So there I was, sitting back relaxing last Saturday
night watching the T.V. Flipping the channels and not really finding
anything interesting when I came across CBS’s version of MMA (Mixed
Martial Arts) called Elite XC. Now before you all stop reading because
you think it is barbaric there is a point to this.
CBS has placed a fighter, Kimbo Slice, up on
a pedestal as the best of the best. Those who follow MMA we beg to
differ! Kimbo was scheduled to fight Ken Shamrock, a long time
veteran, in what they were billing as the fight of the night.
Unfortunately, Ken Shamrock, got a cut over his eye earlier requiring
stitches and the State of Florida would not allow him to fight.
Kimbo has touted that he is afraid of no one and
would fight any man, anywhere, anytime! The promoters brought one of the
under card fighters Seth Petruzelli up to fight Kimbo. Seth was 2
inches shorter, 4 “ shorter in reach and almost thirty pounds lighter
than Kimbo. In addition, if you were to look at the two you would
probably think as most did that Kimbo would destroy Seth.
Well as you can guess by now, 14 seconds later the
referee stopped the fight and Kimbo lost! There is much debate in the
MMA world as to how good or bad a fight it was but here is the moral of
the story. Seth Petruzelli, woke up Saturday morning, with no intention
of any more people really knowing who he was by Sunday morning since,
the fight he was scheduled for was not even scheduled to be on TV.
14 seconds later, not only was he on national
television, his name and picture is all over, ESPN, YAHOO, Sports
Illustrated, etc. His phone is ringing off the hook, and everyone
is talking about the guy from Orlando, originally from Cape Coral,
my home town, who came out of no where to beat Kimbo Slice. Who is this
guy Seth, and how did he do it?
Moral of the story is no matter how
bad business might seem, in 14 seconds your life can completely change.
It is about being in the right place at the right time doing the right
things. Are you going to be a fighter and make what you want to have
happen, happen, or are you going to be complacent? The internet
providing us with an awesome power to put is in front of more people
than we ever could have imagined.
Tomorrow I will share with you my personal fourteen
seconds that happened to me this week. Never stop believing,
opportunity exist with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck!
The Cape Coral real estate market which is currently plagued by a record number of foreclosures and short sales now has affected the construction industry which employs so many in this area. Due to the large number of these distressed properties on the market, many of them available bleow the cost of replacement has meant that it is increasingly difficult for builders to build new homes.
The question I hear all the time is why would someone contract with a builder to build a home when they can buy a new never lived in home for less money than the cost of construction. Even if the buyer really wanted to build a new home so they could have it "their way", it is next to impossible to get an appraisal to substantiate the cost of construction these days. Banks are cutting prices substantially to get these properties off their books.
In August 2008 the city of Cape Coral issued only 11 building permits for the entire month. This is half of the 22 issued in June. A year ago August, when every one thought the numbers were low at 47, now pale in comparison.
The reality is the oversupply of Cape Coral real estate does not need more inventory stocked on the shelves. Building lots of new homes when the number of, homes ready to move into is to much, makes no sense. I expect this low permit volume to continue for quite some time. Especialy in the market segment under $500,000 since this is where the majority of the foreclosures exist.
Where it does make sense to build a new home is in the higher price points, typically in the $1 million + price range. There are less distressed sellers than in the lower price points and the "luxury home buyers" are typically willing to pay for the "I want what I want" rather than settling for something else.
This guide will help you understand the current Cape Coral real estate market conditions and how you can make the most educated decision to finding the best possible deal for you!
Cape Coral Foreclosures dropped by 311, almost 13% in the month of August compared to July. August saw 2,156 Cape Coral foreclosure filings and July saw 2,467 Cape Coral Foreclosures filed. This is encouraging news as we are starting to head in the right direction. The real question is will this trend continue.
For buyers in the market for a new home who have been sitting on the fence waiting to time the bottom, this just might be the signal you need. Once the media puts their belssing on it after another couple of months of declines everyone will be rushing out looking to buy a Cape Coral home. If you are serious about buying a home, now is an excellent time. Prices and availibility of choices are plentiful.
