This is YOUR window of Opportunity

If you’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for just the right house, just the right price or just the right interest rate, you’d better stop waiting!  23 percent (17 homes) of the 74 properties that have gone under contract in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods in first quarter of 2012, sold within 30 days of being listed.

If you increase the days on market to  60, the number jumps from 17 to 29 homes sold and accounts for a shocking 40% of the sales! That’s a pretty high percentage!

As a buyer, you’ve had nothing but time on your hands. LOTS of houses to sniff around at, PLENTY of time to decide if you’re REALLY ready to buy and LOADS of time to drive your real estate agent crazy as you look at house after house after house!

I’m here to tell you (you heard it here first) that the time is NOW. Interest rates WILL NOT remain this low forever. INVENTORY is low in certain neighborhoods like Avondale. The good (renovated or dirt cheap) houses are going UNDER CONTRACT quickly. So, if you’re one of those buyers who’s been circling and circling and circling – it’s time to get off of the merry go round and put your money on the table.

Click here to see a list of homes that have recently been listed and give us a call at 904-252-5181 if you see something you like! But you better hurry — they might sell quickly!

Caroline and I specialize in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside and can guide you to getting a great deal in the neighborhood.

Cash is King with Condo Purchases

I did a quick study and found that 39 condos were sold over the last year in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside and when I dug a little deeper to see how they were financed, I was shocked to see that 9 out of the 10 units sold in Avondale were cash transactions.

There were four sales in Ortega and 50% of those were cash.

The bulk of the sales (25 of them) were in Riverside but Riverside also has the most condo buildings/inventory in the area. 11 of the 25 units were paid for with cash.

So out of the 39 total sales, 22 of them were paid for with cash. That represents nearly 56% – well over half.

Why the large number of cash transactions?

There are strict regulations for financing a condo. Most lenders require a 20% down payment on a condo and others have requirements about how many units are owner/occupied and how many are rentals. If there are a high number of rental units, then it can be hard to get financing.

Additionally, some of the units are very inexpensive – the lowest priced sale was for only $50K at the Avenues building in Riverside. In other cases, a “family” home has been sold which frees the seller to both downsize and pay cash.

When there are multiple offers on a condo, cash buyers often have an advantage over buyers seeking financing. This is because a lender may or may not approve the loan for a condo and since a cash offer is not contingent on the ability of the buyer to get financing, the seller could be more inclined to take the cash offer (even if it’s a little lower than the non-cash offer).

So if you want a condo in the Avondale, Ortega or Riverside areas, you might consider raiding your piggy bank and paying cash – particularly if you’re competing with another buyer.

To see a list of all available condos in the Avondale, Ortega or Riverside neighborhoods, click here. If you see something you like, please call us at 904-252-5181 and we’ll be happy to show it to you!

Ever think about selling your house but not sure you’re quite ready? There’s lots of unfinished business to attend to – update the kitchen, spruce up the landscaping, switch out a few appliances, get dated wallpaper taken down….the list could go on and on. You’re stuck in the analysis/paralysis stage of wondering what your house is worth, feeling daunted by all the things you should do….

What if we told you we’ve got someone looking for a house just like yours! And…….you don’t have to endure keeping it picked up every day, costly updates AND you get to remain in control — and show your house only when you want to?

What if we can bring a qualified buyer directly to your door and voila – you’re ready to move on – no scurrying around and no stress. Sounds pretty good – right?

Let us add you to our little black book of real estate for Avondale and Ortega and we’ll be on the lookout. No pressure, no stress — just quietly let us know you’re out there.

Buyers…..we want you too — casually looking for something but not ready to go “all out” in your search? If just the right house came on the market, you’d certainly be interested but not quite ready to start the search? Tell us what your dream house is and we’ll get to work trying to find it! We know a LOT of people in the neighborhood and are often privy to things that aren’t public just yet.

So….take advantage of our insider’s edge – for buyers AND sellers – send us an email (or text us) and join our Litttle Black Book of Real Estate for Avondale, Ortega and Riverside. PRIVACY GUARANTEED — one of the cornerstone’s of our business is confidentiality. We’ll schedule a private consultation where we’ll take down the details about your home (or what you hope to find), talk about what we think a fair market value might be (or what we think you might have to pay) and when we have someone in the market looking for a house like yours (or someone thinking of selling) – we’ll make the connection!

Charming, well designed & appointed apartment on 2nd floor of desirable Park Plaza w/ spectacular river and downtown skyline views. Gracious living spaces include 2br/2 baths and a large den. Square footage has been extended by an estimated 300 feet with the enclosure of 3 of the 4 balconies. Beautiful walnut stained hardwood floors in the public areas and carpet in the bedrooms, custom crown molding. Wood plantation shutters on all windows throughout. Conveys with one garage parking space. Ample additional parking. Seller offering buyer credit toward new stove & dishwasher. Best pedestrian neighborhood in Jacksonviller, steps from shops,restaurants,Memorial Park, museum,downtown. dont miss it!

