Wishing You All A Joyus Holiday Season.....

PALM COAST, A CITY FOR ALL SEASONS

If You Are Interested In Buying A Second Or Vacation Home Or Relocating To A Warmer Climate, Now Is The Time To Invest In Your Future.

Palm Coast, Florida is located in Northeast Florida, halfway between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach in Flagler County.  It has been consistently ranked as one of the fastest growing areas in the US and Money Magazine has picked it as one of the Best Places to live.

We are currently in one of the nations best housing markets coupled with the abiltity to get some of the lowest mortgage rates we have seen in years.  Are you waiting for the bottom of the market before you start thinking of your retirement years?  You are about to miss an opportunity to pick from the best inventories we have seen in years.  Perhaps the prices will drop a bit more, it's possible, but you will never find such a variety of homes to pick from again and there is every indication that the mortagage rates will increase in the near future. 

Are you aware that every nine seconds someone turns 60 and by 2009 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 60 each day.  There are 78 + million Baby Boomers and according to the census bureau 70% of them desire to purchase a second home within the next decade.  It's estimated that Florida will pass New York in population by 2020 and be the third most populous state. That is only 12 years away and the prices will grow with the population. 

Currently the market is loaded with short sales and foreclosures but that inventory is declining every day.  Once these homes have been taken out of the inventory, housing prices will begin to rise.  This has already begun to happen.  Each week I am going to post the number of new listings that have come on the market, along with the houses that have been sold and the ones that have entered contract and are pending sale. 

THESE FIGURES ONLY INCLUDE PALM COAST AND DO NOT INCLUDE, THE HAMMOCK, FLAGLER BEACH, FLAGLER COUNTY AND ANY OF THE OTHER SURROUNDING AREAS.**

For additional information contact me via phone or email - 386-627-0937 or mj@maryjaneholland.com  

Now is the time to make your plans for the future.  Don't be one of those who say "I could have paid $100,000 less for that house a few years ago".  Call or email me for more details. 

Just a few informational notes - Do you know what a "Short Sale" is.  Most of the below market value homes that are coming on the market are short sales.  This would be a home that the seller is listing for less than they owe the bank.  However, the bank might not be aware of this if the seller has not contacted the bank and  submitted the necessary forms and information that the bank requires before they allow the sale to be completed short.  Many times a contract that is submitted on a short sale won't  close because the bank will not accept the offer.  What we find now is that the banks are holding out to see what the best offer is that they will receive.  So don't be fooled by thinking you might get a low ball price on a house.  In many instances we have seen prices bid up over what the original list price is.  If a seller has not notified the bank and continues to make payment on the mortgage, then the bank is not prepared to declare it a short sale and it could take several months to get to that point.  This is different than a foreclosure.  By the time you get to foreclosure, the bank owns the property and sets the price at what their appraisers indicate what the market value should be.  These are all not easy sales to complete and you must be prepared to wait several months for the transaction to close and pass title.  I urge you to use a competent Realtor who can help guide you through these complex and time consuming transactions.  Many of the Pending/Contingent sales do not close on short sales because the bank will not accept the low offers that are being made. 

**This information is taken from the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS and may contain errors and cannot be guaranteed

Let's get together and talk about your home buying and/or selling plans. Call me at the office (386-246-3161) or on my cell phone (386-627-0937) or send me an e-mail (

P.S. If you're not ready to meet in person, please tour through my website. I'm sure you'll find the resources here useful and helpful. Enjoy!