I do want to cite right off the top that there isn’t a single town in the primary state of California on the list, but it just goes to re-enforce what we all experience, it’s a Buyers’ Marketplace…
Amid continued falling home prices, U.S. homebuyers are talking terms even more discounts at the dickering table, according to July’s Zillow Real Estate Market Stories. Purchasers paid 3.3 pct, or a nearly $7,039, less than the last listing cost on Places for sale(1) during the month of July. That is down slightly from 3.5 percent, or $7,630, in June, and well down from 4.6 percent ($10,260) in January.
Meanwhile, 22.8 percent of all Dwellings listed for sale on Zillow had at least one naming price reduction(2) as of Sept. 1, 2009. The regular U.S. cost reduction(3) was 6.5 percent off the original naming price. Houses listed for sale on Zillow during August were listed for a average 96 days(4), up from 91 in July.
Florida homebuyers had the most negotiating power in July, with Purchasers in the Vero Beach metropolitan statistical area (MSA) paying 10.2 pct, or a average $23,500, fewer than the last listing price. Buyers in the Sarasota MSA paid 8.2 percent less than list price. The Naples, Daytona Beach, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Melbourne, Ocala, Tampa, Jacksonville, Port St. Lucie, Gainesville and Lakeland MSAs also placed, in that order, in the top 25 markets for negotiation.
There was fewer or no room for negotiation in some California markets that have been hard-hit by foreclosures. In the El Centro MSA, Purchasers paid 1.8 percentage, or a median of $2,150, more than the naming cost. In 7 California markets — Sacramento, Merced, Modesto, Riverside, Stockton, Yuba City and Fresno — asking cost and sale price were the same(5).
“The strong summertime selling season in 2009 has led to a dwindling conflict between the last naming price and final sale cost, but most Purchasers are still getting some cumulative deduction at dealing time,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “We expected list-to-sale cost ratios to fall as the sales volume picked up during the summer, and the California markets are showing strong declines in the discount off the last naming price, relative to levels at the first of the year.
This is fueled both by increased sales and high ratio of foreclosures re-sales, which are already priced relatively down.
“The fact that many Florida markets are still showing comparatively higher differences between the last listing price and final sale cost suggests that inventory stages are still relatively high, keeping considerable downward pressure on prices and encouraging Buyers to seek large discounts off the naming cost. Overall, Buyers are finding favorable conditions for talking terms prices, and now can be a hot time to buy, provided homebuyers are financially set up with healthy down payments and intend to stay in their home for a minimum of five to seven yr.
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