We're in for the long haul

If I've got this right, here are a couple of real estate updates.

Some lenders are in trouble due to the declining market. No surprise there, others are doing OK.

And yes our local lenders in Manatee and Sarasota counties are still providing home loans.

As for Manatee and Sarasota a recent market reports indicates a continuing decline in inventory and a good amount of sold and pending.

The market here continues to look like it is stabilizing. We're in around 15 to 17 months of inventory for single family homes. Last year at some points we were more than 30 months of inventory.

It is still a buyer's market, albeit maybe not as strong.

There are still a large number of foreclosures and short sales on the market locally.

The good news there is encouraging signs that short sales (short sales or pre-foreclosures are where the seller is trying to sell the home for less than they owe the lender) in some cases are starting to take less time.

Some lenders were taking three months or more just to respond to a short sale offer and in some cases that is still true. On the other hand a couple of lenders are getting their act together and putting the deals together in 45 days or less.

The reality appears that short sales are not going away anytime soon so lenders need to get the system down pat in order keep buyers from avoiding short sales or withdrawing offers due to lengthy waiting periods.

The best thing to do is before you make an offer on a short sale is to get your real estate agent to find out what time period the lender is typically taking to respond.

Overall the market looks like it is finding a balance. The crazy free for all price dropping, short sale and foreclosure frenzy, lenders not able to keep up, well it seems we're settling in to this market.

It may be another six months or more before we start seeing any increase in pricing in our market. Heck it might be more than a year.

Still if you are in it for the long haul, local real estate should be a sound investment.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com