Category: Foreclosures

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Foreclosures Selling

Need To Short Sell Your Home?

Banks Offering Up To $20,000 Incentives

As the economy continues to trudge along, many South Florida homeowners are still struggling with unemployment and mortgage payments.  If you are thinking of short selling your home, you should be aware that several banks have incentives for you to short sell versus going through the lengthy, in Florida it can take close to two years, and extremely credit-damaging foreclosure process.

Wells Fargo and Chase offer up to $20,000 in incentives to qualified homeowners and Bank of America just launched a similar pilot program in Florida.

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Buying Foreclosures Market Summary Neighborhood News Pinecrest Selling

Pinecrest Real Estate – Market Summary for Single Family Homes

How does the housing market look in Pinecrest half way through 2011?  Below are the numbers for single family homes.  Note that all of these are going to change a little due to status changes that happen at the end of the month, but are not updated in the MLS until the following month.  As of 6/30/2011:

  • Closed sales: 90.  Low of $270,000, high of $4,000,000. 7 were bankowned (REO), 10 are short sales or approximately 19% distressed sales.  57 closed in the second quarter.
  • Pending sales: 48.  Low of  $265,000, high of $2,150,000. 3 are REO, 17 are short sales.  Almost 42% are distressed sales.
  • Active sales:  160.  Low of $269,900, high of $5,000,000 ($4,999,999 to be exact!).  3 are REOs. 14 are short sales.  Only 11% distressed listings.  64 were listed in the second quarter.

What does this mean if you are a seller?  If you want to sell your home during the end of the summer buying season, drop your price now.  Homes are selling and people are still looking to buy in Pinecrest because of the quality of the public and private schools, parks, and good size lots.  If your home needs a lot of work, you are going to have to drop the price even further.  Buyers are looking for homes that need minimal updates.  If you don’t drop your price now, you are going to have to drop it even further come the beginning of the school year.

If you are a buyer, the numbers mean there aren’t as many “deals” in terms of short sales and foreclosures.  Those that are on the market, are priced well, and in reasonably good shape are going to have multiple offers, because there are fewer of them.  If you are financing your purchase, you are better off using the numbers to make an offer on a well priced, non-distressed listing.

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Buying Foreclosures Luxury Real Estate Market Summary Miami Beach Neighborhood News Selling

Miami Beach Real Estate: Market Summary for Single Family Homes

We are half way through the year and the market has been moving.  Sales are up, mostly due to lower prices.    As of June 30, the single family home market in Miami Beach for the year so far is as follows:

Closed sales:  94. Low of $190,000 to a high of $25,500,000.  9 of the closed sales were foreclosures, 6 were short sales.   Only 16% were distressed sales. 49 closed in the second quarter.

  • Pending sales: 57.  Low $200,000 to a high of $14,900,00. 2 of the pending sales are foreclosures, 23 are short sales.  Almost 44% distressed.  21 went pending in the second quarter.
  • Active sales: 282.  Low of $205,900,high of $49,995,000.  16 are short sales, 1 is a foreclosure. Only 6% distressed.  76 of the active sales were listed in the second quarter.

What does this mean if you are a seller?  The good news is that the majority of the closed sales are not distressed sales.  If you are priced right for a buyer’s market, you have a closing window of opportunity to sell at a higher price than you will get later this year.  I think prices of active listings are going to come down as we come closer to the end of the summer buying season.

What does this mean if you are a buyer?  Many buyers are still looking for a “deal” without realizing that they are already looking at one.  Just because a property is not a foreclosure or a short sale, does not mean it is not a good deal.  A lot of sellers have come down significantly in their pricing, in large part due to the pressure of distressed properties on the market.  As the distressed properties listed for sale decrease, they become less of a factor on the overall market.  If you are financing your property and only looking at distressed sales, you are going to have even more frustration as you are competing with cash buyers.

Note:  These numbers are going to change a bit due to fluctuations at the end of the month when a lot of properties status changes, but those changes don’t get recorded in the MLS until the following month.

