Real talk on the Marco Island market

Are you looking to buy a new home? Are you thinking that now’s a great time to find bargains?

A qualified real estate professional will be able to show you the best values in homes whether they are distressed or not, help negotiate the purchase when you find the property you want to buy, and smooth communications with the lender.

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If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property — and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing — the sale is considered a short sale or in other words a distressed sale.

A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller’s lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. But a short sale holds many potential pitfalls for buyers. Know the risks before you pursue a short-sale purchase.

On Marco Island in May 2009 there were 1,380 active residential listings for sale according to the Marco Multi List. Of those listings, 92 percent are homes that are considered typical real estate transactions.

Mike Boland, Keller Williams Realty Marco, says he finds, “in many cases short sales and foreclosures are not ultimately the best deal based on the condition of the property but should always be a consideration.”

One of the common misconceptions of distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) is that buyers are going to purchase properties at 30, 40, and 50 percent or greater off of asking price and are the best values to buy.

Boland provided the following information. According to the Marco Island Multi Listing Service from Jan. 1 to May 28, statistics concerning single family homes show that 109 homes closed, which breaks down as follows, 9 percent or 10 units were short sales, 14 percent or 15 units were foreclosures and 77 percent or 84 units were traditional sales. Of the sold properties this year, traditional sales sold at an average of 13 percent off asking price, foreclosures at 10 percent off and short sales at 8 percent off. In four distressed sales the purchase price was above the asking price.

In conclusion, there are fantastic real estate deals on Marco Island and it is common for buyers to purchase property for significantly less than the market values of 2004-2006.

Courtesy of the Naples Daily News