Lakeland real estate sales activity decreased for August, there were 166 homes sold down 12% from the previous month of 188. While prices are also lagging behind the numbers from last year, home sales increased by 27% from August 2008 in Lakeland, Florida.
While the median prices held steady for August at $130,000 for homes sold in Lakeland when compared to the previous month. Average sold prices decreased to $136,324 ($73.75 per sq.ft.) or 8% from the previous month and 13% from the previous year, respectively for Lakeland Real Estate.
Average Lakeland Sold price for August 2008 – $155,918– decrease of 13%
Median Lakeland sold price for August 2008 – $140,000 – decrease of 7%
Based on recent sales history for the Lakeland Real Estate market, it shows here in this spreadsheet below where the most activity takes place and what types of homes are selling.
Distressed properties in Lakeland, Florida
For the month of August, distressed homes and bank-owned (REO) properties had a market share of 45% in the Lakeland Real Estate market. There were a total of 74 properties sold in August compared to 18 distressed Lakeland homes sold the year prior, according to Mid-Florida Regional MLS.
30 Distressed Homes Sold – average sold price $124,753 – $65.41 per sq.ft.
44 Bank-owned (REO) sold – average sold price $96,624 – $54.32 per sq.ft.
Take a look at my spreadsheet below. I’ve separated the report by zip code instead of school zones; it gives you a more accurate report in my opinion. The data and graphs for this report were obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner”. The numbers highlighted in pink represents the zip codes where average sold prices have exceeded.
Which zip codes represents the most sales activities since January 2009?
| Zip Codes | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Grand Total |
| 33801 |
20 |
12 |
15 |
21 |
13 |
16 |
17 |
12 |
126 |
| 33803 |
11 |
10 |
16 |
18 |
16 |
19 |
26 |
19 |
135 |
| 33805 |
12 |
11 |
12 |
9 |
5 |
10 |
14 |
14 |
87 |
| 33809 |
13 |
12 |
16 |
11 |
18 |
17 |
16 |
17 |
120 |
| 33810 |
25 |
31 |
34 |
31 |
46 |
37 |
40 |
33 |
277 |
| 33811 |
10 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
18 |
22 |
20 |
15 |
136 |
| 33812 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
13 |
7 |
9 |
16 |
15 |
83 |
| 33813 |
9 |
25 |
27 |
28 |
26 |
33 |
35 |
38 |
221 |
| 33815 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
40 |
| Grand Total |
115 |
125 |
152 |
154 |
156 |
169 |
188 |
166 |
1225 |
For more information on the location of these sold homes in Lakeland, price and size of the home click on map picture which leads you to the interactive Community Walk map created by Chuck Welch of Lakeland Local.
If you are interested in a specific area or neighborhood, feel free to contact me at petra@petranorris.com or click the search button below.
I’m going on record here with the statement that I believe Lakeland real estate prices will go up this fall. I say this based on trends I’ve been following of late – not the least of which were this past Tuesday’s housing numbers – which blew away economists expectations.
Per the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home Sales Index posted its 6th consecutive monthly gain for July. This is landmark stuff, folks. In fact, looking back from this past January, the Pending Home Sales Index is now at its highest levels in more than 2 years.
Pending Home Sales – Defined
Lakeland real estate deals that are classified as “pending home sales” are homes that are under contract to sell, but have not yet closed. Though these homes have not actually sold, tracking them does allow us to see that nearly 80% of homes under contract close within 2 months - with many more closing in months 3 and 4.
Lakeland home buyers — take note. When the Pending Home Sales Index rises, it means that market activity has picked up. This can lead to any one, or a combination, of the following:
- Multiple home offers and/or bidding scenarios
- Loss of the “buyer” advantage
- Increased home sales prices with fewer seller concessions – for example, sellers will be less apt to pitch in to cover closing costs
So, consider this your Lakeland Home Buyer Pricing Alert. If you’re considering a home purchase within the next several months, expect the recent uptick in Pending Home Sales to lead to an uptick in closed sales, too. This, I believe, will lead to higher home prices as well. We’re already seeing it – per Case-Shiller – as prices are on the upswing.
