Short sale process improving

Things are looking up in the short sale world...or at least it's supposed to be.  On paper the changes made by the settlement between the Feds and the big banks look AWESOME! We'll have to see if it all pans out like its supposed to. The bottom line of the changes is that it's supposed to shorten the length of time it takes to get to the closing table. This is great news for those of us that have seen short sales take as long as a year to close! That's disgraceful and there's no excuse.  Now the lenders will be held accountable and actually have rules THEY have to follow! I'm going to research this a little further and post the rules exactly as they were mandated by the settlement. I think you're going to love it! To be continued...... View in: Mobile | Desktop ©2012 Google

Sales remain strong In Jacksonville FL

Wow! What a difference a few months make! The short and sweet version of what's going on in the Jacksonvile Market is this:

Our inventory is DOWN to a 6 and a half month supply. A "normal" or stable market is considered to be a 5-6 month supply. We're almost back to normal! Break out the champagne!

Have you been house hunting lately? Good luck! The inventory is VERY low. It's hard to find very many houses to look at. Guess what this (historically) means? Yep. Supply vs Demand = Higher home prices. Keep that in mind if you're still sitting on the fence.

Need more proof? How about these factoids? New listings crept up a little in February, but not nearly enough to keep up with the number of sold properties.. I'm thinking that means that we're exactly where we were this time last year. Know what that means? Yep. The bottom is here or so close I can almost see it!

More evidence? The median sales price was down a whopping 0.2% over last year. I say that doesn't count. I'm going to call it a wash and say that the median sales price didn't fall. I mean seriously, 0.2%? I'm thinking that means that we're exactly where we were this time last year. Know what that means? Where are all of the REO's and Foreclosures that were headed to the market? They haven't made it here YET. CAN IT BE THAT WE'VE HIT BOTTOM??

Just maybe. Pending sales are up 26.5%. Yes, you read that right UP 26.5%. About half of those (47.4% to be exact) were distressed sales (short sales, foreclosures, REO's) and the rest were gool old fashioned seller owned properties.

Can it be? Someone pinch me. I think we've hit bottom and maybe, just maybe, with this shortage of new listings, prices just might to start going up. I will be happy if they just stablize and stop falling. Afterall. All we want is a healthy market where Sellers can Sell and Buyers can afford to buy.....

I think we just might be there now. What do you think?

Jacksonville Beaches area real estate market update

As they say, "the numbers don't lie". The Beaches area markets are all over the place! Without giving out TMI (too much information), I'll give you the hightlights and the lowlights of the Beaches market. I'll give you the condensed version.

Jacksonville Beach has fewer listings than it did in Oct 2010 (-31.7%) but the median sales price price was up 9.1% ($232,300.00) over October 2010. Year to Date in Jax Beach median sale price is up only 1.4%. BUT---the key word here is UP! Inventory is down 24.3% from the same time last year. We are down to a 7 month supply of inventory in Jacksonville Beach. That's a GREAT thing!

Neptune Beach took a huge hit on the median sales price. It was down a whopping -59.7% compared to October of 2010. Year to date numbers are a whole lot better - up 16.7% to $280,000. The median sales price in October 2010 was $501,500 and this year the median sales price was $202,000. WOW!! There are 8 months of inventory on hand in Neptune Beach right now. This is down 46.7% vs the same inventory in October of 2010.

My head is hurting from all of these numbers! I am ready to bang my head against my computer monitor. I never was much of a bean counter! One last report to go!

Atlantic Beach had 25% fewer closings in October of 2011 than they did in 2010. The median sales price is up 20.7%. The current median sales price is $281,250. Again, the key word is UP! So the bottom line in Atlantic Beach appears to be fewer homes sold, but the ones that did sell - sold for more! There is a 7 and a half month supply of homes on the market right now in AB.

Jacksonville Beach and Atlantic Beach both showed improvement in price but fewer homes sold. Neptune Beach had a price DECREASE but year to year, the prices are up 16.7%.

[Image]The number of homes on the market continues to decline. This will probably force prices to continue rising. Interest rates remain low so this just might be the perfect time to buy!

Call me today and let's get out there and find you a house at the Beach. Can't you just see yourself taking a long walk on the sand today?

Short Sales and REO info in Jacksonville FL

I've finally stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to try and list some REO properties! I'm a little spooked about it. I've heard the lenders can be difficult to deal with but I think I can handle it! You know that there are plenty of these listings to go around. I am so detail oriented and have been accused of being a little TOO concerned about the "small stuff".

