What happens to Our Ozona, FL Real Estate Values if our Neighbors Do a Short Sale?

Q:  What will the sale of our neighbors home do to our value?  Two houses in our Palm Harbor neighborhood sold under market value as short sales.  What does that do to the market value?  Both of the houses needed substantial upgrading.  We have upgraded our home from top to bottom.  Will our efforts at improvement be to no avail?  Pat.

A:  Pat, I regret to say that these neighboring Palm Harbor home sales will affect your value, but perhaps not as much as you’re concerned about. Pinellas short sales and foreclosures everywhere are a major piece of the puzzle that are driving prices down. A whopping 38% of Pinellas County homes for sale are currently short sales – a growing trend that’s expected to continue full steam ahead through all of 2009 and beyond – and many buyers love them.

Buyers now “want a deal” and are scared about overpaying in a declining market. Even if there weren’t short sales in your neighborhood, rest assured that Pinellas home buyers will even use Clearwater short sales or Dunedin short sales or REO properties to justify lower prices in your neighborhood. It’s a rare (buyer) bird in this market that’s not interested in short sales, and those are most often buyers that are under tight time constraints to move into a new home (as short sales can about 75 to 150 days to close).

All buyers will compare your home to the properties that sold next door to some extent – and will use that to justify a lower price – yet your experienced agent and the buyer’s agent should be experts at pointing out the differences between your beautifully upgraded home and those distressed homes to help keep them in check with reality. Your agent should also be pointing out that now is the time for buyers to purchase your home because interest rates are rising and are projected to increase a lot more after the November election.

However, here’s the really good news about your situation: The fact that you put significant upgrades into your home is going to be your saving grace should you decide to sell !! Homes that are fully upgraded, appear fresh and new, are priced right and are marketed to their full potential are selling like hotcakes! There are those buyers that either don’t have the cash to perform upgrades or don’t want the hassle. And they want homes just like yours. 

As an extra added bonus, we have seen the demand for Palm Harbor increase over other areas due to the recent elimination of school choice, so you’ve got that in your favor, too.

You CAN sell your home now at a very fair price, and certainly for more than those neighboring short sales. If you are thinking of selling, and aren’t prepared to wait at least 3 to 5 or more years to move on, then time is of the essence. The reality is that tomorrow your home will be worth less than it is today – so if you’re thinking of selling in the near future, my best advice is HURRY!

See ‘How to Sell Your Home Now’ or give us a call at (727)366-0324 and we can chat about your situation.

Or ….. enjoy your home, relax and forget about the negative media. Over time, real estate remains the single best investment most people ever make.

In life and real estate, everything’s possible!