Home sales fall to 2011 low; few 1st-time buyers (Tampa, Sarasota: bank owned, for sale)

[Husker Bob]

Home sales fall to 2011 low; few 1st-time buyers - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Home-sales-fell-to-2011-low-apf-682403843.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&cco de - broken link)=

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer people bought previously occupied homes in May, lowering sales to their weakest point of the year.
Home sales sank 3.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million homes, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That's far below the roughly 6 million annual sales rate typical in healthy housing markets.
Since the housing boom went bust in 2006, sales have fallen in four of the past five years. Analysts say they expect sales to level off at about 5 million a year. That's not much better than the 4.91 million homes sold last year, the worst showing in 13 years.
The depressed housing market has weighed on the broader economy. Declining home prices have kept people from selling their houses and moving to find jobs in growing areas. They have also made people feel less wealthy. That has reduced consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic activity.
One sign of the housing industry's struggles is that fewer first-time buyers are entering the market. The number of first-timers ticked down to 35 percent of sales last month. In healthy times, they drive about half of sales.
First-time buyers are critical because they tend to improve their properties and invest in their communities, a combination that raises home values. And their purchases allow sellers to move up to pricier homes.
Instead, the market has been saturated with foreclosures, which force prices down. Sales of homes at risk of foreclosure fell in May. But they still made up 31 percent of all purchases. And many pending foreclosures are backlogged in the courts or held up by state and federal probes into questionable foreclosure practices by lenders.
Until the glut of foreclosures are cleared and people think it's a safe time to buy, "it is unlikely that home prices can recover on a sustained basis," said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.
Bigger required down payments, tougher lending rules, heavy credit-card and student-loan debt and a shortage of desirable starter homes are keeping many would-be buyers away. Even some who do have enough money for a down payment and a solid credit history are holding off, worried that home prices will keep falling.
Investors are filling some of the void. They are spending cash to scoop up deeply discounted homes in hard-hit areas of Phoenix, Las Vegas and Tampa. Last month, investors accounted for 19 percent of all sales.
All the while, previously occupied homes are cheap and in great supply.
Re-sold homes are a bargain compared with new homes. The median sales price for a previously occupied home in May was $166,500. The median price of a new home is nearly 31 percent higher than the price for a re-sale -- around twice the normal markup.
The gap is largely due to the flood of foreclosures and short sales. (Short sales occur when lenders accept less than what's owed on the mortgage.) A record 1 million homes were lost to foreclosures last year. And foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac Inc. expects 1.2 million more will be lost this year.
Another problem for the housing market is the glut of unsold homes. In May, the supply fell slightly to 3.72 million homes. At last month's sales pace, it would take more than nine months to clear those homes.
Homes priced for less than $100,000 are selling briskly, but more expensive homes are having trouble finding buyers. Analysts say a healthy supply can be cleared in six months.
The situation is worse when taking into account the "shadow inventory" of homes, economists say. These are homes that are in the early stages of the foreclosure process but, because of backlogged courts or the government probes, haven't hit the market for re-sale.
Sales fell across most regions in May. Sales dropped 6.4 percent in the Midwest, 5.1 percent in the South and 2.5 percent in the Northeast. There was no change in the West.

[bbronston]

It's interesting info and it has bearing on policy at a national level but all real estate markets are localized and national figures have little bearing on local market status. Now, the first time buyer thing is interesting because as prices go lower across the country, first time buyers should be able to take advantage of the prices but the economy is so poor, unemployment is so high, our monetary policy is so lame, and the banks are so tight that these factors serve to restrict access to those lower prices. Most of my transactions last year and this year have been cash deals and most agents are experiencing the same thing.

[Sunshine Rules]

All real estate markets are local, and in the local Sarasota market, sales numbers are up for both single family homes and condos:

Sarasota-Bradenton home sales up 5 percent | HeraldTribune.com

I think one of the factors influencing the number of first time home buyers is that many of the affordable homes on the market are distress properties (short sales or bank owned /REO's). Typical first time home buyers don't have sufficient funds saved to put down 20% and cover their closing costs, so they turn to FHA financing as an affordable alternative. Most short sale listings will only consider cash buyers or those getting conventional mortgages - FHA buyers are excluded. While a few REO (bank) listings will consider buyers doing FHA financing, most are being bought by buyers with cash, knocking 1st time home buyers with FHA financing out of the running. It's a tough market out there for first time home buyers.

