Episode #11 – 2 Bed Beachfront Condo for $234k

This week on The Beach Show we feature a super luxurious Wild Heron home that was just under contract and is back on the market, a great starter home in East Panama City Beach for less than $150k and a ready-to-use Gulf-front condo in the fabulous Majestic Beach Resort.

The Beach Show is your ONLY internet TV show all about Real Estate on Panama City Beach.

Remember, it doesn’t cost anything to work with us if you are a buyer.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

Show Notes

Deal 1 – Super-Lux Wild Heron Home – HUGE

List Price: $450,000
Square Feet: 2,681
Price/SqFt: $167.85
3 Bedrooms, 3 Bath
Built in 2006
This is the nicest home in Wild Heron that we’ve featured. Don’t be scared off by the price, if you’re in the market for top-of-the-line, with the best of everything, this is the home for you. With an elevator, two car garage, huge bedrooms, a dedicated study, tons of private space and an awesome wide open 3 door sliding glass door that opens up to a nature reserve, this is THE place to be if you are a high-end liver. This was under contract and has just come back on the market, it will not last long, Wild Heron is super hot right now being the ONLY neighborhood of this caliber available to Panama City Beach

Deal 2 – Move-in ready starter home for only$150k – only 4 blocks from the Gulf!

List Price: $149,500
Square Feet: 1,330
Price/SqFt: $112.41
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 1982
This home has never been rented and was used as a weekend summer home for the current owners. This is not a short-sale or a foreclosure, but is priced to sell, heck, if it made it on here, then it’s got to be a screaming deal. The appliances are older, but everything seems to be working fine. The a/c was replace two years ago and the roof was replaced 4 years ago. The backyard is all sand, but with a reasonable offer, the seller will provide a sod allowance.

Deal 3 – 2 Bedroom 1,200 sf Gulf Front Condo for $234k

List Price: $234,900
Square Feet: 1,197
Price/SqFt: 196.24
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 2005
Ok, just to clear up some confusion, the listing says this is a 3 bedroom, but the third bedroom is so small, I don’t want to call it that, just fyi. This condo is a foreclosure, but sure doesn’t seem like one. With travertine flooring, crown moulding and like new appliances, this thing is ready to go. In fact, I beleive this is the first foreclosure we’ve been into that you won’t have to do anything to start using. Situated on the Gulf, the views are amazing and the balcony is huge. This is a perfect opportunity to get into a Gulf-front condo for cheap. Majestic is an amazing resort with by far some of the best amenities on the beach: huge fitness room (over 50 Life Fitness cardio and weight-lifting machines), a huge theater room, dry sauna and steam room and 4 pools. Not to mention the location.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

The Secret of What Your Home's Worth – REVEALED

I, like many other Realtors, send out a postcard when I sell a property proclaiming my excitement in hopes that someone will give me a call. Thankfully most of the people are sweet and just want some information, mostly on the value of their own home in that neighborhood and I am tickled to give them that information. This week I made a mistake. Although I knew better, I let a man convince me to give him a value of his home with only a little information. He was determined that I tell him what his house was worth sight unseen with little knowledge of his home other than the number of rooms and the year it was built. I kindly calculated what I thought it would be worth based on the homes that I know that have been selling and provided him a range of what I thought was reasonable. Apparently, I was WRONG, he did not like the number I gave him so that brings us to this weeks tip.

There are some things that your Realtor must know in order to give you an accurate value of your home. Doing it blindly over the phone is not the best bet and keep in mind it is every one’s best interest that she give you the right value. Realtors do not get excited about listing property – they love to sell it.

Location: We have heard that one forever and it still remains one of the key factors in determining a homes value. For us at the beach, location to the beach and whether it is near a dedicated beach with easy access is a great factor as well. Also important is how many homes in your area are for ssle? How many are foreclosures? What is the general condition of the area? Are there high association fees in your area? If you live in an area with few houses for sale then you have a better chance typically of selling your home so make sure you ask your Realtor about the level of inventory in your neighborhood.
Design, square footage and lot-size are all important to determine your homes value. Generally your Realtor will do a FREE Market analysis that will give you statistics of what the homes are selling for in your area and how long they have been on the market. If she is an active Realtor then she can give you a very good opinion of what your house will sell for but remember an estimate over the phone leaves her lacking vital information. PRICE is important today in that there are certain price categories that garner the greatest number of buyers.
Loan availability and appraisals: Today more than ever it is important that buyers and sellers are aware if a property qualifies for a loan. Consumers are unaware that the type of property may determine whether a buyer can get a loan for that property. It is not safe to assume that if you qualify for a loan that qualifies the property as well. It is vital that you tell your lender what type of home you are considering and in the best case scenario have your Realtor send the mls listing to your lender that you are considering. Condos do NOT typically qualify in the same way a Detached single family home would and lots are an entirely different subject today.

