There are basically three types of listings. The Foreclosure (sometimes referred to as an "REO"), the Short Sale, and the normal listing that we used to see all the time, every day.
Here's some statistics to think about. The statistics are as of 14JAN10. These statistics are from the MLS of the Realtor Association of Fort Myers and the Beaches, in Lee County (which includes, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Cape Coral, Estero, Bonita Springs, Lehigh Acres, Sanibel, Captiva, Alva, etc.).
There are 8837 active non short sale, non foreclosure listings. 682 of those are pending, which means they have an accepted contract and are in the process of closing. In the last three months there has been 1766 properties closed. Low list price of $7400, high list price of $18,000,000, average list price of $422,290, median list price of $239,000, average days on market is 184, the median days on the market is 108. The average percentage of sold price to list price (the sold price divided by the list price) is 94.54%. In other words, the sold price is less than the list price. This percentage drops the longer the property is on the market. Just a note, the big difference between the averages and medians are because of the high priced properties. For instance the $18,000,000 property has been on the market for 3429 days. That really messes with the average without greatly affecting the median. Also, understand that a lot of these properties that were bought by investors and are being "flipped". These investors buy a house, sometimes they refurbish it, then they sell it for a profit. Sometimes they buy properties in bulk. 20+ at a time. So, many of these houses aren't your typical home owner looking to sell their private residence. By the way, the bulk sales aren't ever in the MLS. I don't know of any hard statistics to give you on those houses.
There are 2532 active foreclosure listings of which 1108 are pending. In the last three months there have been 2379 foreclosure properties closed.
The lowest priced active listing is $4500, the highest is $2,299,000, the average price is $86,992, the median price is $66,200, the average days on the market is 33, the median is 17 days on the market. The average Sold price to List price is 101.20%. As with the non foreclosure and non short sale properties, the percentage goes down the longer the property is on the market.
There are 5463 short sale properties active on the market of which 387 are pending. The lowest priced is $15,000, highest is $1,450,000, average price is $140,363, median price is $99,900, average days on the market is 189, median days on the market is 147. The average percentage of Sold to List price is % 95.94. Oddly enough, that percentage actually goes up for properties 61-120 days on the market.
Here's some thoughts on the statistics. Foreclosures are the king. More foreclosures have been closed in the last three months than either regular sales or short sales. There have almost been more foreclosures closed than regular and short sales combined. If you want a foreclosure and if you are under $200,000 expect to have to offer $5000-$10,000 over list price depending on the property. Let me give you an example. Last week I wrote a contract on a house for a young couple. Busy street, $47,000 list price. They offered $55,000. There were 10 other offers within 3 days of the property being listed. They did not get the house. Short sales and regular sales are selling at market price and close to asking price. Short sales are a nightmare. They will take 4+ months to close. I have heard other realtors quoting up to 18 months. My longest is 11 months. So, you have to be patient. We'll talk more on short sales vs. foreclosures next week.