Prices Going Up In Florida in April Reports!

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Fla.’s housing market: Prices, listings rise in April

NAR: April existing-home sales show modest improvement, inventory gains

ORLANDO, Fla. – May 22, 2014 – Florida's housing market reported higher median prices, more new listings and a slight rise in inventory in April, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 21,385 last month, up 4.1 percent over the April 2013 figure.

"Florida's strengthening economy and increased jobs outlook are positive signs for continued growth in the state's housing market," said 2014 Florida Realtors®President Sherri Meadows, CEO and team leader, Keller Williams, with market centers in Gainesville, Ocala and The Villages. "Statewide, new listings for single-family homes in April rose 9.2 percent year-over-year, while new townhouse-condo listings rose 1.4 percent. This increase in listings shows many Florida homeowners are continuing to regain equity in their homes. Potential sellers who were on the sidelines now believe the time is right to put their residences on the market.

"And, for the 29th month in row, median sales prices rose year-over-year for both single-family homes and townhome-condo properties."

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $175,000, up 6.1 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis (IDA) department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in April was $140,500, up 9.8 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), thenational median sales price for existing single-family homes in March 2014 was $198,200, up 7.4 percent from the previous yearthenational median existing condo price was $200,800.In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in March was $435,470; in Massachusetts, it was $314,063; in Maryland, it was $245,891; and in New York, it was$217,500.

Looking at Florida's townhome-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 10,766 last month, down 5.1 percent compared to April 2013. The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales last month compared to the previous year: Short sales for condo-townhome properties declined 57.9 percent while short sales for single-family homes dropped 51.5 percent. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

"We continue to see the development of a sustainable market here in Florida," said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. "The numbers all suggest a balanced market, and the slight uptick in inventory is a correction for the historically low levels we've seen over the past two or three years.

"If there's anything that jumps out of these numbers, it is the rapidly disappearing short sale market. The decline in short sales – a characteristic seen all over the country – is a function of rising prices reducing the number of candidate properties for short sales. We expect this will continue as the market continues to improve."

Inventory was at a 5.7-months' supply last month for single-family homes and at a 6-months' supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to Florida Realtors.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.34 percent in April 2014, up from the 3.45 percent average recorded during the same month a year earlier.

Emerald Coast On The Rise

Emerald Coast Real Estate on the Rise Real Estate on the Emerald Coast is on the rise. According to the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, pending sales have increased in July with 5.4 percent for single family homes and 13.1 percent for townhomes and condos. Price points are also becoming competitive with a one percent median sales price increase for Okaloosa County and a 19 percent increase for Walton county. Let's compare some numbers to last year, overall the single-family home inventory on the Emerald Coast has seen a decrease of 25.7 percent while condo and townhomes decreased30 percent. With short sale and foreclosure transactions decreasing, we see a welcome sign that our market on the Emerald Coast is getting stronger.

Housing Bust Is Over!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Mortgage rates fell again this week, smashing previous record lows, according to a regular weekly release from mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, the most popular mortgage product, dropped to 3.62% from 3.66% last week. The rate has matched or hit a new low for 10 of the past 11 weeks, Freddie Mac said. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate fell to 2.89%, down from 2.94%.

"Recent economic data releases of less consumer spending and a contraction in the manufacturing industry drove long-term Treasury bond yields lower over the week, and allowed fixed mortgage rates to hit new all-time record lows," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is popular among homeowners who are seeking to refinance or to trade-up and minimize their total interest payments. At the current rate, a borrower financing $200,000 would pay $1,370 a month and spend a total of just under $47,000 in interest over the 15-year span of the mortgage.

Related: Where home prices are rising fastest

Buyers who want to minimize their monthly payments by opting for a 30-year loan would have payments of just $911 a month on a $200,000 loan. But they would pay $128,000 in interest over the life of the loan.

Turtles

South Walton’s sugar-white sand beaches are a big draw for visitors, but they’re also home to some of the area’s tiniest residents. During the months of May through October, endangered sea turtles build nests in that sand, and need the help and consideration of human beachgoers in order to thrive and survive.

