First Half of 2007 Real Estate Statistics

Posted at 3:17 PM, Jul. 8, 2007

First Half of 2007 Westbrook Estates Real Estate Statistics

	Westbrook Estates 2007	Westbrook Estates 2006	Westbrook Estates 2005
Active Listings	26
Under Contract	1
Sold	7	9	22
Median Sales Price	$232,500	$305,000	$282,450
Days on Market	166 Days	95 Days	35 Days
Absorption Rate	22 Months

The active listings are what is currently on the market, both in Wesley Chapel and in Westbrook Estates. The homes under contract are waiting until the closing date and then will become sold. It is important to note that not all homes under contract actually make it to closing, for various reasons, the primary one is financing issues.

The sold column is self-evident. These are the number of homes that have sold in the first six months of 2007, 2006 and 2005. The important thing to note is that there are still a lot of people buying homes, just not enough compared to the number of homes on the market. There are three main things necessary to get a home sold; the right price, the condition of the home, and the marketing plan. If all three are in balance, the home will still sell in a timely fashion.

Looking at the median sales price note that all these figures are for the first half of the corresponding year. Note how the median price of the homes have changed from 2005 to 2006 and finally to 2007.

As can be seen the days on market have increased from year to year.

Finally the absorption rate merely means the amount of time it would take for all currently listed homes to sell if no other homes come on the market, and there is no increase or decrease in sales. As can be seen for Wesley Chapel there is 1 years worth of inventory on the market, whereas it would take 22 months, or just a couple of months shy of 2 years for all homes currently on the market in Westbrook Estates to sell.

The biggest problem in Westbrook Estates has to do with a name change several years ago. As some people are aware Westbrook Estates used to be called Saddlebrook Village West, but has not been known by that name since early 2003. When a Realtor or buyer searches for properties in Westbrook Estates only 2 of the 26 homes listed here come up. To find the other 24 you would have to enter Saddlebrook Village West as the subdivision name. Unfortunately, most Realtors or buyers would not know the name of Saddlebrook Village West, after all the sign in front of the subdivision says Westbrook Estates. Why do Realtors enter the name Saddlebrook Village West into the listing in the MLS? In the tax records the old name never got changed. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) has a feature where when the listing agent enters the address of the listing, the system pulls in data from the tax records, thus pulling in the name Saddlebrook Village West. This can be changed by the Realtor, but most do not know the name was different at one time, so never change it.

So how do the Realtors and buyers finally find the homes in Westbrook Estates? It is when Realtors or buyers search for homes by zip code or by city name.

If you have questions or concerns, leave a comment here, or if you prefer give me a call at 813-469-3163.

Gate Or Not To Gate

Posted at 3:05 PM, Apr. 1, 2007

Many residents here at Westbrook Estates have in the past brought up the idea of having a gated community only to hear that it is not feasible. Lennar Homes for almost 12 years has sold homes in Grand Oaks, which is about a mile away as a gated community. Last year they installed the gates and a guard’s station. They felt that the residents would love to live in a gated community. However, only 42% of the residents voted for a gated community. It would take a vote of 80% of the residents to allow the county to convert the roads from public to private.

Why would the residents not want to live in a gated community?  It has to do with finances. Many residents like the idea of a gated community, but just do not want to pay for it. Once the roads become private the community is responsible for maintenance of the roads and gates, along with being responsible for accidents and injuries. Therefore it takes much of the cost of road maintenance and other costs away from the county and puts it on the community.

The board in Grand Oaks has even gone so far as to insist that Lennar Homes remove the guard house and the gates, and restore the entrance to its original look. The board felt that the issue has been extremely divisive. Although not specified, another likely reason could be the fact that even though they would not be allowed to use the gates or guard station they would still have to maintain them.