Last year may not have been the best year for Real Estate but CENTURY 21 Alliance Realty has proven once again that they are FANTASTIC!! For 2009, CENTURY 21 Alliance Realty ranked #3 for the North & Central Florida Region and #82 nationally by closed units. We also ranked #4 for the North & Central Florida Region by adjusted gross commission. 22 Associates produced over 1 million dollars!! Here is a breakdown of our numbers for the North & Central Florida Region: Rankings for Individual Producers by Adjusted Gross Commission are-#3 Gail Spada, #28 Linda Mezzacapo, #39 Maria Buckle, #44 Shampi Bedi, #54 Kathi Reubeling, & #85 Sherri Jessen. Rankings for Individual Producers by Units are-#4 Gail Spada, #15 Maria Buckle, #18 Linda Mezzacapo, #19 Maggie Hernandez, #26 JoAnna Morris, #30 Shampi Bedi, #42 Jean Edler, #53 Sherri Jessen, & #65 Jay Archbell. CENTURY 21 Alliance Realty is also fortunate to have 2 of the best Teams around. Team Botto ranked #29 for Top Team Producers by Unit and #30 for Top Team Producers By Adjusted Gross Commission. The Timmons Team ranked #9 for Top Team Producer by Units and #10 for Top Team Producer by Adjusted Gross Commission. Congratulations to these outstanding Associates!!! Regardless of the forecast CENTURY 21 Alliance Realty will always continue to Shine!!
March 10, 2010
March 3, 2010
Slight Population Increase in Florida this year
According to the University of Florida’s Economic and Business Research population projections, Florida should gain 23,000 residents from the spring of 2009 to the spring of 2010, bringing the population of the State of Florida to 18,773,000. Which is a large jump compared to the year before where the study showed a loss of nearly 57,000 residents according to bureau Director, Stan Smith, “It appears the state’s population loss was a one-year occurrence,” he stated.
Smith believes that the growth of Florida will be slow during the “early years of the new decade”, with the high unemployment rate; however there are many signs that the real estate market is beginning to pick up across the state. The population growth of Florida relies strongly on the economy as many people migrate to Florida for a number of different reasons; some are looking for employment, some are looking to retire and many are foreign immigrants. There are also a number of visitors from other states who flood to Florida during the winter months in an effort to escape the cold winters. According to Smith, “Even retirees are affected by economic conditions because of the housing market,” he says. “If it’s difficult for them to sell their homes, they may have to delay a retirement move to Florida even if that is what they had been planning to do.”
The increase in population in the Sunshine State is just one more sign of economic recovery for the state. With the low home prices, tax credits and low interest rates, there is no time like the present to purchase your Florida dream home!
February 22, 2010
Is the Foreclosure Crisis Looking Better?
The answer to that is “Yes”!! Even though the foreclosure situation is still an issue, it appears that less people are faltering on their home loans. According to the Seattle Times, the Mortgage Bankers Association stated the percentage of homeowners missing only one loan payment dropped .2% in the 4th quarter of 2009 from the 3rd quarter. The Nevada Appeal printed that numbers are down for the first time in 3 years of borrowers that are delinquent on at least one payment but where the foreclosure process has not yet begun. These are very good indicators that recovery is in sight!
Rates are still dropping!
Interest rates continue to drop for 30-year fixed rate mortgages! The record low in December 2009 of 4.71% is still holding firm, however this weeks rates fell to 4.93%, according to mortgage giant, Freddie Mac.
Mortgage rates are collected on Monday through Wednesday from lenders on a weekly basis by Freddie Mac, and can fluctuate drastically even on a daily basis, as they are closely tied in with Treasury bonds.
The FED has pumped $1.25 trillion in buying mortgage backed securities, which has in turn kept the rates around 5%, however that program is scheduled to expire on March 30, 2010, leaving many analysts to believe that the mortgage rates could rise significantly.
Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has a different outlook. DeMarco believes that private investors will be “stepping in” and that the rate decrease is a positive sign.
February 17, 2010
Nearly half the homes sold in Florida Sold at a Loss in December
According to analysts at Zillow.com, during the month of December 28% of the homes that sold nationally, sold at a loss. Here in Florida, 47% of the homes sold at a loss during the same month.
