Pensacola Real Estate Market Report for March 2010
April 12th, 2010 Categories: Pensacola Market Data
This is a Pensacola Real Estate Market report for March 2010. The tables provide Pensacola real estate data for the previous 2 months for comparison purposes.
Active Listings: Pensacola Homes for Sale are now at their lowest number since 2005. This is a good sign, in that it shows the market is getting closer to a normal real estate market. Pensacola has approximately 500 fewer homes on the market than in March of 2009.
Pensacola Real Estate Sales: Sales in March were quite good compared to previous months in 2010. Pensacola has almost doubled the number of homes sold compared to January. And over 100 more Pensacola homes sold in March than February. This increase in homes sold is typical for Spring time, but the home buyer tax credit has likely pushed the number a bit higher than it would have been without the tax credit.
Pensacola Real Estate Prices: We can see a slight drop in real estate prices from the month of March in previous years. Average sold price and median sold price are at their lowest level in 5 years. These prices are also likely to spur sales even more, and I expect April of 2010 will be a great month for Pensacola homes sold.
Average Days on Market: This number is still too high. I would like to see this number get closer to the days on market in the 2005-2006 years. I’m sure most Pensacola sellers would agree with me on this.
Related Articles on Pensacola Real Estate News:
Pensacola Real Estate Market Report for Beach Homes and Condos
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Should A Seller Replace Old Carpet Or Offer An Allowance?
March 31st, 2010 Categories: Home Improvement, Pensacola Sellers
Should I Replace the Carpets when I’m ready to sell my home? This is a question that real estate agents hear time and time again. So lets look more closely at this topic. Most real estate agents will say “Yes, absolutely replace the carpet”. But why?
1. The Home Will Show Better
The most obvious answer is that it will make your home show better, and thus impress potential buyers more and hopefully result in a quicker sale of your home. For a buyer, walking into a home with a dirty and disgusting carpet is a real turn off. Even if the house is otherwise in great condition, the buyer’s first impression was the ugly carpet, and this will stick with them throughout the tour of the home. (Note that if the carpet is in good condition, a professional cleaning should suffice).
2. Seller Saves Money Overall
A common seller concern is that buyers may not like the new carpet and would rather pick their own style and color. The answer to this is to pick a neutral beige color with a style common to the area and neighborhood. As a seller, you should understand that a buyer is going to ask for a credit, or allowance, for replacement of old worn out carpet. The buyer will also generally make a lower offer if there is old or damaged carpet. The buyer feels he or she should be compensated for the hassle of having to replace the carpet after closing, thus delaying moving in for a week or more. In most cases, the seller will save money by replacing the carpet.
As an example, a seller of a $200,000 home decides to replace the carpet and the replacement cost is $3000. The buyer makes an offer of $190,000 and the deal closes at $195,000.
In another scenario, the seller decides not to replace the carpet of a $200,000 home. They buyer wants a credit to replace the carpet. But also, the buyer feels the home is not worth as much due to the first impression of the ugly carpet. The buyer also feels the inconvenience of having to replace the carpet is worth a sizeable discount. The buyer then offers $185,000 and asks for a $6000 carpet allowance. Assuming they meet half way on price, the deal closes at $192,500 and the buyer ends up negotiating a $5000 carpet allowance. In this scenario, failing to replace the carpet cost the seller $7500. In the previous example, replacing the carpet only cost the seller $3000.
In the sale of a home, every situation, and every buyer or seller is going to be different. The above recommendations and scenarios are based on what one would generally expect to experience in a real estate transaction where carpet is an issue.
Related Articles On Pensacola Real Estate News:
Home Improvements: Which Ones Really Pay Off
How You Can Save Big Money On Home Improvements
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Pensacola Real Estate Market Report For Beach Homes and Condos
March 28th, 2010 Categories: Pensacola Beach, Pensacola Market Data
Here is some compiled data on the Pensacola real estate home and condo sales on Pensacola’s beaches. This includes homes, townhomes, and condos on Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key.
The tables provide yearly summaries from 2004 through 2009. Look for monthly beach real estate reports once we are into April and I can give you a breakdown of the 1st quarter of 2010.
Notice the great differences between 2009 and all the previous years listed. The prices in 2009 are considerably lower than all previous years listed, but Days On Market (DOM) are very high. In fact, at $231 per square foot, beach real estate is almost $80 a square foot less than it has been at any time in the past 6 years. This is likely one reason sales are picking up on the beaches.
On the date this report was written, there were 508 active Pensacola homes and condos for sale on Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key.
The charts below give a graphical representation of sales per year and average sold price over the past 6 years.
The graph above shows homes, townhomes and condos sold on Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key over the last 6 years. The graph below shows the average price at which beach real estate sold over those same years.