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Buying Foreclosures

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Offering Incentives to Move Inventory

If you are in the market to purchase a home now really is a great time to buy.  In addition to low interest rates and high inventories, current offers by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac help increase your buying power.  Note:  these offers are for owner-occupied homes only, not for investment properties.

Fannie Mae:

  • 3.5% toward closing costs
  • closing by October 31, 2011

 

Freddie Mac:

  • Up to 3.5%  toward closing costs
  • 2 year home warranty
  • 30% appliance discount
  • Thru July 31, must close by September, 2011

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Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate

5 Steps To Take If You Are Buying In Today’s Miami Real Estate Market

If you are trying to purchase your first home or investment property and take advantage of the low interest rates and prices, congratulations! A couple of things you may want to do to avoid frustration:

1)If you are financing, prequalify for a mortgage. It will make your offer that much stronger.
2)Do your homework-find out what properties are listing & selling for in the area you are looking in. If they are selling for more than you qualify for, you are looking in the wrong area.
3)Be realistic with your expectations-if you are only looking at foreclosures and short sales, realize that with the former you will be competing with cash buyers, be in a multiple bid situation where the property will probably go for more than asking, and you will most likely need to do some work. With a short sale you are looking at a long closing process.
4) If you are planning on working with a Realtor, work exclusively with one and have him/her set up all appointments, even if you are searching on-line on your own. If you go to open houses let the person holding it open know you are working with a Realtor.
5) If you submit offers and consistently lose them for any reason other than you were competing with a cash buyer, find out what the reason is and address it so you won’t make the same mistake next time. If it is consistently due to price, stop lowballing if you really want to get in the market or, go back to #2 above

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Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate

5 Steps To Take If You Are Buying In Today's Miami Real Estate Market

If you are trying to purchase your first home or investment property and take advantage of the low interest rates and prices, congratulations! A couple of things you may want to do to avoid frustration:

1)If you are financing, prequalify for a mortgage. It will make your offer that much stronger.
2)Do your homework-find out what properties are listing & selling for in the area you are looking in. If they are selling for more than you qualify for, you are looking in the wrong area.
3)Be realistic with your expectations-if you are only looking at foreclosures and short sales, realize that with the former you will be competing with cash buyers, be in a multiple bid situation where the property will probably go for more than asking, and you will most likely need to do some work. With a short sale you are looking at a long closing process.
4) If you are planning on working with a Realtor, work exclusively with one and have him/her set up all appointments, even if you are searching on-line on your own. If you go to open houses let the person holding it open know you are working with a Realtor.
5) If you submit offers and consistently lose them for any reason other than you were competing with a cash buyer, find out what the reason is and address it so you won’t make the same mistake next time. If it is consistently due to price, stop lowballing if you really want to get in the market or, go back to #2 above

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Buying Foreclosures Market Summary Miami Beach Selling

Miami Beach, FL Real Estate – Market Summary

1835 W 27 Street
1835 W 27 Street

Market information from the Multiple Listing Service for single family homes for the month of January are as follows:

  1. Closed sales: 16.  2 short sales 2 REOs.  7 were cash sales, including the one for $3.86 million.
  2. Price range of closed sales: $3.86 million – $375,000
  3. Pending sales: 20. 3 short sales, 4 REOs
  4. Price range of pending sales: $2.950 million – $230,000
  5. Active listings: 316, 42 of which were listed in February.  18 short sales, 1 REO.  164 are waterfront
  6. Price range of active listings: $50 million – $199,000

Distressed sales are still making up the larger part of the market in terms of listings going to contract.  Based on the number of active listings, distressed sales make up about 8% of the market, but half of the closed sales.