Opportunity is knocking, will you answer the door? Don't wait till next month, becuase if the number of filings is lower you can count on their being more competition in the Cape Coral real estate market.
I had the pleasure of being called by
Stephanie Whiffen when the local for news station wanted to do a report
on Cape Coral Foreclosures and Short Sales. Below is a copy of the
interview. For a copy of the free report,
"How To Successfully Buy
Cape Coral Foreclosures and Short Sales" and "The Ten Biggest
Mistakes Buyers Make" click:
FREE REPORT
Click on the video below to watch it.
The newest Cape Coral foreclosure
numbers for August will be covered in my next posting
Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the local Fox News station's anchor Amy Wegman. Stephanie Whiffen, Sr. loan officer for Fifth Third Bank invited me to meet with her and Amy to discuss the short sale properties in Cape Coral.
The interview will air during Wednesday evening's 10 pm early news. There appears to be many questions from consumers as to what exactly a short sale is and how it compares to a foreclosure.
One point that I am constantly reminded of in our industry is that those of us in real estate tend to use "lingo" that we understand and take for granted the public knows what we are talking about. Case in point is the term short sale.
Some might think that the term short sale would mean that the time period to purchase a short sale would be short in nature. In actuality, those of us in the industry trying to sell a short sale know that they are typically anything but short. In fact, they are proving to be some of the longest decision making sales we have ever encountered. 30-day decisions are a rarity. Sixty to ninety days or more just to get an answer from the bank is not uncommon.
What you will learn is that in most cases Cape Coral foreclosures are easier and faster to buy than Cape Coral short sales.
Check back tomorrow and I hope to post a link to the interview.
There is an old saying that all news is good news, even the bad news. "Cape Coral ranks number one in the nation for foreclosures for July", was the recent news headline last week. Depending on your perspective, or position in the market place this could be viewed as very bad or very good news.
Obviously if you are a seller NEEDING to sell, right now could be a very difficult time. On the other hand if you are a buyer, you should be running, no wait, flying down to Cape Coral and making your purchase immediately. The volume of Cape Coral foreclosures are making for the buying opportunity of a life time.
The day this story broke by, 10 am our office was inundated with inquiries about foreclosures and how to buy them. Inquiries from all over the U.S. looking to take advantage of the ultimate buyers market. For all those buyers who were left out in the cold during the sellers market run up in pricing are now rejoicing.
As I mentioned in my previous posting, "The Cape Coral Real Estate Price Pendulum" has swung too far. The word is out and buyers are recognizing that BRC properties are plentiful in Cape Coral, but not for long!
Buyer's thinking of waiting? Consider the following points:
1. Foreclosure infomercials and websites selling their, latest "How To Stuff" are making a fortune. Once one of their students has the education, where do you think they are going to want to buy foreclosures? In their back yard where there may not be many? Possibly. My sense is they will be targeting the top foreclosure markets in the U.S. Who is at the top of the list? Cape Coral! The buyers are coming!
2. Cape Coral is in Florida, the third most populous state in the nation, and soon to become the second. Florida is still growing in population and will continue to do so. Real estate is about supply and demand. Currently the supply is plenty, but the DEMAND is growing daily. It will only be a matter of time until the demand equals and then surpasses the supply side.
Demand Exceeds Supply
Prices Increase
Interested in capitalizing on a BRC (Below Replacement Cost) Cape Coral home, now is the time! Download our free report "HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY BUY CAPE CORAL FORECLOSURES & SHORT SALES" & "THE TEN BIGGEST MISTAKES BUYERS MAKE" This is not some generic, get rich quick article, but true insight from a Broker whose company has sold over $1 Billion in real estate in S.W. Florida. Learn the intricacies of the Cape Coral real estate market and how you can get the deal of a lifetime.
What exactly does the future hold for those looking to buy or sell real estate in Cape Coral?
