Gainesville FL Real Estate Blog

A recent survey by Houselogic.com, the consumer website from the National Association of Realtors®, finds that jobs and the housing market will be two of the most important issues for voters in the 2012 election. Nearly one-third of respondents said housing will be the top issue on their mind when they head to the polls next November.

Respondents were asked “What issue area will have the greatest impact on your vote in 2012?” National security, healthcare, and energy/environment trailed housing and unemployment by wide margins:

• Jobs/unemployment – 54 percent
• Housing – 27 percent
• National security – 8 percent
• Healthcare – 4 percent
• Energy/Environment – 2 percent
• Other – 4 percent

With unemployment still high, it is easy to see why so many Americans are concerned about the job market. However, employment and the housing market are inextricably linked because economic growth and job creation cannot occur without a housing recovery.

Now take a look at how the Gainesville FL real estate market performed in November.

The Gainesville FL area single family home sales saw pending sales increase by 11% when compared with October 2010 numbers.  Sold listings decreased by 7%, while new listings decrease by 5%.  The average sales price decreased by 7% to $170,926, while market times decreased by 1 days or 1%.

The Gainesville FL area Condo/Townhome market saw sold listings increase by 11% in October 2011 when compared to October 2010.  Pending sales increased by 12%, while new listings decreased by 3%.  The average sales price decreased by 12% to $69,483 when compared to October 2010, while the average market times increased by 114 days or 38%. 

Search all Gainesville FL real estate and Gainesville FL homes for sale.

Linda Luetjen assists buyers looking for Gainesville FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Gainesville FL homes for sale.

She understands the purchase of any Gainesville FL home represents not only one of the largest and most significant investment a person can make, but also a decision that affects the entire life of a family. It should be handled with all the care and attention such a significant transaction deserves. You may rest assured that Linda never forgets this. Her reputation depends on your satisfaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Gainesville FL home, please call Linda toll free at 888-424-8841 or via email with our convenient contact form.

A buyer purchasing a typical American home at the prevailing average mortgage rate today would have a mortgage payment of  $698 a month. This figure is not much different from what a home buyer would have faced 30 years ago. In 1981, home prices were much lower but mortgage rates were reaching 18 percent. Today, home prices have come down by about 33 percent on average from the bubble years, but prices still remain comfortably higher than those of the 1980s. However, thanks to record low mortgage rates, the monthly payment obligations have been greatly reduced. This should be good news and bring new buyers into the market. However, very tight underwriting standards, unfortunately, are keeping some good, hard-working Americans from taking advantage of the super affordable conditions.

Now take a look at how the Gainesville FL real estate market performed in September.

The Gainesville FL area single family home sales saw pending sales decreased by 12% when compared with September 2010 numbers.  Sold listings increased by 2%, while new listings decrease by 23%.  The average sales price decreased by 1% to $166,503, while market times decreased by 3 days or 2%.

The Gainesville FL area Condo/Townhome market saw sold listings increase by 50% in September 2011 when compared to September 2010.  Pending sales increased by 9%, while new listings decreased by 27%.  The average sales price decreased by 7% to $76,273 when compared to September 2010, while the average market times increased by 76 days or 41%. 

For the latest Gainesville FL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 888-424-8841 or visit MyGatorCondo.com.

Search all Gainesville FL real estate and Gainesville FL homes for sale.

Linda Luetjen assists buyers looking for Gainesville FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Gainesville FL homes for sale.

She understands the purchase of any Gainesville FL home represents not only one of the largest and most significant investment a person can make, but also a decision that affects the entire life of a family. It should be handled with all the care and attention such a significant transaction deserves. You may rest assured that Linda never forgets this. Her reputation depends on your satisfaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Gainesville FL home, please call Linda toll free at 888-424-8841 or via email with our convenient contact form.

Shadow inventory is the number of foreclosed properties currently owned by banks (or will be owned in the future) that are sitting empty and are not currently for sale. 

Many analysts use the “tip of the iceberg” analogy to describe the ’shadow inventory’ situation, feeling that a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans sits just below the surface. Some believe that the number of potential homes for sale greatly exceeds the number currently on the market. No significant appreciation of Florida real estate and home prices will take place until the shadow inventory that exist works its way through the real estate market.

The map below shows the number of months it would take to clear the shadow inventory by state. The months’ supply is estimated by dividing the shadow inventory and the monthly number of distressed sales. As you can see, Florida has 29 months of shadow inventory to contend with. 

Now take a look at how the Gainesville FL real estate market performed in March.

Let’s take a look at the number of new homeowners who will be able to take advantage of real estate tax deductions and credits.

The Gainesville FL area single family home sales saw sold listings remained constant with March 2010 in March 2011.  Pending sales decreased by 6%, and new listings decreased by 15%.  The average sales price decreased by 15% to $159,994, while market times increased by 11 days.

 The Gainesville FL area Condo/Townhome market saw sold listings increase by 19% in March 2011 when compared to March 2010.  Pending listings increased by 25%, and new listings decreased by 29% in March 2011.  The average sales price decreased by 12% to $87,674 when compared to March 2010, while the average market times decreased by 34 days.  

For the latest Gainesville FL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 888-424-8841 or visit MyGatorCondo.com.

Home sales rose sharply in the final three months of 2010, mostly due to more stable prices, according to a report from CNN.com. Sales jumped 15.4% in the fourth quarter to an annual rate of 4.8 million units compared with 4.16 million units during the third quarter of 2010. Prices of single-family homes stabilized, rising 0.2% compared with 12 months earlier and the national median for homes sold during the period was $170,600.

“Home sales clearly recovered in the latter part of 2010, and are helping to absorb the inventory, including many distressed properties,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors.

Let’s take a look our local real estate market for January.

Gainesville FL area single family home sales saw sold listings increase by 5% in January 2011, when compared against January 2010.  Pending sales increased by 16%, while new listings decreased by 19%.  The average sales price decreased by 14% to $162,448, while market times increased by 27 days.

The Gainesville FL area Condo/Townhome market saw sold listings increase by 33% in January 2011 when compared to January 2010.  Pending listings increased by 29%, and new listings decreased by 18% in January 2011.  The average sales price decreased by 19% to $69,121 when compared to January 2010, while the average market times increased by 9 days. 

For the latest Gainesville FL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 888-424-8841 or visit MyGatorCondo.com.

A modest gain in the level of Gainsville real estate sales is possible over the next couple months, and an improvement is forecast for the second half of this year as more buyers are able to access affordable mortgages, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors^®. 

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.3 percent to 88.2 from a reading of 83.0 in March. It’s the highest index since last October, but remains 13.1 percent lower than April 2007 when it stood at 101.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said pending sales contracts have picked up notably in areas undergoing significant price drops. “Bargain hunters have entered the market en masse, especially in areas that have experienced double-digit price declines, but it’s unclear if they are investors or owner-occupants,” he said. 

Let’s take a look at the May sales statistics to see how things are looking in the Gainsville real estate market: 

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