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Local Market 'Tough'

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By LAURA FRAZIER

lfrazier@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

VALRICO - Three years ago, most real estate agents didn't know what a "short sale" was, said Steve Moran, an agent and partner with Keller Williams Realty in Valrico.

Nowadays, the term is in every agent's vocabulary.

"Half of my clients are upside down on their mortgages," Moran said. "They owe more than their home is worth."

It poses a dilemma.

"It's a tough situation," Moran said. "Emotions come into play for the sellers, and you spend a lot of time negotiating with the bank. It can take four or five months" to complete a short sale, in which the lender allows a property to be sold for less than the amount owed on a mortgage and takes a loss.

The most active areas for sales in Valrico and Brandon, he said, are established communities such as Bloomingdale, River Hills and Twin Lakes. Homeowners who want to sell homes they bought in newer communities find themselves in a real bind. In many cases they owe tens of thousands more to the bank than the house is wortht.

"Most of those were bought in '04 or '05, and they are 100 percent upside down right now," Moran said.

But it's not all bad news, at least not for everyone.

Before the bubble burst, Moran said, "You could not find a house for less than $200,000. I'm seeing foreclosed houses that sold for $325,000 a few years ago now selling for $200,000. It's amazing what you can get for that price."

Lower prices and interest rates also have brought more investors back to the table, but they're not so intent on a quick flip this time around.

"Right now I have five clients looking for investment homes to buy and use as rentals until the market recovers."

He believes the market will begin to turn around by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2010.

"We won't see appreciation yet, but I think we'll see it start to level off."

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

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