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Buyer Beware – Homeowner Beware – Deed Retrieval Service Mislead Many Homeowners
July 13, 2010 by Petra Norris · Leave a Comment
Lakeland FL Real Estate Update for June 01 – June 15, 2010
July 13, 2010 by Petra Norris · Leave a Comment
Real Estate News Alert – Homebuyer Tax Credit and National Flood Insurance
July 1, 2010 by Petra Norris · Leave a Comment
It has all come down to the wire! Congress voted to extend homebuyers tax credit and national flood insurance.
Homebuyer Tax Credit Bill HR 5623 – The closing date of the previous stated closing deadline by June 30, 2010 has been extended through September 30, 2010. This extension will help homebuyers who signed purchase contracts before April 30, 2010 and are waiting for the property owner’s lender for approval. According to the National Association of Realtors, it will benefit more than 14, 000 contracts in Florida.
Active Duty Military members exception - military families and active-duty servicemembers currently living overseas, deadline is April 30, 2011.
National Flood Insurance Program - Congress extended the bill HR5569 a short-term program retroactive to May 31,2010 until September 30, 2010.
Overall Polk County Existing Home Sales for May 2010
June 30, 2010 by Petra Norris · Leave a Comment
Polk County’s overall existing home sales continued to improve somewhat in May. However, prices continue to drift downwards blaming it still widely on discounted distressed sales throughout the county from the previous year and the years prior.
A look back in history:
· May 2006 – median price $188,000 (-%50.93)
· May 2007 – median price $184,250 (-%49.93)
· May 2008 – median price $150,000 (-%38.50)
· May 2009 – median price $101,000 (-8.66%)
The graph picture below represents the overall Polk County Real Estate market with average sold prices and the number of sold homes.

777 existing homes sold – a decrease of 5.13% from the previous month (819 sold homes) in Polk County and an increase in sales activity by 35.84% of overall existing homes sold from the previous year of 572.
A slight increase by 1.37% in overall Polk’s median price for existing homes from the previous month to $92,250, the median home price from the previous year is showing a decline by 8.66%.
Take a look at the city you live in and see what the numbers are for May 2010 for existing home sales – single-family homes, condominiums, manufactured homes, duplex, villas, and townhomes -including distressed properties in Polk County. Please take note only sales recorded by Realtors® are taken into account. The source for this data is Mid-Florida Regional MLS Service; it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
City Average Sold Price Median Sold Price # of Homes Sold
|
AUBURNDALE |
79,985 |
72,000 |
27 |
|
BABSON PARK |
126,335 |
79,900 |
5 |
|
BARTOW |
78,507 |
56,875 |
26 |
|
CLERMONT |
50,050 |
48,000 |
4 |
|
DAVENPORT |
117,519 |
110,000 |
153 |
|
DUNDEE |
60,220 |
71,200 |
5 |
|
EAGLE LAKE |
86,850 |
75,000 |
4 |
|
FORT MEADE |
69,450 |
69,450 |
2 |
|
FROSTPROOF |
67,333 |
40,000 |
3 |
|
HAINES CITY |
91,256 |
94,000 |
47 |
|
HOMELAND |
120,000 |
120,000 |
1 |
|
INDIAN LAKE ESTATES |
105,250 |
105,250 |
2 |
|
KATHLEEN |
135,000 |
135,000 |
1 |
|
KISSIMMEE |
90,360 |
76,900 |
20 |
|
LAKE ALFRED |
96,333 |
65,750 |
6 |
|
LAKE WALES |
85,155 |
65,000 |
29 |
|
LAKELAND |
121,525 |
106,500 |
220 |
|
LOUGHMAN |
26,000 |
26,000 |
1 |
|
MULBERRY |
121,579 |
128,388 |
20 |
|
POINCIANA |
90,349 |
70,500 |
85 |
|
POLK CITY |
112,216 |
65,556 |
10 |
|
WINTER HAVEN |
107,749 |
97,000 |
106 |
Let me break down May 2010 Polk County existing homes sales into various categories:
· 700 Single family homes, townhomes, villas and ½ duplex – median sold price $112,337 – 142 Average Days to Closing
· 31 Condominiums – median sold price – $59,935 – 155 Average Days on Closing
· 46 Modular, manufactured/mobile homes in park/out of park – median sold price $55,097 – 166 Average Days on Closing
Let’s take a look at the distressed Polk County real estate market!
There were 289 existing Polk County homes sold, not categorized as distressed properties, at a median sold price of $120,000 with 174 average days to closing, which counted for almost 37% of our total sales. The distressed properties however; which includes Bank owned, pre-foreclosure, in foreclosure and short sales counted for 63% of our total sales in Polk County for the month of May.
· 377 sold homes were Bank Owned – median price $77,500 – Average Days to Closing 85
· 111 sold homes were Short Sales – median price $90,000 – Average Days to Closing 270
Lakeland FL Short Sale and Foreclosure Housing Report – May 2010
June 21, 2010 by Petra Norris · 1 Comment
Lakeland Florida Short Sale and Foreclosure Market Report – May 2010
For the month of May, Lakeland real estate market of short sales and bank-owned (REO) properties had a market share of 57%. There were a total of 127 properties sold in May, compared to 148 in April and 61 distressed Lakeland homes sold the year prior, according to Mid-Florida Regional MLS.
Currently there are a total of 1,940 Lakeland homes for sale and 514 Lakeland homes under contract (06/21/2010). By calculating total inventory, homes that are under contract which are included in my inventory share because these properties have not closed in which a buyer could walk away at any given time.
• Bank owned properties – Inventory share is 14.10%
• Short sale properties – Inventory share is 26.20%
The Graph below compares sold homes in all categories – Traditional Sales (None Distressed), Bank Owned Properties (REO) and Lakeland Short Sales

• Average days to Closing for bank-owned properties are 87 days
• Average days to Closing for other distressed properties are 307 days.
29 Short Sale Sold – average sold price $124,514 – median sold price $120,000 98 Bank-owned (REO) sold – average sold price $93,310 – median sold price $82,700

Looking for a great deal on Lakeland Short Sales and Lakeland foreclosures, feel free to contact me at petra@petranorris.com or click the search button below.



