Interesting story in today's Orlando Sentinel. It goes into depth of one man's saga to try and buy a decent home before the $8000 tax credit runs out. After 4 months of looking, the would be buyer gave up because everything he liked either sold with multiple offers or else could not pass FHA financing standards. Now that we are in mid-October, anybody that doesn't put a house under contract immediately is going to struggle to meet the deadline if they are trying to obtain conventional or FHA financing.
The story points out that nearly all of the decent affordable Orlando homes for sale are selling with multiple offers. Even the bank owned REO houses are selling with multiple offers. The ones that don't sell fast are typically condos with exorbitant fees, homes in marginal neighborhoods, or homes with substantial repairs that make them un-financeable in their current condition. Even the short sales seem to sell fairly quickly. However because a short sale can often take 3-4 months to close, buyers that want to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit before it expires on December 1 are gun-shy of trying to make an offer.
It is an interesting saga. And it will be even more interesting to see how the Central Florida home sales are affected when the tax credit does expire.
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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.
407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com
We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available. Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.
Hi Rob, I couldn't agree with this more. I had just started writing an article on this very same thing. It is quite difficult today finding the right priced homes to meet the November 30 deadline (no short sales) and to meet FHA guidelines. The pickin's are quite slim. Great post!
The problem with the FHA loans in multiples is they really can't compete against the higher down offers. Let's see if the credit gets extended. I don't think it is a big buying motivator, I think the mortgage rates are, but it doesn't hurt.