In 2007 Jacksonville had 7300 licensed real estate agents who were members of the local MLS board.  That's a lot of local Jacksonville REALTORS running around.  Those numbers do not include all the builder and developer agents who were not active as "general real estate agents" as they were just representing the builder or developer.  Therefore, they did not need access to the MLS.  Either way, that's a lot of licensed agents!

Today, there are approximately 1900 less.  According to our local MLS, we have 5400 REALTORS locally.

Annual dues are hitting the mailboxes of those 5400 Jacksonville REALTORS, so I'd bet we have a few less starting in 2012.

Of the 5400, I'd say less than 20% of those are full time agents.  I'm sure there are some stats out…

1092 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Seterus Short Sale Success in Jacksonville FL

Are they IBM?  Are they LBPS?  Are they IBM LBPS?  Are they Seterus?

This mortgage servicer keeps changing their name or creating new arms or something.  Trying to research who they are and who you are dealing with is very difficult in this company.  They've had so many complaints, it seems they just keep creating new entities.  None of that matters.

This was a successful Seterus short sale that just closed.  The process was relatively smooth despite the negative press this servicer is constantly hammered with.  It took about 90 days to get the full approval, but that was mostly due to some major repair items that were discovered during inspections.

The new owner of this property was very savvy. …

1183 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Aurora Short Sale Success

HAFA Short Sale eligibility helped this Aurora short sale get approved quickly.  Like many short sales, this one was sold originally to an impatient buyer who just couldn't wait another week for the bank approval, but was then sold to a buyer who received the approval within weeks of contract.  Again, HAFA helped.

I can't tell you how many times that same scenario has happened in 2011.  To counter that, we've started requiring a longer short sale timeline for approval in the contract.  Too often I get contracts with a 30 day timeline for the bank to approve the sale......that's just a waste of 30 days.  80 - 90 days is more realistic, and often the buyers will still need to extend another 20 days.  That's just part of…

1022 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Bank of America Short Sale Success

Another successfully closed Bank of America Short Sale.  This one took just as long to get an approval as BOA usually does in Florida, close to 90 days.

BOA has been notorious for changing their short sale process a couple times a year, which automatically lengthens the timeline if you have a short sale currently in process (which we always have a slew of BOA short sales).

The previous owners to this Jacksonville home were savvy sellers.  They took the advise of their REALTOR, me, and their short sale attorney, and they continued paying their HOA fees.  Delinquent home owners association fees continue to be a huge problem in short sales as the fees have to be short payed or paid in full in order for the…

851 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Locally, I see signs of stabilization in the lower price points of the real estate market here in Jacksonville, Florida.  Many of the $100,000 - $200,000 neighborhoods are now seeing sales in just weeks of putting a home on the market vs half a year, and if the home is in great condition they sometimes sell within a few days!

The higher price points aren't doing as good.  In the $300,000 - $700,000 range, there are homes for sale everywhere and they aren't moving.  I believe we will see continued pricing drops in those price ranges and for quite some time.

Despite the sales volume or price ranges the activity is or is not occurring within, the fact remains that so many of the homes have a much higher mortgage than what they are now worth, and it…

1020 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

I've seen the slow shift since mid-summer-ish, and it looks like it is official.

Banks Want you to Short Sale vs. Foreclose

It appears as if most banks have finally gotten to the point of acknowledging that short sales are a much better alternative than chasing down properties through the foreclosure process.  In some states the foreclosure process takes years, and Florida is no exception.  The average foreclosure time in Florida is well over 600 days!  That's almost 2 years!  Why would a bank want to keep lawyers employed for 2 solid years while wading through the court systems?

Apparently, they don't want to mess with foreclosures any longer if the home owner is willing to short sale.  (Some banks are still a mess - I'll keep their names out of…

1066 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The "robo signing" roadblock heavily slowed the banks' willingness to move forward on foreclosures, but the times have changed.  Nationwide, reports are popping up that foreclosures are back on the rise and Jacksonville Florida is not spared.

Foreclosures rise 22% in Jacksonville in the 3rd Quarter

Jacksonville Business Journal Story Link

That's 22% increase from the 2nd quarter for the entire North East Florida area.  That's a big increase!  The numbers are now 4,517 homes in North East Florida are now in some stage of foreclosure.

This sudden bump up in foreclosure activity tells me the banks are getting serious about ripping off the band aid.  I anticipate we see even more foreclosure activity in the next 12 months as banks stop stalling…

1041 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Great report on Fox Business News about where to invest in the US.

Jacksonville is #1 for Real Estate Investment!

I've seen a lot of investor, all cash activity in the last few months which is a good sign that the smart money is getting back in.  What are they buying?  Deals!  Investors young or old, amateur or professional, all want the same thing, they want a deal.  They are buying up condos and townhomes for easy rentals, they are buying low priced homes all over the city and in St Augustine.

991 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Great report on Fox Business News about where to invest in the US.

Jacksonville is #1 for Real Estate Investment!

I've seen a lot of investor, all cash activity in the last few months which is a good sign that the smart money is getting back in.  What are they buying?  Deals!  Investors young or old, amateur or professional, all want the same thing, they want a deal.  They are buying up condos and townhomes for easy rentals, they are buying low priced homes all over the city and in St Augustine.

1066 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post