Florida Home Buyers and Investors Blog

We are seeing typical buying trends continue.

January-May are typically strong buy months with the Cold Weather up north bringing in the second home & vacation home buyers.  June - August are generally slower as people take vacations.  Sales will pick back up in Fall, and slow down again in November-December.

Recent statictics show a 108% increase in Homes under Contract in June 2007 & June 2009, but the numbers also need further review, as the homes SOLD are down 11.6% for the same Months.

The trend lines upward are significant for homes under contract, which is a good sign people are willing to make a commitment to purchase.  My concerns are the closings are not keeping up with the contracts.  This may be due to the large number of Short-Sales, that have an 80% failure rate on the first contract, or could be difficulty in obtaining financing. 

I am of the position the Short-Sales are the reason.  Until the lenders streamline the process, we will continue to see transactions fail. 

There seems to be an unwritten rule with lenders and government, ah, the conspiracy theory.  Banks are doing everything they can to stop prices from falling further.   If a bank does not foreclose, that property does not come on the market at firesale pricing.  By allowing it to be Sold-Short, they can control the market to some extent and allow the market to dictate the value, thereby increasing values and reducing losses.  The END game.

Remember, if you are making an offer on a Short-Sale, be aware these transactions take time.  Make a reasonable offer, and be committed.  Lowball offers summarily dismissed by lenders, again, creating a large number of under contract homes to no close.