Sarasota Luxury Home Sales Are A Bargain-Priced for Those with Cash
Posted March 31, 2011
The sub-prime mortgage crisis that has impacted the Florida housing market has had an effect on an unexpected sector of the real estate market - Sarasota luxury homes and condominiums.
In the past, banks and mortgage companies packaged up mortgages they had closed and sold them off as investment portfolios, but there are currently few investors willing to buy such packaged mortgage portfolios.
Thus, mortgage providers that normally write "jumbo" loans (mortgages above the limits set by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae) on luxury homes and condominiums are now having to keep those
loans on their own books but they are reluctant to add to their current in-house mortgage portfolios.
To compensate themselves for accepting this extra risk, banks are now charging higher interest rates on the types of "jumbo" loans normally written for luxury home and condominium sales. This reluctance is having a depressing effect on the
sale of luxury homes and condos throughout the United States.
According to Judie Berger of the Sothebys International Realty office in Sarasota, the problem is particularly troublesome in places like Sarasota Florida where there is a large inventory of homes and condos in the $500,000 - $1 million and up price range for sale.
Luxury home and condominium owners who need or want to sell their Sarasota luxury homes and condos are beginning to
understand the situation and have started reducing their asking prices substantially. They are also showing more willingness to consider a lower price offers from cash buyers to avoid the risks associated with deals that are contingent upon appraisals and financing approvals.As a result, those with cash on hand
are able right now to purchase a Sarasota area luxury home or condo at really attractive prices.
|