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The Real Estate Outline

Here is a list of what happens as you proceed through buying and selling real estate, so that you know what to expect.

143 Alachua County & Gainesville real estate listings had price reductions in the MLS system last week, down from 174 the prior week.  (Changes for 7/12/09 – 7/18/09)

Biggest Drops

25 biggest price changes in Alachua real estate

The homes for sale that made this week’s list range from a breath-taking Barry Bullard Parade home in Wilds Plantation (now asking $799,000) to a condo in Rockwood Villas (asking $130,000)

The largest price reduction is for MLS 302866, a 60 acre property near LaCross.  After dropping their asking price by $176,000 they are now asking $699,000 for 60 acres with three buildings on the property.  That puts the asking price for the land between $11,000 and $8,000 depending on the value you attach to the improvements.

Under $200,000

7 homes for sale under $200,000 made the list this week.  1 of them is a short-sale in High Springs, 2 more are short sales in Gainesville, and 1 is the condo mentioned above.  Excluding the condo they average over 2,200 sqft with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, built in 1979.

Under $400,000

11 homes are asking between $200,000 and $400,000.  All but two of these listings are in the City of Gainesville.  Overall they average 3 bedrooms,  baths, and one half bath in over 2,700 square feet of living space.

Under $600,000

4 bedroom plus office, on 10 acres - Oak Ridge Crossing

3 homes are asking between $400,000 and $600,000.  Two of them are in Gainesville and one is between Alachua & Gainesville.

The home for sale in Oak Ridge Crossing is actually one of our own listings, so I wanted to give it special mention here.  The owners just authorized a $30,000 price drop (down to $485,000)  so it is worth a fresh look.  The home is concrete block and was built in 2006.  There are 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths, in addition there is a large office, formal dining room, and large garage.  The home is on 10 acres, which is mostly cleared and they have 3 horses on it at the moment – so it has many of the features that make life with horses easier (like water run out to the pasture).

Over $600,000

4 homes on the list are asking more than $600,000.   One is near LaCross and is mentioned above.   The others are luxury homes in Gainesville.  They are all extravagant homes – averaging 4 bedrooms and 4 baths with more than 4,000 square feet to stretch out in.  They each have their own special feature, such as golf course views.

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Overview

Our MLS system won’t keep the link above alive forever, so here is an overview of the properties:

MLS #    Street Address    City    SqFt    Price Reduction
303836    911 SW 57 TERR    Gainesville    1,370 $130,000 $(22,000)
305503    20688 NW NW 252 ST    High Springs    2,115 $150,000 $(40,000)
301483    3707 NW 66th PL    Gainesville    2,394 $185,000 $(34,000)
304899    1603 SW 56th PL    Gainesville    2,400 $185,000 $(27,000)
304638    1603 SW 56th PL    Gainesville    2,400 $185,000 $(27,000)
300674    4014 NW 14 ST    Gainesville    2,359 $199,900 $(30,100)
305656    4730 NW 25 DR    Gainesville    2,063 $199,900 $(24,600)
303581    3805 SW 4 PL    Gainesville    2,651 $229,000 $(20,900)
302682    100 SW 79th DR    Gainesville    2,361 $245,000 $(33,000)
302020    9418 SW 39th AVE    Gainesville    2,132 $264,900 $(34,100)
301222    20536 NW 20th TERR    Lacrosse    2,497 $275,000 $(25,000)
305308    511 NW 80 BLVD    Gainesville    2,703 $275,000 $(24,000)
301740    8915 SW 92nd LN    Gainesville    2,751 $299,000 $(40,900)
305576    3063 SW 98 DR    Gainesville    2,274 $299,900 $(39,100)
299766    14426 NW 83rd LN    Alachua    2,304 $299,900 $(25,100)
299673    8429 SW 8th PL    Gainesville    2,000 $299,999 $(29,001)
296204    13710 NW 56th AVE    Gainesville    5,630 $395,000 $(25,000)
299820    1414 SW 115th ST    Gainesville    2,900 $399,999 $(39,901)
304910    14258 NW 31st AVE    Gainesville    2,745 $409,000 $(28,500)
305491    2778 SW 92 DR    Gainesville    2,723 $429,900 $(29,100)
305233    12689 NW 150th TERR    Alachua    2,585 $485,000 $(30,000)
302886    2912 NW 142nd AVE    Lacrosse    1,488 $699,000 $(176,000)
304433    6125 SW 35th WAY    Gainesville    4,430 $685,000 $(64,000)
299115    8606 SW 40th AVE    Gainesville    4,022 $749,000 $(46,000)
301682    3774 SW 103 ST    Gainesville    3,687 $799,000 $(36,000)

We all know that there is usually a good and a bad way to present anything.

