Denise - the short answer is that it depends on the listing price.

Buyers are scarce and inventory is exploding along with foreclosures. My sense is that there are some buyers in the wings, but they are sitting on their checkbooks unless they can get a screaming deal. Nobody wants to catch a falling knife, and buyers realize that the NAR (national assn of realtors) has been calling a 'bottom' in the market incorrectly since the market peak in 2005 - there is no guarantee prices will not drop substantially even from current corrected levels. That fact, together with skyrocketing taxes and insurance costs are making the reduced pool of potential buyers gunshy.

I would think that if you *need* to sell, price the house aggressively and sell now. If are in a position to sit on the house for at least a couple of years, maybe you'd be better off trying to ride this out - it all depends on your specific circumstances and specific property.

Anyway, good luck. This is a very difficult time for those who want to sell their home.

Thu Mar 6 2008, 08:20

Denise - I do contact market reports for my area and a Realtor that is proficient in that area can answer that question by looking at the active inventory and the amount of sales in the past year. It is only an approximate, but it will give you a good idea.
Because there is so much competition, it is crucial that your house stands out above the rest - condition, staging, decluttering.....etc. Take a look at a sample marketing report and ask your Realtor to do the numbers for you and let you know.

Sat Dec 29 2007, 19:14

Denise,

As a local Martin County Realtor, I wish I could give you a definitive answer to you question.

There are some areas of Palm City that are still 'in demand' and are selling within a short period of time (less than 90 days), but there are also those areas that are taking well over a year to sell.

I agree with the previous posts--you need to speak to a local Realtor who will give you the honest answers to your questions. Sometimes those answers are not the ones that sellers want to hear, but, I'd rather have a listing that has a potential to sell--rather than one that all I do is advertise!

I'd be happy to honestly answer any questions you might have--feel free to contact me.

Debbie

Sat Dec 29 2007, 18:07

Denise,
I certainly don't wish to be a "cop out" with my answer--I just wanted to be certain you received at least one response... I cannot recall any active RE Pros from Martin County who regularly participate on Trulia (please forgive me if I have forgotten someone!) Your best bet is to contact a local REALTOR with expertise in Palm City to get a realistic answer to your question. And, PLEASE listen to the REALTOR who speaks the frank truth about your market, rather than those who would placate you with what you wish to hear. An honest REALTOR is your best ally, and can save you much time, money and heartache! Ask family, friends and colleagues for a referral to a REALTOR with which they've had a good experience. Best wishes!

Sat Dec 29 2007, 16:33

Hi Denise,
No one will probably be able to answer you with a definite or even close quess. With the mortgage and real estate industry condition as of right now, it is very hard to say. The overall concensus is that the market is "slow", however, this is not true in many states and/or counties.

My suggestion to you is to "not" go by what the media tells you, but investigate it yourself. This is very easy for anyone to do.

1. Contact a local REALTOR and ask for a free, complementary market analysis.....and take it 1 step further by asking them to "show" you with graphs, reports, etc of how they derived at their final result. A true market analysis takes the number of sales closed, sales pending, listings expired, listings withdrawn and compiles all the data in these categories. Keep in mind though that this data will not include For Sale By Owner homes (FSBO's). The analysis should be reviewed for the past 12 months. The current "listed" market; the market 0-6 months ago and then 6-12 months ago. The analysis will give you a true picture of what sales price YOUR home should be listed at now, what the average was 12 months ago and how LONG it took to sale; what the average was 6 months ago and how LONG it took to sale; and then the NOW information that you need, the average price YOU should list your home for and the AVERAGE time it SHOULD take to sale.

The 2nd option is to check public courthouse records, your local MLS service webpage for stats, etc. You can do the homework yourself, but why would you.? A REALTOR will jump at the chance to provide this info for you because they will hopefully impress you enough for you to allow them to list your home for you.

The company I represent does an "indepth" analysis called a PRICE TREND analysis. It is much more than your market analysis. Our company has a corporate website that you could link to and pull up your city to search for someone in your area that would be glad to do the price trend analysis for you.
Good luck!
Kimberly

Sat Dec 29 2007, 16:26