Monday, January 23, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Home builders: Twice as many 'improving housing markets'
Home builders: Twice as many ‘improving housing markets’
WASHINGTON – Jan. 10, 2012 – The number of housing markets showing measurable improvement nearly doubled in January with the addition of 40 new metros to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). The IMI now shows 76 improving markets, up from 41 in December, with 31 states and the District of Columbia represented by at least one entry.
In Florida, three cities made it onto IMI’s improved list: Jacksonville, Cape Coral and Punta Gorda.
“The fact that the list of improving housing markets nearly doubled this month shows that a significant, positive trend is developing, and is even more relevant when you consider the expanding geographic distribution of the list – which now includes 31 states and the District of Columbia,” says NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen. “This trend could be even stronger if not for the numerous impediments that continue to slow a housing and economic recovery, including overly restrictive lending policies and the growing inventory of distressed properties in certain markets.”
The IMI is designed to track housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The index measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are analyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau.
NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.
“While relatively small metropolitan areas continue to dominate the list of improving housing markets, it’s important to note that several major metros in diverse parts of the country have now joined the field as well – including such metros as Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Nashville and Philadelphia,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “This is an encouraging sign that gradually strengthening economic conditions are starting to take hold across a broader swath of America.”
Five metropolitan areas dropped from the IMI in January, though none in Florida. A complete list of all 76 metropolitan areas currently on the IMI is available on NAHB’s website.
© 2012 Florida Realtors®
Cape Coral Florida
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Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Neubaufinanzierung Cape Coral Florida
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Viele Gruesse aus Florida
Cape Coral Florida
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home prices up in Lee County
The number of foreclosed homes coming back on the market for resale by lenders in Lee County was down sharply as 2011 closed while housing prices rose — good news for builders hoping to be competitive in price with existing homes.
A glut of foreclosed homes following the implosion of the real estate market in 2006 pushed prices down sharply for existing homes. Builders found themselves unable to compete with the low prices and the number of houses being built went from more than a thousand in 2005 to about 100 at present.
In December, 23 permits were issued in Cape Coral, six in the unincorporated county, three in Sanibel and 10 in Bonita Springs. Numbers weren’t available Tuesday from Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach.
Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home in the county with the assistance of a Realtor was up as the year ended: $106,300 in November, up 20 percent from $88,500 a year earlier.
From modest homes to mansions, prices inched up enough to make the price of new construction roughly equal to that of an existing home, said Jeff Tumbarello, director of the Southwest Florida Real Estate Investment Association, which issued a report Tuesday on the 2011 foreclosure and real estate market.
“Go try to buy a million-dollar house and see what it costs to buy a lot and put the same house on it,” he said. “It’s almost the same.”
The number of foreclosure lawsuits filed actually bumped up in 2011: there were 586 filed in December compared to 423 a year earlier.
But fewer foreclosures were resulting in actual judgments followed by public auction sales: there were only 293 in December compared to 582 a year earlier.
That was a result of a slowdown in the judicial system’s handling of foreclosures as the so-called “Rocket Docket” — a speeded-up procedure for pushing those cases through the courts — came to an end mid-year, Tumbarello said.
William Noah of Re/Max Hometown Properties, which is representing developer Pasquale Franchi’s Casa di Fiori condominium project in Cape Coral, said both investors and prospective homeowners are interested in the project, which has 52 units already built and ready for sale plus land for another 152 yet to be built.
By next week he hopes to have permission from the state Department of Condominiums to start marketing the condos, which will go for $115,000 to $125,000 — about half the price in 2005 when the project was started as Island Pines of Cape Coral.
One big advantage Franchi has is that he’s offering seller financing to buyers with 10 percent down: banks typically won’t look at a condo mortgage for less than 20 percent down, Noah said.
Dennis Cantwell, president of Sand Springs Development in Estero and also president of the Lee Building Industry Association, said the difficulty in getting bank financing is a major problem in the home-building industry these days but that he’s seeing signs of a recovery. He’s been relying on remodeling for work but now has a house under construction for the first time in two years.