The two most common species of turtles in South Walton are Green Sea Turtles and Loggerheads. In the late spring and early summer, female sea turtles that were born in South Walton return to build nests. Later in the summer and in the early fall, the turtle eggs in the nests begin to hatch, and the hatchlings use light reflected off the surf to guide them into the ocean. South Walton has a dedicated team to help identify and protect the turtles, but there are things that beachgoers can do to make sure their efforts are a success:

• Prevent all lights from illuminating the beach– Turn off balcony and porch lights and draw blinds each night. Use only flashlights with red film covers (which are available at area businesses and the Visitor Information Center) as sea turtles become disoriented on their crawl back to the surf.
• Look but don’t touch – Do not disturb or handle any sea turtles, their eggs or their nests. All are violations of both federal and state laws.
• Don’t leave holes – Fill in any holes you dig including holes left from sticking poles and beach umbrellas into the sand. This will ensure others don’t get injured and that you don’t create obstacles for nesting sea turtles.
• Keep the beach clean – Reduce litter by disposing of your trash properly and removing all personal items from the beach each night.

Visit South Walton is a proud sponsor of these efforts. To find out more, visit southwaltonturtlewatch.org.

Beautiful Day in Destin, Florida!

Even with Debby out in the Gulf it is still beautiful in Destin, Florida!

Mortgage Rates Continue To Drop!

Mortgage Rates for a 30 year loan are down from 4.64% average in May 2011 to 3.8% average this last May 2012. With rates going even lower it is a good time to buy or refinance.

Florida Housing Market

                                                                                                                 Florida Housing Market continues to be on a positive track in May.

The recovery in Florida's housing market continues to grow stronger and stronger. Pending sales up 43.1% for single family homes and up 33.4% for condos/townhomes. Some areas in Florida are having a shortage of inventory which is resulting in multiple offers. 

Destin, Florida Crab Island

It is a little crowded on this Memorial Day at Crab Island. I think I will wait until next weekend to boat!

Sandestin Gumbo Festival!

February 17th and 18th!

REO Sales

When will REO sales finally reach the peak?

NEW YORK – Oct. 19, 2011 – Properties repossessed through foreclosure may not peak until 2013, HousingWire reports, quoting several analysts and recent reports.

Foreclosure sales are expected to reach 1.48 million properties in 2013, according to analysts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

However, with the surge, “we do not expect to see anywhere near the downward pressure on home prices that we had back in 2008, since the expected percent changes in liquidation volumes are so much smaller,” the analysts said.

The increase in foreclosures is expected to mostly change from private banks’ portfolios – which nearly half are from now – to the government’s backlog of properties, with an increase in foreclosures forecasted from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s portfolios. Overall, they are expected to liquidate about 595,000 properties in 2013.

To handle the expected surge, the government continues to consider ideas, including proposals of turning some of the foreclosures into rentals, and a plan from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to refinance more underwater borrowers so they’ll be less likely to walk away from their property.

But some analysts are skeptical that a surge in foreclosures will come without an intervention from the government.

“Do they really think that the government under any administration would let 500,000 homes hit the mark and crash prices all over again, six years after the first crash?” Scott Sambucci, chief analyst at Altos Research, told HousingWire.

Source: “REO Sales May Not Peak Until 2013,” HousingWire (Oct. 17, 2011)

National Geographic Lists DESTIN as one of top Ten BEST FALL TRIPS!

National Geographic has just put out it’s Best Fall Trips 2011 lists, and names The Emerald Coast as one of it’s choices! Among the reasons this area was chosen are the comfortable temperatures that are perfect for swimming and fishing in the emerald green waters, and for golfing among the areas beautiful golf courses. More than 30,000 fishing enthusiasts visit in October for the Destin Fishing Rodeo, and The Destin Seafood Festival is also in October. Discounts can also be found at local condos and hotels in the fall.

The other places listed on the Best Fall Trips 2011 include Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, Switzerland, Cannstatter Volkfest, Stuttgart, Germany, Columbus, Ohio, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, Dublin, Ireland, White Mountains, New Hampshire, Shoreline Highway, Marin County, California, and Day of the Dead, Puebla, Mexico.

