Panama City Florida Real Estate
Panama City and Panama City Beach Florida Real Estate: A False Buyer's Market
Like most places, buying real estate in Panama City and Panama City Beach Florida takes time, dedication, skill, knowledge, and a little good fortune. But lately, home buyers are running into unusual situations with home sellers dictated by the repercussions from the refinance and alternative financing boom that took place over the past few years. It’s not quite as simple as we are going to pay them what they bought the home for. Many people when money has gotten tight over the last couple of years, or even if they wanted a new car, have dipped into the “equity” in their home and either refinanced or established a line of credit on this equity in their home. While this can be a good use of equity in some cases, many homeowners have placed themselves in a very unique position when trying to sell their home or heaven forbid if they are having to relocate or the ARM interests rates have finally caught up with them.
Traditionally speaking...
Typically, home shopping in Panama City Florida Real Estate and Panama City Beach Florida Real Estate goes something like this:
1. Find a Home
2. Research the market trends for that area and compare to what has sold.
3. Write an Offer
4. Expect a Counter Offer
5. Play ping pong or negotiate
6. Finally arrive at an executed contract
7a. Have the Home Inspected.
7b Obtain your Financing
8. Close the Deal
Lately though, buyers are flexing their muscle and attempting to take advantage of the supposed buyer's market conditions throughout the Panama City Florida Real Estate and Panama City Beach Florida Real Estate market.. What is happening though is very interesting and leading to some tough negotiations and a slow down in the Panama City Florida Real Estate and Panama City Beach Florida Real Estate Market. Currently, the traditional analysis on the Panama City and Panama City Beach Floridamarket would be considered a buyer's market. Home sales are slowing, homes are sitting on the market for longer periods, while more homes are being listed for sale on a daily basis. One would think that this is a prime scenario to pick up some properties at discounted prices. However, despite these conditions, home buyers are not getting the great deals they expect!
A Brief History
2004, 2005, 2006 Refinance and Line of Credit Extravaganza Interest rates in 2004 were at all time lows. People were refinancing, home prices rising, things looked fantastic. 2005, more of the same and then 2006 started much the same as the previous two years; but as the year moved on, speculation that the home bubble would burst inevitably slowed the market down while interest rates crawled back up. What many also forgot that had bought in 2004 on those wonderful ARM loans…..they were only locked in for 1-3 years. So they also were starting to step up a little bit. Now the interest only option that was a 3% and moving to 4%..that owner now has an increase in the their mortgage payment of 30%!
The bottom has not fallen out.
Despite the expectation that the bottom would fall out of the real estate market, and in some places nationally you could argue that it had, Panama City Florida Real Estate and Panama City Beach Florida stayed relatively stable. Although home prices came down a few percentage points, there was not the drastic drop in home prices experienced in other areas in the country. This is great news for most, however those home owners that had taken advantage of the low interest rates and cashed out the equity of their homes are finding themselves in tighter positions. Especially if they had used an interest only loan or other alternative financing for the primary note on their home. Where these home owners find themselves is in a situation where the value of their home had lowered enough to close the gap between amount owed on, and equity left in, the home. Thereby placing them in a position where it can be too expensive to sell and with interest rates on the rise, too expensive to stay! So now the question is what do we do…how do we get back to break even or escape this potential downward spiral in “inflated” values. Welcome to Panama City Florida Real Estate.
Panama City Florida Real Estate