Sales stats for September- Current prices of beach real estate

This just in:

Residential real estate sales for the month of September in the following beach areas:

Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Belleair Beach/Sand Key

There were 33 sales, consisting of:

Condominiums- 26 sales

Single Family Homes - 5 sales

Townhomes- 2 sales

Average square footage = 1409

Average Beds/Baths/Garage = 2/2/1

Average list price = $390,724

Average sales price = $347,790

Sales price to List price ratio = 90%

Average Days on Market = 143

Number of properties that are on the beach side of Gulf Boulevard (NOT necessarily Gulf front views) = 18

If you'd like to live here, full time or part-time, NOW is the time to buy!

www.mypinellasparadise.com

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Banks Making Short Sales Tougher

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Banks Making Short Sales Tougher

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First time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Here is the form required by the IRS for the tax credit and subsequent refund:

Homebuyer Tax Credit
Form 5405

The clock is ticking!!

Boy, is my face red!

CORRECTION: regarding Federal Housing Tax Credit

After further research into this topic, and a discussion with my CPA, it's time to issue a retraction on this topic.

The Federal Housing Tax Credit IS a refund, even if you do not owe income tax. If you file a tax return and can qualify to claim this credit, you will receive this money in the form of a tax refund.

There still seems to be confusion about this incentive for homebuyers and I hope this helps clear up some of the questions.

However, the clock is ticking. To claim the credit, the real estate sale has to close by December 1, 2009. That's less than 60 days, which may not be enough time, depending on your transaction.

For example, I am working with a very well-qualifed buyer right now on a traditional sale, and the lender is telling me they need a minimum 30 days to close. In the mortgage world, we call these customers a "slam-dunk" because the process is normally very streamlined with a buyer of this caliber. Just as a point of reference- in the past, most lenders could close a purchase transaction in about 10 days.

So, if you are a buyer looking at short sales and hoping to close in less than 60 days to get the tax credit, I strongly recommend you switch strategies and start looking at deals that can close in time. Foreclosures take less time to close than short sales, but time is truly of the essence today.

For a list of bank-owned properties in this area, please visit my website and click on the "Foreclosures" page.

www.MyPinellasParadise.com

Home Is Where the Tax Credit Is | The Big Money

Home Is Where the Tax Credit Is The Big Money

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This opinion piece was titled, "Just let the homebuyer tax credit die", when I saw it this morning on the MSNBC homepage.

Recently, there has been an increase in media coverage of the Federal Housing Tax Credit, which is to be expected, given the proposed end of this program on November 30, 2009.

The incentive to first-time homebuyers is not exactly a bad idea, but, other than the issues mentioned in this piece, there are other caveats to be aware of. For instance, in a recent article written for real estate professionals, one real estate broker commented that he is telling buyers this is a tax REFUND. Come April 15, he is probably going to get numerous angry phone calls from buyers when they find out they're not getting a huge refund!
It's a simple case of understanding how the IRS defines "credit" and "refund", which I strongly suspect are the same in ANY dictionary.

For the REAL info, all first-time homebuyers are urged to visit this site for accurate information on the Housing Tax Credit:

www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com

Along with qualifying criteria for this tax credit, such as income limits and length of ownership requirements, pay close attention to the deadline of November 30.

IMPORTANT: If you are a first-time homebuyer looking to buy distressed real estate and get the benefits of the tax credit, STOP looking at SHORT SALES. You will not close by November 30. Look instead at properties that are truly available for timely close: bank-owned (aka foreclosures) and regular sales are where you should focus your time at this point.

Great deals are out there and they aren't confined to SHORT SALES or even FORECLOSURES. There are numerous motivated sellers in this buyers market.

Check out my weekly list of bank-owned properties in this local area- updated each week!

www.MyPinellasParadise.com

FHA Cash to Drop Below Mandated Levels

Personal comment: No surprise there. Since the credit freeze in conventional lending markets led to the push for more FHA loans, this was bound to happen. This will be the next financial crisis as FHA loan default rates continue to climb.

FHA Cash to Drop Below Mandated Levels

Foreclosure vs. Short Sales market observation

Just yesterday, I decided to check out some stats on the active distressed real estate listings within our local MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
The area searched was approximately 25% of Pinellas County, which is a good representation of the general marketplace.

The initial look at the numbers of sales in each category over the past 90 days was nothing extraordinary.
Foreclosures- 52 sales
Short Sales- 69 sales

However, the truth is evident when you look behind the numbers at the length of time these properties are spending on the market!

Foreclosures- 13 of 52 listings were on the market over 90 days, and only 1 on the market over 1 year.
Short Sales- 53 of 69 listings were on the market over 90 days! Seven listings were on the market for over one year!

Even though the marketing time of short sales is lengthy, the real shock is when looking at active listings- properties currently listed for sale and classified as foreclosure and short sale.


Active Foreclosure listings - 34.
Of these, 9 have been on the market longer than 90 days. The longest DOM (Days on Market) was for ONE listing at 193 days.

Active short sale listings - ARE YOU SITTING DOWN???? 342
That's right, TEN TIMES the number of FORECLOSURES on the market. But, as any infomercial hawker will tell you, WAIT - THERE'S MORE!
Of the 342, 196 of these have been on the market longer than 90 days, and 36 listings have been on the market over one year.
The listing with the longest DOM? 966 days

So, what do YOU think- are SHORT SALES the answer to finding a great deal? These numbers seem to indicate otherwise.

For the latest list of local foreclosures, please visit my website and see the "Foreclosures" page.

http://www.mypinellasparadise.com/

Have a great week!