Coldwell Banker United Destin Cares

CBU Cares: From dream homes to children in need, CBU Realtors strive to provide

September 17, 2011 1:20 PM

Katy Houghton

As well as helping homebuyers and sellers with their real estate quests, the agents of Coldwell Banker United are passionate about supporting local charities and children in need.

“Last year, a group of agents got together and created the idea of an internal organization to raise money for charities in the community that they’re passionate about,” said Jamie Huggins, CBU sales manager and broker.

That dream of an informal organization quickly grew into a formal foundation known as CBU Cares. After each sale, each of the 59 agents pledge to make a donation of a certain percentage of their sales commission.

Volunteer CBU Realtors, known as the Vision Council, recently went through agent-submitted applications and decided that Children in Crisis was exactly what they were looking for in their first act of charity as a foundation. 

At Wednesday’s sales meeting, CBU Realtors presented Ken Hair, the president and CEO of Children in Crisis, a check for $2,500.

CIC is a nonprofit charity in Fort Walton Beach that provides homes for neglected, abused and abandoned children of the community. Hair said they were very happy and thankful to be selected as CBU Cares’ signature charity.

“The money will go to feed, clothe and care for these children,” Hair said. “It’s because of donations from places like Coldwell Banker that we are able to keep our doors open.”

CBU Cares is an agent-driven foundation with the dream of contributing time and money to local organizations and charities. Coldwell Banker United also supports Habitat for Humanity and breast cancer research through the American Cancer Society.

“One of our five core values is supporting and being a part of the community,” Huggins said, adding that CBU Cares will make an annual donation to Children in Crisis. “That is my dream for this office.”

Destin Named Best Place To LIve and Boat

Magazine names Destin the best place to live and boat

May 28, 2011 7:18 PM

Katy Houghton

Florida Freedom Newspapers

TOP PLACES TO LIVE AND BOAT:

1. Destin, Fla.
2. Long Island, N.Y.
3. Newport, Ore.
4. Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.
5. Chattanooga, Tenn.
6. Phoenix
7. Seattle
8. Columbia, S.C.
9. Green Bay, Wis.
10. Traverse City, Mich.

SOURCE: Boating magazine

DESTIN — The area has another feather in its cap after scoring the top spot in Boating magazine’s Top 10 Best Places to Live and Boat.

“Once people go boating in Destin, they’re hooked,” said Fred Pace, managing partner for Legendary Marine.

When deciding the best places to set sail, Boating magazine considered “livability, public access, convenience and also relaxing getaways …”

“Destin has great cruising ability and it’s a terrific place to fish,” Pace said. “There are so many places to boat. There is Crab Island, the magnificent waterways … I’m not sure there is a close second.”

Among the local landmarks for the magazine were Crab Island, Choctawhatchee Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway and the “plentiful” vacation rentals.

Peter Wright, owner of the Ship’s Chandler in Destin, said he thinks there are a couple of reasons Destin took the top spot on the list.

“It’s a big vacation area. A lot of people from cities that placed on the list come here,” he said. “There are places you can catch bigger marlin and more shellfish, but if you drew a five mile circle around the East Pass, you will catch such a variety of fish unlike anywhere else.”  

Wright moved to the Emerald Coast in the 1970s with his family and got his first job on a fishing boat in Destin.

“This is going to help everybody out, especially the charter boat captains who took one on the chin” during last year’s oil spill, Wright said. “For boat dealers like myself, we’re starting to pick up that pace, but there is still a lot of work to go. I’m just glad the fish are biting.”

Shane Moody, president and CEO of the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce, said even after living here for nearly eight years, being on the water is still a magnificent experience.

“The colors, the clarity, the marine life — we see dolphins near or around the boat every time we go out. You can’t get that anywhere else,” Moody wrote in an email. “You have Crab Island, the most unique boating destination
I’ve ever seen. You have the Intracoastal Waterway and the sound where you can pull your boat up on one of numerous islands or beaches and have a day-long outing.”

He also noted Destin’s location on the Gulf of Mexico and its great fishing.