Given the price level in 2009, this could be considered the best times the past 6 years to purchase Pensacola real estate on the beaches. In an upcoming market report, I’ll look at price levels in the first quarter of 2010.
Related Articles On Pensacola Real Estate News:
The Condo Market Upswing On Pensacola’s Beaches
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What’s Brown and Smelly and Won’t Leave Pensacola Beach?
March 26th, 2010 Categories: Local Stories, Pensacola Beach
What’s all the brown stuff on the beach and in the water at Pensacola Beach lately that smells so bad? I have heard rumors going around that it is raw sewage. Those rumors were apparently started by someone who did not know what they were talking about. But you can see that the water is pretty brown looking.
The good news is that it is not sewage. Pensacola Beach Safety Director, Bob West reports that the waters at the beach are tested weekly and the fecal coliform counts are actually very low. So what is the brown stuff? It is decaying organic matter washed into the Gulf by all the recent rains. As it decays it, looks and smells bad. When surfing the other day, I felt like it was making it harder to breath, sort of like the red tide on Pensacola Beach a few years ago.
Fortunately, the decaying brown junk will not hurt you and will hopefully soon be gone. Then maybe the Pensacola Beach water will start looking like this again.
Most of the time, the Pensacola Beach water is nice and clear. As you go towards Destin, the water gets even clearer. But as you go towards Alabama, the beach water becomes more murky. Why is this?
The answer is that you can blame it on the Mississippi River (and more locally, Mobile Bay). When the Gulf of Mexico is calm and there is very little current, or an easterly current, Pensacola Beach water is usually very clear. However, when waves get larger, they tend to stir things up and the water will cloud up a little.
When the winds and currents switch to the west, all the muddy murky waters from Mobile Bay and the Mississippi river drift this direction and that is why Pensacola Beach water gets so murky sometimes. Once the waves drop and the current subsides, the water generally clears back up within a few days.
Update: As of March 28, 2010, the water on Pensacola Beach is starting to clear up. It is still a little cloudy from the wave action, but the brown stuff appears to be gone from most areas of Pensacola Beach.
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Pensacola Beach Water Quality Scores A Great Rating
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Invaluable New Consumer Real Estate WebSite
March 24th, 2010 Categories: Home Improvement, Pensacola Real Estate News
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) launched HouseLogic, a new consumer real estate website designed to help consumers with all aspects of homeownership. According to NAR, “HouseLogic was created to help homeowners make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect and increase the value of their homes.”
Houselogic is a free website. It is designed to help consumers make smart, informed home improvement investment decisions. It provides timely articles and news that helps homeowners plan and organize their home projects. It also provides home improvement advice and how-to’s along with information about taxes, home finances and insurance.
Here’s a sampling of articles I saw on my first visit to this real estate site:
7 Tips for Saving Energy in the Laundry Room
7 Tips for Saving Energy with Home Lighting
Start a Neighborhood Watch
Stop Drivers From Speeding in Your Neighborhood
7 Smart Strategies for Kitchen Remodeling
Smart Options: Kitchen Flooring
Green Kitchen Remodeling
Deduct Private Mortgage Insurance
Bathroom Addition: Return on Investment
Inspecting and Maintaining Your Roof
And these were just from a quick browse of the home page. You can see that there are a variety of real estate and home ownership topics covered. Each article has links to related articles. There is a wealth of information on this site and I highly recommend consumers take a look at it and learn more about what they can do to protect and enhance the value of their real estate.
Click Houselogic to visit the site.
Related Articles On Pensacola Real Estate News:
Home Improvements: Which Ones Really Pay Off
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Bristol Park and Bristol Creek Subdivision Report – Pensacola Real Estate News
March 21st, 2010 Categories: Northwest Pensacola
This article provides a Pensacola real estate market report on the Bristol Park / Bristol Creek subdivision. Note that the original phase of this subdivision was called Bristol Park. The subsequent phase became Bristol Creek. Both Bristol Park and Bristol Creek are basically the same subdivision.
If you are interested in seeing any homes in the Bristol Park subdivision, or any other Pensacola Homes For Sale, Contact Me for assistance. All of the homes pictured on this page were for sale at the time this article was published.
To see all current Pensacola Homes for Sale in Bristol Park, simply click the link below:
Pensacola Homes For Sale In Bristol Park or Bristol Creek
Bristol Park is located in NorthWest Pensacola. The subdivision is accessible from Jacks Branch Road (County Road 97) just west of County Road 297A.
Bristol Park has a lot of advantages. It is a fairly large subdivision, which is great for walking and bike riding. The look of the homes varies, unlike many neighborhoods where it is obvious that one builder built all the houses. The majority of the subdivision has sidewalks.
