We have some clients that live in Northern Wisconsin, they come to rent annually to escape their life in the frozen north. They have had their northern home for sale for about 2 years now with no sale in sight. They know what they are missing here in sunny Florida and can’t do much about it.
We have now turned the corner here in our little part of the world. We are no longer in a declining market and the prices have lowered to an affordable level. Property has now started to sell because we are getting the traffic we should have had over the past couple of years. People are realizing it is absolutely the right time to purchase their retirement home or seasonal get away.
I have heard from northern clients that they are hearing horror stories about insurance rates. The stories you hear are not true here in Tampa’s South Shore in particular the active adult communities of Sun City Center. We are not in a flood area, we have not been hit by a hurricane EVER. That is not to say we couldn’t but we have not so far which is keeping our insurance rates at a reasonable level. Here in Kings Point where I live, our condo association paid insurance rate actually went down by about $23.00 per unit last year.
We expect that the tax incentives passed in the January elections will help to lower our tax rate for this year 2008. In November we have on the ballot some additional tax incentives that if passed will halp us even further.
It is the time to buy while the interest rates are low, the prices have not started to increase and you can get a great home for an affordable price.
The time is now take advantage of it.
With OIL prices currently over $4.00 per gallon what will it cost you to heat your home in the northeast, Canada, or midwest next winter? It will cost a lot! The alternative, enjoying the winter in FL. We have lived here in Tampa’s South Shore area, specifically Sun City Center for 5 years relocating from the northeast. We have never had the need to turn on our heat. With prices so low why not buy your winter hide away or year round residence in paradise. Sell or close down your northern home and save thousands. Of course, we do have some outstanding seasonal rentals if you are not prepared to take advantage of our current values
Sales of new homes in the U.S. rose in April for the first time in six months, moving up by 3.3 percent, according to a Department of Commerce report. The median price of a new home dropped to $246,100 in April, down 4.2 percent from April 2007.
Mortgage Rates are increasing slightly and are expected to rise.
Increase in sales is great for the sellers and drop in prices is great for the buyers. Mortgage rates are still low but for how long? Is it the time to buy or sell you decide.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for National Association of Realtors shocked the Tampa Bay real estate community when he spoke on May 8, 2008. His statement “The worst conditions in the Tampa market may have already passed. How strong will the recovery be? I cannot really say. I think the second half of 2008 will be better. But if I look at the long-term perspectives, five years from now, comfortably, one can say home prices in the region will be 20-30 percent higher.”
The significant decrease in new housing starts in the Tampa Bay region - is also a good sign, reducing the glut of available homes that has held down prices. This is great news for the sellers who purchased in the past couple of years when prices needed the reality check they have gotten. Now sellers should be able to compete on a more equal footing with builders.
Mortage rates are at near record lows, business spending is strong, and corporate profits are up, all good economic signs according to Yun. “Fortunately, we’re not in a recession, or at least not yet,” he said. “I do not think we will go into a recession.”
Residential prices have dropped making it a great time for the fence sitters who are key to the turnaround to get off the fence.
Being a REALTOR in a Hillsborough County FL area similar in size to a New England Town with about 11,000 units, combination of condo and single family. The first question I am asked is what’s happening with the local real estate market. What I see is lower prices but many more browsers and buyers than I have seen in the past couple of years. For us the mortgage rates are no a huge factor since more than 1/2 of our buyers pay cash but those considering a mortgage are realizing the low rates are soon going to be a thing of the past so they are moving forward.
Comparing Sales in March 2007 and 2008, there are some interesting statistics:
Significantly more than 1/2 of our units are condominiums and most of these are in a very restrictive gated area where marketing properties is a challenge. In the month of March 2008 there 16 units sold, 2 of which were new construction and the average of the list/sale price was 90%. During 2007 there were only 12 units sold and none were new construction these sale prices were also list/sale price of 90%. The prices this March are significantly lower than last but 4 more units sold. That is a good sign since I am here to see that there is definitely much more traffic.
The single family units, that are far more easy to market have some diffierent and interesting statistics In March 2008 24 units sold at an average list/sale ration of 93%. During March 2007 there were 29 sales at an average list/sale ratio of 88%.
What is see is that the prices have not dropped quite so quickly in the single family area where for sale signs welcome and open houses happen every day of the week but people can comparison shop the single family units and are negotiating lower prices.
We are in FL and not all news is bad. We were not overwhelmed by the investor frenzy. Don’t get me wrong we do have some foreclosures but nothing like you see in the high rise and far more glamorous areas. Some and a small portion of our foreclosures relate to investor problems but the majority of our problems relate to people who waited a bit to long to retire and purchased during the peak and now have passed on or require care that their family or assisted living can provide and they or their heirs are just unable to pay their mortgage. Unfortunate that people in their 70’s 80’s and 90’s who have had good credit their entire lives are going into foreclosure because they can’t sell their homes.
