Metas
Naples Real Estate News - 05/31/07
Today is the last day of May and with the last day comes some very good news if your Naples real estate is on the market. For a prospective buyer of a Naples home or Naples condo, you might want to consider this a forewarning.
FLORIDA HOUSING MARKET
A top Florida economist has declared the housing slump a done deal. It will take another 18 months or so before closing volumes reach more normal levels, but the worst is behind us, says Hank Fishkind.
Fishkind says the turn-around is important to everyone, attributing housing troubles to the recent 75 percent drop in GDP (gross domestic product). The current 1.3 percent rate is down from the historic 4 percent pace, but Fishkind says that dropoff would go away completely when housing simply returns to normal levels.
"With (the number of home) starts below (the number of) closings, the inventory of new but unsold homes is slowly being absorbed," says Fishkind. "Sales of existing homes are the best leading indicator for national housing markets. April sales were off sharply, falling below 6 million at an annual rate. At these levels it will take 8.4 months to sell all the homes that are for sale. However, prices remain stable. And the sales levels, while down this month, were up sharply earlier in the year."
“What all of this means, is that we have seen the worst for housing markets,†Fishkind says.
HURRICANES
And the bad news for today is brace yourself: Hurricane season starts tomorrow, June 1. Forecasters predict a slew of storms – not that their forecasts were accurate last year – and, statistically, Florida is overdue for a major hurricane.
FLORIDA BUILDING CODES
Florida’s building code, initially revamped and strengthened after 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, is still being adjusted and researched. The code’s purpose is to protect lives, help reduce property losses in a storm and provide a guide for insurance companies to determine rates.
Do you when and how the building codes changed? If you are thinking about looking at Naples homes for sale, Bonita Springs homes for sale or Estero homes for sale, you may want to obtain this information.
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