While there is not a mandatory home owners association membership, all the homes and yards are very well kept. Bristol Park is also within just a few minutes of Interstate 10, which allows for short travel times to the most popular areas of Pensacola.
Bristol Park still has a few vacant lots on which new homes can be built. These lots are owned by Adams Homes and they are ready and willing to build.
Below you can find summary information on Bristol Park.
Escambia County School Districts for Bristol Park Subdivision:
Elementary: Pine Meadow
Middle: Woodham or Ransom
High: Tate
Homes in Bristol Park generally fall into the following categories:
Years Homes Built: 1989-2009
Number of Homes in Subdivision: 250 (approximate)
Construction: Contemporary style
Average Square Footage: 2200
Bedrooms: 3 to 4
Bathrooms: 2 to 3
Garages: Mostly 2 Car
Lot Sizes: .20-.60 acres typically
Waterfront? None
Homeowners Association: Voluntary
Approximate travel times to popular Pensacola destinations:
One thing I love about Bristol Park is that it seems kind of far out of town, but its proximity to Interstate 10 makes for quick access to most areas of Pensacola.
Downtown Pensacola: 20-25 Minutes
Cordova Mall / Pensacola Airport / Pensacola Junior College: 20-25 minutes
Interstate 10: 5 Minutes
Pensacola Beach : 30-35 minutes
Perdido Key Florida: 40-45 minutes
University Of West Florida: 15 minutes
Pensacola Naval Air Station (NAS) (Home of the Blue Angels): 30-35 minutes
Saufley Field Naval Base: 15 minutes
Corry Field Naval Base: 25 minutes
The table shows Pensacola Real Estate data for Bristol Park subdivision. The numbers in the table are created using data from the Pensacola MLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These numbers do not include sales by Pensacola FSBOs.
Notice in the table that even though the average price of homes sold in 2009 was higher than 2008, the average price per square foot was down about $2. The average price increase was just the result of several higher dollar homes that sold in Bristol Park in 2009. 2008 was a dismal year in Bristol from a Days On Market standpoint. But that appears to be improving.
Related Pensacola Real Estate Articles on other NorthWest Pensacola Subdivisions:
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Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended For Active Duty Military
March 19th, 2010 Categories: First Time Home Buyers, Pensacola Buyers
U.S. active duty military who are out of the country for 90 days (since 2008) may have an extra year to claim the home buyer tax credit. The tax credit is for up to $8,000 for first time home buyers and $6,500 for repeat home buyers. This is very important news for the Pensacola real estate market, as we have so many active duty military who have served out of the country and are now living in or moving to the Pensacola area. Most are stationed at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.
For more information on the tax credit, see the article Pensacola Real Estate – Tax Credit Information.
The active-duty rule is part of the current tax credit law. The qualification must be for “official extended duty outside the United States for at least 90 days after 2008 and before May 1, 2010.”
If the above condition applies, the homebuyer has an extra year to buy a home. He or she has until April 30, 2011, to secure a binding contract, and until June 30, 2011 to close on the home. Other conditions such as a maximum $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for move-up buyers still apply.
For advice in any specific case, please consult a qualified tax advisor.
The applicable IRS publication is posted at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3.pdf
If you live in Pensacola and are hoping to buy a Pensacola home before the tax credit deadline, follow the link to Pensacola Homes For Sale to begin your search.
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Pensacola Foreclosures
March 17th, 2010 Categories: Foreclosures
Foreclosures are big news and Pensacola real estate is no exception. There are a fair number of Pensacola Foreclosures on the Pensacola real estate market at this time. In addition, there are an even greater number of short sales.
If you are not familiar with the term Short Sales, I provide a great overview of short sales in the article Real Estate Short Sales – Is It Worth It? .
In August 2008, data from Realty Trac showed that in the United States, 1 in 5 homes for sale were foreclosures. The Pensacola Real Estate market has never had this high of a percentage of foreclosed homes on the market. You can see from the table provided that foreclosures in Pensacola are nowhere near the level of 1 in 5 homes.
(NOTE: The table is a snapshot of the Pensacola Foreclosures and Pensacola Short Sales on March 16, 2010. Real estate market data is in a state of constant change. The numbers in the table were obtained from the Pensacola MLS and are deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.)
How to read the table:
Column 1: Each area of Pensacola is delineated based on boundaries in the Pensacola MLS (View Map).
Column 2: Total Active Listings (i.e.Pensacola Homes For Sale) on the market
Column 3: Total Active Listings that are Foreclosures
Column 4: Percentage of total active listings that are foreclosures
The rest of the columns should be self explanatory based on the descriptions provided above.
Based on the Pensacola Foreclosure table numbers:
- 1 in 25 Pensacola Homes For Sale is a foreclosure
- 1 in 8 Pensacola Homes for Sale is a short sale.
How many of these short sales will eventually become Pensacola foreclosures is impossible to determine. Many short sales will end up being sold, with the bank taking a loss. Others will be foreclosed, and still others will have the situation resolved in alternate ways.
More interesting points about the Pensacola Foreclosure table:
- Historical data prior to 2009 on Pensacola Foreclosures and Short sales is not available in the Pensacola MLS. New categories for these special sale types were just added last year.
- Most Pensacola areas had foreclosures in the range of 4% to 6%. There was greater variation on short sale percentages.
- In almost all areas, the average list price of short sales was higher than the average list price of Pensacola Foreclosures. Interpretation: Foreclosed homes in Pensacola tend to be lower valued homes on average. However, more residents in higher valued homes are facing the prospect of foreclosure in the future. This interpretation assumes that homes are being listed at current real estate market value.
- On Pensacola Beach, all foreclosures were in the Portofino Condos. In addition, 24 of the 35 short sales were condos (not all Portofino).
- Southwest Pensacola has the highest number of Pensacola Homes For Sale, the highest number of foreclosures, and the highest number of short sales.
Related Articles On Pensacola Real Estate News:
Free Legal Advice For Florida Real Estate Owners Facing Foreclosure
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Home Foreclosure – 2 Important Things To Know
March 14th, 2010 Categories: Foreclosures
Homeowners facing foreclosure are becoming increasingly frustrated with the nation’s foreclosure prevention programs. This frustration is causing many to just give up and walk away from their homes.
Others have been known to vent their frustration in more extreme ways.
See the Pensacola Real Estate News article about Terry Hoskins who bulldozed his home before the bank could take it.
If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, here are a couple of helpful things you should know.
1. Florida has a free hotline that people facing foreclosure can call for help. If you are already in foreclosure, they cannot help you. But if you are not yet in foreclosure, they will work to get you help from an attorney at no cost to you. More information can be found here: Free Legal Advice For Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
The phone number to call is (866) 607-2187
2. Walking away from your home is not without consequences
As Boca Raton real estate attorney Marlyn Wiener says there’s no “right way” to walk away from a home. If you know the consequences, you can at least make an informed decision. If a homeowner decides to just walk away from a home, the lender has the option to try and seize that person’s assets to pay for losses. This is called a deficiency judgement, and the lender has up to 20 years to collect on a deficiency judgement in Florida.
Banks are far more likely to go after a deficiency judgement on someone who walks away from a home even though they can afford the mortgage, but decides to stop paying because the home is no longer a good investment. If a person cannot afford the payments and has no assets, banks generally are not going to waste the legal expenses to go after this person, since the person has no way of compensating the bank for real estate losses.
There are now also rules in place to prevent the “Buy and Bail” tactic, described in this Pensacola Real Estate News article. In this situation, a person with money and decent credit buys a home at current market value, and then walks away from their previous home where the mortgage is much higher than the current market value of the home.
Most importantly, talk to an attorney if you are facing foreclosure. Call the free hotline listed above and see if you can get help. Foreclosure is a very sad business. It is depressing to walk into a home that has been foreclosed upon and see it littered with children’s toys and furniture. You just wonder, hope and pray that the children and homeowners are doing OK, and that the children can end up in a comfortable stable environment.
This old house of ours was built on dreams
And a business man don’t know what that means
There’s a yard outside the kids play in every day
And tomorrow morning the man from the bank
Is gonna come and take it all away
- Neil Young
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Pensacola Real Estate Navigators Do It Themselves
March 10th, 2010 Categories: Home Improvement
A couple of years ago, I asked the question Is Pensacola Real Estate Really Sexy? Well now our local “sexy man” Woody Wolden is trying to make Pensacola real estate not only sexy, but funny. Teaming up with his buddy and fellow Real Estate Navigator Matt Robinson, they created this very funny “Today’s Handyman” video for you homeowners who want to try a little “do it yourself” work around the house.
The video was actually a promo for a Real Estate Navigators meeting. That meeting has come and gone, and I unfortunately was not able to attend. But at least we have this video of Cliff Sandstone and Bubba Sparks doing some home repairs that is worth a few great laughs. (Hey, did you know that when you are laughing, you are totally living in the moment. There are no problems or issues or stress. You are just happy in that moment. Think about it after you have laughed. It is a truly healing experience. Sort of like listening to your favorite song. We should all laugh a lot more. )
Bubba “Sparky” Sparks is played by our own sexy Woody Wolden. So what do you think ladies? Is he still that super sexy real estate man 2 years later?
Thanks for the laughs Woody and Matt.
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