Rob,

The bottom of the market, today Buyers are weighing the bottom vs. need to buy.

I just sold a home to a couple relocating back to Orlando; we searched high and low from Windermere to Lake Nona, Winter Springs to Lake Mary. We ended up in the Lake Mary area with a home that was listed for 459,000; they bought it for 385,000 and it is an awesome property. Their thoughts are they're in the home for 5+ years so if it drops a little it will come back.

Most people move to Lake Mary and stay awhile, if you base your purchase on time you should win in the end.

Let me know if I can help with more information and visit my website (please pardon the dust it’s currently going through a redesign) for a Free Market Snapshot,

Broker Dave
GRI, ePRO, GREEN

Visit my profile located here on Trulia, its simple just scroll your mouse over my picture and click.

Hello Rob,

That's a great question and it really depends on the price point you are asking about. Homes under $75,000 have now moved into a sellers market with less then 3 months inventor and multiple offers, over asking price. When you move higher into a $75,0000-$175,000 there is still stiff competition and homes are moving closer to a normal market with inventory and pricing is probably bouncing around the bottom. However when you start to go over that price point there is a lot of room for price adjustments yet. I have seen homes once sell for $700,000 in 2007 now selling for $399,000 as REOs.

As an REO agent talking with bank reps our next wave of REOs is soon to hit and it wont be in the lower end market but in the higher end homes and those owners who had ALT-A mortgages. So as you see it really depends on the price point you are talking about. However the other great factor in purchasing a home right now is the very low fixed interests rates right now. So even if you did pay $20,000 more for a house a 1% increase in your interest rate could mean that you would have the same mortgage on a home that is worth $20,000-$50,000 less then that home you could have bought.

If you have questions or want to find out more about the areas please take a look at my website below.

Rob,
I live in PA also and actually got a chance to see several homes recently in Lake Mary. My price range is in the 300k to 500k range. I saw several homes in Heathrow, Magnolia Plantation, Timaquan and The Reserve at Lake Mary. After seeing the homes, I actually checked the price each sold for on realtor.com, which has a link into public records. I think all the homes I looked at are priced somewhat higher than they sold for and in many cases the homes were built after 2003. In one case I saw a home that is selling for $599k and was purchased in 2004 for $501k. My personal opinion is that many of these homes may not appraise for the selling price. I can only base my opinion the fact that in most areas real estate has fallen more than 20%. While I'd love to live in Lake Mary, I'm not married to the area and we will probably end up elsewhere. Good luck to you.

Lake Mary is a nice area I lived there for a year and also offer my services there. No, there are many overprice and many underpriced to force a higher bid. Are shopping price or are you shopping for a house. I can send you searchs free by e-mail. Look for the house and then we can shop price later. If you have children then schools need to be considered. Do you wish to locate by the company you work for?
Monika Depalo, Licensed Florida REALTOR
STAGER-INTERIOR DESIGNER
Serving 5 counties-specializing in investment properties
COMMERCIAL-RESIDENTIAL-LAND DEVELOPMENT
Adams Cameron & Co. Realtors
Company Listed in Real Trends 500

You may e-mail me at relocateisapieceofcake@gmail.com
Web reference:
http://monikadepalo.adamscameron.com/ (cut and paste)

Hi Rob, Glad you hear you are interested in the Lake Mary area. It's a great place to live. Prices certainly have come down in the past couple of years, but excellent schools and quality of life have made Lake Mary a very desirable market. Appraisals can be an issue if the home is overpriced to begin with, but sellers who have priced their home according to market are not having a problem. As a matter of fact, I just closed on a lower end property that was listed for $109,000 and appraised for $126,000! Needless to say, our buyer was thrilled.

Foreclosures and short sale continue to keep prices lower than we would hope, but strong sales in the lower price range are making noticable reductions in inventory. And we all know, when suppy is lower prices begin to rise. The problem with trying to time the market is you don't know you've hit bottom until prices are on their way up. My advice is buy now while prices are low and so are interest rates. Prices may slip a little bit more in 2009, but not much. Any home you purchase today will be a good investment and guaranteed to increase in value over time.

My husband and I work as a team, and our office is located in Lake Mary. Let me know if we can help you in your home search.

Denise Scheuy
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
(407) 312-4553

The numbers of foreclosures and short sales have taken its toll on the market. The properties in the lower end of the price range, however, are now experiencing increased sale activity. Buyers who are first time home owners and wanting to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit before December 1, 2009, are driving the market as well as investors taking advantage of the low prices. It is probable that in the ranges up to $200,000's, stabilization is occuring. Lake Mary is a desirable area and as home inventory declines (and it is declining), prices are stabilizing.

Hi Rob,

Great question. My experience overall is that homes that are non-distressed sales will appraise providing they are priced properly. Many sellers are still over evaluating those homes and they will sit and/or not appraise. I have not had any appraisal issues on buyers I represent as my job in those situations is two fold from a value standpoint, ensure we are getting you a solid value and also evaluate the home and have a level of confidence that the home will appraise at or above the contract price.

Regarding the other part of your question, homes are nearing the bottom, especially noticeable with homes 300,000 and below. I expect that price range to experience some modest increases in 2010. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Marty Kaiser
Certified Relocation Specialist
Accredited Buyer's Representative(ABR)
marty@floridasells.com
407-595-9700
Keller Williams Realty

Hi Rob,

It depends on what area and price range you are looking for in Lake Mary. Condos at Notinghill are being bought up by investors for cash. Lower price ranges are selling much faster than high end homes. If you read the reports, all signs say we are close to the bottom.

Please call or email me if you have any more questions.
Lois Bonacci, Realtor, ALHS, CSP
Internet Marketing and Relocation Specialist
Stirling Sothebys International Realty.
email : Lois@Loisbonacci.com
Cell 407 687-9075 http://www.LoisBHomes.com

Well everyone's opinion of when "the bottom" will be here, or if it has already passed will be different. It can even be different from neighborhood to neighborhood and certainly by price range as well. If you are in the sub 200K price range, my personal opinion is the bottom has already passed in many area's here in Central Florida. What price range or neighborhoods where you curious about?

However, as far as if homes are appraising when under contract the answer is yes. There are the occasional lower appraisals here and there, but usually not by much. However many sellers are still overpriced so if they happened to order an appraisal themselves it likely would not come in at their asking price.....hence why they do not have any offers

The big question is why are you looking to buy in the area? For investment purposes or as a second home, or pimary home? In any case whether the bottom has hit, has passed or is very close may or may not be your primary concern. Catching a falling knife blindfolded is tricky business, but catching it before it lands in your foot may be your better option.