There are many things to consider so please be patient with your Realtor and trust that she or he spends many hours working at her job and wants to provide you with good accurate information. Hey I did not even mention the economy because I figured you had enough to ponder for one week.

Of course I have to share the happy stuff as well because everyone that I talked to this week did not shoot the messenger. I got the sweetest note and flowers from a very kind lady that was grateful for me and that just made my day and made me think. . . I love this job I think I will stay.
Enjoy your week and be sweet to your Realtor!!!!!

Episode #9 – Steal a Newer Home for $135k

This week on The Beach Show we feature a 3 bedroom 2 bath home in Palm Cove, a cute little neighborhood centrally located that includes lawn maintenance in their association dues, a foreclosure listing in an established neighborhood for only $109/foot, and a Gulf-front condo, 2/2 and partially furnished for only $215k.

The Beach Show is your ONLY internet TV show all about Real Estate on Panama City Beach.

Remember, it doesn’t cost anything to work with us if you are a buyer.

Click the “more” tag for show notes and pictures.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

Show Notes

Deal 1 – Move in 3/2 for $135k

List Price: $135,000
Square Feet: 1,348
Price/SqFt: $100.15
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 2004
This is a move-in ready home in Palm Cove right off of Middle Beach Road. Centrally located in Panama City Beach, this neighborhood is a great deal for a first time home buyer. With lawn maintenance and watering included in the association fees of under $300 per quarter this is a great low maintenance home. The neighborhood has two community pools and this is one of the most sought after floor plans that includes a garage.

Deal 2 – Foreclosure in great neighborhood

List Price: $158,500
Square Feet: 1,450
Price/SqFt: $109.31
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 1994
This home is located in the Open Sands subdivision nestled in between Front Beach and Back Beach Roads. This home is advertised as needing a “little TLC”, including new floors, some paint, and other aesthetic touch-ups. The house itself seems to be in good shape. There’s a lot of square footage for the money.

Deal 3 – 2/2 Gulf Front Condo Furnished for $215k

List Price: $215,900
Square Feet: 1,076
Price/SqFt: 200.65
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 2005
This is a 2/2 Gulf Front condo for only $215,000! Being sold partially furnished, this condo is rental ready and has excellent rental history to boot. Sterling Reef is conveniently located on Front Beach Road, right next to 1,000+ feet of undeveloped sand owned by the County where the new County Pier is currently under construction. This condo resort has outdoor grills, fitness center and Gulf-side pool.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

STOP Buying Real Estate

Accident Velocity sales in real estate is picking up and has had an increasing trend over the last several months; 8 months statewide, to be exact. Prices are still coming down, or showing signs of doing so, but more people are buying. Evidence is clear that people, in general, are more comfortable with the fact that the real estate market is in the toilet, and, in fact, the market isn’t really regarded as being in the “toilet” any longer, but rather just a strong “buyer’s-market”. Deals abound everywhere and sellers, now more than ever, are willing to negotiate on just about everything to hold onto the possibility of selling their property.

So, if you want to miss out on what Trump and Buffet are saying is one of the most lucrative buyer’s markets ever, STOP BUYING REAL ESTATE.

Statewide, and even nationwide trends reflect a positive upward trend in sales velocity, but locally, prices are still coming down, and velocity sales are about the same as last year. However, the overall “feeling” of the market has changed. Talking to a recent real estate purchaser, “I can’t say whether we’re at the bottom or not, but prices are lower than they have been in years, and the price is right for us to purchase and it be worth it to us.” “We’re not looking for a quick turnaround, but we are looking for something that we can use and rent out. . . we’re paying cash, so this is a good place to park money for the next several years,” said another recent real estate buyer.

