Florida Real Estate

REO's going strong.

2010-04-23T19:44:00.003-07:00

The market is strong, buyers are out there, and things are looking up. Yes, the majority of the sales are the REO's, and short sales. Not a good sign of the times of course, but the good news is that people are out there just buying them up at a rapid pace. The majority of our properties that are priced correctly are getting multiple offers which will help improve the sale prices and slowly drive prices back up in right direction. I do not see prices declining like they were just six months ago. Our market seems to be stabalizing.

End of Summer

2009-09-09T13:01:00.003-07:00

Well, it is officially the end of summer although it is still mighty hot here in Florida. The summer season has been a busy one. We found ourselves with a lack of inventory over the last several weeks which meant what we had was usually getting multiple offers. Very interesting market right now. Half of the buyers if not more are paying cash. Many are pulling their funds out of IRA's, money markets, etc.. and investing in real estate.

REO SLOW DOWN?

2009-08-11T06:41:00.001-07:00

Inventory is down... what does that mean? I'm not sure I know. Over the last several months, inventory of the REO's has been dwindling. Buyers are competitivly bidding on them driving the prices up well over asking price in some circumstances.

The only explanation I was given from one of the banks I work closely with is that they are trying to work more with the homeowners as far as loan modification etc... I hope that is a good thing and not just putting off the foreclosure into the future.

Recent changes have also prolonged the eviction process which could be why homes are taking longer to hit the market. Whatever the reason, I think it is all just a temporary lull in the market. The deals are out there, I felt we had hit rock bottom a while ago however certain markets are just now feeling the brunt of it including the one million plus luxury home market. Lack of buyers for this type of home have driven the prices down. We are also starting to see the effects on the commercial market, due to the difficulties in finding tenants.

Record home sales in 2008!

2008-11-08T19:19:00.000-08:00

Our company has experienced record home sales in 2008. Many people may find this surprising considering the media. However, we specialize in the sale of bank owned properties, in fact over 95% of our sales this year were owned by banks. Does that give you a good idea of what people are buying? Everyone is looking for the deal and for now, most folks just cannot compete with the prices of foreclosed homes. If you are an individual looking to sell your property, my best advice is if there is any way to sit tight for another year or two, try and do so. The only market that does not seem greatly affected is the luxury home sales 2,000,000 and up. All others are still seeing declining prices. My feeling however is that we are at the bottom. Darin and I just purchased a single family home for 29,900 as an investment. When you start seeing prices like that, you know you are close to the bottom of the cycle. If you are an investor looking for rentals, it's time to jump back into the game. The potential for rental income is actually increasing due to the difficulties first time home buyers are now experiencing getting financing. Get out there and buy some real estate folks, and lets all boost the economy a bit while investing in our future.

Did we mention...?

2008-04-28T18:33:00.001-07:00

That the market is back? Oh, yeah, I think we did way back in January. Let me tell you this is the year of the comeback. Granted the things that are selling are the lowest priced of the low. We have seen multiple offers on many properties this year. It is becoming the normal. Do not believe all the gloom and doom you read about in the press. The buyers are out there, and they are serious. Price realistically and your property will sell. If you can't afford to sell at todays prices, hold onto it for a year or two. Looks to me like things will be bouncing back slowly but surely.

Wooooo... Hooooooo! Our Market is Back!

2008-01-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

Investors... if you have been waiting on the sidelines wondering exactly when to jump back in the real estate market, the time may be right NOW. In the last couple weeks we have had 10 of our listings go into contract. Might not sound like much, but compared to the one or two contracts coming together every month for the last year, 10 contracts is reason to celebrate! We take this as a very positive sign not only for our local market but our local economy as well. The buyers seem to be not only investors, but vacation home buyers, and 1st tiime homebuyers taking advantage of the low prices. 2008 is starting to look real good for Charlotte and Sarasota counties!

Is our market starting to change?

