The following are some of the changes the FHA is making in how they process and accept loans in new and existing condo projects:
An interesting article by Robert Shiller, Yale Economics Professor and one of the creators of the Case-Shiller home price index, discusses the idea that perceptions as to land value is what has driven a lot of the housing market increases. He argues that a growing global economy and increasingly transient population that values economic freedom versus the perceived land value will create a more volatile housing market.
What do you think about the issues raised in the article?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
More detailed information regarding specific real estate markets in Miami-Dade County can be found in Miami Real Estate – Single Family Homes Market Summary
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:
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.