Metas
Estero FL Condo Market
The Estero Florida condo real estate market is showing positive signs of improvement. The positive signs are coming from less new listings coming on the market from March 2006 - 35 fewer units.Â
The pending sales for 2007 were very slightly under 2006 by only one unit.
Closed sales of the Estero condos showed the same exact number of units at 12.
Expired listings - units that failed to sell during the listing contract - significantly increased by 26 units, which was almost double the number in March 2006.
The Estero condo real estate market still remains a buyers market - but the available inventory is being reduced - although not thru actual sales. Sellers still need to be aggressive when pricing their properties for sale.
Bonita Springs FL Condo Market
The Bonita Springs condo real estate market continues to be weak, but better for sellers than it was in 2006.
The number of new listings of Bonita Springs condos for sale coming on the market in March 2007 was 74 units less than the previous year. Pending sales compared to last year was down by 11 units. Closed sales for Bonita Springs condos were up by 13 units. The number of expired listings - condominiums that failed to sell during the listing contract was up by 58 units from March 2006.
Overall the Bonita Springs condo real estate market remains a strong buyers market, however, the actual inventory of available condominiums is slowly being reduced. The condo market for buyers is weaker than 2006.
Naples FL Condo Market
The graph below shows the how the Naples FL condo real estate market performed during the month of March 2007.
Based upon the activity in March, the Naples condo real estate market is getting stronger. This based upon 50% less condominium units coming on the market in March 2007 versus March 2006.
Pending sales also saw a slight increase in the number of condos which pended sale versus last year.
Expired listings - those that failed to sell with the listing contract period - also increased from the previous year.
The three aforementioned factors caused the inventory of available Naples condos for sale to drop, which favors sellers - but the condo market remains largely a buyers market still.
Florida Real Estate News - 04/26/07
PROPERTY TAXES
As House and Senate property tax negotiators continued to parley on how much should be cut, Gov. Charlie Crist proposed a plan Wednesday that would basically split the difference. However, Crist’s plan doesn’t include any sort of proposal to increase sales taxes in exchange for reducing and potentially eliminating property taxes.
SUBPRIME MORTGAGES
The help promised by several lenders and financing groups for some homeowners with subprime mortgages could come too late for many to save their houses; others may not qualify for the loan bailouts.
Florida Real Estate News - 04/25/07
PROPERTY TAXES
Senate negotiators don’t want to trade homeowner property tax relief for higher sales taxes. Instead, they offered a revised plan to roll back and cap property taxes, which could take effect without going on the ballot.
Property taxes will keep rising across the nation even as house prices are falling in many parts of the country, according to a USA TODAY analysis of government data. A key reason is that despite the downturn, the market value of millions of homes still exceeds the assessed value used for tax purposes.
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN FLORIDAÂ
Pessimism about the housing downturn and rising gas prices balanced by optimism about a strong stock market caused consumer confidence in Florida to remain steady in April at 86 after falling six points in March, according to a University of Florida study.
Florida Real Estate News - 04/24/07
FLORIDA HOME SALES
Florida’s existing home sales remained at a sustainable pace in March, with buyers continuing to see favorable mortgage rates and a range of housing options available across the state, according to FAR. A total of 13,469 single-family existing homes sold last month for a 28 percent decrease from the March 2006 figure. The statewide existing home median price was $236,000.
Later today, hopefully, I will be posting statistical information and analysis on the Naples real estate, Bonita Springs real estate, and Estero real estate markets.
FLORIDA MORTGAGES
If you find a buyer, can that buyer find a mortgage? With so many subprime lenders going bankrupt or closing, it’s becoming harder for people with less-than-perfect credit to get loans, mortgage brokers say.
FLORIDA PROPERTY TAXES
Florida is far from alone in public outrage over property taxes. Battles are raging from Idaho to Texas to Vermont over whether to cut property taxes, cap government spending and change how homes and businesses are assessed.
Florida Real Estate News - 04/23/07
FLORIDA MORTGAGES
Lawmakers in Tallahassee are considering bills to curtail the way mortgage brokers do business, including a requirement that mortgage brokers fully disclose the risks associated with ARMs.
A good mortgage broker should explain all the details of any loan program to the prospective borrower.
FLORIDA PROPERTY INSURANCE
Will competition force down property insurance rates? Four new homeowners insurance carriers have entered the Florida market since the state passed legislation in January, with applications from another three companies pending with regulators.
Having more homeowner insurance carriers entering the Florida market is a good thing. Beyond the additional competition for policyholders, additional insurance carriers can reduce the loss exposure for the other insurance carriers - spreading out any insurance claims over a greater number.
HURRICANES
New research suggests that global warming could actually decrease the risk of hurricanes because it increases wind shear, or turbulence, even as it warms ocean waters. But the theory is too new to include in hurricane models and can’t be considered by Florida officials as they review new property insurance rate hike requests.
I wonder if Dr. Gray from the University of Colorado has considered this aspect in his forecast for the upcoming hurricane season.
FLORIDA SALES TAXES
Florida’s sales tax has helped keep the state’s checkbook balanced and credit rating so healthy over the years that it’s one place lawmakers like to look when searching for dollars.
If the sales tax has helped to keep the state’s checkbook balanced, maybe an increase in the sales tax, as proposed to give relief to property taxes, might not be so drastic. Wondering if the Florida legislature has considered this in their deliberations?
Florida Real Estate News - 04/20/07
FLORIDA PROPERTY TAXES
The Florida Senate unanimously passed its property tax reform proposal yesterday; now, a joint House/Senate committee must work out a compromise agreement between the two bills. While far apart on some issues, both bills include a business exemption on the tangible personal property tax and a rollback in property taxes to a level from an earlier fiscal year.
Florida Real Estate News - 04/19/07
FLORIDA PROPERTY TAXES
Florida’s House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to roll back property taxes to 2001 levels, while also passing, along party lines, a second plan to rewrite Florida’s tax code and give voters the option of eliminating property taxes on their homes by raising the sales tax.
WCI
Carl Icahn, one of the smart money people, turned up the heat yesterday in his campaign to take over Florida-based WCI Communities, just one example of investors on the prowl for deals in a “bargain boom†– the result of skyrocketing foreclosures and falling prices.
Florida Real Estate News - 04/18/07
FHA
In testimony before a U.S. House committee yesterday, HUD officials said that a modernization of HUD’s FHA lending program would help many homeowners who find they can no longer afford their subprime ARM mortgage payments.
MORTGAGES
Turmoil in the mortgage market is ensnaring more companies who lend to people with decent credit, the so-called Alternative-A mortgage sector, which offers loans to people with credit that’s better than subprime borrowers but not quite as good as prime.
FORECLOSURES
More South Floridians are falling behind on their monthly house payments, raising fears that a rising number will lose their homes to foreclosure this year and next. Analysts note that late home loan payments in Broward and Palm Beach counties increased in each of the first three months of 2007.