I have created a web site and would appreciate any comments about it. It's simple, all I wanted to do was give people a way to get in touch with me. In the meantime.... I've started doing BPO's. These are Broker Price Opinions and are critical in the process of selling a short sale. When the lender gets an offer on a property, they order a BPO so they'll know if the offer is a good one. They are time consuming but I think they'll keep me very active in my market. I will also have a better understanding of how to help MY buyers make offers the lender would accept. I won't be able to sell any of the properties I actually do the BPO on, but it will help me with other homes in the area. The BPOR designation carries a lot of weight with the lenders.

They really need some help!!! As a BPO agent for the lender, I'll be their eyes and ears in the market. They don't just consider the price per square foot. They want to know detailed info that's only available to REALTORS. I learned a lot in the classes. I'll let you know how it goes...

Jacksonville real estate market update

Sales in Jacksonville increased over last years numbers. There were 701 "normal" sales and 614 "distressed" sales in September. Inventory dropped an incredible 32%.  Guess what?  We're almost down to a "normal market". When we have a 5-6 month supply of properties on the market, we're considered "normal". In September we were down to a 7 month supply.

Along with the good news, there is some bad news (for sellers anyway). Prices on normal sales dropped 6.5%  and prices on lender mediated (short sales and foreclosures) ROSE 4.5%!!!

So in a nutshell: inventory down. Foreclosure prices up. Normal sales prices down.

We are very close to a "normal" market!!!

Jacksonville showings: Trick or Treat?

Posting this story has become a tradition for me! I didn't want a year to go by without posting it. Unfortunately, the story rings true today like it did many years ago..................................

Halloween Horror Story for a REALTOR

Once again it's time for me to repost the scariest real estate story ever! It's become an annual tradition to repost this article. I call it my "List Em and Leave Em" post. Don't let this happen to you!

The names have been changed to protect the slackers and the victims...


I continually hear people say that their realtor bugged them for weeks to get them to list their house with them. They finally agreed to list it and they never saw the REALTOR again!! I'm not exaggerating! Check out this story....

New example of a "list em and leave em" real estate company

Wednesday, May 02, 2007JANESVILLE, Wis. - A couple checking out a house for sale were shocked to discover the 55-year-old homeowner dead in her bed. Authorities said foul play was not suspected. Real estate agent Linda stood in the dining room while Justin and Colleen walked through a house Monday night. Before long, she heard Colleen scream."I thought, 'What's wrong?' Maybe it was a dead mouse or something," agent Linda said. But then she peered into the bedroom and saw the body of the owner.

An autopsy determined the owner had been dead for two to three weeks, Rock County Coroner Jenifer K said Wednesday. The cause of death remained under investigation, but the woman appeared to have died of natural causes and no foul play was suspected, the coroner said.

The agent who listed the house, said it was for sale "for a while." Agent Linda said she had noticed a faint odor but thought it was from the mess in the house or the countertop full of dishes. After seeing the body, she said she told the couple: "We need to leave. This is not right. We need to get out of here."

I rest my case! If you want to list your house with someone that will communicate with you---give me a call! I look forward to hearing from you. I promise not to list your house and forget about you!

Call me today!

Jacksonville Homes Market Update

Straight from NEFAR we have some great news. It appears as though we've finally hit the bottom and things are turning around! Call me with questions or concerns.


NEFAR Announces August 2011 Real Estate Sales Results Indicators point toward recovery: closed and pending sales up, inventory and new listings down, median and average sale prices increase, percentage of lender-mediated sales down. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) announces real estate market statistics for August 2011. Statistics encompass both single-family residential and condo sales. Closed sales were up 1.5 percent year-over-year, coming in at 1,441 sales for the month. Pending sales popped in August, jumping 24.4 percent year-over-year to reach 1,744.

Inventory in August was noteworthy, dropping 32.2 percent from a year ago to arrive at 11,167 properties for sale as opposed to last August's 16,464. The number of months supply of homes for sale also showed exceptional improvement year-over-year, dropping from 11.8 months last August to just 7.9 months this August; a 33.1 percent drop. A market is considered balanced when there is roughly a five- to six-month supply of properties, indicating that northeast Florida is on the cusp of that normalcy. New listings were also markedly down, dropping 20.7 percent from 2,924 in August 2010 to 2,319 this August. Prices also rallied a bit in August. The overall median sales price was $138,000; a 2.2 percent increase over $135,000 last August. The $180,823 average sale price was 6.6 percent higher than last August's $169,658. The balance between traditional sales and lender-mediated sales also moved in the right direction. Of the 1,441 sales for the month, 626 (42.8 percent) were lender-mediated while 835 were traditional.

Last August, more than 51 percent of sales were lender-mediated.


NEFAR President Dane Leslie says, "August was a month of numerous positive indicators, sending a clear signal that we are on the path to a stabilized market with recovery now in progress."