2007-12-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Judging from the last couple of weeks, I think we may be starting a turn around. Suddenly our listings are getting loads of activity. In several cases, we have been getting multiple bids on homes for sale. We have not been seeing multiple bids for about a year. Of course, the properties that are getting the activity are the ones that are priced most aggressively. Our phones have been ringing off the hook. Lets all hope and pray this is a sign of the future for real estate, and the economy in general... There are many folks out there who still think it is all "gloom and doom" for the real estate market. Personally, I am quite optimistic for our future.

Short Sales, Foreclosures, and More

2007-11-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

The sheer number of foreclosures in our market place is staggering. Every day you see new listings come on the market with the "Corporate Owned" words in their description. When the real estate market cools down, the trickle down effect is amazing. So many other business's are affected. Construction comes to almost a complete stop. Why build new homes when there are hundreds of vacant homes to choose from for sale? And priced well below what it would cost to build in many cases. Other business's besides real estate sales that we see are being greatly affected are furniture sales, vacation planners, boat and car sales. People are just not spending the money on luxury items right now. Even appliance sales are down, because people are not replacing perfectly good appliances unless absolutely necessary. So of course, what you see happen is many people who are relying on their income from these fields are facing foreclosure when they can't meet their financial obligations. When a home is in a pre-foreclosure state, some lenders will accept less than what is owed on the mortgage as payment in full. This is what is referred to as a short sale. Although there is a lot of hype about the great deals in short sales, it is really not as easy as it may sound, especially if there is more than one lender involved. We have seen a recent slow down in the price reductions, so although we may not have hit rock bottom with the prices, I feel we are getting close. In the meantime, there are some great deals out there folks. If you are one of the fortunate people who have some disposable income, now is the time to buy!

Have we hit rock bottom?

2007-08-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Have our prices finally hit rock bottom? I am starting to think so, or at least very close to it. Our prices on single family homes in our area of southwest Florida are back to early 2004 prices. Sounds like the right time to buy up some of this real estate before the cycle starts all over again. I think once all the investors believe the prices will not go any lower, they will be coming out of the woodwork. Well, only those investors that did not lose all their funds and good credit standing in the recent real estate down cycle, that is.

Bank Foreclosures

2007-05-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Something we are seeing more and more of as we get into 2007 are lots of bank foreclosures. Although forclosures have always been an opportunity to get a good deal on a distressed property, I think you will find in the months to come that forclosed properties are going to be everywhere. Mainly due to the slow down in the real estate market, which trickles down into many other fields, many people are unable to make ends meet and therefore are losing their homes. Some of the mortgages that were taken in the past came with adjustable rates, that once they adjust the buyers can no longer afford the payment. What do you need to know about foreclosed properties? Well, first and foremost, these homes are almost always sold as-is, where is. Very few exceptions. Do your homework prior to putting money down, as many earnest money deposits are non refundable if you do not follow through with the purchase for any reason. Always have title insurance worked into your offer as a requirement, no matter who has to pay for it. That way you can be assured that you are purchasing a home with no leins or encumbrances. Look carefully at homes before making an offer. Remember that if the house needs too much work, lenders may not want to loan money on it. So if you are not a cash buyer, the really distressed properties should probably not be something to consider.
Our company, SunState Realty, deals with REO (real estate owned by banks) on a daily basis, and would be happy to share our latest list of homes and properties.

The changing market

2007-05-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

2007 has been the year for the "normalizing" of the marketplace. To some who waited too long to cash in on their equity, this is very bad news. However for new buyers, there could be no better time to jump into the real estate game. Prices are low, low, low. The drastic price reductions seem to be coming to an end. One of the areas most affected is the new builder spec homes, which are now selling for much less than they would have last year. This has slowed down construction considerably in the southwest Florida area. Why wait a year to build a new home when there are 200 new complete homes to choose from?
One of the areas least affected still seem to be the luxury homes. Although prices have dropped, the sellers seem to be in a position to wait out the market a little longer so are not nearly as inclined to drop their price quickly. Although the prices are good for first time homebuyers, the mortgage companies are tightening their belts, so some buyers that may have qualified last year might not this time around. Overall, we speculate that we will all see an upturn in the market by the end of 2007. We may not see the huge appreciations in value that we saw in the past, but we will all breathe a sigh of relief to see the downturn go away.
(hopefully for another 20 years or so)

