Gainesville Real Estate

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Welcome to Allison's website - With fantastic deals and historically low mortgage rates there has never been a better time to buy real estate in Gainesville! Allison is an expert Gainesville REALTOR® serving buyers and sellers in the Gainesville, Florida area. Here you can explore homes for sale, get an instant home valuation, and sign up to get alerts on recent home sales, new listings, foreclosures, and upcoming auctions. Contact Allison today to find your Gainesville home!

11/7/09 - $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit extended and expanded!

Recent Real Estate News

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Washington Report: New Budget
Real estate took some whacks in the new 3.8 trillion dollar Obama budget presented to Congress last week, but there were some helpful proposals for housing as well. [more]

Housing Affected by Demographic Trends
The Urban Land Institute predicts there will be two major changes beginning in this new decade in our country that will affect the housing market. [more]

Long-Term Mortgage Rates Remain Stable and Low
McLean, VA -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS)in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.01 percent with an average 0.7 point for... [more]

Local Gainesville, FL Real Estate Market Conditions

January 9, 2010 - Contract activity for pending home sales fell after a surge of activity in preceding months to beat the original deadline for the first-time home buyer tax credit but remains comfortably above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in November, fell 16.0 percent to 96.0 from an upwardly revised 114.3 in October, but is 15.5 percent higher than November 2008 when it was 83.1.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a drop was expected. "It will be at least early spring before we see notable gains in sales activity as home buyers respond to the recently extended and expanded tax credit," he said. "The fact that pending home sales are comfortably above year-ago levels shows the market has gained sufficient momentum on its own. We expect another surge in the spring as more home buyers take advantage of affordable housing conditions before the tax credit expires."

A Special Look at Short Sales in Gainesville, FL

Short Sale Single Family Homes

There are currently 125 active short sale single family residential homes listed on our Gainesville MLS. In 2009, an average of 12 short sale listings sold each month. At the current sucessful closing rate, there is over 17 months of short sale inventory on the market. That means if you didn't add any new listings to the marketplace, it would take almost a year and a half to sell everything that is currently available. Compared to non short sale listings with just over 9 months of inventory in Gainesville, short sellers are facing a tough market.


Short Sale Condos and Townhomes

There are currently 80 active short sale condos or townhomes listed on our Gainesville MLS. In 2009, only 12 condo short sale listings successfully closed. At the current sales pace, it will take years to get the condo and townhome short sales off the market. Compared to non short sale listings with just over 16 months of inventory in Gainesville, condo and townhome short sellers are facing an extremely difficult market.


Are you facing a short sale?

We have a full time short sale negotiator on staff to communicate with your lender on your behalf at no cost to you or your buyer. Call us today if you are having trouble making your mortgage payment or just want more information about your home's value.


A look ahead at 2010 in the Gainesville Real Estate Market

If I had a crystal ball, I wouldn't be selling real estate in Gainesville and although I cannot predict the future, I believe 2010 will be a great year. Buyers are actively looking and signing contracts and serious sellers have come down for a reality check on their home's value. There are great deals in our market and between the motivated resales, short sales, and foreclosures, buyers have a lot to choose from.


I don't know about the rest of you but when I'm waiting for hour to eat dinner on a chilly weeknight, the economy doesn't look so bad. Perhaps it's our city's lack of restaurants and commercial space? Or perhaps people are out spending money and enjoying life. The University of Florida is back in session and Gainesville's healthcare and hospital sectors are actively hiring to fill the new space just south of campus. The $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers and $6,500 tax credit for current homeowners who have lived in their house for at least 5 years requires buyers to be under contract by April 30, 2010. I do not expect the US Government to extend this deadline as they did previously in November 2009.


In a recently released Gainesville Sun newspaper article, it was reported that home sales in Gainesville were up 84% over the same time period a year earlier and prices had actually increased for the first time in over 2 years. The median price in Gainesville has increased from $160,000 to $167,000, the biggest jump in the state of Florida. Condo and townhome sales also saw an increase in activity although the median price dropped from over $130,000 to $120,000. Some buyers will continue to hesitate and wait for a "pull back" while others will seize the opportunity to buy a great home in a recovering market.


Existing-home sales for December will be reported January 25 and the next Pending Home Sales Index will be on February 2; release times are 10 a.m. EST. National and Regional Information provided by National Association of Realtors Press Room and Research Center. Local information provided by Allison Ables, licensed Gainesville Realtor, with information available through GACAR and the Gainesville MLS.


Past Market Reports

Allison Ables