Hi Everyone!
Wow! It's like almost as soon as the election was over, the buyers started coming out in force! That's a good thing for us in the Real Estate industry. The best part for our buyers...the prices are very low! So far this month we have 23 new contracts with 11 of them being under $100k. Personally I never thought that the prices would come down this low again. We are pretty much at 2002-2003 pricing on almost every home. Crazy!
The foreclosure market, as we have all heard, is dominating our sales. We have become quite the experts on foreclosures and short sales. I'm still not a big fan of short sales for our buyers unless you have a lot of time to kill and don't need to make any plans. They are still taking 3+ months most of the time for the banks to respond. However, foreclosures are abundant in every price range. We are even doing a Luxury Foreclosure Open House shortly (contact debbie@mitchrealty.com for dates) and featuring homes in Brevard over $500k that are in foreclosure. One interesting note on foreclosures that is different from 2001 when I sold many of these to investors. Most of these are in pretty good shape. Of course when you get down in the $50k range the choices are in usually rough shape. This past month though, we closed on a home for one of our buyers that was 2100 square feet built in 2006 for $124,000 and it was in great shape. This home in 2005 would have easily sold for $250,000.
There is a down side to foreclosures. When buying these, you are at the mercy of the bank. They dictate the rules of how the transaction is going to go. It's one of the reasons you should be using a Realtor who is experienced in how to work these deals. They can be tricky. With that said, if you are using one of my Agents at Tropical Realty, you can be sure that they are experienced with these. You can also be sure that our Agents are working full time. Unlike most Real Estate Companies, we have continued to grow even in this down time and our Agents are busy. When many Agencies are packing it in and about 25% of Realtors have left the business or taken full time jobs, our Agents continue to work hard and full time taking care of our buyers.
The one other point I want to make on the foreclosure market is that fact of multiple offers. Almost every good deal has multiple offers...just like 2004 when things were crazy. Let's face it, those who have been watching our market the past couple of years know this is about as low as we can go on some of these homes. We had a couple in today from Canada who is also a Realtor there. She was shocked when she put an offer on a home and found out it was a multiple offer situation. I talked with a foreclosure company the other day and they said that on some properties they are receiving up to 30 offers.
With that said, if you are making an offer on a foreclosed property and you really want it, don't try to bargain for it. You most likely will not win. We recommend offering full price (which is very low anyway) and if the house is excellent, you might want to go $5k above full price. To the banks, it's all about the highest offer. Even on the homes that are not so great, the banks are only coming down 5% and sometimes 10% from their listings prices. These homes are already extremely low priced and the banks have lost so much money. They are going to try to get as much as possible.
So, it's time to get to bed because I need to get up at 5am to get ready for my every Saturday morning golf. It's going to be a little chilly this morning...I think it's in the 40's. Yikes! However, it will be in the high 60's this afternoon and absolutely beautiful! As always, if you need anything, we are here to help. Don't hesitate to call or email us.
Have a fun weekend!
Mitch
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Just got back from a Tony Robbins Seminar!
Hi Everyone!
So yes, when I decided to take the plunge and go to a Tony Robbins Seminar, I couldn't believe I was wasting $500 to go to a rah rah session. However, when I left the Seminar on Monday, I couldn't believe it was ONLY $500!
Not only did I learn a lot about myself and learn certain things that were holding me back, but I walked on Fire on Friday night. It was quite amazing. Here I am, along with 3,500 of my new friends, steering down a 10 foot path of 2,000 degree embers. And then, without hesitation, you just walk through it as if you were walking through the shoreline of the beach. The only damage to my feet was the black soot that I had to wash when I got home on Friday night.
So now my thoughts are, if I can walk on fire, what can't I do! I did not go alone, 5 of my Agents also went with me and had the same awesome experience. In just the last few days since we have all returned to our daily lives of work and family, the energy these Agents, and myself have, is amazing. Basically you learn to put yourself into a "Peak State" which allows you to do anything. I did have someone tell me that 2,000 degree embers are not really hot...that's why they use them they said. However, I can tell you that when you see someone in front of you throw down fresh toasty flaming embers, it's hot has heck!
It will be interesting over the next few months to see how my agents and myself utilize and gain momentum with these new tools...or will they just disipate? I'm very confident in myself but can't speak for my Agents. If you have Sammi, Julie Cambe, Melissa, Charlies or Nick as your Agent, you might just see them float on air when you are with them. They are all excited as I am too!
One thing that Tony Robbins did say though is very important for our business and just as important for you, the consumer, is that this is the time to make money in Real Estate. Any good investor will tell you that you make your money on a home when you buy it. If you have been on the fence of whether or not you should buy, then it's time to drop those fears and jump in. Let us help you find some of the best deals that we haven't seen in years!
If you would like a current list of foreclosures, please just click on here and we will gladly send you a list of all the foreclosures...there are a lot and set you up in our automated listings update system so you get first shot at the great deals! Just go to:
http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Foreclosure_Property_List
As always, we look forward to helping you!
Mitch
So yes, when I decided to take the plunge and go to a Tony Robbins Seminar, I couldn't believe I was wasting $500 to go to a rah rah session. However, when I left the Seminar on Monday, I couldn't believe it was ONLY $500!
Not only did I learn a lot about myself and learn certain things that were holding me back, but I walked on Fire on Friday night. It was quite amazing. Here I am, along with 3,500 of my new friends, steering down a 10 foot path of 2,000 degree embers. And then, without hesitation, you just walk through it as if you were walking through the shoreline of the beach. The only damage to my feet was the black soot that I had to wash when I got home on Friday night.
So now my thoughts are, if I can walk on fire, what can't I do! I did not go alone, 5 of my Agents also went with me and had the same awesome experience. In just the last few days since we have all returned to our daily lives of work and family, the energy these Agents, and myself have, is amazing. Basically you learn to put yourself into a "Peak State" which allows you to do anything. I did have someone tell me that 2,000 degree embers are not really hot...that's why they use them they said. However, I can tell you that when you see someone in front of you throw down fresh toasty flaming embers, it's hot has heck!
It will be interesting over the next few months to see how my agents and myself utilize and gain momentum with these new tools...or will they just disipate? I'm very confident in myself but can't speak for my Agents. If you have Sammi, Julie Cambe, Melissa, Charlies or Nick as your Agent, you might just see them float on air when you are with them. They are all excited as I am too!
One thing that Tony Robbins did say though is very important for our business and just as important for you, the consumer, is that this is the time to make money in Real Estate. Any good investor will tell you that you make your money on a home when you buy it. If you have been on the fence of whether or not you should buy, then it's time to drop those fears and jump in. Let us help you find some of the best deals that we haven't seen in years!
If you would like a current list of foreclosures, please just click on here and we will gladly send you a list of all the foreclosures...there are a lot and set you up in our automated listings update system so you get first shot at the great deals! Just go to:
http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Foreclosure_Property_List
As always, we look forward to helping you!
Mitch
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)