Bi-weekly update for the Lakeland real estate market! Currently, there are 1933 homes for sale throughout Lakeland – as of 09/10/09. The homes newly listed for sale decreased from two weeks ago to 127 homes in Lakeland with an average sales price of $160,907 or $84.66 per square foot with area Realtors®.
The types of homes and average prices just listed in Lakeland, Florida according to the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are as follows:
1 duplex unit listed for $41,085
6 condos listed with an average sales price of $105,075
17 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $84,979
3 Townhomes/Villas listed with an average sales price of $110,466
100 single family homes with an average price of $179,876
The priciest home that came newly on the market here in Lakeland, Florida is a 1986 completely renovated lake front pool home overlooking Lake Gibson located in the Wedgewood Lake Estates subdivision; featuring 3 bedrooms and 2 baths with over 4,800 square feet of living space currently offered for $985,000. On the contrary, the cheapest Lakeland real estate newly listed is a 2 bedroom 1 bath bank-owned property listed for only $20,900 – just over $22.00 per square foot – located in Weswego subdivision.
All data for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner”.
Take a look at the breakdown by zip code:
33801 – 13 with an average sales price of $98,469
33803 – 11 with an average sales price of $167,422
33805 – 09 with an average sales price of $129,622
33809 – 20 with an average sales price of $226,344
33810 – 32 with an average sales price of $124,281
33811 – 11 with an average sales price of $144,281
33812 – 08with an average sales price of $211,843
33813 – 19 with an average sales price of $217,594
33815 – 04 with an average sales price of $54,243
Bi-weekly update on distressed properties in Lakeland
A total of 468 properties are currently actively being marketed that are facing foreclosure. There were 48 Lakeland homes newly listed in the distressed category with average prices of $108,463 or $64.94 per square foot. Distressed homes are categorized as “Bank-Owned”, “Require 3rd party approval (Short Sale)”, “Pre-foreclosure”, and “In-Foreclosure”.
For more information on the location of the properties newly listed in Lakeland, pricing and size of the homes click on map picture which leads you to the interactive Community Walk map created by Chuck Welch of Lakeland Local.
Would you like to do your own search for properties? Look no further, click on the “Search for Homes” icon or contact me directly at (863) 619-6918.
First of all, I am not an attorney and therefore this blog is for your information only. If you are facing foreclosure for your Lakeland real estate, beware that foreclosure scam artists preying on you. It is important that you seek an attorney, who specializes in foreclosure.
What is Foreclosure?
Foreclosure is an action by the lender to take back your property. If you have been served with a foreclosure complaint, in the State of Florida you and/or your attorney have 20 days to respond to this notice. It is critical that you hire an attorney, who specializes in foreclosure. You still have the right to fight foreclosure, however hiring an attorney is essential. There are steps you can take when you cannot make or have already fallen behind on your mortgage payments.
- Contact your lender immediately
- Work out a prepayment plan with your lender
- Modify your current mortgage by extending the length of your loan
- Piggy back past due amounts
- Short Sale is also an option
Another option would be Forbearance. Your lender may allow you to delay payments for a short period of time, with the understanding that another option will be used afterwards to bring the account current.
Did you know that your foreclosure notices (Lis Pendens) are public record?
This is the most vulnerable time of your life and scam artists just waiting for you to fall for it with all kinds of tricks up their sleeves:
Lease-Back or Repurchase Scams – they simply try to convince you that they will continue paying your mortgage and renting the home back to you by signing the deed over to them. You could be out of your home and still be held responsible for your mortgage. Don’t be fooled!
Bait and Switch – posing as mortgage brokers or lenders offering to refinance your loan with affordable rates and payments by con you into signing over home ownership instead of refinance documents. Don’t be fooled!
Phantom Help – charges you high fees upfront for work you as a homeowner could do yourself. Don’t be fooled!
Foreclosure Prevention Specialist – phony counselors, if it is too good to be true turn the other way. Don’t be fooled!
