I pray everyone has a happy and SAFE Halloween this coming weekend!
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Our Fall weather has been stunningly gorgeous this month! Cool nights and mornings, sometimes in the high 50's and warming up nicely, low 80's in the day. I would call this just about perfect weather!
As with the cooling temps comes the TIME CHANGE!! We'll be "falling back" an hour in a couple of weeks, November 7th to be exact.
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The Apalachicola Seafood Festival is coming up November 5,6. Always lots of good vendors--(nothing more decadent than carnival food) W/ art, crafts, food. Good music and great place to get some Christmas shopping done!
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On the Real Estate Front:
It has definitely slowed down. We've had a busy year even with the threat of devastation of the oil spill!
We typically slow down in the fall, so this is normal. We are by no means, dead though! I've been saying for the last few weeks that our inventory is really getting low which could mean a turning of the tide here!
We have an abundance of vacant lots but as for single family homes..... we are really lacking. We have buyers for single family homes (at market value) and very little to show. Of course, it is still all about the price----EVERYBODY has a budget! However, with the supply of move in ready homes available, sellers are able to stick to their price a little more. When there are 5-10 homes that are comparable and competing with each other it was "how low can you go" that dictated the sale. Now that there may only be 2-3 comparable properties...........the good ole theory of supply and demand kicks in!!!
That being said, sellers cannot assume people are going to over pay. This is not the time to have an unreasonable listing price if you really want to sell. It's been shown over and over that when you list close to market value the house will sell! Who determines market value? The recent sales! You'll never find a house exactly like yours, but you will need to adjust a comparable recent sale (within the last 6 months) up or down depending on your specific location and condition.
Sellers must look at recent data---------you simply must forget the days when you COULD have gotten........$X,Y,Z. If you really want to sell in the next few months listing the house at market value is critical.
Below is an interesting stat about the sales activity in Mexico Beach in 2010:
Click and enlarge the chart below!
This just confirms my suggestion that buyers DO have a budget! In the 'BOOM' years, selling $500,000-$1,000,000 properties was no big deal----now everyone is watching those pennies!
As you can see by the chart above we are selling MORE than last year and the properties under $200,000 are the most popular. Very few sales above $350k!
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Not only are property values declining so have the interest rates!!! They are unbelievably low!!
A 30 year fixed rate is now anywhere from 3.875% to 4.25%
A 15 year note is definitely under 4%, 3.25% to 3.75%
________________________________________________________________As always, please don't hesitate to call me anytime with any questions!
Have a great week and remember.............
A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.~Benjamin Franklin
Mary
850-896-5222
http://www.maryblackburn.com/
maryblackburn@mchsi.com
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