Short Sales

Short sales occur when the lender is willing to settle for less than the amount currently owed on the mortgage. The short sale is a preforeclosure process that, if successful, would mean your credit would be damaged for only two years, rather than seven to ten years if the home goes to foreclosure. And the IRS will not tax you on the difference between the amount of the mortgage and the short sale payoff.

This relatively new real estate phenomenon strongely appeared on the scene early last year in Southwest Florida, and has affected the market especially in Cape Coral where the housing inventory is bloated out of proportion. Pine Island is affected, but not as severely because the Island didn't have the speculation building and buying that was so prevelant in Cape Coral.

Our office recently handled the short sale of a house in Cape Coral, where the sellers owed $262,000 (the mortgage amount plus a prepayment penalty). We had listed the house, which was a four bedroom, two bath home built in 2003, at $262,000, and then lowered the price several times until it was listed at $139,000. We received an offer of $135,000. The lenders agreed to accept $124,000 and we closed the deal.

If you are faced with the possibility of a foreclosure, but would like another option to consider, please contact us. We could assist you in setting up a short sale with your lender to avoid a foreclosure and limit the damage to your credit. The short sale takes longer than a normal sale and the lender has the final decision about the sale price, but it is an option that is better than a foreclosure. Call today for more information about short sales!

February 2008 Market Activity

In February, there were fifteen total residential sales in Bokeelia, St. James, City, and Matlacha, which consisted of two condos, four manufactured homes, and nine single family home sales. From these fifteen sales, eight were waterfront and seven off-water. Sale prices ranged from $65,000 for an off-water manufactured home to $1,100,000 for a three story waterfront home on Martin Cove in Bokeelia.

Also in February, we had seven vacant land sales - two waterfront lots, five off-water lots, and one industrial lot in the Pine Island Industrial Center. The prices of these lots ranged from $5,000 for a lot with no road access to $200,000 for a canal front lot in Bokeelia.

Compared to January, the residential sales were up by four - from eleven in January to fifteen in February; however, the vacant land sales went from eight in January to seven in February. As of this date, we still have a huge inventory in both residential and land listings with 392 residential properties and 406 vacant land parcels now on the market. And these stats do not include all the "for sale by owner" properties that have signs in the yards and private sales that have taken place!

Currently, we have almost a three-year supply of homes and a six-year supply of vacant land on the market. Unless sellers price their properties right, they will not sell. Buyers are smart and they do their homework! It is still a strong buyers market!