Caitlin Hustrulid, director of members services and events for the association, said the group’s Parade of Homes will have at least 41 homes as it showcases the area’s new home construction the first three weekends in February.
That’s up from 32 last year and a far cry from the event’s low point of 12 houses in 2010, she said. “A lot of people who have participated in the past are jumping in and doing it again, a lot of smaller custom home builders.”
By news press
Cape Coral Florida
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Cape Coral Florida
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Average 30-year loan rate ties record: 3.94%
WASHINGTON – Dec. 16, 2011 – The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has dropped to 3.94 percent, the record low set in October.
Low rates offer a historic opportunity for those who can afford to buy or refinance. Still, many people either can’t take advantage of the record-low rates or have already done so.
The rate on the 30-year home loan fell from 3.99 percent the previous week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. This week’s 3.94 percent average matches the lowest on records dating to the 1950s.
Cape Coral Florida
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Leading U. S. economists: Fla.'s housing market bouncing back
ORLANDO, Fla. – Dec. 7, 2011 – Despite national and global headwinds, Florida’s real estate market is entering 2012 on an upward trend, according to three leading U.S. economists.
“Our state is in a mini-recovery,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo at the state association’s 2012 Real Estate and Economic Forecast Conference in Orlando. “Sales are trending up, listing inventories are falling, the supply of lender-related properties has stabilized, and we are seeing multiple offers on homes in some local markets.”
In fact, Florida homes today may be undervalued, Tuccillo added. “That may seem like a drastic statement,” he said. “But a buyer who plans to own the home for five to seven years can get some great bargains today.”
Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, N.C., said the U.S. economy will continue to face significant challenges, particularly financial concerns related to the European debt crisis. But he expects the U.S. economic recovery will continue next year, making it easier for Midwesterners, for example, to buy Florida homes.
“Florida’s economy is recovering, with tourism and healthcare leading the way,” Vitner said. “International tourism has been particularly strong in Miami and Orlando.”
Looking around the state, Vitner said Jacksonville’s unemployment rate has dropped and home prices are stabilizing. In Orlando, prices have not yet reached bottom, he said, but the winter tourism season should help the regional economy. Tampa and Southwest Florida have seen solid job growth, with little new home construction.
South Florida’s economy is growing thanks to trade relationships with Latin America and the Caribbean, while in the Panhandle, Fort Walton Beach is outperforming Panama City and Pensacola, according to Vitner.
Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors®, said many Florida markets are showing sharp drops in inventories of homes for sale – a sign that demand is picking up and prices are stabilizing. “That’s a major change from just a year ago,” he said. “Buyers have stepped back into the Florida market.”
Noting the state’s powerful appeal to international buyers, Yun said he was particularly optimistic about the outlook for South Florida. “Don’t be surprised to see a gain in home prices in the Miami and Naples markets in the next 18 months,” he said. “From there, the recovery is likely to roll northward to Central Florida and then North Florida.”
Tuccillo noted that foreclosed and distressed properties will remain a significant part of the Florida market in 2012, but lenders are feeding these properties into the market at a gradual pace rather than pushing them out all at once.
The event also featured a panel of Florida real estate professionals, who discussed the 2012 outlook for several sectors of the state’s real estate market from a practitioner’s point of view. Panelists were Clark Toole, president and COO, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. in Florida, discussing residential real estate; Cynthia Shelton, 2009 president of Florida Realtors and a director at Colliers International in Orlando, discussing the commercial market; and Dean Saunders, accredited land consultant and broker-owner of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate in Lakeland, covering the market for land and undeveloped property.
Florida Realtors real estate and economic summit was webcast to 32 local association or satellite sites around Florida. “Turnout was high for our statewide event,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “We hope to hold more of these forums on a regular basis – sharing knowledge of market trends is a powerful way for our Realtor members to connect with buyers and sellers.”
© 2011 Florida Realtors®
Cape Coral Florida
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