1. Time Heals All. Right now, many who have the ability to buy a home and should are afraid to because of the horror stories they hear. The further they get away from those feelings the more likely they will feel better about buying a home. 2. The market will turn when the money supply loosens. Right now it is more challenging than in the past, (noticed I did not say impossible) to obtain money to buy a home. Once the guidelines and qualifications loosen and more people can obtain money properly, we will see an increased demand for homes and the prices will follow. 3. Foreign Money will continue to flow in. With a weak dollar, the word is out. Foreigners have always loved S.W. Florida. With the strong exchange rate and the lower property values foreigners recognize this is one of the best buying opportunities in years. (P.S. If it is good enough for them, isn't it good enough for you?) 4. It will snow again this winter up North. Hardly a week goes by that I don't run in to someone from the north who tells me how they don't miss the snow. Cold weather and snow is one of the best sales tools we have. It happens every year like clockwork. The buyers come in droves and can't wait to move here. 5. Baby boomers are coming too! We can't stop them now. There are too many of them and they have more wealth than any generation before them. They are going to have a major impact on the demand side for real estate in SW Florida. Count on it!!! 6. More Businesses will Come to Florida. Thanks to the current affordability of housing and labor coupled, with the great weather and lifestyle that Florida affords, businesses will again start looking to Florida for growth and expansion. More jobs mean more housing needs, which again in turn drives demand and prices upward. 7. Housing Shortage causes possible price spike! Right now, there is an excess of inventory in the market place, which needs to be absorbed. The good news is that it is not being replaced with new housing starts at the same pace. The situation that I predict will occur is once demand equals supply it might be too late. Building your typical home in SW Florida takes between 6-12 months. By the time builders recognize that demand is strong enough they will not be able to deliver inventory for at least six months. This will cause a further strain on supply causing a possible spike in prices due to supply and demand issues 8. Timing the market is impossible. Only six months after the bottom was hit will anyone realize it. Once it is obvious, watch out because everyone will be rushing back in to buy. It is the herd mentality, when the media tells us we are past the bottom, everyone will be in a buying frenzy. 9. BRC Properties will be short lived. BRC -Below Replacement Cost Properties are those homes where you can buy the existing home for substantially less than it would cost to buy a home site and contract with a builder to build a new home. This is a situation that rarely comes along but is quite prevalent in the Cape Coral market. DO NOT expect it to last long. Once the supply tightens these will be the first properties to go and very quickly. How bad could you get hurt buying one of these homes today if the cost of recreating it is more than you paid for it?
We all know real estate goes in cycles. When markets heat up, they need a cooling off period. As prices get out of balance, they should come back to earth and find that middle ground. It is amazing to me that what is occurring in many markets is not only have prices retreated, but they have gone so far that in many cases you can now buy a home for less money than the cost of building a new home, even if the dirt were FREE. There is probably no better place in the country to take advantage of this opportunity than with Cape Coral real estate. Cape Coral foreclosures and Cape Coral short sale properties are abundant with single family homes starting in the $70's.
What is more surprising is that many buyers still do not recognize this. Wall Street corporate raiders made fortunes buy buying companies below their replacement cost. It was only a few short years ago that buyers lined up early in the morning, got into bidding wars to buy property, and now when shown a home that can be bought for 10%, 20% and as much as 30% below the cost of building it new (with the home site thrown in for free) they are unsure if they are getting a good deal.
The Cape Coral real estate market that is experiencing this anomaly. Because of the large number of institutional sellers (banks), whether it be a foreclosure or short sale have chosen to reduce the selling price so substantially to get these properties off their books that anyone looking to build a new home in the sub $400,000 price range would find it next to impossible not to take advantage of one of these amazing values.
As you move up the price scale this becomes much less common with Cape Coral homes for two reasons. First, there are less bank-controlled properties in the $1 million price range and secondly the land values are holding steady.
BRC (Below Replacement Cost) Properties won't last forever. When they are gone, they are gone and then everyone will want one. Isn't that always the case? We all want what we can't have. A couple of years ago everyone wanted one. Today you can have it! Take advantage of it. When this market cycles back around you will be very glad you did.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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