for this projected decrease. This means more competition for the same homes. We are currently seeing this phenomenon in the lower priced homes which are frequently receiving multiple offers.

•· Because of the increased activity in lower priced homes we now have many new "move up" buyers in our pool of buyers.

A better strategy is to take into consideration the market conditions and make aggressive offers BEFORE the actual price decreases and the competition of numerous buyers.

So, if you are still interested in purchasing a luxury home in Heathrow, I suggest you re-look at the current inventory. Current Heathrow listings may be found on my web site at http://www.homes-fl.net/Heathrow.htm

Information compiled from data from MFRMLS by Maureen Loeb, REALTOR at Heathrow Realty