2009 Nov -- South Walton Sales (Homes, Condo, Townhomes)

**Murray Balkcom** · 12-11-2009, 08:04 AM

by Murray Balkcom, GRI, Realtor
murraybalkcom@yahoo.com
dreamBIGproperties.com

In our area, everything typically comes to a halt in the winter time. Long pants and shoes replace swimsuits and flip flops. After all, we are mostly a seasonal beach community. It should be no surpirse that real estate sales also decrease as winter approaches. Thanksgiving week tends to throw everyone off schedule and out of routine for a week. Then, Christmas season hits, with similar results. People simply have other things on their minds than buying real estate. While November sales are somewhat down as we expect, the real surprise we've had this year comes in the way of higher sales in August, September and October, when typically, real estate sales have been slow.

For the first time since July, sales for Homes, Condos, and Town Homes in South Walton, actually... (continue reading)

**ata** · 12-12-2009, 01:05 AM

murray what % of the total sales in south walton in 2009 have been foreclosures or short sales?i'm willing to bet its well over 50%.this is also happening in cities like phoenix and vegas as speculators rush in to buy distressed properties.here lies the problem long term.just as americans have got addicted to 0% auto financing or 70% off of clothes what happens in the next yr or so when many of the distressed properties are worked threw?in the above examples of auto's and clothes once the public gets addicted to a deal they refuse to pay up for more normal pricing.thats why i think housing is in for a long hard struggle. once the foreclosures are worked threw i think the public will resist paying up for homes and sales will stay very sluggish for years.

**Murray Balkcom** · 12-12-2009, 11:52 AM

I'll have to further research the answer to your question, but from what I've seen, I'd guess that your "bet" is accurate on the percentage being REO and short sales. Those are typically the majority of listings where the buyers are willing to pay. The vast majority of listings are over-priced, and they won't sell until the sellers come down on price. A listing priced at $1 million will not sell at $1 million, or even $900,000 to a buyer who is getting a loan to purchase, if the appraisal comes in at $ 800,000.

There are many cases where comparable sales ... (continue reading)

**SHELLY** · 12-12-2009, 02:43 PM

Does this chart show "sales" that have actually closed on the month, or contracts written.

If they've closed, than these "sales" are lagging indicators going back into the summer selling months.

If they're contracts written, then these "sales" might not make it to closing.

Do you have any stats on the number of sales closed vs. contracts written for the past 6 months?

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**Murray Balkcom** · 12-12-2009, 09:48 PM

Shelly, the charts in my above post are for sold properties. I thought I labeled them correctly as sales, and mentioned that in the article. If I post a comment on pending or contingent contracts, I will be sure to note such. To my knowledge, Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR) doesn't track the percentage of pending and contingent contracts which convert to sold properties.

Since real estate sales typically take time to go from agreement of terms with a contract, to the exchange (sold), you are correct in that all sales represent contracts written in the past. We have some short sales which may take as much as six months to close, and we have other properties which close within a week or two. Due to the fact that real estate transactions are not immediate, we will never know when the market has peaked or bottomed until after the fact. This is not new information.

ECAR doesn't track the stats on the number of days it takes to go from contract written to closing. The last four closings I had all took place within 10-30 days from the date the contracts were written, and all four were cash sales.

**SHELLY** · 12-12-2009, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by murray

The last four closings I had all took place within 10-30 days from the date the contracts were written, and all four were cash sales.

That's probably because banks aren't financing Florida lot sales--paying cash would understandably lead to a quick close.

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**30ashopper** · 12-12-2009, 11:25 PM

Murray, I would love to see two graphs - single family home sales and lot sales, back to 2000. If you don't have the time to break that down, maybe just post the data? I do love the graphs you know. Thanks for the posts.

**30ashopper** · 12-12-2009, 11:26 PM

Actually, post just the last two years in a table, and walton county will supply the rest...

**Murray Balkcom** · 12-14-2009, 05:15 PM

30ashopper, the detached home sales graphs are up, and posted in a new thread. I'll post residential lots and condos in the near future. You can always check on dreamBIGproperties.com for faster updates, but I also post the information here on SoWal.com.