Ocala Real Estate Talk

Archive for July, 2009

Yes that’s right, Ocala foreclosures are getting multiple offers, even in our extreme buyers market. There are lessons here for both buyers and sellers of Ocala real estate.

Buyers need to understand that really prime or unusual properties can get bid up beyond the asking price. It’s supply and demand. There seems to be a never ending supply of foreclosed homes in The Shores and Marion Oaks but houses on large lots and mini farms are much harder to come by. Foreclosed homes that were never occupied might also fit into this category of especially desirable foreclosures.

When ever a bank gets more than one offer they ask the buyers to submit their “Highest and Best Offer”. Foreclosures that get bid up above the asking price are usually still a bargain. It’s all about comparable sales in the last 60 days and the lowest priced active listings. That is how to value property. Your Realtor should provide a CMA to find the foreclosed homes value and the buyer should base his offer on this data.

Sellers can learn that despite the doom and gloom you see on the news, really well priced houses are selling every day. Traditional sales can compete with foreclosures by offering a better location, exceptionally good condition as well as a very aggressive asking price.

The weather in June here in Ocala was wet. The past few years we basically had a drought during the wet season. It’s not that it didn’t rain in past years, it was just drier than it should have been. This year we are back to normal. By normal I mean showers in the afternoon on a very regular basis. I had to drain my swimming pool twice to keep it from over flowing.

July will probably be much the same as June. Highs in the 90′s, lows at night in the mid 70′s and plenty humid. Interestingly there seems to be little or no tropical storm activity out there so far this year.

As I always say, the heat and humidity of Florida summers is a very small price to pay for no winter.

If you’re read my Ocala Foreclosure Guide on my web site or what I’ve written about Ocala short sales on my blog then you know that I don’t like short sales at all. The biggest problem I have with short sales is that so few actually close. Of course the banks are part of the problem. Some banks are so overwhelmed that they just don’t have the staff capable of handling the work load. Then there are buyers and their Realtors that don’t submit a complete short sale package. The over worked staff at the banks will just put these incomplete deals to the bottom of the pile. Buyers themselves have to take responsibility too for a lot of short sales that don’t close. Too many buyers want a cheap house without the work and hassle and just bail out before the offer can get processed. Most short sales take about 8 weeks to close.

From a buyers point of view I still think foreclosures are an easier transaction. I will admit that as time goes on I am seeing more short sales close as both Realtors and banks get better at them.

For sellers I think short sales are a last resort and better than foreclosure. I used to turn down short sale listings but I’ve recently changed brokers. My new broker, Coral Shores Realty, owns an affiliated title company that has a short sale program. A lawyer from the title company will prepare the short sale package as follows.

1. Title and Lien Searches.
2. Compilation of Seller’s documents to demonstrate financial hardship:
a. Preparation of Financial statement and hardship letter
b. Tax Returns
c. Bank Statements
d. Comparative Market Analysis of Property, which can also be provided by
Realtor or Appraiser
e. All other documentation that they deem necessary.
3. Preparation of Preliminary HUD-1.
4. Direct and Constant Negotiations with the loss mitigation department of the
Lender(s). This is one of the most critical areas that is usually the down-fall
of most short-sale transactions.
5. Responsible for obtaining final approval from all lender(s) in establishing an
APPROVED SHORT SALE PRICE.

Call me for further details and fees regarding listing your Ocala short sale.

HUGE SALES INCREASE

Sales in June were 305 homes in Marion County. That’s a large increase over January at 142, February at 188, March at 220, April at 229 7 May at 259. This is a steady upward trend. Total listings also keep steadily going down which is great news.

We saw a huge increase in sales during June. This is all a result of lower prices. Buyers realize that prices are near bottom and interest rates are at historical lows with no where to go but up. Sellers realize that price is what sells a house in this market and that over priced homes just get over looked.

I don’t see prices going back up for a long time but the increase in sales combined with the decrease in listings is a very welcome sign.

Although I’m very optomistic about the increase is sales it should be noted that Foreclosures and Short sales accounted for 135 of the 319 sales in June. That’s 40%. Short sales being 37 sold and foreclosures a wopping 98 sales.