"assessed Value" vs. List price (Ocala, Springfield: for sale, real estate market)

[kel3420]

Can someone help me make sense of this situation please? I found a house listed for $490, it really is beautiful. I have been doing alot of research. I found the subdivision where it is located and found out that the builder is still building. A new home, same model would cost approx $400 and I am assuming there are incentives. I haven't gotten that far into it yet. There are approx 10 homes in this subdivision for sale, all less than the one I fell in love with. It is perfect, down to the colors and appliances, high end pool, etc. The selling agent tells me the property went up for sale 3/7 but I believe this is at least the second listing agreement and they just love telling you that the house has just listed, when in fact it has been on the market for a long time since every renewed selling contract resets the listing date. The home was built in 2005. According to the county property appraiser the market value for this home is $312. Their definition of market value is what the house should sell for. So how can the builder, especially in this market, still be building, and expect to sell for $400 and a homeowner expect to sell at $490? Even with upgrades like the pool and cabinets, appliances, etc, doesn't this seem to be way over the top?

Is it normal for the property appraisals to be so far off? I am going to do more research on this today, but am hoping someone could shine some light on this for me. I would obviously buy new if the price is so much less, but I wonder how much it would cost to put in the same kind of pool and have the whole house painted and decorated like the one for sale.

Are the seller and agent dreaming here? There are also no seller incentives, which is becoming more and more common, to move the house.

We may take a day from our vacation next week (St. Pete beach) to drive over and see the house, the builder's models and neighborhood.

[FLPL75]

where is the development
a lot of the new ones are offering "incentives" but most times in order to get these you have to use their lender.
also how large is the sub-division if it is like ours and only 108 houses I would have some concern that 10 are for sale only after a year.
I would take a "up close and personal" look and compare the existing homes with the new construction

karla

[Fodder]

Well, you mention that the home has a "high-end" pool; the quotes for new pool construction that we have been getting, have all been in the 60K plus range, and I wouldn't consider what we are looking to do exactly high-end.

I would also assume that the house has many other high-end amenities, those things can add many, many thousands of dollars to the price of a new build, plus, depending on how far they are in the construction, you may not get many choices.

So, if the re-sell fits what you are looking for so well, it may not be such a bad "deal", plus you don't have to go through all the hassles of having your house torn up during the remodel. Also, who knows what kind of offer the owners are willing to accept!!

Good luck...

[LivinInTheLanding]

The house we sold last year had an assessed Value of $104k, we paid $110k for it 4 yeasr ago and sold it for $197K.
The assessed Value is just what your taxed on and is based on sq ft and a $$ per.

Our current house we paid $337k for and is assessed at $226K

[jsimms3]

How long has it been on the market? That will say a lot.

Also, offer lower so the buyer doesn't think that they listed it too low. The buyer will counter higher, so you re-counter lower, but don't go up as far as the buyer came down. After 2-3 rounds of push and pull you should be able to acquire the house closer to your initial offer than the original list price of $92K. This may sound jerky/nickel and dimey, but you are getting a better price and the seller is walking away thinking he negotiated very well (and he gets rid of the house, which he may have been trying to sell for a looonnnngggg time). If it HAS been on the market for a long time, that's an indicator that the seller is not really up for negotiation and has set the list price too high (if it's been on for a while, many people have looked at it and decided it's not worth the 92K) and may not be so serious about selling. You can always find out about the note the current owner has on the house, and you may get further information from the lender holding the note. Is it a short sale?

2 things: Hire a realtor and don't skimp on the inspection. Paying a realtor and a good inspector will save you money at least in the long run.

I am just guessing here, but is the home in Springfield?

[cyrece]

You definitely cannot determine the value of the home based solely on the tax records in this area. The best thing to focus on is recently sold homes in the immediate area, this is the biggest predictor on price. If the home is a new construction and was built in 2005, you need to know if this home has been available for the whole time, leased back as a model, etc. Most builders are ready to wheel and deal in this area. I would suggest you come armed with recent solds and ask for incentives (rate buy downs, closing costs, appliance package, etc). Also, remember that when you purchase from a builder, they agent represents that builder. You still need representation as a buyer and a home inspection as noted in PP. Best of luck!
Brittany

[GradyWhite]

Wow, this is an old thread. Think about how much the real estate market has changed since the spring of '07.

Anyway, from what I have seen looking at this market for over a year now, is that houses that sell are doing so for very close to that assessed value, if not less. I haven't seen many that are sold for more than assessed value.

Anyone else notice anything different.

[jsimms3]

Yea I only pay attention to a certain market segment, but I still see a 10-20% gap on the assessed value and the sale price. In a better economy, that number can swell to 40% difference, but many waterfront homes or homes in solid locations near the water in older neighborhoods have maintained at least above assessed value, and many are back on the rise (good sign imo).

The weirdest thing that is happening now is the new law where banks have a cap on how much they can pay for an appraisal for a house that holds a mortgage issued by them that is on the market. There is a really low cap, too. I know there used to be a problem where banks picked and appraisor that would work with the banks to get a higher appraisal so the house would sell for a higher price, and I understand the need to fix that, but now banks can only pay a very small amount for an appraisal. This in turn has resulted in a problem for a couple of listings currently on the market in the Ortega area, where the seller/broker come up with the list price, several offers come in, the buyers talk with the banks to arrange financing, and then bank HAS to bring in some 90 year old appraisor from rural Ocala to appraise a $3-6 million house on the water in Ortega. Well what do you know the house doesn't appraise at a level it can be sold for, even though offers are coming in for much higher. You can only see the frustration for all the parties involved: the seller, the bank, and the buyer who is willing to put down more for the house because they think it's worth it and they want the house. Bla bla bla.

[stevep]

I never pay attention to assessed value when it comes to determining the value of a home. It's not a current value and really can't be used to determine market value for several reasons.

[GradyWhite]

funny jsimms, because I live in ortega. now I don't have access to direct sales on the mls, but I do through zip and when I did have direct mls access i noticed that sales eventually did show up on zip, just not as fast as on the mls of course.

My point is there are 6 houses that have sold in ortega (e of roosevelt) in the past six months. 3 have sold for above assessed value, 3 below. 3 of the houses have sold on yacht club dr. two of them sold for under assessed value. 2 of the 3 that sold over assessed sold for less than 10% over. going back to all of 2010, there are another 2 houses that sold, one over and one under.

The average price per sqft on the non-waterfront three is $74. The average price per sqft. on the three on the water is $258. I don't know if that means prices are going back up....

In the whole neighborhood, there are three houses not on the water that are priced with a slim hope of selling. (4998 ortega, 4463 chippewa, and 2940 cherokee) Other than those three, the other houses, not on the water, are priced at least $150 per sqft. Some are even around $240 per sqft. which the sales data shows us is what a waterfront home should go for. The worst is either 4334 baltic, which isn't on one of the more impressive streets in the area (it is alright) priced at $212 per sqft or 3963 mcgrits priced at $233 per sqft. (look at the photos of the outside of the house), or 4642 Iroquois, priced at $198 per sqft. and it backs up to roosevelt. I live a block away from roosevelt and that traffic is LOUD. If it is in the backyard i guarantee you arent getting any quiet enjoyment out of your backyard.