The soaring rate of foreclosures within the state of Florida is leading to lower home prices. Just in Florida alone, 500,000 homes received some form of foreclosure notice during 2009. According to Ken Johnson, a real estate economist as well as a professor at the Florida International University, “This is the market clearing, it’s bad medicine and we either swallow it a little at a time or a lot at a time. This is a lot.”
The Zillow.com Home Value Index also showed that by the end of December 2009, nearly 41% of mortgage owners in South Florida were “underwater” on their mortgages, that is to say they owe more than what the home is worth. This shows a small improvement from the third quarter statistics that revealed “underwater” mortgages at 46%.
February 9, 2010
Competition has hit the real estate market!
The extreme low home prices are attractive to first time homebuyers as well as investors. Investors however, are coming to the table armed with cash, making purchases difficult for first time homebuyers looking to finance.
Here in Florida home prices have declined drastically making it a perfect target for the real estate battle on homes priced below $300,000. Financing has become more difficult over the past year, giving cash buyers an upper hand in the battle. A survey conducted by the trade association revealed that nearly 22% of all previously owned homes that were sold nationally in December were purchased with cash. This marks the highest level since spring of 2009.
According the Jed Smith, researcher for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “Even though a first-time buyer may be offering the same price as an investor, or a higher price, the investor has the edge, the investor may actually pay less, but it’s cash, right now.”
February 8, 2010
Florida Property Taxes Drop Drastically
Property Taxes in Florida have plummeted $2.28 billion in the last three years due to declining real estate values as well as tax cutting measures. In 2007, a new law and an amendment to “roll back and cap property taxes” passed as Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced that he wanted taxes to “drop like a rock”…and that they have.
Officials are unable to determine what percentage of the tax deduction is due to the new law, and what percentage is due to the depressed real estate market, however taxable values for school purposes had declined under 1%, leading officials to believe that the new law and amendment are mostly responsible.
According to Sterling Ivey, Gov. Crist’s spokesman, “Any reduction in property tax is good news, there’s more money in people’s pockets. That’s the bottom line.”
February 2, 2010
A Change for the “Anti-Flipping Rule”
As of February 1, 2010, the “anti-flipping rule”, also known as “seasoning”, has changed. FHA will now insure mortgages on homes where the seller has owned it less than 90 days. Investors acquire homes, fix them up, and put them on the market. Buyers who are eligible for FHA financing used to have to wait for the seller to own the property for 90 days. If the buyer finds the home they want they will now be able to submit an offer when they are ready. Hopefully this change will move many of the foreclosures that are not being maintained and sitting unsold in our neighborhoods.
February 1, 2010
State Farm is Back in Business in Florida
After many discussions, disputes and negotiations, State Farm Insurance in Florida has dropped the original plan to withdraw entirely from the property insurance market in the State of Florida. After the Office of Insurance Regulation denied a 47.1 increase that was presented by State Farm over a year ago, the company quit writing property insurance throughout the state.
In December negotiations were made by the Office of Insurance Regulation to State Farm and an agreement was made. In an effort to reduce State Farms liability in Florida, 125,000 policies will not be renewed over the next year and a half. Property insurance clients will begin to receive those notices by next week. A majority of the policyholders that will not be renewed are high-risk coastal area clients.
Another part of the agreement states that State Farm will be permitted to increase their rates up to 14.8 percent.
January 26, 2010
Existing Homes sales Rise for 16 Consecutive Months
Existing home sales in Florida jumped 33% at the end of 2009, making the 16th consecutive month that real estate sales have increased in a yearly comparison. Economists believe that the rise in home sales is due in part to the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit, which is scheduled to expire in the spring of this year. According to Lawrence Yun, economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “Activity should ramp up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010. In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires, and balance should be restored to the housing sector with inventories continuing to decline.”
The median home price for existing homes by the end of last year was $140,400, which reflects a 10% decrease in an annual comparison. With government programs, low interest rates and bargain home prices, home sales should only continue to rise. However, many economists believe that another wave of foreclosures will sweep the market this year at the same time that government programs are scheduled to expire, which will in turn raise interest rates and perhaps home prices. Don’t pass by today’s deals! Now is the time to buy!
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