Last week we reported we expected sales to be roughly even if not slightly behind 2010 levels when official numbers were reported. Well, its official and we were wrong. Sales actually increased by 25 sales over last year. Single family home sales were reported as 1127 sales versus 1102 last year.
We also reported listing inventory actually went up slightly by 43 units which was another change in direction. It turns out the sales weren’t a change in direction, but it doesn’t matter. Whether they were up or down 25 units statistically it’s not a big difference. What was interesting was the first change in direction, and something we wanted to monitor going forward. While we’re usually correct with our predictions, this time we were off on the sales numbers.
There was another bit of good news in the official numbers. Not only were sales up, but prices rose 17.6% over last year and 7.17% from the previous month. This could be because home affordability is at an all-time high and buyers today can afford more home due to lower prices and lower interest rates than ever before, or it could be because there was less distressed this past month. In fact, in September 50.77% of all single family home sales were distressed, down from 54.26% in August. Those numbers were as low as 44.57% in June of 2011. Banks have not brought significant foreclosed inventory to the market since the robo-signing fiasco, although we’re being told this may change in January as several of the large banks are able to bring more as they’ve worked through legal issues pertaining to those questionable foreclosures.
Pending sales were down last week, so we’ll have to see how this affects sales going forward, however they are typically down this time of year and start picking back up again going forward. There is some seasonality in these numbers we like to account for, and this year is no exception.
We have noticed our roads are getting busier and our northern friends, sometimes referred to as snowbirds, have begun their trek to SW Florida, and judging by our phone calls and Internet leads, many are in search of their piece of paradise. This could bode well for another strong season in the SW Florida real estate market.
Two new programs were just announced that will greatly benefit distressed homeowners. One program allows underwater sellers to refinance their home no matter how much is owed if it is a FNMA or Freddie Mac insured loan as long as they’ve been current on their mortgage in the last 6 months, and another program that offers sellers up to $20,000-$30,000 in financial assistance to move and sell their home for less than what is owed.
We’ll bring more information to you about these two new programs in the coming weeks. If you’re a homeowner and struggling to make your payments, you might be interested in either of these programs. Simple give us a call at 239-489-4042 or email me at Brett@topagent.com feel free to visit our website www.Topagent.com for other timely information and links to our videos.