Straight from the Top!

Here some interesting number for the last three days for the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. There were 118 new listings entered into the MLS system. However, there were 114 listing that expired without being sold, another 27 were withdrawn, and 25 were sold, for a total of 166 listing coming off the market.

Of the 25 homes that sold, 5 were bank owned properties and 5 were short sales. That’s 40% of the number of sales. That ratio seems to be pretty typical of what we are seeing overall in this market. The average list price for those sales was $122,833, and the average sales price was $115,670, which yields a sales price to list price ratio of 94%. A couple high end sales can skew the numbers somewhat, because the median list price was $79,900 and the median sales price was $75,000. What really reflects the market conditions is that 75% of the closing were for properties that sold for $95,000 or less.

Many of the less expensive properties are being acquired by investors, and many of those are paying cash. This is one of the best markets for the wise real estate investor that I have seen in the last few years. Many of these are looking at good cash flow properties with an upside of potential substantial appreciate over the next few years. I have also met a number of clients who are in the market for that second home or vacation home in Florida. With such incredible deals on waterfront properties, it seems that now is the time to buy. We have sold several waterfront condos in the last few months for 25-30 cents on the dollar as compared to what they sold for new just 4-5 years ago. These seem be snatched up almost as quickly as we put them on the market now.

As with any investment, whether an investment property or a second home, be sure to do your homework before buying the property.