[Anongmous]

hmm, in SRQ manatee, lots of cash buying and some at very stable pricing, some at firm pricing...

you see some clearing for building homes/businesses in various places...and leases coming on line

such as:

Benderson devel on University..new lessees...like Bufallo WW in the Plaza, Square 1

Houses sold out at Univeristy Groves on tuttle..fairly high prices by Medallion Homes

Neal Properties is selling a lot of SF in LWR

New ground SF breaking for a huge development Whitfield/Lockwood

New SF off development Cooper Creek ..Riva Trace

New SF dev on SR 70 scross from Library

New SF by Neal Commnities, east of 75 at hwy 64

New Clearing dev on sr70 at Braden River High

A few new medical/dental office leases, both sides of University Pwy

New restaurant open at the old Barnacle Bills on Webber
New restaurant open on SR70 in the Bealls/Lowes plaza

New bank (Chase) de nuevo branch construction at Lockwood/University

Finishing huge expansion of super WALmart at lockwood/University
New lessees at revamped Walmart plaza at Lockwood/Univ...including new German restaurant, and new Sushi restaurant.

New Discount Auto Parts Supply in Albertson's Plaza at University/Lockwood


and quite a few others I have known about

[Col.W.Deering]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

All real estate markets are local, and in the local Sarasota market, sales numbers are up for both single family homes and condos:

Sarasota-Bradenton home sales up 5 percent | HeraldTribune.com

I think one of the factors influencing the number of first time home buyers is that many of the affordable homes on the market are distress properties (short sales or bank owned /REO's). Typical first time home buyers don't have sufficient funds saved to put down 20% and cover their closing costs, so they turn to FHA financing as an affordable alternative. Most short sale listings will only consider cash buyers or those getting conventional mortgages - FHA buyers are excluded. While a few REO (bank) listings will consider buyers doing FHA financing, most are being bought by buyers with cash, knocking 1st time home buyers with FHA financing out of the running. It's a tough market out there for first time home buyers.

I couldn't agree with this post more. It is what my hubby and I have been running up against. Can't compete with the 100% cash buyer.
I'm sure we are not the only first-time homebuyers who sat on the sidelines while the prices skyrocketed, and are now still on the sidelines while cash buyers and investors snap up the bargains. It's not a good sign for our economy, and not good for bringing a stabilized market.

[gypsychic]

My neighbor sold her house after less than 2 months on the market. She had a great offer 2 weeks after listing, but she held out for her full price and got it after turning down 4 offers. Things have been selling real well here this year. These aren't necessarily all cash buyers, either. To me, things are looking up.

[SoFLGal]

Things have definitely been selling lately. I think things will continue to go up, at least for the short run due to the foreclosures just trickling out.

I'll use North Port as an example since it was one of the hardest hit areas. April 22, 2009 there were 999 single family homes in North Port. On May 6th, 2011 there were 492 single family homes in North Port and today there are 431 homes for sale in North Port.

On the Realtor "hotsheet" for the last two months there have been more sales and homes going pending then new homes coming on the market.

We are actually seeing a lot of cash buyers and have been for the last year or so.

[dorothyfromKansas]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Things have definitely been selling lately. I think things will continue to go up, at least for the short run due to the foreclosures just trickling out.

I'll use North Port as an example since it was one of the hardest hit areas. April 22, 2009 there were 999 single family homes in North Port. On May 6th, 2011 there were 492 single family homes in North Port and today there are 431 homes for sale in North Port.

On the Realtor "hotsheet" for the last two months there have been more sales and homes going pending then new homes coming on the market.

We are actually seeing a lot of cash buyers and have been for the last year or so.

Any new numbers on; Isles, Turtle Rock, and Village Walk. Thanks

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by dorothyfromKansas

Any new numbers on; Isles, Turtle Rock, and Village Walk. Thanks

Under VillageWalk and Village Walk (in the MLS agents post under both phrases) there were 17 sales in the last 3 months-the average list price was $297k and average sales was $282k. The average sq ft home that sold was 1850. They're selling for 95% of their list price. The median list price for VillageWalk is $265k and the median sales price is $257k. The median square footage for those sales was 1678 sq ft under air.

There were 10 sales in Turtle Rock in the last 3 months in Turtle Rock. The average list price is $357k and average sales is $338k. Again selling for 95% of list price. The average square footage in Turtle Rock is 2319 sq ft under air. The median list price is $344k and median sales is $326k. Selling for 96% of list price. The median square footage in Turtle Rock is 2321 sq ft.

The Isles has had 6 sales in the last 3 months. The average list is $216k and the average sales is $208k. They are selling for 97% of list. The average sq ft of the properties sold in The Isles is 1820 sq ft. The median list price in The Isles is $177k and the median sales price is $174k. They are selling for 98% of list price.