Punta Gorda Housing Market Sees Sales Drop

The Florida housing market slowdown may not worry the Fed - but try to allay the fears of sellers in the Punta Gorda real estate sector.

The demand for a Florida home mortgage hasn’t exactly been pressing in this area. Sales are down 15% from a year earlier, as predictions come in that it’ll take anywhere from 6 months to 5 years before things may turn back to the strong selling market from the past.

The bottom line for sellers, therefore, is this: there are fewer buyers and more competition. What can you do about it?

“The first question as a seller you need to ask is whether or not you are truly motivated to sell right now,” states Marcia Blackwell, of PGI Realtors in Punta Gorda, Florida. “If not, probably the best thing to do is to wait a while. Once you’ve determined you need to sell your home and you are willing to do some work to make it more marketable, it’s time to be a savvy seller and make the most of what you are offering.”

As we’ve discussed before, one option is to rely on home auctions. This attracts a wide spector of people seeking property. Most of these have already been pre-approved for a Florida home mortgage loan, but haven’t been pleased with any prices they’ve come across.

More than anything, however, sellers need to be realistic. Unless you live in one of the cities that has enjoyed recent double-digit appreciation, you may not recevive the sort of asking price you had hoped for.