Professor Paul Anglin recently published a study about the affect the words used to market a home have on the market time and sale price. The study points out that some of our assumptions are wrong… the words you thought would help you sell your home are actually costing you time on the market, or worse – $money$ in your pocket.

In essence, the study found that buyers are smart enough to know that when you tell them about ‘new paint’ in a home it’s because there’s nothing better to talk about.  Things like an attractive yard have meaning to buyers, while the fact that fancy screws were used to build it do not.

“The dogs only bark in the afternoon”

Bringing up that your area is quiet seems to make people wonder about noise – as counter-intuitive as that seems.  Telling buyers you are motivated makes them steer clear and added 30% to the time a home was on the market.

Ultimately this info has to be customized to your local market, and what buyers are responding to there.

There is no magic that will make an overpriced home sell, but using the right advertising in conjunction with a good asking price should get you great results!  The report is for an area in Ontario, Canada – with info pulled from the MLS in addition to other data sources.  Many of the concepts apply to a larger group of sellers, but some of the details are going to be useful only to people local in that area.

Here is a link to more information:

Professor Anglin was kind enough to send me the Full Report.
Click here if you’d like to read it

An article from the University of Guelph:
http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/06-05-17/featuresrealestate.shtml

Professor Anglin’s faculty page:
http://www.uoguelph.ca/consumerstudies/anglin.html

If you commit to using one of our agents by the end of May 2009 we will give you a rebate of $500 at closing for any sales you complete using us in 2009. To qualify mention this ad when you sign an agency agreement with an agent from Seide Realty by 5/30/2009, then buy or sell real estate through us by 12/31/09.

At closing Seide Realty will give you a $500 credit from our commission. Because of government regulations the credit will show up as a $500 credit for you on the closing statement, and will be included in the closing statement totals for the sale/purchase of the property.

Rebate cannot exceed 50% of commission earned.

Here you are out in the country, enjoying the sunshine and your quiet, peaceful existence. If, however, you are planning on selling, refinancing, or getting an equity line of credit you may want an updated idea of what the real estate market is actually doing right now.

Homes for Sale Now

Click to see all homes listed

There are 2 homes on the market – both of them have been available for a while now.

Click on the photo to see details of the homes, photos, and descriptions.

Sales History

This is a small neighborhood that people enjoy living in, so it isn’t surprising that there are never more than a handful of homes that are available for sale each year.

The number of sales peaked in 2006 at a total of 7 homes, and dropped to only 2 in 2007.  During that time the average sale price dropped from $483,000 to $412,500 – but the homes that sold were smaller and the per square foot actually increased from $186/sqft to $222/sqft. Four other homes were on the market but didn’t sell in 2007, they cost more but were larger so actually averaged less per sqft ($202/sqft).  It seems that the buyers’ uncertainty about the market caused them to buy smaller, more affordable homes at the time.

In 2008 four homes sold.  The larger homes in the neighborhood became more affordable as asking prices were reduced during the year, and people’s preference for size dominated their decisions. The average price dropped to $329,750 and while the price per square foot also dropped to $142/sqft.  These homes were on the maket 287 days – 354 days when adjusted for prior unsuccessful sales attempts.  One home came off the market (unsold) and as yet has not been relisted.  Interestingly, the original asking prices averaged $402,000 – meaning that the asking price dropped by $55,000 before these homes ever went under contract (they were listed apx 22% over market value).

There has already been one sale this year.  It’s a 2,400 sqft three bedroom two bath home.  It sold for $320,000 – bringing the average price per sq ft to $132.

Sales Statistics – click for a larger view

What does it mean?

Demand for homes in the county dropped as the general real estate market fell and it dropped further as gas prices increased.  Like most of Alachua County, homes are selling again close to their 2005 values.   If you need to value your property for a re-finance or insurance don’t be surprised if you see a drop from the peak estimates in 2006.

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