Don’t sign any documents, such as your deed to your home. The Federal Trade Commission’s web site has some valuable information regarding avoiding foreclosure as well as info for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help you spot, stop, and avoid them.
Since October 1, 2008 the Florida Foreclosure Fraud protecting homeowners is in effect.
In 2008, the foreclosure rate increased by 133% from 2007, an estimated 385,000 Florida homes facing foreclosures in the state of Florida. Unfortunately, this is heaven 
for scam artists and criminals a niche market by defrauding homeowners making false promises to save homeowners from foreclosure.
Foreclosure rescue consultants and/or equity buyers are prohibited from starting services without first executing a written agreement with you, the homeowner, and charging upfront fees before completing or performing all services as agreed. There are further protections with regard to cancellation of such agreement, and other prohibited acts of offering or providing foreclosure related services you should read in this bill.
Lakeland FL voters go to the poll November 1st and vote for a new major.
Three mayor candidates came together to kick off Lakeland Florida mayoral race recently discussing issues related to downtown Lakeland and homeless, as well as taking questions from the forum of about 100 Lakeland citizens. Businessman Elliot Dorsch, Commissioner Jim Verplanck and Commissioner Gow Fields all agreed on the problems with downtown Lakeland; however all have different views on resolving or improving these issues.
Candidates answer questions raised by Lakeland citizens
Lakeland citizens had questions and concerns of their own. Discussions relating to downtown Lakeland and homelessness were very interesting and broad. The last part of this session were questions raised by Lakeland residents on the following very interesting topics:
- Leadership
- Downtown Parking
- Lakeland Linder Airport
- Building Height Restriction for Downtown Lakeland
- New Lakeland brand outsourcing to an outside company
- Lakeland service to its citizens, i.e. utilities, solid wastes, public works, parks and recreation
- Arts and cultural affairs, i.e. red light cameras
- Revitalizing other areas in Lakeland
- Lakeland citizens support survey
The next mayor we vote has a big shoe to fill – this 73 minute video brought by The Ledger is well worth the time for you starting to form your best choice. Check out this video – comments are welcome!
Regular readers of this Lakeland real estate blog may recall reports last month that showed Consumer Sentiment numbers falling to 4-month lows in August. Though this decrease was not great news on the face of things, the drop wasn’t nearly as large as economists expected. So, as it was, Wall Street was happy to see it.
However, since hitting rock bottom about 5 months ago, Consumer Sentiment has increased by more than 10 points.
Why We Care About Consumer Sentiment Numbers
Put simply, the Consumer Sentiment index is the most important financial sector number we can track. If Lakeland, Florida consumers are spending, the local economy gets a bump and things begin to brighten up. However, if local shoppers begin to save more than they spend, local businesses see the brunt of that, too.
Call out all the other stats you like, but Consumer Sentiment numbers are – quite frankly – where the rubber meets the road.
The Consumer Sentiment Index for the Nation is a jointly published report put out by the University of Michigan and Reuters. In short, it measures how Americans feel about their situation today, and how they envision it six months in the future.
Rising Consumer Sentiment figures serve as a sign of economic growth, mainly because confident consumers are more likely to spend money on big-ticket items including appliances, automobiles, and, of course, new Lakeland homes.
Recent Consumer Sentiment data reports provide one more reason to believe a full economic recovery is underway.
This said, the National Consumer Sentiment survey is by no means a perfect crystal ball. There are a few reasons for this.
First, the survey’s sample set includes only 500 households nationwide – far from representing a true cross-section of America. Second, just because people feel more confident about their finances doesn’t always mean they’ll spend more money — sometimes, they choose to save.
For the present, stronger-than-expected Consumer Sentiment data should provide a boost to both Lakeland retail sales and Lakeland home sales volume through the fall season, and may even create some inflationary pressure on the economy.
Should present Consumer Confidence levels remain constant over the next month or so – Lakeland mortgage rates will surely rise. So, do keep this in mind if you’re looking to refinance or buy a Lakeland, Florida home anytime soon.
