Great Florida Homes Blog

REAL ESTATE UPDATE FOR BROWARD COUNTY & PALM BEACH COUNTY
January 1, 2009 to January 31, 2009

Broward County includes well known cities of Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Highland Beach, Hillsboro, Lighthouse Point, Parkland, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac and Weston.

There are currently ­­­­­13,936 Single Family Homes LISTED FOR SALE in Broward County.

­­­6110 priced under $250,000
4737 priced between 250,001 and $500,000
1232 priced between $500,001 and $750,000
633 priced between $750,001 and $1,000,000
538 priced between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
250 priced between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
435 priced over $2,000,000

For the month of January, 682 Single Family Homes SOLD in Broward County. 

271 were sold under $250,000
195 were sold between 250,001 and $500,000
45 were sold between $500,001 and $750,000
15 were sold between $750,001 and $1,000,000
7 were sold between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
3 were sold between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
1 was sold over $2,000,000

There are currently 19,399 Multi-Family Homes LISTED FOR SALE in Broward County.  Multi-Family Homes include condos, town homes, villas, coops, all attached and or unattached as well as single story to multi levels.

14,427 are priced under $250,000
3146 are priced between 250,001 and $500,000
819 are priced between $500,001 and $750,000
453 are priced between $750,001 and $1,000,000
285 are priced between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
161 are priced between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
106 are priced over $2,000,000

For the month of January, 685 Multi-Family Homes SOLD in Broward County.

Note that many of the lower priced multi family homes are located in Adult only communities with a over the age of 55 requirment to live there.

617 were sold under $250,000
50 were sold between 250,001 and $500,000
8 were sold between $500,001 and $750,000
6 were sold between $750,001 and $1,000,000
2 were sold between $1,000,001 and $1,500,00
1 were sold between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
1 was sold over $2,000,000

Palm Beach County includes well known cities of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Lake Worth,  Wellington and West Palm Beach.

There are currently 10,095 single family homes listed For Sale in Palm Beach County.

­­3523 priced under $250,000
3459 priced between 250,001 and $500,000
1062 priced between $500,001 and $750,000
653 priced between $750,001 and $1,000,000
453 priced between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
307 priced between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
638 priced over $2,000,000

For the month of January,  256 Single Family Homes SOLD in Palm Beach County. 

136 were sold under $250,000
80 were sold between 250,001 and $500,000
15 were sold between $500,001 and $750,000
4 were sold between $750,001 and $1,000,000
7 were sold between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
 5 were sold between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
9 were sold over $2,000,000

There are currently 11,410 Multi-Family Homes LISTED FOR SALE in Palm Beach County.  Multi-Family Homes include condos, town homes, villas, coops, all attached and or unattached as well as single story to multi levels.

8692 are priced under $250,000
1782 are priced between 250,001 and $500,000
482 are priced between $500,001 and $750,000
233 are priced between $750,001 and $1,000,000
158 are priced between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
63 are priced between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
101 are priced over $2,000,000

For the month of January, 268 Multi-Family Homes SOLD in Palm Beach county.

28 were sold under $250,000
21 are sold between 250,001 and $500,000
3 were sold between $500,001 and $750,000
None were sold between $750,001 and $1,000,000
1 was sold between $1,000,001 and $1,500,000
2 were sold between $1,500,001 and $2,000,000
None were sold over $2,000,000

To see specific details on a specific category of homes actively for sale or sold, please email us at Team@GreatFloridaHomes.com and we will forward the information for your reference or review.

Information deemed reliable as provided by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale
and the Realtor Association of the Palm Beaches.

Overall Inventory was down in both counties.  Sales in Palm Beach county were down but up in Broward in both Single Family and Multi Family.  Note:  The numbers for this were pulled at the end of January and saved, although a hard drive crash caused the information to be delayed in posting until the data could be restored.  Thank you for your paitence.

Short Sale or Foreclosure (REO)...Better From Whose Perspective?

     Ask a Realtor these days and many will tell you that they've had it with short sales.  The banks take way to long to respond.  The client gets frustrated and thinks the agent is inefficient, so the client moves on to find an efficient agent, when in fact the agent had no control over the banks response time.

     As for a foreclosure (also referred to as REO=Real Estate Owned by a bank) they are not
necessarily easier to complete the sale, but they are usually a cleaner transaction with less issues
involved than a short sale.

     In a short sale there can be past due loan amounts from more than one lender, the devaluation of the property, past due maintenance payments, possible legal fees, liens from the municipality and more.  Where as in a foreclosure usually these are all wiped clean in the banks initial foreclosure sale.

     Sometimes there is the short sale that made it all the way through the banks process and
the Buyer did not close.  In that case it is an approved short sale and there is less of a time delay
to get to a closing.

     We have worked short sales that sold in a week or a month (these were pre-approved or fall-thru's as I mentioned above).  We have worked at the transaction for 3 months and as long as 6 months
and they fell apart only to have the property foreclose anyway.

     Sometimes there is PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) on a property.  Sometimes the bank will foreclose anyway because they will get their money back through the insurance claim.

Patience of a Saint is required to buy a short sale.  We've had many Buyers say they have it, only to walk away after not hearing back from the lender with any kind of response in as long as two months 

There is risk and reward in everything.  In a short sale if you have the patience and the bank is cooperative it is likely you will get a "good buy", possibly better than a Foreclosure, because once the bank has processed the foreclosed property and put it back into the marketplace, they have additional costs involved that they want to recoup such as legal fees, loan pay-offs, insurance premiums, homeowners fees, legal fees, brokerage fees and more.

Either way there is an opportunity with the NEW INVENTORY of properties in the marketplace. 
Find yourself an agent with experience and knowledge to guide your through the maze and
bring your patience with you.

As Mom always said,,,Good Things Come to Those Who Wait.  She also said a Watched Pot Never Boils, but that's another story!