The 25 member Tax and Budget Reform Commission that meets only every 20 years voted on Thursday to add some meaningful tax reform to the November ballot. The FL voters will have the opportunity in November to stimulate the economy by replacing a portion of the property tax with a 1% rise in the sales tax, and/or a 5% cap on non-homestead property similar to the Save Our Homes, and/or a super-homestead exemption that would offer significant savings to both current and new homeowners which would help protect “portability” from a legal challenge, and/or a reasonable revenue cap that keeps local governments from playing a “shell game” by raising fees and other taxes in place of savings gained from Amendment 1, and/or removal of the required local effort (RLE) - the school board portion of property taxes.
A vote in favor of some of these measures is likely to energize our real estate market which will help Florida’s economy. In particular the 5% assessment cap on non-homestead property and the sales tax to replace a portion of the property tax will be an incentive for the snow birds and the Canadians(that currently have a strong dollar) to buy second homes in FL.
We urge you to consider a favorable vote in November to help all Floridians.
Economic reports suggest we’ve turned the corner. I believe that is true. We have significantly increased traffic in our area of the world, Sun City Center FL. Many of our buyers pay cash but for those that choose a loan, interest rates are again below 6% for a good credit risk. For our little team of REALTORS, we have 5 contracts in place waiting to close. Last time we had this much going on at one time it was over a year ago. People are taking advantage of the outstanding opportunities available to buyers. With this change it might be that we will slowly start to see prices rising but the rise will be very slow and maybe flat until after the election.
Now is the time to purchase your piece of paradise.
My opinion is it depends on where in the country you are located and you need to narrow down the field to more than just a state. Here where I work on the west coast of FL in an average community made up primarily of active adults, I would say yes. New listings that are well priced sell quickly. The key is to price them properly right up front. I have also read that similar things are going on throughout the country where in Illinois there was a recent increase of 15% of properties pending sale.
Sellers who have purchased in the last 2 or 3 years will not make money on a sale but the same discount applies when they buy, so many are looking at this time as an opportunity to move up to a larger home or into a new neighborhood while taking advantage of the great interest rates and good prices.
Some feel it is difficult to qualify for home loans, not the case for those that have good credit mortgage money is still available at good rates.
The purchase of a home is still a sound long term investment. Hopefully the days of the short term “flipper” are gone.
Yes, the inventories are higher than in a balanced market but inventories are starting to drop and what I have noticed is that the new homes coming on the market here are priced right. The homes that have been on the market for a long time will continue to stay on the market until the sellers become realistic about the price, and condition. The informed seller should go out and take a look at their competition looking with the eyes of a buyer. If you have only a few buyers and lots for sale the buyer can pick and choose. They will pick the home at the best price in the best condition.
Hot off the press, and as I thought when this so called tax “reform” came about, it helps nobody. Real Property Tax Reform is needed:Amendment 1 has had no impact on real estate sales and portability also NONE. Those wanting to sell and take the portability with them have a large problem, buyers are not willing to subject themselves to the new property tax base on that home.Even great interest rates don’t overcome the estimated property tax resulting so we have continued slow sales. Please rally to your government leaders to do something that will really benefit the citizens of Florida that is not just smoke and mirrors. For those of us who work in the active adult communities, we need to take advantage of the strong Canadian dollar. This so called tax “reform” does nothing for the second home buyer.It is very sad when we see people in their 70’s or 80’s who have taken pride in their good credit over the years resort to foreclosure out of desperation because they can not afford to pay their medical expenses, assisted living for their spouse or can no longer be on their own.Every Homeowner or their heir(s) will have to sell their property at one time or another. It could happen tomorrow…we never know the day on which the event will be necessary. The sale could be required because of need for money for assisted living, medical expenses, an unplanned move to be near family members or a death. The number of these events is unique to our active adult demographics. Recently we are seeing circumstances requiring the owners to sell quickly at almost any price to keep from going into debt. PUT AN AMENDMENT ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER THAT WORKS FOR AND BENEFITS EVERYONE AND WILL STIMULATE THE REAL ESTATE MARKET. INCREASE OTHER REVENUES, AND DUMP THE PROPERTY TAX GET RID OF THE INEQUITIES OF THE SAVE OUR HOMES AMENDMENT AND AMENDMENT 1 GIVE US THE FLORIDA CITIZENS A CHANCE TO MAKE A CHOICE THAT WILL WORK…..
Yes, some say the home sale prices have not bottomed yet, others say they have. It is my opinion that you should get serious about buying before interest rates rise.
The thing that will make home prices stop falling is the very same thing that will push mortgage rates higher. So, anything you gain by a further drop in prices might be offset by rising financing costs.
How do you tune out all the media coverage on recession, housing, subprime woes and the credit crunch, it makes you want to sit back and wait before making big moves. What are you waiting for? Take a look at the calculations below and you will want to get moving toward owning your new home.
Think Long Term:
Purchase price $218,900
Down Payment 20%
Interest Rate 5.5%
Term (# of payments) 360
Principal $175,120
Payment $994.31
Declining Market Calculation:
Market Decline 5% 10%
New Purchase Price $207,955 $197,010
New Interest Rate 6% 6.5%
New Principal $166,364 $157,608
New Payment $997.44 $996.19