What does this mean if you are a buyer? Based on the number of active listings to closed sales, there is still a lot of inventory to work through, so it is still a buyers market.  Once you narrow down your price range and specifications however, there won’t be as much to choose from, so use the statistics and market information to negotiate your price.  If the house you like is a regular sale and it is priced right, you won’t have as much room to negotiate as you will on one that is overpriced.  If you are going to make an offer on a short sale bring patience and realize that when the bank finally does answer, they may ask for more than what you offered, even if what you offered was the full asking price.

What does this mean if you are a seller? You have a lot of competition so price really does matter.  Look at the active sales that most closely match your home in terms of size, location, updates, lot size, amenities.  Consider pricing it 10-15% below your closest competition, make sure it has great curb appeal, and de-clutter and freshen up the inside with some elbow grease and a fresh coat of neutral paint.  The good news is that if your house is priced right compared to your competition, it will sell.

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Buying Coconut Grove Foreclosures Market Summary Selling

Coconut Grove, FL Real Estate – Market Summary

Market information from the Multiple Listing Service for single family homes for the month of January are as follows:

  1. Closed sales:  8.  None were short sales, 7 were REOs. 5 were cash sales.
  2. Price range of closed sales: $565,000 – $48,000
  3. Pending sales: 12.  2 short sales, 1 REO
  4. Price range of pending sales: $2.39 million – $57,900
  5. Active listings: 176.  18 short sales, 5 REOs
  6. Price range of active listings: $16.9 million – $49,900 (no, I didn’t forget a zero!)

Distressed sales made up less of the sales going to contract in January, but made up the majority of closed sales.  the actual closings for the month are of regular sales.  Based on the number of active listings, distressed sales make up 13% of the market.

What does this mean if you are a buyer? Based on the number of active listings to closed sales, there is still a lot of inventory to work through, so it is still a buyers market.  Once you narrow down your price range and specifications however, there won’t be as much to choose from, so use the statistics and market information to negotiate your price.  If the house you like is a regular sale and it is priced right, you won’t have as much room to negotiate as you will on one that is overpriced.  Cash was king in the distressed sales for January, so if you are going in with financing, make sure you have a very tight offer, including your pre-approval letter for a mortgage, a realistic deposit, and good timing for inspections and other due diligence.

What does this mean if you are a seller? You have a lot of competition so price really does matter, especially in the higher price ranges (84 of the current active listings are over $1,000,000, but the highest closed sale for January was under $600,000).  Look at the active sales that most closely match your home in terms of size, location, updates, lot size, amenities.  Consider pricing it 10-15% below your closest competition, make sure it has great curb appeal, and de-clutter and freshen up the inside with some elbow grease and a fresh coat of neutral paint.  The good news is that if your house is priced right compared to your competition, it will sell.

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Commercial Real Estate Foreclosures Market Summary Neighborhood News

Still Doubt An Economic Recovery Is Taking Place In Miami?

There was so much good news about economic activity in the Miami Today, today that I had to share some of the ones that popped out at me.  In addition to the one about all of the economic growth numbers from November (see tomorrow’s post), the following things jumped out at me as a good sign that Miami, despite the economic downturn, has continued pursuing projects that focus on long term growth

I point all this out because it is easy to focus on the negatives of unemployment, short sales, and foreclosures, all of which are very real and very painful.  The fact that companies are investing here, tourists are visiting, inventories are getting absorbed, and developers are getting ready to start building again, all tell me that we are bouncing along the bottom, but the end is in sight.  Since unemployment is a lagging indicator, it will be one of the last economic indicators to pick up.  All of the items listed above will help the unemployment rate, which in turn will further help stabilize our battered housing market.

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Buying Foreclosures Selling

Miami Real Estate – Condo Inventory Continues to Shrink

According to Condovultures.com, only 16% of the 22,231 condo units built in Greater Downtown Miami during the latest boom are still available for sale.  If you continue to wait for prices to drop further, you will probably find you missed the boat.  That doesn’t mean prices are going to appreciated rapidly, or at all, in the next year or two.  We still have short sales, older construction, and regular owner foreclosures (vs developer foreclosures) to work our way through.