September Sales in Navarre Lowest Since Early This Year

Only 44 detached single-family homes sold in Navarre in September, according to statistics from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, which shares data with the Navarre Area Board of Realtors.

Between 61 and 74 homes had sold in Navarre each Month since March. September marked the second straight month home sales in Navarre have been on the decline.

The average sales price in Navarre for homes sold in September was $229,011, with the median sales price being $195,897. The average days on the market for the homes that sold was 101.

Fifteen of the homes that sold in September were in Holley by the Sea. The average price per square foot in that subdivision was $114.15, the average sales price was $234,133, and the homes took an average of 157 days to sell.

Here is a link to the Holley by the Sea sales.

Dune buggy? … Santa Rosa County Imposes New Fines for Walking on Dunes

Santa Rosa County has passed a new ordinance making it illegal to walk on the dunes on Navarre Beach, or to access the beach via private lots rather than by using the designated walkover points.

The fine is $15 for the first offense, and $100 for the second offense.

Here is a link to the article in the Pensacola News Journal.

The Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is complaining the fines are too low. Quite a few posters to the PNJ attacked the county for taking on this subject at all.

I’m more than a bit surprised that people posting on the PNJ forums found the ordiance to be petty and worthless. We need to do all we can to protect the dunes, and to protect the beauty of Navarre Beach. I think the ordinance is fair. You have a lot of people who simply won’t know the first time around, and $100 for a second offense is nothing to sneeze at.

Five Tips to Getting Homes Sold in a Buyer’s Market (1 of 5)

Here’s the first of the five tips for getting homes sold in a buyer’s market, as promised.

1. Competitive Pricing.

“I absolutely have to sell my home, and I know I’m priced high, but, I’ll look at offers.”

This is one of those ideas that sounds harmless but is doing sellers in, left and right. Why? Because a home has almost no chance of selling using that approach.

Back in 2004 and 2005 (oh, no, now I’M doing it now!), if a customer were looking for a home up to $200,000, I’d sit down at the MLS and expand my search to $225,000 just to give the buyer enough options to look at. Today, when I have a buyer preapproved to $200,000 and I run a search, there are 104 homes in Navarre between $175,000 and $200,000.

What are the odds that I’d ever get to those priced at $205,000?

The buyers, and their agents, are overwhelmed with choices, and often will not expand their home searches to include those above range … and the home may rarely, if ever, get shown as a result. You need to be THE best option, or at least one of the best options, among similar homes in your subdivision and neighborhood for your home to sell in a reasonable amount of time.

If you have to sell, let the price help you, because in a declining market, the odds are your home will be worth less in the next 6 to 12 months or more. Protect your equity and price your home competitively from Day 1 (or at least today) forward.

“But I want to leave room to negotiate.”

You will need to leave SOME room to negotiate price and/or closing costs, but a smart buyer and agent will know a good buy. Leaving a 5- or 10-percent cushion on the price in hopes that someone might come along and pay it is likely to hurt any chances you have of getting the home sold.

But My Home Was Worth More in 2005!!!!!!!!!!

My real-estate trainer tells me all the time that there’s fantasyland, and then there’s reality. Then he asks me an important question … where are you going to spend your time each day in your business?

Some people are shocked when I say this, but homes are selling EVERY DAY in Navarre. Yes, even in this market.  Yes, in 2007! If you look at the numbers, more than two homes are selling every day in Navarre throughout the year so far.

The question is, is yours going to be one of them? Less than 10 percent of the single-family home inventory is selling each month. That means, 90 percent of homeowners who have their properties listed end up disappointed, discouraged, and downright ticked off. Given that there are usually more properties coming on the market than sell each month, I’ve met sellers who have been feeling that way for years! As my real-estate trainer says, some sellers have set up permanent shop in fantasyland.

There are five keys to a successful home sale in this market, and I’ll post one key per day for the next five days. Take any one of those out of the equation, and the chances of residing in the “90 percent” for a long time to come increase dramatically.

I’m shocked when I don’t hear one or both of the following statements when talking with a seller:

1. “I’m not going to give it away.”

2. But my home was worth $XXX,XXX in 2005!!!!!!

I always have to go back to the same question … do you absolutely have to sell your home? If the answer is yes, then the five steps that we’re going to discuss are vital. If the answer is no, then the seller has to realize that he or she might have to own or rent the property for years to come, and the property probably shouldn’t even be on the market in the first place. Yes, I said YEARS. That’s what the experts are predicting, and the statistics aren’t showing me anything otherwise.

