The Most Recent Sales in Smith Farm, Lake Worth Florida...

Going back 30 days...there have been 4 reported sales:

• Oak Grove, 4/2.5/2, 2428 sq ft, $225,000...Short Sale
• Oak Grove, 739 model, 3/3/2, 2225 sq ft, $255,000
• Marbletree, 5/3/3, pool, 1603, 3397 sq ft, $345,000
• Squirewood, 5/3/3, pool, 1603, 3397 sq ft, $365,000

If you extrapolate the numbers of 4-in-30 days out to an annualized figure, you have 48 home sales projected in a 12 month period...with the current Smith Farm inventory of 19 homes on the market, that gives us about a five month absorbtion rate...which is not high at all.

Six of the 19 are being marketed as short sales...Three are bank owned sales...

Hopefully, the expanded and extended homebuyer tax credit will keep a finger in the dyke long enough to give sellers who are not yet under water who want/need to sell to a chance to get out. But looking forward, as the tax credit expires, and if the Fed follows through on its plans to scale back its purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which will signal the end of these historically low interest rates, I sincerely believe that we will see a resumption of the decline in home values here in South Florida.

Sellers and those thinking of selling take heed…your window of opportunity is the next 6 months…

FHA, 1st time buyers, short sales and perceptions...

• Nearly 40% of existing homes purchased in November used an FHA-insured mortgage, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.

• As a result, the FHA is having to defend the program, saying that it is well enough capitalized to avoid any major losses in case of surging defaults. Earlier this month, Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan was before Congress defending the FHA, and ensuring the House Financial Services Committee that the single-family insurance program is “not the next subprime.”

• The increase in demand caused the capital reserve ratio at the FHA to drop below the Congressionally mandated 2% minimum, leaving HUD and the FHA scrambling to ensure the FHA program’s soundness.

• A number of proposals are being considered, including the raising of insurance premiums, raising the minimum FICO (credit score) requirements, raising the minimum required down payments and reducing the allowable seller contribution...all of which will make it more difficult for buyers to qualify for and obtain financing (and hence, not good for sellers).

• Other results from the Realtors survey showed first time homebuyers accounted for 51% of all transactions and are actively competing with investors for distressed properties...

• And, distressed properties aren’t just affecting transaction price, however. The presence of distressed properties is influencing buyers’ perceptions of other homes for sale and many buyers have pricing expectations that treat every property as if it were a distressed sale.

• Additionally, HUD issued a ruling that borrowers who were in default on their mortgage at the time of a short sale are not eligible for an FHA-insured mortgage for three years...

Sample of some of the video marketing we have done recently