“Destin’s history is full of boating, from charter boats to commercial fishing to recreational boating,” Moody wrote. “It’s not really part of our lives, it is our way of life, and that’s what makes living and boating spectacular in Destin.”

Read more: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/destin-40589-live-magazine.html#ixzz1YPMDh4NW

Staged-to-Sell, But Is it Priced-to-Sell?

September 12, 2011 by Melissa Tracey · 4 Comments
Filed under: Home Trends, Staging Tips 

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Staging a home to perfection can certainly get buyers’ attention, but pricing the home to sell is what often will get them in the front door, housing experts say.

With home values dropping across the country, a few sellers are still struggling to come to terms that their home may not be worth what they previously thought. About 77 percent of home owners believe their home is worth more than the recommended listing price, according to real estate professionals surveyed in the HomeGain National Home Values Survey. Yet, about 67 percent of home buyers say home values are still overpriced.

Nearby foreclosures can certainly influence a seller’s asking price. Foreclosures in a community can actually reduce nearby property values, on average, by $20,300 per household, according to research by the Center for Responsible Lending.

But many sellers can’t accept that their home’s value may be lower because of the houses down the street.

The sellers who tend to be overpricing their homes the most are the ones who bought post-housing bubble too, according to a study earlier this summer by Zillow.

Zillow found that home sellers who purchased their home in 2007 or later are overpricing their homes by an average of 14.1 percent. On the other hand, sellers who purchased their homes between 2002 and 2006 (pre-housing bubble) tend to price their homes about 9.3 percent above market value, according to the Zillow study.

“Post-bubble buyers seem to believe they escaped the worst of the housing recession, as evidenced by how they price their homes today,” says Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. “But 2006 was just the beginning of the housing recession, and it is continuing in earnest to this day. That means that even people who bought after the bubble burst need to break out the pencil and paper and do serious research into what has happened in their market since they first bought their home, whether it was four years ago or six months ago. Overpricing homes causes them to stagnate on the market and keeps inventory from decreasing–not a desirable outcome for either the sellers or the market as a whole.”

Downsizing Trend Shows Signs of Reversing

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

New-home sizes had shown signs of shrinking since the housing crisis and recession. However, Americans are still showing signs of living large. 

A new-home built in 2010 averaged 2,392 square feet — still more than 650 square feet larger than in 1980, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. While square footage in new homes have dropped slightly since 2007 (when it as 2,521 square feet), new-home sizes are still bigger than what they were from three decades ago. In 1980, new homes were, on average, 1,740 square feet. 

With the extra square footage nowadays, home owners are adding more rooms. For example, in 1980, more than 25 percent of all new homes had 1.5 bathrooms or less. In 2010, only 8 percent of homes had 1.5 or fewer bathrooms, while the overwhelmingly majority had a lot more. 

Source: “The Way We Live Now is Bigger,” LifeInc.com (Sept. 8, 2011)

Experience Paradise in Sandestin, Florida!

If you have not visited Sandestin, Florida, you are missing a visit to Paradise!  Sandestin is in Northwest Florida on the Emerald Coast. The floral beauty is unmatched except for Disney World!  Sandestin has beachside condos, bayside homes and condos, townhomes, and single family homes. The Hilton Hotel is on this property along with a private beach club and an awesome Baytowne Village with shops and restaurants. Every Season is a festive occassion with floral displays, decorations and entertainment. I am fortunate to live and sell real estate here in Sandestin. I would love to show you how wonderful it is to experience this little Paradise!

Click to see EVENTS on the Emerald Coast!

Events On The Emerald Coast!

New listing! 4409 Southwinds Condo on the Beach in Sandestin!

New Listing in Sandestin!

Southwinds #4409 Gulf Front  Condo

3 Bedrooms and 3 Baths

Beautiful Sunsets and Gulf Breezes.

Call Ben: 334-797-8815 for more information!

NEW LISTING in CARIBE - Caribbean Village By the Gulf!

 New Recent Listing In Caribe!

243 Rue Martine is a lovely cottage home in a village by the Beach!

Call us for more information!