The units are each 2BR/1.5Ba with about 1,300 sf. Priced at $215K and $250K respectively, one offers a beautifully renovated kitchen and downtown view and the other a charmed updated kitchen with butler’s pantry and coffee bar. To see the photos of these condos, click here.

Riverside is a vibrant walking neighborhood with access to one of the city’s most beautiful parks (Memorial Park) as well as lots of local eateries, coffee shops and boutiques. Come see us today, Sunday, February 21st from 2-4pm.

ANOTHER GREAT OPEN HOUSE EVENT!

If you’ve been thinking of buying a new home (or seeing how yours compares to your neighbor’s house down the street) come to the neighborhood open house in Ortega Forest on Sunday afternoon, February 21, 2010 from 1-4 pm. There will be something for everyone from the first time homebuyer starter house to a gracious riverfront mansion. To see all houses for sale (not all are open today) in Ortega Forest, click here.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you at my open house at the Park Lane Condos today from 2-4!

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My partner Caroline and I know that there are lots of people out there looking for these houses and would love to help you sell yours.

If you’ve beening thinking of selling but wonder what’s going on in the market, please give us a call — we’d love to talk.

In Avondale, the numbers are nearly even with 2008. There were 100 closed sales in Avondale in 2008 and there have been 104 so far this year for a net increase of 4%.

The numbers in Ortega are not as good. In 2008, there were 57 closed sales and so far this year, there have only been 46 for a net DECREASE of 19%.

Another important piece of the picture is to take a look at the total dollar volume of these sales for each neighborhood. Riverside had a nice increase in the number of units sold but the total dollar volume of these sales went down by 4%. So…more houses were sold for less money.
Avondale has a similar story with a net increase of 4% on number of units sold but the total dollar volume for these sales is off 5% so, again, more units (houses) were sold but for less money.

Ortega decreased in both the number of houses sold and the dollar volume of those sales. The number of houses sold is off by 19% from 2008 and the total dollar volume is off a whopping 32%! The graph to the right illustrates these statistics.

That’s all for today — thanks for reading — please join me for my next installment of what’s happening in
Avondale, Ortega and Riverside real estate.

Click Here to see Graph

In 2007, there were 18 Condominium Sales in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside. In 2008, there were 21 and so far this year (2009) there have been 18 with 3 more pending. The sale prices of the units has fallen quite a bit but, as you can see, the total number of units sold has been surprisingly steady.

A bright spot on the landscape has been Villa Riva – 5 of the 18 sales this year have been at this premiere building in Riverside — that’s a healthy 27% of the total sales year to date. 4 of the 18 sales have been at a building called 1661 Riverside which puts it at a close second with 22% of the sales. The third largest seller has been a waterfront building called Beau Rivage in Avondale that’s had 3 sales or 16% of the market.

For more information about the condo market in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside areas, please call us for a list of inventory and what we think are the best values in today’s market. We know these buildings inside and out. We can tell you which units have the best views, which buildings have a great management team and other important details about the various buildings in the area.

Thanks for reading, please join me for my next discussion of real estate in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods.

Sammy Salem - Whiteway Deli Owner

When we moved to Jacksonville, FL one of the FIRST places I was taken by my new neighbor, Gina Donahoo, was Whiteway Deli. Gina said  it’s a local “institution” with the BEST sandwiches – so off we went and I quickly became a Whiteway devotee.

A favorite among Avondale,  Ortega and Riverside locals, Whiteway is a place where you’ll ALWAYS see tons of people you know and consistently get great food.

Served inside pita pockets, most of the sandwiches feature tabouli which has Middle Eastern origins. It’s made with parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cracked wheat, lemon juice and olive oil – delicious!

Many of the sandwiches are named for locals. The Anne Beard, for example, has turkey, tabouli, feta cheese, banana peppers and Italian dressing and is one of the best sellers. Wrapped in old fashioned “deli paper” the sandwiches have timeless appeal.

A breakfast favorite is the Emmet special.  Named for Judge Emmet Ferguson the dish is an egg white omelet with bacon and tabouli served in (you guessed it) a pita pocket.

Whiteway Deli is a family business that’s owned and operated by Sammy Salem. He has taken over daily operation of the place that his father bought in 1962 but that was opened in 1927 — you can bet there aren’t too many restaurants with that kind of longevity. The restaurant is now proud to count second and third generations of the same families among their loyal customers.

Open only for breakfast and lunch, the hours of operation are 7am – 3pm Monday – Friday. Get there early if you want to go for lunch because the line gets long. If you’re in a hurry, call your order in ahead of time at 904-389-0355. If you have time to sit down, the address is 1237 King Street.

A favorite of the doctors and nurses from nearby St. Vincent’s Hospital, local businessmen, ladies who lunch and area old timers — nearly everyone names Whiteway as a local gem.

Thanks for reading — if you have a favorite place in the Avondale, Ortega or Riverside neighborhoods that you’d like me to blog about, please send me a note!