Distressed Update

Today is 12/21/11 and the distressed property market has a lot of activity in the PHL area.  There are currently 588 short sales active in Philadelphia, and 1827 in the 5 county region.  More importantly, in Philadelphia alone,  708 short sales expired before they could sell. This is a huge number of properties that most likely still need to sell; for whatever hurdle, they were not able to.  We are in the business of solving that hurdle. According to Taylor Solutions, short sales generally can be a 30% discount off retail.  Do you know anyone looking for a property 30% off retail? Contact us and find out how you can get an amazing deal. These deals require patience and if you can withstand the red tape and foot dragging of the bank then you can get one of these deals.  Our best transaction recently saved one client 170K off the list price. While most people are holiday shopping, we are helping the banks clear the end of year inventory and providing great deals. Call today!Get a market anaylsis of the area you are interested in.

CALL 215-292-5821

Is a Short Sale a Preview to a Foreclosure?

I was speaking to an investor this week and when I mentioned that we should be looking at short sales in the luxury market, her response was that in her opinion, a short sale was simply a preview to a foreclosure.  Her implication is that short sales are not worth the time versus the savings that they produce.  My team record is a  Philadelphia short sale that resulted in a savings of $120K under what the bank was owed.  That particular case is definitely the exception, most short sales result in an average of 20% savings below market value.  This demonstrates a real savings over market value, if you are willing to wait for the bank to perform its due diligence (foot dragging.) Make no mistake, a number of short sales do end up going to foreclosure for various reasons; however if you have a seasoned agent that has experience, persistence and the willingness to deal with the bank, you can make excellent investments or in some cases actually purchase a property with equity.  So while some short sales do go to foreclosure, contact our team, we can usually, not always, tell within a day or two if the short sale is worth pursuing. There are currently 300 short sales available in Philadelphia.  Please contact us if you think that this makes sense for your real estate needs.  Jackbarry@kw.com

Pew Charitable Trust 2011 State of The City

The Pew Charitable Trust's annual report states that Philadelphia real estate as a whole, took a 10% decrease in property value from 2008 to 2010.  So if your home was worth $200K in 2008 its now worth $180K.  That is better than most areas of our size and worse than a few others.  Unless you own in a select few area; three of which are Point Breeze/South Grad Hosp/Newbold area, Washington Square West and University City.  These areas have increased in value, 50%, 27% and 26% respectively.  This is where the action is happening.  The Point Breeze area is where all the new development is taking place, rehabs, renovations, empty lots becoming single family homes.  Wash West, as it is known, is where the medical community is centralized, Thomas Jefferson University being the hub of residents, medical sudents, professors and all the support personnel required of running  a teaching hospital, plus the businesses that they support: coffee, lunch, pizza, gift/flower shops. University City has the vibrancy of the inner city yet being  just across the river affords a sort of Ivy League feel, literally more trees and green space, fields and parks. Students, teachers, artists, every race of restaurant you can imagine.  So there it is.  Make no mistake, things are bad, but in some areas there is a ray of hope and that hope is evident in the real estate values.

Distressed Real Estate

Almost all of our clients ask about distressed property.  They want the best deal there is. Nothing wrong with that.....I want the best deal also.  The best deal though is a matter of perspective.  Some people need to move quick because of a new job, divorce, death or some other imminent change.  They can't wait for the time required to do a short sale. Other people have no time line and have the cash ready to go when the right deal pops up.  Some people prefer not to get involved in the distress of others and that is fine also. These all are simply the perspectives of different buyers. Sometimes a distressed property is a good idea and sometimes its not.  When it is a good fit...man is it a good idea.

2 transactions come to mind that saved the buyers substantial dollars since they were willing to be patient and allow the transaction to run its course. One, a rowhouse, saved the buyers over $170K! The other was a condo that the buyers initially paid $279K and was eventually sold at foreclosure for $124K.

These are simply a small fraction of the deals happening today in the Philadelphia market.  Call us and see if we can find a match for your needs. Investment, rehab, new construction...the sky is the limit, today there are 3758 properties that are behind 90 days on payments....guess where they are headed?

We have been closing these transactions for the past few years.  We have honed the skills necessary to negotiate with the banks to get these deals done.
We have the ability to contact these owners before the property is listed for sale, so we beat all the other potential buyers or investors do....sound like a plan?  CALL TODAY.

Call us TODAY 215-292-5821 to find out more.