Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!

This is something new offered by my local MLS (PRO--Pinellas Realtor Association) I thought I'd try it out here to see if the code works in blog posts as well (no reason it shouldn't).

I was playing with it a bit yesterday, but I could not figure out how to delete some of the suggested comparables, since some neighborhoods vary to the extreme (such as my neighborhood, where a house across the street can be dramatically different in value because one side of the street is waterfront, on a canal, whereas the other side is not, and does not have access).

I do believe this is in beta-testing phase, so if anyone can figure it out first, please let me know!

A client/friend of mine just asked this today, with impeccable timing, since I just finished compiling foreclosure statistics for Pasco County, Florida, where she lives.

So let's take a look at Aloha Gardens--a lovely, waterfront community of moderately priced homes in Holiday, Florida. I know the area well, since my own most recent investment property is in the same subdivision.

Here are some stats:

• Holiday, Florida has 69 bank-owned properties currently, which is 12% of the bank-owned properties in Pasco County. (See Florida-FORECLOSURE-FORUM-Whats-Happening-in-Your-County). 16 of these foreclosures are in Aloha Gardens or Tahitian Homes.
• Holiday has also had 59 homes on the auction block, 8 of which were in Aloha Gardens, another 4 from neighboring Tahitian Homes.
• Of the 3,194 pre-foreclosures currently registered in Pasco County, 57 are located in Aloha Gardens, and another 32 are in Tahitian Homes--combined they make 3% of the total of Lis Pendens in Pasco.

So, what other driving forces are affecting the market in Holiday and these neighborhoods in particular?

• There are 540 homes currently for sale in Holiday, 80 of which are either in Aloha Gardens or Tahitian Homes. The average list price in these areas is currently $101,011.
• 52 homes have sold in the past 6 months in Aloha and Tahitian, representing 23% of the total sales in Holiday. The average sales price has been $72,940, which is 93% of the list price at the time of offer.
• The 12 homes currently under contract for sale are priced between $34,900 and $92,000 - quite a range of prices, due to the heavy foreclosures in addition to the proximity of some areas to sinkhole claimed property.
• A seller in these neighborhoods at this time with an above-average condition home of at least 1200 square feet (no pool) can expect between 60-120 days on market and a sales price between $79,500 and $89,000.

For more information about these neighborhoods, or any other neighborhood in Holiday, Florida, for a FREE market analysis of your home, or information on foreclosures or foreclosure assistance, please:

To GET TICKETS for the next FORECLOSURE BUS TOUR, FILL OUT THE:

EASY ONLINE FORM

Be sure to tell us how many tickets you'll need, the cost for the entire day will be only $25 per person. Thanks for your interest, and best wishes in your home search.

For more Tips and strategies if you are facing foreclosure-check my website

There has been SO much speculation regarding foreclosures and the market bubble bursting, etc., etc.--I want to know what's happening in YOUR area, because, as professional Realtors I don;t have to tell you (because you already know), that every market IS different, and what's happening a couple of counties away may or may not be happening in your local market.

In Florida, job losses and overbuilding have contributed to the overall market collapse, according to the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association), putting our state in the #1 foreclosure position, with 7.32% of Florida homes in foreclosure at the end of the thrid quarter of 2008. Many economists have predicted a levelling and stabilization after subprime interests reset in 2009, yet many doomsdayers are predicting further market mayhem once the Alt-As and Option Arms adjust.

With one in six homes already in some state of foreclosure, the chief economist for the Labor Department of MBA states: "Nationally, about 575,000 homes entered foreclosure in the third quarter, with more than one in six in Florida, on track to hit roughly 2.2 million foreclosures by the end of the year...In addition, 6.99 percent of all loans were either 30 days or more past due. In Florida, the percentage was 9.11, up from 7.86 percent the previous quarter." My question is--how many more homes CAN go into foreclosure? SOMEbody's got to be paying their bills...

Some third-quarter Realist statistics for Pasco County, Florida:

There are currently 594 BANK-OWNED homes in Pasco County. 25% (149) of these are located in New Port Richey; 18% (105) are in Port Richey; and 12% (69) are in Holiday. These three areas alone account for more than half (55%) of Pasco County foreclosures.

Since June of 2008, there have been 518 MORE homes auctioned on the courthouse steps, along with 5,494 filed Lis Pendens (pre-foreclosures) currently on file in Pasco County.

The GOOD news is that there is plenty of help available now for those who are in default on their mortgages, and many have already taken advantage of new programs being offered by lenders to help them save their homes. For more information on these programs, please email: HelpSaveHomes@gmail.com

Rainers--what's it like where you are?

To GET TICKETS for the next FORECLOSURE BUS TOUR, FILL OUT THE:

EASY ONLINE FORM

Be sure to tell us how many tickets you'll need, the cost for the entire day will be only $25 per person. Thanks for your interest, and best wishes in your home search.

For more Tips and strategies if you are facing foreclosure-check my website

Since NOW is such a great time to be considering a home purchase, with interest rates at historical lows, and really tremendous deals on all types of homes, it also pays to check into ALL available options on home loans!

While I typically will advise an FHA loan for many of my first-timers and even second-or-third offenders if they haven't bought in 2-3 years, the USDA loan is another really good option, especially for buyers who just don't have access to a 20% + down payment, but they do have a good, stable work history and decent credit.

Some of the advantages of a USDA-backed loan are that there are no minimum down-payment requirements, which even FHA is raising from 3% to 3.5%, and in fact a USDA loan can cover up to 102% of the value of the property, factoring a 2% insurance fee to cover loan losses. These loans also do not require additional mortgage insurance.

For more information on the USDA housing program go to: USDA Housing, or for eligibility requirements see: USDA

To search for available homes in the Tampa Bay area, go to: Real World Properties Online

and...Have a Beautiful Day!

Many econimists have been predicting what 60 Minutes is outlining here--basically, that we've only just begun to see the fallout of this mortgage crisis.  Sub-prime mortgages were primarily responsible for the first wave of foreclosures deflating the real estate bubble, and yet to come are the Alt-A and Option Arm defaults only just beginning to have rate resets.

I wonder, though--how many of those Option-Arm and Alt-As have already been refinanced?  I had a couple of Option Arm mortgages myself, on investment properties, and I refinanced last year when rates began to drop.  The statistics referred to in the video, which I am reposting here for reference, do not indicate whether this has been factored into the equation.

I, for one, hope thay are wrong--I've seen enough misery already! How many of you have clients, friends, or yourselves have refinanced Option Arms or Alt-A mortgages in the past 12 months? Please post!