Although the real estate market in Panama City Beach is proving to be a strong opportunity to buy condos, homes and other real estate with great deals coming on the market almost daily, local trends are not quite the same as the statewide and national trends. “We’re still not seeing any signs of price stabilization,” said a local agent.

In May 2008, 41 existing single family homes sold in Panama City Beach averaging $276,000 or $151 per square foot. In May 2009, 34 existing single family homes sold averaging $226,000 or $116 per square foot – that’s 17% fewer homes sold at 18% less than May 2008. Statewide, velocity sales has increased by a small amount monthly for the last 8 months.

In May 2008, 47 existing condos sold in Panama City Beach averaging $226,000 or $213 per square foot. In May 2009, 45 existing condos sold averaging $199,000 or $181 per square foot – that’s 4% few condos sold at 12% less than May 2008.

Statewide existing home sales rose 18 percent during the month of April with a total of 13,111 homes sold compared to 11,133 homes sold in April 2008, according to FAR. April’s statewide existing home sales were slightly higher than statewide activity in March.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in March 2009 was $174,900, down 11.5 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. In California, the statewide median resales price was $253,040 in March; in Massachusetts, it was $255,000; in Maryland, it was $264,302; and in New York, it was $222,500.

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 4,660 units sold statewide compared to 3,862 units in April 2008 for a 21 percent increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $106,600; in April 2008 it was $178,900 for a 40 percent decrease. In the latest data available at press time, NAR reported the national median existing condo price was $177,600 in March 2009.

Talking with Jim Free of Jim Free Realty, “There are a lot of cash buyers right now, financing isn’t very easy, but the Florida Association of Realtors is in the process of talking to Fannie Mae about some lending issues that could help.” Many are jumping at this opportunity as interest rates are down, yeilding low returns on investment accounts. The down prices in real estate provide a great place to “park” money and give the buyer something tangible to use. The only quarell is how long will you have to “park” it before you can take it back out with a profit. For those not worried about that, real estate proves to be a great option.

On The Beach Show, the buyers we are working with are mostly looking for fixer-uppers citing that the deals are usually better there and emphasizing a willingness to put a little “elbow-grease” into a purchased property to save money. The Hot Deals that garner the most attention are properties that are super cheap, but require a little work. Some of these homes have been listed as low as $50 per square foot, and proving hte market is hungry for real estate deals like this, most of them are off the market within days of them being made available.

So, if you are a buyer, the story hasn’t changed if you are looking for the best deal out there; you still have to fight for it. If you are a seller, you can sell your property and sell it quick if it is priced super cheap; meaning that the perceived value is significantly lower than other recenly sold properties on the market. If you are an agent, work hard and you’ll be fine. Everyone is looking for that beat up foreclosure that is $50 to $75/foot or that listing where the seller is losing his shirt. Become specialized in finding the right deals for your clients and keep them up to date regularly with a great web site, blog and consistent email notifications. And, follow up, for crying out loud; just because your clients don’t respond, doesn’t mean they aren’t interested, you just haven’t sent them something yet that illicits a response.

Episode #6 – Hot Deals at an Absolute Auction, Island Reserve

The Beach Show is your ONLY internet TV show all about Real Estate on Panama City Beach.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

Show Notes

Deal 1

List Price: $269,900
Square Feet: 2,172
Price/SqFt: $124.26
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 1991
This home is in superb condition and the landscaping is simply amazing, nearly flawless. There is nothing needed to move in, it’s ready to go. In addition, this IS NOT a short sale and the seller is ready for a quick closing. You just can’t beat the neighborhood, location, house, community, this listing has it all. There have been many upgrades recently, including a Rinnai tankless water heater, oversized shower/bathroom, new roof, pool, big back yard, newer A/C and so much more. The seller is very motivated and ready to move out, make an offer.

Deal 2

List Price: $299,500
Square Feet: 2,150
Price/SqFt: $139.30
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bath
Built in 1984
This immaculate home in Bay Point is also move-in ready. Karen says, “bring your toothbrush to the closing table.” If you aren’t familiar with Bay Point, it has long been considered one of the premier neighborhoods in Panama City Beach. At one point, you couldn’t touch a home in here for less than $400k, but this is a sweet deal at $299k. No work is needed, this house has newer applicances and a newer roof sitting right on the Meadow’s Golf Course.

