The Early Bird Gets The Worm - Orlando On Sale!

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM…IN ORLANDO DISTRESSED SALES
The Orlando area’s huge backlog of existing homes for sale shrank to a 26-month low last month as local Realtors sold 48 percent more houses and condominiums than they did a year ago.The year-over-year improvement in re-sales, which extends back seven consecutive months to last September, was given a boost again in March by foreclosure-driven bargain prices.

March sales of homes and condominiums in the core Orlando market rose to 1,653 this year from 1,120 a year ago, even as the median price fell nearly 38 percent to $137,000 from $220,000 in March 2008.For the first time, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association examined “distress sales” in detail and found that 49 percent of the homes sold by its members last month were either owned by banks already or had been sold under financial pressure of some kind.The report released Monday also revealed a wide disparity in market prices because of the large number of foreclosed properties:
• Bank-owned homes – those already through foreclosure – sold for a median price of $95,000.
• Homes for which lenders had agreed to take less than the amount owed on the mortgage – known as pre-foreclosure or “short” sales – sold for a median of $143,500.
• Homes marketed by owners not under financial duress sold for a median of $174,995.There are a growing number of local and International house hunters trying to snap up properties for deep discounts of 50 percent or more – sometimes, substantially more.

It goes without saying that if you are in the market to purchase a home that is in distress, the best deals are snatched up many times before you can get to the home to view. As an example, I had requested to show one of my buyers a bank owned home in the Egrets Landing subdivision in Lake Mary 2 days ago. Yesterday (the day we had scheduled the showing), the home went pending, and according to the listing agent, the bank was NOT accepting back up offers!
If you have any interest in buying a distressed property…just remember, “the early bird gets the worm”!