Hurry Up and Sell!

If you spent part or all of your adolescence growing up in the '90s, then you'll probably remember a scene from the movie "Don't be a Menace to South Central while Drinking your Juice in the Hood" where a pair of Chinese grocery store owners repeatedly tell two African-American brothers (I mean siblings) to "hurry up and buy!" (if you missed this cultural icon - I'm being facetious, although the movie was pretty hilarious - click HERE).

While that mantra may have permeated our recent real estate boom from 2002-2006, the slogan of today's market has radically changed. If you are thinking about selling your home, then you should "hurry up and sell!"

Since the market peak in the Spring of 2006, median property values have fallen by 15% in Leon County as a whole (-1% in 2007, flat in 2008, -9% in 2009, and -5% YTD so far). Some neighborhoods have fared better, some worse (much worse).

This year's numbers were buoyed significantly by the 1st time homebuyer tax credit, and the market decline is now accelerating. Property values are going to continue to fall so long as foreclosures and short sales continue to be a significant factor in the market (foreclosures and short sales once accounted for only 2% of sales in Leon County... that figure now stands at 25% and growing) and unemployment remains high.

And the median sales price doesn't tell the whole story. Remember, that statistic is subject to changes in market demographics (and there have certainly been changes in market demographics). The best way to track appreciation or depreciation is to look at repeat sales of individual properties. In these cases, the depreciation story is significant and scary. I'll use two of my current listings as cases in point --

1. 1117 Wisteria Drive: SOLD in January of 2006 for $550,000. Now under contract for $295,000 (and in need of significant repair that was overlooked in the 2006 sale).

2. 1827 Ivan Drive: SOLD in July of 2005 for $175,000. Now listed (after about $11,000 in improvements including a new 15 SEER HVAC system) for $148,000 with very little interest.

Waiting until next year to sell will not help. We have at least two years of foreclosures to work through, and we probably won't see appreciation for quite a while after that (Joe Manausa thinks we've got 7-10 years of falling and then stagnant prices).

So if you or someone you know is thinking about selling, call me ASAP: 850-251-6643.