Luxury Home Market

2006-08-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

In our area of Florida, we are fortunate to live where many people choose to buy their dream home. Our close proximity to the Gulf Of Mexico, Charlotte Harbor, and Lemon Bay all attract the boaters, fisherman, or those just searching for a great water view. Although the market has cooled in the luxury market as well, we are not seeing the drastic price reductions in this area of real estate as is seen in others. It seems that if someone is in a position to buy their dream home, they usually do not search for the "bargain home". On a recent home search with some buyers, we found the homes most desirable were on the "big" water... Lemon Bay, The Gulf of Mexico, and Charlotte Harbor. The unobstructed views generally come with a price tag of 1.5 million up to 5 million in our area. You can however get a condominium with a view of the Gulf for the 400-500K range. The most requested features in a single family home are boat docks, boat lifts or davits, swimming pools, unobstructed views, granite counters, and updated kitchens and baths. The average buyer will sacrifice somewhat in the size of the home to get the water features they desire. Overall, the market for waterfront buyers continues to be a strong one in our market area.

Waterfront and Dock Information

2006-07-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is the American Dream, especially in Florida. Buy a home on "Big" water and dock the boat out back and live it up. Before you buy, however, there are a few questions you may want to find the answers to. Take it from us, as we have been through it all as far as permitting goes for a boat dock. We purchased a home right on beautiful Lemon Bay in Englewood about a year and a half ago. We immediately began working on getting a new dock put in as the old one was quite dilapidated and we are active boaters. We were told correctly when we purchased the home that the existing dock was "grandfathered in". What we did not realize was that only the existing dock was grandfathered, look out if you want to replace it, or make any type of major repair. The laws have changed and now you must abide by all of the Resource Protection laws, and also conform to Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corp of Engineers, and others such as the Water & Navigation Control Authority (WNCA). We have finally muddled our way through all of the paperwork with the help of some very knowledgeable people. To make a long story short, our dock went from 16ft. long to a required 300 ft. long! Would we do it again? You bet! The added value to our property will make it all worth it in the long run. Here is a link to a great website that I would highly recommend. It is from a local attorney who specializes in waterfront real estate transactions. http://www.flwaterfront.com/default2.htm Have you had a problem getting a new dock installed? We would love to hear your story! After all we have been through, we feel we have truly earned the title "Waterfront Specialists".

Rising Rates Returning Real Estate to a Normal Level?

2006-07-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market SurveySM (PMMSSM) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.78 percent, with an average 0.5 point, for the week ending June 29, 2006, up from last week’s average of 6.71 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.62 percent. The 30-year FRM has not been higher since May 24, 2002, when it averaged 6.81 percent.
Financial markets continue to expect more rate hikes by the Fed over the next six months, which has added upward pressure on mortgage rates," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "With higher interest rates, the housing market has begun a gradual and orderly reversion towards historical norms. For instance, new construction, home sales and house price appreciation have all been slowing over the past few months.

Insurance Crisis?

2006-06-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

A lot has been in the news lately regarding the homeowner insurance crisis Floridians are finding themselves facing. With companies like Poe going under, and Citizens becoming the number one insurance carrier in the state, there is certainly reason for concern. We recently purchased a brand new home for investment purposes and found that Citizens was the only insurance available for the simple reason that it was not an owner occupied home. Specualtion is that insurance rates will go up as much as 100% in the near future. If you have a homeowner insurance problem, please share.

Buyers Market...

2006-06-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, you have heard the rumors and they are true. We are in a buyers market, at least in the Charlotte and Sarasota county area. We have been selling real estate here for 10 years, and have never seen the market so flooded with properties for sale! What does that mean to you?? Well, it depends if you are the buyer or the seller. Not a great time for sellers to get top dollar, but for buyers, they now have many options open to them including owner financing, and lease options. Things we do not see in a strong market. Share your thoughts with us!