Log-jam in Orlando’s Short Sales Market Getting Worse? – Over the last few years we have seen an overwhelming build in the number of short sale homes for sale in the Orlando market. As the number of short sale listings have increased, we have seen very few closing actually taking place. If you look at the short sale closings as a percent of pending sales, that number is even more alarming. Last month we reported that out of 6,750 pending short sale, we only had 692 short sale closings. That is only a 10.25% closing ratio, which is simply unacceptable, when you compare that to normal sales closing at a 62.23%.
Unfortunately January’s numbers don’t look any better, in fact they look even worse than in December. In January, out of the 20,717 active listings in Orlando; 11,199 were normal sale listings; 7,376 were short sale listings; and 2,136 were bank-owned sales. With total pending home sales of 10,903 homes; 1,739 of which are normal pending sales; 7,045 short sales; and 2,119 bank-owned sales.
Now for the important numbers, which is the actual closings as a percent of pending sales. We feel that this number reveals the true potential success for buyers and sellers thinking of getting involved in short sales. So with that being said, here we go.
In January the numbers stack up like this. If we look at the 10,903 pending homes in Orlando’s housing market, we note that the actual closing percentages for the different sale types of pending sales stack up like this. The normal sales closed at a 34.1% rate, while bank-owned sales closed at a rate of 48.9%, followed way behind by short sales closing at a mere 7.67%, of the 7,045 pending short sales. This 7.67% successful closing rate for short sales is absolutely unacceptable, and even worst than than the 10.25% short sale closing rate we seen in December. Sure these numbers may be skewed to some degree by the back log that has built over the past years, but we are going in the wrong direction, and after years the banks still don’t seem to have their act together, as successful short sale closings continue to decline.
When you look at the average successful closing percentages for short sales at around 8%, it sure is difficult for us to present short sales as a viable option to our home buyers. Sellers on the other hand, may not have a choice, and we have had many successes getting short sales pushed through the system. Here is a quick look at January’s distressed property numbers:
Orlando Housing Inventory – January 2010: Currently there are
20,717 active listings in the Orlando MSA area.
11,199 (54.1%) are normal sales;
7,376 (35.6%) are short sales;
2,136 (10.3%) are bank-owned sales.
Orlando Home Sales Pending – January 2010: Currently there are
10,903 pending home sales in the Orlando MSA area.
1,739 (16.0%) are normal sales;
7,045 (64.6%) are short sales;
2,119 (19.4%) are bank-owned sales.
Orlando Home Sales Closed – January 2010:
2,169 closings took place in the Orlando MSA area.
593 (34.1%) normal sales closed as a % of pending normal sales
540 (7.67%) short sales closings as a % of pending short sales
1,036 (48.9%) bank-owned sales closed as a % of pending bank-owned sales.
The RE/MAX: YourOrlando.com Team specializes in foreclosure and short sales. For more information on selling a home as a short sale, or purchasing short sale/bank-owned properties please contact us .
