The hottest zip codes are 32608 and 32605 – they account for 1 in 4 sales this year.  These zip codes cover most of West Gainesville including new communities like Longleaf, Willow Oak, and Haile Plantation.  There are some excellent schools in these areas, which is part of why they draw families to them.

For every home that has sold so far this year there are two that are still on the market.

The most action has been in inexpensive homes.  Over 40% of the home sales last year closed out under $150,000 and two-thirds of the homes sold for under $200,000.

Selling a home above $750,000? Try to be nice to your prospects! There have only been 4 buyers so far this year.

So if you have to sell your home you have more buyers out there in the lower price ranges, even though there are more homes for sale there is only 15 months of inventory for homes under $150k, where over $300k you are looking at 2-3 years of inventory for sale now.

It would take 18 months to sell everything on the market if buyers keep buying at their current rates & nothing new comes on the market.

The surprising thing to me is how large most of these homes are.  I used to expect homes in this price range to be small, like 1,000 sqft or so. The homes selling in this price range are around 1,400 sqft on average.

In fact, homes that have between 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of living space make up the most active part of the market – about 35% of sales so far this year.

Click Here if you’d like to see our 2010 Annual Report.

Overview: 3rd Quarter Home Values and Real Estate Trends

In the short-term our market has been fairly stable, our absorption rates basically unchanged from last quarter, but are better than last year.  That means our inventory has come down from 2010 – because there were fewer listings than last year, and more sales.

There are still lots of homes available compared to demand – only 1 in 2 homes sold so far this year.  That’s better than last year when only about 1 in 3 homes sold.  We have about an 18 month supply of homes on the market and 16 months of condos.

(That means it would take 18 months to sell all the homes on the market if buyers kept going at their current activity levels and no more homes came on the market)

This month we added a new page to the report for distressed homes because they account for about 1/3 of our sales and their prices are so different than standard sales. The average sale price for standard sales last quarter was $184k, while short sales were at $116k, and foreclosures were at $81k.

For Sellers

There are real buyers out there, but they have a lot of homes to look at.  The good news is that most of them have already been picked over and most of your competition is either over-priced or unattractive for some other reason, or both.

If you are thinking of selling your home make it beautiful, price it right, and get as much exposure as possible where your buyers are looking for homes.

For Buyers

Many buyers are overwhelmed because they have a lot of homes to look at and they don’t want to miss out on an amazing deal.  Keeping a few ideas in mind will help you stay in control.

Start by narrowing down your search by finding the homes that have the features you want (fireplace, 2 car garage, full yard fencing, etc.).

If you want the best deal on a home don’t fall in love with one house, try to pick out 2 or 3 that will work for you.  If you do that then you have a better chance of finding a bargain. Some of the best deals are homes that need some TLC, these homes are overlooked by most buyers because they can’t imagine what how much clean carpet and fresh paint changes a room.

Get an idea of what other homes have sold for in the area, not just what prices they are asking, so you really know if you are getting a good deal or not.

Distressed Properties in Alachua County

Short Sales and Foreclosures are more common this year.  About 30% of the sales in 2011 were from distressed properties.

Short Sales closed out at about 37% below the market average sale price.

Foreclosure sales (bank owned properties) sold for 45% below the market average!

If you haven’t seen these homes before you won’t know what to expect.  It’s common to see foreclosed homes that have rotten roofs and missing air conditioners, and many of the new owners spend tens of thousands of dollars to make them livable homes.

If you are willing to do some major repairs these homes are a great way to buy your first home, or get into an investment property. There are loans available that will help you pay for the repairs and roll that cost into your mortgage.

Do you want us to help you?

If you want to know how this affects you we can help.

We can do the looking for you, and check out the details of the homes you like.

Contact us and let us know how we can help you.

Download the Full Report

The full report has stats on active, pending, and sold real estate for the 2nd Quarter of 2011 and 2011 year to date, as well as information on price trends, days on the market, and inventory supplies by price bracket.

Click Here to download the Gainesville & Alachua County Real Estate Market Report 2nd Quarter 2011. (Adobe PDF file)

How to Read It

• The top of each page tells you what that page is about.
• Near the top left of most pages you will find details for the current quarter – April thru June 2011.
• Near the top right of most pages you will find the details for the entire year to date for 2011, 2010, and 2009.
• Pages that are not set up that way may be comparing activity in this quarter to a previous quarter, or show graphs comparing 2011 real estate trends to market statistics going back up to five years.

Read our Past Real Estate Reports

2nd Quarter 2011

Read the Summary Article: Click Here
Download the Full Report: Click Here

2010 Year in Review

Read the Summary Article: Click Here
Download the Full Report: Click Here

3rd Quarter 2010

Read the Summary Article: Click Here
Download the Full Report: Click Here

2009 Review

Read the Summary Article:  Click Here
Download the Full Report: Click Here

Based on information from the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of REALTORS or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.

As you drive thru this neighborhood

If you are looking to move into this area, there are only 3 homes for sale at the moment. They range in asking price from $159,900 to $209,900. They have about 1/4 to 1/3 acre of land. These homes have been on the market between 59 to 432 days. They are priced between a mere $81 per square foot to $116.

Recent Sales

There is one home that recently went under contract and is waiting to close. They were asking $249,900. It was built in 2000, has 2182 square feet of living space, and they were at $114/ sq ft when they pended this home.

There were 3 that closed since June of this year. They closed out at $170,000 to $215,000. They were between 1808 to 2147  square feet, and only on the market between 93 to 144 days. Their closed price puts them at $93 to $107 per sqft.

Turnberry Lake is just off Hwy 241,

There are 5 homes for sale if you want to live here. They range in age from 2005 to 2011. They range in heated space between 2488 to 4421. They are asking between $314,900 to $599,000. They have been on the market from 97 to 404 days, and their price per square foot runs between $132 to $147.  These homes have many upgrades.

There are four homes that are under contract waiting to close. They were built between 2005 and 2007. They were asking between $285,000 and $799,000 before they went under contract, which puts them about $120 to $184 per square foot.

There are 2 that have closed since June of this year. They were 2293 and 3228 square feet. They were built in 2005 and 2006. They were sold at $284,500 (or $124/sq ft) and $399,900  (or $115/ sq ft). They were only 124 and 101 days on the market before they went under contract.

If you have not had the pleasure of driving on Millhopper Road

Market Activity

As of this writing, there are 33 homes for sale along this road.

They come with at least .33 acres to a whopping 4.03 acres and range in living area from 1,244 to 4,889 square feet. Their ages vary from 1976 to 2008.

The  asking prices have a huge range, starting at only $185,000 going up to $1,290,000. These homes have been on the market between 14 days to almost a year. The asking price per square foot runs from $61 to $286.

If you do happen to end up buying in this area, you wont be disappointed with the birds, trees, and wild life that surrounds the area.

Recent Sales

Six homes have recently been sold and are waiting to close. The land measure is between  .33 to 1.07 acre. The buildings are between 1411 to 4028 square foot, and they had been on the market from 52 to 406 days before they went under contract. Their asking  prices ranged from $236,000 to $645,000, with price per square foot being $94 to $137 . We wont know the sale price until they are closed. Most closings happen with 30 days of the contract date.

There were 8 sales in this area since June of this year. The lot sizes ranged from .4 to 1.73 acres. Their square foot (heated and cooled) ranted from 1953 to 3856. The years built were 1977 to 2004. They closed at $236,000 to $645,000, being on the market 52 to 406 days. And their price per square foot ranged from $94 to $406. Depending on the subdivision along this road, you can have more modest smaller homes and lots, to acres with large estates. You pick!