www.greenepublishing.com Real Estate Friday, August 8, 2008 The Madison Enterprise-Recorder 11A I R. Winston Connell, Realtor -Ii Phone: 850-997-4780 Cell: 850-545-5783 e-mail: rwinstonconnell@embarqmail.com 4br/2ba Home in quiet area, custom built cabinets, 2.39 acres, $129,500 3br/2ba Brick House on 5 acres, w/stone fireplace, $399,500 3br/2ba Home, pool w/custom deck on 48 acres, $448,000 3br/2ba Country Home w/split floor plan on 5 acres, $155,000 100+/- acres of beautiful pastures w/large oaks and small stream, $3,500 per acre 40+/- acres half pasture half wooded, w/pole barn, $5,500 per acre 20 +/- acres gorgeous pasture w/pond, good for hay field, $9,500 per acre 5 acres with power pole, well and 2 septic tanks, $89,500 Commercial Property 2 acres w/60x40 building $125,000 Convenience Store needs some TLC, great location $100,000 M-F: 10:00 AM 5:00 PM SAT: 12:00 PM 5:00 PM SUN 12 00 PM 4:00 PM 2801 Cnarnc.hemrslle Dr.r Taiho.ee. FL 32312 850580 4004 FAX 850.580 4007 114 mleV .os Watmaor on Thomaswfle Rd. 1319 Norzh) Broussord Realty. LLC bSE SaE c ndoS oS 10 /(-edictioi '7oh jhe PedQ state &A/aicvet By Michael Curtis Greene Publishing, Inc. After the market took a downward turn late in summer 2005, experts claimed the real estate bubble had burst. As the market continued to de- cline in 2006, many sellers were feeling pricing pinches. By mid-2007, buyers were sitting on the fence in a trance-like state, wondering whether it was a good time to buy and whether they could time the. market. Now, based on a combination of online research, here are 10 predictions for home ;buying and selling over next year. 1) Home Prices Will Continue To Decline and Flatten Median home prices will continue to fall in softened markets. They won't take a nosedive; in- stead will float, ever so gently downward to a landing spot. Overpriced listings will die quick deaths. 2) Short Sales And Foreclosures Will In- crease Interest rates on 3- year and 5-year Ad- justable Rate Mortgages (ARM) will continue ad- American Crafts *Woodwork 'Jewelry Pottery RAILROA SQUAR Soap Rocks at Rairoa Squ ar -IN justing, and those who pay interest on Option ARMs, including many buyers who used 100% financing in 2005, will begin to lose their homes. Many banks will refuse to negotiate short sales (negotiated pre-foreclosure deals), paving the way for a flood of bank-owned properties to hit the market. 3) Interest Rates Will Stabilize Rates will move for- ward and backward with- in one-quarter point, and buyers will gravitate to- ward fixed-rate-mort- gages. Buyers who cannot qualify for conventional loans will lean toward seller-financed instru- ments such as land con- tracts or lease option pur- chases. 4) More Investors Will Enter The Market Because investors use different criteria than tra- ditional homebuyers, in- vestors will return to the market as they begin to recognize that a buyer's market is an excellent time to purchase real es- tate. First-time buyers will find themselves com- peting with all-cash in- vestors, and the investors will win. 5) Related Businesses sonable. Most will choose to remove their homes from active status and in- ventory will begin to fall. 9) Banks Will Refuse To Pay Some Closing Costs Banks are sick and tired -of taking it in the shorts. First, agents tried to cram short sales down their throats, and then banks were doubly disappointed when no one bid at the trustee's sales, leaving them stuck with unwant- ed inventory Banks will demand ,bulk discount rates from title and es- crow companies. Banks will also stop paying some ordinary closing costs such as city taxes and state documentary trans- fer tax. 10) Flood Insurance Rates Will Escalate New assessments of flood risk may lead the federal government to re- draw flood maps, possibly requiring more property owners to carry flood in- surance. Home owners with preferred risk flood insurance policies could see rates double, while those who have no flood insurance could face pay- ing rates that are 10 times higher than they would have paid under the old risk maps. Staff writer Michael Curtis can be reached at michael@greenepublish- ing.com. Mortgage companies, appraisers, real estate agents, builders, construc- tion-related industries, ti- tle companies and escrow companies will either close doors or consolidate to compensate for the slowing real estate mar- kets. Those that do sur- vive the slowdown will re- duce staff. 6) Buyers Will Write Lowball Offers Novice buyers will read newspaper head- lines, figure out it is a buy- er's market and write low- ball offers hand over fist. Some buyers won't even look at homes before writ- ing insultingly low offers. Sellers should expect to receive an abnormal num- ber of out-of-whack offers from buyers who will throw something at a wall to see if something sticks. 7) Advertising Will Move Online ,As newspaper adver- tising and readership con- tinues to decline, agents will question whether their home advertising dollars are better spent elsewhere. Print advertis- ing will lose its effective- ness. If postal rates con- tinue to increase, agents will stop using direct mail campaigns and instead post Internet listings for better results and low-cost marketing strategies. 8) Inventory Will In- crease Before Sharply Dropping Sellers whose listings expire will put their homes back on the market as a new listing. Nobody will be fooled. Inventory will continue to climb through the summer, at which point sellers will begin to realize they must either remove their home from the market or be rea- 85.0,,.544. " "' ';'. .e'l, F'inancing A vai .able,