Deal 3

List Price: Nobody knows yet, absolute auction, set your own price!
Square Feet: Ranges from 1,069 to 3,019
Price/SqFt: Mystery!
1 to 3 bed condos, 3 & 4 bed townhomes
Brand new, never been lived in.
This is a rare opportunity to get into a very nice brand new condo or townhome in an awesome resort community for a very great price. 100 condos are selling absolute on Saturday May 16, 2009 at 12 noon onsite and they are sure to bring a great price. Just to give you an idea for what has sold in the past at auction, The Towne of Seahaven, Origin sold on average for around $160/foot in December. Seahaven is across the street from the beach. I can’t speculate here how much these will sell for, but I’d bet they’ll be a screamin deal. If you have any interest in bidding, give us a call and we’ll get you all set up.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

Episode #5 – Wild Heron Bungalow for $142/foot

This week on The Beach Show we have a beautiful 3 bedroom 6th floor condo in Carillon that’s in imaculate condition, a brand new, never-been-lived-in bungalow in Wild Heron for $142/foot and a huge 3300 square foot 4 bedroom home in Bay Point for $75/foot.

The Beach Show – your ONLY internet TV show all about Real Estate on Panama City Beach.

Continue reading “Episode #5 – Wild Heron Bungalow for $142/foot” →

Episode #4 – Wild Heron Condo for $215k

This week on The Beach Show, we have a 2 bed 2 bath condo on the water in Wild Heron for only $215,000, we have a huge, awesome 3 bed 3 bath end unit condo in Tidewater that’s fully furnished for only $459,000, and we have a 2 bed 2 bath fully furnished condo in Sterling Reef for only $185/foot.

The Beach Show, your ONLY internet TV show all about real estate on Panama City Beach

Show Notes

Deal 1

List Price: $215,000
Square Feet: 1,301
Price/SqFt: $165.26
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 2004
This awesome condo in Wild Heron is right on the water with fabulous views from the living area, the patio and the master bedroom. This condo is a split floorplan with a very nice kitchen. The Wild Heron community offers tons of amenities including pools, hot tubs, very great fitness center, business center, kayaks, canoes, and so much more. Not to mention that it is just absolutely gorgeous. This is a rare opportunity to own a waterfront condo in Wild Heron for only $215,000!

Deal 2

List Price: $459,000
Square Feet: 1,670
Price/SqFt: $274.85
3 Bedrooms, 3 Bath with Bunk Area
Completed in 2007
This is a great opportunity to own in one of the nicest condominium developments in Panama City Beach. Tidewater is a well designed, packed with amenities resort and this condo is ready for you to rent. Being sold fully furnished, the sellers have appointed it very nicely and already have $39,000 in rental income on the books for 2009. The amenities include a huge 70 seat movie theater that plays feature films over the summer, two big lagoon pools on either side of the building, a huge fitness center and exclusive “owner’s-lounges” that come with a full kitchen, couches and flat screen tv’s that are only accessible to the owners at Tidewater. You can see the rental page at

Deal 3

List Price: $200,000
Square Feet: 1,076
Price/SqFt: $185.87
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Completed in 2005
This two bedroom two bath gulf-front condo in Sterling Reef comes fully furnished and rental ready for only $200,000. If you are looking for something right in the middle of all the action that’s ready to rent as soon as you close, this is the one for you. This is a short sale listing and we should note that there is a third party short sale negotiator involved that requires a 1.5% buyer fee paid to “The Short Sale Guru”, which, if sold for $200k would only be $3,000, still cheaper than anything else listed in this building.

Pictures

Governor and Realtors Agree – Now is the Time to Buy

Ten Realtors from across Florida met with Gov. Charlie Crist this morning to discuss increased home sales and other positive trends in their markets, as well as offer insight into some current issues facing the real estate industry. It’s part of this year’s Great American Realtor Days, April 14-15, when about 1,000 Realtors from throughout the state join forces at the state capital to meet with their legislators and discuss concerns affecting all Florida residents.

Representing markets from Miami to Jacksonville and all points in between, Realtors reported an upswing in existing home sales in the past three to six months, when comparing year-to-year activity and also month-to-month sales figures. John Sebree, vice president of public policy for the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR), kicked off the Real Estate Roundtable meeting with Gov. Crist by noting that February’s statewide existing home sales rose 20 percent over the same period last year, according to FAR data. He also reported that February’s home sales were about 17 percent higher than January’s statewide sales activity.