I know … it hurts when money that you felt you had at one time, even if just on paper, is gone. I can appreciate that … I own property here, too! On the flip side, I’ve never once had a seller point out what her home was worth in 1998, and ask to price it accordingly. Seems that door only swings one way!

The reality is, your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay. We can look at the statistics and tell what that amount is. The professional agents know that “sweet spot.”

I know … I gave away the first key to a successful sale. More on pricing in the next post.

Fight Against Navarre Beach Taxes Continues

First, Santa Rosa County taxed the improvements on the leasehold property on Navarre Beach. In 2006, the county also levied taxes against those who own vacant land. Now, we’re getting reports from land owners that assessed valuations are jumping dramatically while the market continues to decline.

The Navarre Beach Against Illegal Taxation Committee, a committee of the Navarre Beach Residents and Leaseholders Association, has filed suit against the county property appraiser and tax collector regarding the issue. Here is the website for the full details. The window of opportunity is closed for 2006, but there is still time to join in the lawsuit for 2007.

Here is a list of the frequently asked questions regarding the issue.

What are your thoughts? Is the fight worth fighting, after the leaseholders lost the extensive court battle regarding taxing the improvements on leasehold property the first time around?

One Sale on Navarre Beach in August

Only one property sale closed on Navarre Beach in August, according to Emerald Coast Association of Realtors statistics, which includes sales through the Navarre Area Board of Realtors.

This includes single-family homes, condos, and land.

A two-bedroom condo at The Navarre Beach Regency closed for $475,000 after 152 days on the market.

Resales in Navarre Down in August

There were 61 resales of homes in Navarre in August, according to Emerald Coast Association of Realtors statistics. ECAR shares MLS data with Navarre Area Bord of Realtors.

Assuming that agents weren’t unusally slow to update data (which is possible … we’ll double check this later in the week because of the Labor Day holiday), August would be the slowest month for resales in Navarre since February. There have been between 65 and 74 resales each month between March and July.

The lower end of the market continues to see the most activity, with 47 homes selling for under $250,000, and all but three selling for under $300,000.

The average sales price was $225,100, and the average market time was 144 days of the homes that sold.

Eighteen homes sold for less than $200,000, 29 homes sold in the $200,000 to $250,000 range, 11 homes sold in the $250,000 to $300,000 range, 2 homes sold between $300,000 and $310,000, and one home sold for $450,000.

One home sold over $311,000. There are 213 listings active in Navarre that are asking more than that amount!

The average price per square foot in August was $119. There are 633 active detached single-family homes on the market today in Navarre. Four hundred twenty-one of those (67 percent) are STILL priced at over $119 a square foot.

Navarre Beach, Pensacola Beach From the Air

Here’s a wonderful video of the Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach areas, as well as Navarre and Gulf Breeze, as shot from the sky.

 

NAR: Supply of Homes at 16-Year High

National Association of Realtors reported today that the number of homes for sale jumped 5.1 percent last month. There now is a 9.6-month supply of homes on the market nationwide. This means that if no new homes were listed, it would take that long to deplete the current inventory at the present rate of sales.

That tally is the largest since October 1991.

The July decline was the 12th consecutive month that prices have declined nationwide.

Navarre’s stats are close to that national average. In Navarre, there are 648 detached single family homes on the market today in the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors MLS, which shares data with the Navarre Area Board of Realtors.  Seven to 11 percent of that inventory is selling per month, but no dent is being made in the inventory because of new listings coming on the market.

There have been between 65 and 74 sales of single-family homes in Navarre each month from March through July, according to the MLS stats.

Juana Good Time?

One of my favorite annual events in Navarre is coming up soon. Juana Good Time Regatta will take place Friday, Sept. 7 through Sunday, Sept. 9 at Juana’s Pagodas on Navarre Beach, just south of the bridge on the causeway.

Here is the registration form for the event

The cost for the “sailboat package” is $50 before Sept. 1, and $60 Sept. 2-7. Extra crew members and non-racers pay $30 before Sept. 1 and $35 thereafter.

The full schedule of events can be found here.

Come on out, even if you don’t sail. The boats are beautiful, and it’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

Here is a video from last year’s event: