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Existing Home Sales Surge in November
Happy Holidays from Citigroup
Citigroup announced that it will suspend foreclosures for the next 30 days in order to work on long-term alternatives to foreclosure. This will be happy news to an estimated 4,000 borrowers.
Foreclosure Numbers Show We Still Have A Long Road to Recovery
Although national foreclosures in November were down 8% from October, they are still up 18% over last November. With Florida in second place behind Nevada in having the highest number of foreclosures, we are still a long way off from being able to say the market has recovered. Recent decreases in inventory and increases in sales are all good signs that we have turned the corner, but a recent article in Forbes highlights some of the issues we still face and lists the 10 markets where they believe the market is turning around. Not surprisingly, none are in Florida.
Sales Under $250,000 Drive October’s Existing-Home Sales Surge
48.5% of the increase in sales reported by NAR were under $250,000. In the South, 51.6% of the sales were under $250,000. The increase in sales was largely due to the expiration of the first-time homebuyers credit, which President Obama ended up extending and expanding. Most experts expect the next couple of months sales to slide back a bit.
South Florida Real Estate – Third Quarter Summary
According to the National Association of Realtors third quarter report, sales are up throughout most of the country. The biggest increase in sales was in Florida at 36.8%. This is no surprise considering that we are also the state with the highest number (9 out of the top 15) of metro area price decreases in the double digits. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach metro area had a price decrease of 24.6 percent. What this means to you depends on whether you are a:
- Seller – Pricing is everything in this market. Although sales are up, the high unemployment rate and continued high inventories mean that prices will not be going up any time soon.
- Buyer – If you are waiting for the bottom of the market, you probably missed it, but high inventory levels, low interest rates and the extension and expansion of the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit, still equal a great time to buy.
- Investor – There are and will continue to be good buys but the high unemployment rate and inventory levels will continue to put downward pressure on rental and vacancy rates across the commercial/investment sector.-
More detailed information regarding specific real estate markets in Miami-Dade County can be found in Miami Real Estate – Single Family Homes Market Summary
First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit Extended and Improved
What does the bill that President Obama signed into law on Friday mean to you if you are a first time homebuyer? It means that you did not miss out on the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit and may be able to qualify for it now, even if you didn’t before. Why? Because the new First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit:
- expanded the credit to higher income individuals and married couples,
- expanded the credit to existing sellers who are looking to move up or downsize their primary residence as long as they owned and occupied the residence for five consecutive years out of the previous eight,
- extended the deadline until April 30, 2010 to be under contract as long as closing takes place by June 30, 2010
Miami Real Estate Market – Pending Sales, What Do They Really Mean?
The National Association of Realtors reported a 21.2 percent increase in pending home sales for the month of September. This is the 8th consecutive monthly gain so, what does that mean in terms of the real estate market? The answer, as always, is it depends on the location. The NAR number is a national number so it takes in the number of pending sales across the country. There are some areas of the country, such as the Northeast, that had a decrease in pending sales from August to September.
On a national basis, the increase in pending home sales bodes well for the housing market since most pending sales result in closed sales within 1 – 4 months. If you are currently trying to buy or sell real estate, you need to look at what all the numbers are doing in the location where you are buying or selling. In addition to looking at pending and closed sales; look at the inventory; price per square foot of listings, pending and recently closed sales; and the number of short sales and foreclosures in each category. All of these numbers will give you a good picture of what is going on in your market and will guide you in your offers if you are a buyer and your pricing if you are a seller.
Miami Real Estate – Third Quarter Market Update – Single Family Homes
Below is a quick snap shot of what the real estate market looked like after the third quarter. These numbers are derived from the Multiple Listing Service and though they do not include For Sale By Owners and anything not listed on the MLS, they are indicative of what is going on in our local markets. The closed sales may be slightly underestimated due to the lag time in posting the sale in the MLS.
Coconut Grove
- Closed Sales: 36. 3 short sales, 7 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $1.55 million. Lowest Sales Price: $50,000.
- Pending Sales: 28
- Active Listings: 215. Highest List Price: $18 million. Lowest List Price: $79,900.
- Summary: The number of closed sales and inventory are up from the second quarter.
Coral Gables
- Closed Sales: 93. 11 short sales, 11 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $5.5 million. Lowest Sales Price: $124,000.
- Pending Sales: 88
- Active Listings: 450. Highest List Price: $49.5 million. Lowest List Price: $189,000
- Summary: Both the number of sales (93 up from 82) and the inventory (450 up from 278) are up in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter of 2009. In both quarters, over half of the sales were listed under $600,000.
Key Biscayne
- Closed Sales: 9. No short sales, 1 REO. Highest Sales Price: $3.75 million. Lowest Sales Price: $780,000.
- Pending Sales: None.
- Active Listings: 129. Highest List Price: $24.950 million. Lowest List Price: $945,000.
- Summary: Sales are down, inventory is up and there are currently no pending sales.
Miami Beach
- Closed Sales: 51. 6 short sales, 11 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $9.5 million. Lowest Sales Price: $141,750
- Pending Sales: 57
- Active Listings: 391. Highest List Price: $29.9 million. Lowest List Price: $200,000.
- Summary: Inventory has increased from 264 at the end of the second quarter, while sales have remained at about the same from the second quarter’s 53.
Palmetto Bay
- Closed Sales: 64. 4 short sales, 10 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $1.4 million. Lowest Sales Price: $125,000.
- Pending Sales: 46
- Active Listings: 159. Highest List Price: $2.85 million. Lowest List Price: $155,000.
- Summary: The number of sales between the second and third quarter have remained relatively the same. The inventory has increased from 92 in the second quarter up to 159 in the third.
Pinecrest
- Closed Sales: 53. 2 short sales and 2 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $3.3 million. Lowest Sales Price: $283,000.
- Pending Sales: 32
- Active Listings: 227. Highest List Price: $5.9 million. Lowest List Price: $369,000.
- Summary: Both the number of sales (53 up from 50) and the inventory (227 up from 143) are up in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter of 2009.
South Miami
- Closed Sales: 22. 8 short sales, 8 REOs. Highest Sales Price: $1.3million. Lowest Sales Price: $20,000.
- Pending Sales: 22
- Active Listings: 66. Highest List Price: $1.880 million. Lowest List Price: $72,300.
- Summary: The number of closed sales is down slightly from the second quarter, which had 28 closed sales. Inventory is up from 28 at the end of June.
South Florida Real Estate Market: What is Going On?
The following were all topics in the news last week and all of them have an effect on our real estate market:
South Florida home sales surge, prices plunge, mortgage rates fall to lowest levels since May, Florida’s unemployment rate is up, Florida foreclosures are up and may be increasing, another condo developer files for bankruptcy, developers selling in downtown Miami for $200 per square foot, the first-time buyer credit is expiring, school starts Monday, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale real estate market is ready for a rebound, pending sales in Miami-Dade County up over 96% in July over same time last year, Florida loses population for the first time since World War II.
So just what is going on? In short, there have been a lot of positive signs that our real estate market is at or near its pricing bottom, but that doesn’t mean we are going to see appreciation any time soon. Closed sales are up and pending sales are up even further. The fact that housing prices in Miami-Dade are at their most affordable levels in years, coupled with the government’s first-time homebuyer tax credit, has helped move a lot of the lower priced inventory. The high unemployment rate will result in more foreclosures and our tourism and real estate dependent economy will take longer to recover from the recession than states with more diverse economies. All this means is that the real estate market will go through up and down spurts from month to month, similar to what the stock market is doing, and that prices will stagnate for a while instead of appreciating. Some months are going to see more sales than others. Certain areas are going to continue to see decreasing inventories. I suspect that with the start of school and the end of the first-time homebuyer credit at the end of November, the rate of sales is going to taper off a bit. If you are buying, there are going to continue to be deals and you will still be in the driver’s seat. If you are selling, pricing will be the most important factor.
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Curb Appeal
In the current real estate market, a lot of attention has been given to staging a home to help it sell. I am a big fan of staging, but think curb appeal is even more important. After all, it doesn’t matter how nice your home looks on the inside if buyers drive up, take a look at the outside and drive on. Here are some simple ideas to create curb appeal for your home:
- Make sure the outside looks clean and fresh. Remove cob webs and brush off dirt and bugs from outside walls.
- Pressure clean walk-ways, pool patios, fences.
- Paint any exterior that looks drab or dirty.
- Remove weeds and dead leaves from plant beds. Fill in bare spots with new plants and lay down a fresh layer of mulch.
- Re-asphalt driveway
- Paint or stain front door.
- Thoroughly clean all outdoor light fixtures and make sure the bulbs are working.
Even if you are not selling your home, these small fixes can make your home inviting to your friends and make you fall in love with it all over again! If you are a buyer or investor, look at homes that don’t have curb appeal. Most likely they have been on the market longer than homes in the neighborhood that do and you can get them for less than you would a house that has a pleasing exterior. Once the house is yours, you can add curb appeal and reap the benefits. Your cost to create appeal should be minimal compared to the savings you got on the purchase.
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