Realtors also told the governor about other positive indicators such as: mortgage interest rates under 5 percent; reduced housing inventory levels as buyers take advantage of current, more affordable housing opportunities; and encouraging market reaction to the federal economic stimulus package, especially the new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Upon hearing these reports from around the state, Gov. Crist said, “It doesn’t get much better than this. [Housing] supply and demand is going to come into balance here. Two to three years from now, people will be saying, ‘Back in April 2009 I could have gotten that home for so many dollars’ – so you don’t want to wait.

“Prices have gotten as low as they can. Now is the time to buy, while the deals still exist,” the governor said.

Discussing some of the challenges in today’s market, many Realtors pointed to difficulties with so-called “short sales,” where the bank or lender agrees to accept less money on a home sale than the seller owes on the mortgage. They said that short sales are problematic not only because of how long it actually takes to finalize the sale, but also because of the inconsistencies in information and documents required by lenders. Streamlining the short-sale process and providing consistency in required documentation among the lenders would boost the recovery of Florida’s real estate market.

Solutions to ease lenders’ restrictions on the state’s condo market are also needed, said Edgewater Realtor Robert Clinton. “Not only is the prospective condo buyer having to be approved for a mortgage, but the condo owners association itself has to be approved and qualified, which is causing problems,” he said.

Largo Realtor Alan Riley told Gov. Crist that 50 percent of buyers involved in recent home sales in the Tampa Bay area paid cash for their purchases, a strong indicator that investors have returned to the housing market.

“Savvy investors have returned to our market as well,” added Eric Sain, a West Palm Beach Realtor. “But we’re also seeing a lot of young families buying a home to settle down and establish roots in the community. That’s a sign that people aren’t leaving the area, aren’t leaving Florida.”

Gov. Crist agreed, saying, “Of course they are [establishing roots] – it’s Florida. Why would they go anywhere else?”

Not only is it a great time to buy a home in Florida, it’s also a great time for businesses to move to the Sunshine State, noted Suzanne Sherer, a Fort Myers Realtor. Commercial and business properties are readily available in a range of price options, she said, providing prime opportunities for entrepreneurs. She asked the governor and state leaders to take steps to encourage the relocation of businesses and industries to Florida.

At noon today on the steps of the old Capitol, Gov. Crist addressed the crowd of nearly 1,000 Realtors participating in Great American Realtor Days, applauding their perseverance and dedication to their profession despite challenges posed by the economy and the marketplace. Amid reports of increased home sales and other positive signs, the governor said that the “changing landscape” for Florida’s real estate markets is “nothing short of remarkable.”

Other participants in Gov. Crist’s Real Estate Roundtable included: Jacksonville Realtor Millie Kanyar; Fort Lauderdale Realtor Jesse Acevedo; Miami Realtor Carlos Cruz; Port St. Lucie Realtor Scott Wingfield; Panama City Realtor Katie Patronis; and Orlando Realtor Les Simmonds.

Source: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-041509.cfm

Facing Foreclosure? Read On. . .

Recently, a single mother lost her job in a central Florida town and was about to lose her house, too. But then she made a seemingly simple request of the bank: Show me the original mortgage paperwork. And just like that, the foreclosure proceedings came to a standstill. This homeowner, and others like her around the country, are managing to stave off foreclosure by employing a strategy that goes to the heart of the whole nationwide mess.

During the real estate frenzy of the past decade, mortgages were sold and resold, bundled into securities and peddled to investors. In many cases, the original note signed by the homeowner was lost, stored away in a distant warehouse or destroyed.
Persuading a judge to compel production of hard-to-find or nonexistent documents can, at the very least, delay foreclosure, buying the homeowner some time and turning up the pressure on the lender to renegotiate the mortgage.

In recent interviews with The Associated Press, lawyers, homeowners and advocates outlined the produce-the-note strategy. Exactly how many homeowners have employed it is unknown. Nor is it clear how successful it has been; some judges are more sympathetic than others. A Tampa lawyer, whose Consumer Warning Network Web site offers the free court documents this woman used to file her request, has played a major role in promoting the produce-the-note strategy.

Conversely, the deputy executive director of the American Securitization Forum, a group that represents banks, law firms and investors, dismissed the strategy as merely a stalling tactic. He said homeowners are “making lawyers jump through procedural hoops to delay what’s likely to be inevitable.” In his opinion, the original note is almost always electronically retained and can eventually be found.

