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The Tide is Turning for Sellers in Lake Nona!

Posted by on Apr 26th, 2010 and filed under Featured, Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

carey-light3This is a guest post by Carey Light, a local Realtor® working with both home buyers and sellers throughout the Central Florida Market. Her expertise is the Southeast Quadrant of Orange County and the Narcoossee Road Corridor, also known as the Lake Nona area, and stretching into Osceola County and St. Cloud.

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A nice listing came up the other day in Nona Crest, so I called some of my clients immediately to let them know…nice water view pool home being sold “REO,” or “Real Estate Owned” by the bank. These homes are priced way below market in order to attract multiple buyers and are a commodity in today’s market because they can be closed quickly (30-45 days) which is very helpful for those buyers trying to capitalize on the first time home buyer’s tax credit. Well…we were there to view the home within hours of it hitting the market. I had to pinch myself as I pulled up to the property…there were 3 families ahead of us to tour the home. We had to wait in line! Just a week prior we had submitted an offer substantially over asking price in the same neighborhood and found we were competing with 15 other buyers! Wow.

On a national scale, home sales rose 46% in the last 30 days. The first time homebuyer tax credit is likely largely responsible, however, I believe the buying trend will continue here in Lake Nona at least through the summer, credit or no credit.

Here are the most recent numbers:

There are currently just 211 single family homes for sale in zip codes 32832, 32827 just eliminating the western portion on 32827 that is not in the Lake Nona High School district. They range in price between $80,000 to as much as $5,895,000. This is over 50% less inventory than one year ago.

There are currently 155 homes under contract. Of these, 110 are short sales with extended contract times which significantly skews this figure. That leaves 45+ homes under contract that are NOT short sales and more likely to close within 30 days. However, this shows buyer activity in the area is WAY up! The asking price at the time these homes went under contract ranged from $100,000 to $4,495,000.

In the last 30 days, 28 homes have sold. I imagine that number to be significantly higher next month as well as June until the tax credit expires. Sold homes range in price from $149,900 to $1,225,000. The most interesting figure to me is that of the 28 homes that sold, 17 sold for asking price or over asking price! If this continues (note the word, “IF”), home prices may begin inching back up. Buyers need to act quickly, even if after the tax credit expires, to take advantage of still low interest rates and pricing at the bottom or possibly just up from the bottom. My advice is to find out the market value of the home based on SOLD statistics and offer accordingly. Offers under market are easily beat out and frustrating for buyers needing a home for their family and wanting to make an investment at the bottom of the market. The longer the delay, the more likely prices and interest rates will continue to rise.

Sellers still need to price their home competitively and stage it to look its best…but be encouraged! Your home is in demand!

In summary, we seem to be moving back, however slowly, toward a more balanced market. I find myself wishing there were more homes to sell to meet the demands of all eager those buyers!!