Distressed Sale’s Role in the Key West Market

Although the number of distressed sales nation wide are at 29%; there are some areas where the percentages are higher. Certain locations like California, Nevada and South Florida have higher rates. On checking the residential sold properties for the last 6 months in the Key West MLS there were 231 sales, 114 (49%) were distressed sales (short sale or lender owned).

Looking at how those sales break down, the short sales are on the market much longer then the bank owned properties and sell for a lower percentage of list price. Although there is legislation to make the short sales go faster they are still taking quite long. The Key West MLS currently has 193 pending sales; 139 of them are short sales. In these cases the seller has found a buyer and is waiting for the bank’s decision to approve the sale. It is not uncommon for this to take over a year.

The bank owned properties are usually listed very low to get a quick sale. Often there are multiple offers in a short period of time. Of these multiple offers a strong preference is given to cash offers or buyers putting down large down payments. These type of sales close faster and have a lower risk of failing thus further reducing the amount of time on the market. Because the bank owned properties are listed so low to start with many bids come in substantially over the asking price. Overall residential sales in Key West sell for 92.66% of list price for lender owned properties that percentage jumps to 96.77%.

With the distressed sales come much lower prices. Because of this, the number of sales are up with investors and first time home buyers jumping at the chances to take advantage of this opportunity.

No this is Not My Listing - 3814 Flagler Avenue, Key West, FL

This however is a great buy on this bank owned property (3814 Flagler Avenue, Key West, FL)! Can you believe it, a 5 bedroom 3 bath waterfront house on a huge lot (1/3 of an acre) just reduced to $699,000! In addition to the 3106 sq ft of living area there is also a two car garage. At this asking price that calculates to only $255/square foot. Remember the old days when waterfront property would go for around $800/sq ft? This has to currently be the best buy in Key West.

This property was purchased by an owner of a local real estate company (who has since left town) in 2004 for $1,050,000. It was originally listed for sale in June of 2009 for $1,250,000 and has just had its fifth price reduction down to $699,000. For any one who needs a lot of space and would enjoy living on a canal this is a great opportunity. Oh did I mention that it also has a pool, not just a little dipping pool but a hotel size pool. The seawall is 105' long with a step down. You could dock a couple of boats here.

Has anyone noticed how cold it has been in Key West? Worry not; this house has a real cool looking elongated stylish fireplace in the great room. Ok, something has to be wrong. Well, the former owner's wife had some unique taste in wall colors. That is easy to fix just try imagining off white as you walk through. Yes, she had probably been bugging her husband for some updating in the kitchen and the baths before the economy turned bad. He was right when he said they are perfectly fine the way they are. He was right, but in her defense they are really dated.

Ok folks, here it is a great chance for a waterfront "steal". Call me if you know of anyone who would like to see it. It is easy to show.

http://kwhomes.net
http://joannetarantino.blogspot.com
http://activerain.joannetarantino.com

Short Sales...Grrrr

Why is it that I am asked daily is my short sale not yet approved after months and months of waiting. This is the all too common question from buyers who have made offers on short sales. Buyers are pre-approved, brought in offers that are at the current value and then just wait. Banks seem to be in no hurry to approve these while taxes, condo fees, code violations fines and maintenance issues mount. We have all seen the murky green pool that now has fish living in it. In the Key West Association of Realtors MLS as in other communities there is a glut of short sales awaiting approval. Currently we have 149 residential short sales under contract as compared to 46 normal sales. A whole new cottage industry of short sale negotiators is flourishing but nothing has sped up.

What is wrong with this picture? I think a lot; only 1 in 3 short sales ever close primarily because the buyer eventually drops out. A short sale that never closes can only end up as a foreclosure and most times is resold for a price much less then the actual short sale offer. The banks end up losing money and when they do the US government seems to be there to help.

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http://activerain.joannetarantino.com/

Strategic Foreclosure

A new term has emerged in the ever changing real estate world. Just as none of us knew what a "short sale" was 4 years ago or a "flipper" 9 years ago, we now have chance to expand our vocabulary and incorporate "strategic foreclosure". A strategic foreclosure is when a property owner has the ability to pay their mortgage but chooses not to. This group now accounts for about one in every four foreclosures. This has created an ethical discussion for those involved.

You borrowed the money, you owe the money. Why should you not pay it back? Yes the property you own dropped below what you borrowed. The same house in your neighborhood can be bought for a fraction of what you owe. You think, just walk away from it and let the bank take the loss, but if the property had gone up in value would you be trying to give money back to the bank? I don't think so, that was not the deal. The loan was not contingent on property values staying up. If you loaned money to a friend and he lost it wouldn't you still expect him to pay it back?

On the other hand weren't the banks greedy making all the loans they could, encouraging you to lie about your income, the "no documentation liar loan"? Any one with a pulse could borrow half a million dollars. The bankers were receiving huge bonuses and the federal government was encouraging it all. You have a little savings for retirement or the kid's college fund. Now, throw it all away to support Wall Street? Didn't the banks know that they were taking a gamble making all these high risk loans? It was a calculated business decision based on the value of your real estate. They calculated wrong. You don't pay, they foreclose. It is all spelled out plain and simple in the mortgage documents.

Interesting question let me know what you think.

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http://joannetarantino.blogspot.com/
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How the 2009 Key West Real Estate Market Did

When ever I talk to people they always ask “how is the real estate market?” So many people have invested in or own homes and other real estate in the Key West area that it is a constant question. So here we go. At the beginning of 2009 in January we had 854 properties on the market in Key West. At the end of the year in the month of December we had 584 that is a 31% reduction. The inventory has been moving down through out 2009. This is good because a real estate market flooded with inventory is going to do nothing but decline in value. What is more encouraging is that in the month of January only 2% of the active listings sold and at the end of the year in December 5.6% had sold. The average sales price in 2009 ($458,280) was down from 2008 ($639,940) by 28.4%. Days on the market (DOM) has stayed about the same since 2007 about 171 days.

As for the upper end market there were 193 active listings over $1,000,000. 32 of them sold which is 16.5% of the total and days on the market were less then the over all, only 135.

http://kwhomes.net
http://joannetarantino.blogspot.com
http://activerain.joannetarantino.com