Although Judges MAY be willing to accept electronic documentation; and, lenders are sometimes allowed to produce other paperwork to establish they are the holder of a loan, assembling such documents, to a judge’s satisfaction, takes time, which to homeowners is the point.

A University of Iowa study last year suggested that companies servicing mortgages are often negligent when it comes to producing the documentation to support foreclosure. In the study of more than 1,700 bankruptcy cases stemming from home foreclosures, the original note was missing more than 40 percent of the time, and other pieces of required documentation also were routinely left out.

The first big success of the produce-the-note movement came in 2007 when a federal judge in Cleveland threw out 14 foreclosures by Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. because the bank failed to produce the original notes.

Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio endorsed the strategy in a fiery speech on the House floor during debate on the federal bank bailout last month. “Don’t leave your home,” she said. “Because you know what? When those companies say they have your mortgage, unless you have a lawyer that can put his or her finger on that mortgage, you don’t have that mortgage, and you are going to find they can’t find the paper up there on Wall Street.”

April Charney, head of foreclosure defense for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid in Florida, said the strategy has been so successful for her that she now travels around the country to train other lawyers in how to use it. She said she has gotten cases delayed for years by demanding that lenders produce paperwork they cannot find.

“This is an army of lawyers getting out there to stop foreclosures so we can get to the serious business of creating solutions,” Charney said. “Nothing good is going to happen as long as we continue to bleed homeowners.”

So, what about that central Floridian single mother’s case? Well, she filed her “produce-the-note demand” last fall after the bank acknowledged that her original mortgage document had been lost or destroyed. Since then, there has been no activity on the foreclosure – no letters from the lender, and no court filings.

Florida Existing Homes Sales up 27% for December

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 26, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in December, making it the fourth consecutive month that sales activity demonstrated gains in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). December’s statewide sales also increased over November’s figures in both the existing home and existing condo markets.

Existing home sales rose 27 percent last month with a total of 11,053 homes sold statewide compared to 8,712 homes sold in December 2007, according to FAR. December’s statewide existing home sales were 28.9 percent higher than November’s statewide sales.

Florida Realtors also reported a 12 percent gain in statewide sales of existing condominiums in December, marking the third recent month (following September and October) for higher statewide existing home and existing condo sales compared to year-ago levels. Statewide existing condo sales last month increased 37.7 percent over the total units sold in November.

Sixteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing-home sales in December; 11 MSAs also showed gains in condo sales, marking the sixth month in a row that a number of markets have reported increased sales activity.

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $155,500; a year ago, it was $213,600 for a 27 percent decrease. According to industry analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), there remains a significant downward distortion in the current median price due to many discounted sales, including a large number of foreclosures. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in November 2008 was $180,800, down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. In California, the statewide median resales price was $285,680 in November; in Massachusetts, it was $283,000; in Maryland, it was $262,109; and in New York, it was $210,000.

While overall sales have softened nationally in recent months, NAR’s latest housing outlook noted a trend of increasing activity in Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada markets. “Sales are rising in areas with large numbers of distressed properties as bargain hunters take advantage of discounted home prices,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “It is imperative to provide incentives for homebuyers to get back into the market. It also depends on how effectively Congress and the new administration can help facilitate the short sales process and unclog the mortgage pipeline – impediments remain for some buyers with good credit.”

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 3,138 units sold statewide compared to 2,814 sold in December 2007 for a 12 percent increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $130,600; in December 2007 it was $192,600 for a 32 percent decrease. In the latest data available at press time, NAR reported the national median existing condo price was $185,400 in November 2008.

Last month, interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.29 percent, significantly lower than the average rate of 6.10 percent in December 2007, according to Freddie Mac. FAR’s sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Among the state’s large to medium-size markets, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton MSA reported a total of 638 homes sold in December compared to 467 homes a year ago for a 37 percent increase. The existing home median sales price was $246,000; a year ago, it was $337,900 for a 27 percent decrease. In the year-to-year comparison for the existing condo market, a total of 527 units sold in the MSA last month, up 26 percent compared to 419 condos sold the previous December. The market’s existing condo median price was $112,900; a year ago, it was $161,400 for a 30 percent decrease.

Source: www.FloridaRealtors.org