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Housing market has many sellers seeing red

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published December 31, 2006

BELLEAIR BEACH - Bruce Sparks painted a bright red "4 SALE" sign on his home's roof in September, hoping to attract a buyer for his waterfront home.

It was a desperate attempt by a man who had hoped to flip the house for a quick profit the way so many investors had done before him, back when the real estate market was still booming.

Instead, Sparks caught the attention of city code inspectors, who forced him to repaint the roof white to avoid a fine.

Now, several months later, the house remains unsold, and Sparks is facing foreclosure, said Richard Doyle, Spark's real estate agent.

"The market shift is creating hardships for many property owners," Doyle said.

Sparks is just one of many property owners struggling to sell homes in a depressed real estate market.

Homes are taking longer to sell, with an average time of nearly three months, and prices have dipped slightly as inventories rise.

The local real estate market is "in a period of readjustment" and is now favoring buyers, said Patti Bridges, a Realtor with RE/MAX Action First in St. Petersburg.

With such a large inventory of homes for sale, Bridges said it takes longer to sell a property if it is not priced realistically.

"The high cost of buying real estate is driving out investors looking for a quick profit," she said. "When you add in taxes and insurance, it is hard to make money."

Sparks, who could not be reached for comment, bought his 1960s ranch-style home in March. He paid $1.32-million for the property, which last sold for $275,000 more than a decade ago.

Sparks then put the two-bedroom home back on the market for $1.6-million, hoping to realize a quick profit.

Instead, he found himself with a home that did not sell, even with a bright red rooftop sign.

Faced with foreclosure, Sparks dropped the price to just over $1-million and, according to Doyle, is taking any reasonable offer to the bank in an effort to forestall foreclosure.

"We hope this will be a short sale," Doyle said. "We have several offers the bank is considering."

Source: Pinellas Realtor Organization

By the numbers

4 Percentage of listed homes that sold in November, less than one-third the sales rate of a year ago.

80 Average number of days homes are on the market, double what it was at the year's start.

16,000 Number of homes for sale in Pinellas County in last month, compared to 6,000 in October 2005.

$192,000 Median price for a single family home in November, down from the January 2006 price of $210,000.

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 22:16:39]