Sarasota Luxury Home Sales Are A Bargain for Those with Cash

Posted August 01, 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) 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 Brian Ward, a Sarasota luxury homes Accredited Buyers Representative, the problem is particularly troublesome in the Sarasota area where there is still a substantial number of luxury waterfront and golf course homes and condominiums in the $1 million and up price range for sale.

    Sarasota luxury home and condominium owners who need or want to sell their elegant homes and condos, after having held off selling, hoping for a quick housing market recovery, have begun to understand the situation. As a result, they have reduced their asking prices to more realistic levels and become particularly interested in cash buyers.

    Luxury home sellers are also willing now to accept a lower price offer from a buyer with no financing contingency. They also appreciate that an all-cash deal can close within 2-3 weeks, much more quickly than a deal requiring an appraisal and mortgage approval.

    As a result, Sarasota luxury home buyers with cash on hand are in the enviable position of being able right now to purchase a Sarasota area luxury home or condominium at a really attractive price.

      For a permanent home, vacation getaway or an investment property, the Sarasota real estate market, with its recent price correction, is hard to beat.  I invite you to request my free Sarasota Real Estate Package or call me directly on my cell phone at 941-228-2321 for more immediate service.