Buying a Jacksonville home can be a tricky process these days.
With 42% of 2009 Jacksonville real estate closings of non-condo properties being distressed property sales (Jacksonville short sales and Jacksonville foreclosures), buying real estate today can be much harder than it sounds.
- Do you know how to get a good deal in the Jacksonville Real estate market?
- How do you define good deal in the Jacksonville Real Estate market?
- Are you willing to wait for a Jacksonville short sale?
- Are you willing to pay asking or higher for a Jacksonville foreclosure?
- Do you have what it takes to get a loan? How little or much will you have to put down?
- Will today's deal be tomorrow's overpriced purchase?
A couple years ago it was much easier to purchase Jacksonville real estate. The year 2007 saw only 6% of all sales falling into the Jacksonville short sale or Jacksonville foreclosure category. The year 2008 ended with this number creeping up to 21% of all sales. The year 2009 was when the balance changed in the Jacksonville real estate market.
We are in a unprecedented (and unpredictable) real estate market. No one ever predicted that the amount of Jacksonville real estate closings that are short sales and foreclosures would at some point catch up with straight resale closings. But they have.
If you listen to the statistics, you will often hear that 2009 sales surpassed 2008 sales. THIS IS TRUE. What you do not commonly hear is WHY this has happened.
Prices in the Jacksonville real estate market have plummeted in the past couple of years. In 2009 we saw far more distressed property sales. This ushered in a new era of low prices in the real estate market. Jacksonville foreclosure sales are leading to the crumbling home values in the Jacksonville real estate market. Because the prices have moved to new lows, we have seen an increase in sales over the past year.
Bad if you are a seller. Good if you are a buyer. Probably good if you are a move-up buyer. Terrible if you are a move-down buyer.
If you are a buyer the first question you should decide is whether you are willing to wait on lienholder approval for a short sale. If you are, depending on the bank you could wait 2, 4, 6 months or longer to find out if your deal is going to be blessed by the bank.
If your answer is no...you should pay particular attention to the resales you see. Will your offer amount create a short sale situation? Does the seller have the ability to bring cash to the table? Are they willing?
Found the perfect foreclosure? From what we have seen foreclosures are usually priced a good amount below fair market value. Most of the time buyers should be prepared to pay full listing price (remember this amount is usually below fair market value) or more to get the property.
Before you put in your offer, you need to understand what the comparable sales say the home is worth.
You also need to be pre-qualified with a COMPETENT lender. Good lenders are worth their weight in gold, do you know how to find a good one?
Now, more than ever, Jacksonville homebuyers need great real estate professionals to help them navigate the stormy waters. This is even more true when purchasing a foreclosure or short sale property or one that could become a short sale.