Is it time to buy? Or should I continue to rent? Now that interest rates are low and prices are going up means that NOW is the time to buy.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785312249?bclid=1699105451&bctid=1450148125001
David Metlika, Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty Boynton Beach 954-801-9338 dmm561@gmail.com www.SFLHomeRealtor.com
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Banks are Loosening Up
Money’s not easy, but it’s less tight
WASHINGTON – Feb. 5, 2013 – Banks are slightly loosening standards for many kinds of loans, and cutting into their own profit margins to try to make more loans, especially to businesses and real estate developers, the Federal Reserve says.
The central bank’s quarterly survey of bank lending officers said most banks haven’t made it materially easier to get business loans and commercial real estate loans in the last three months. But more than half of banks said they are accepting interest rates closer to what they pay for deposits, or other sources of money they lend out, according to the survey released Monday.
The report is one of the Fed’s primary ways to assess how credit is making its way into the economy, powering both business investment and consumer spending.
The central bank’s quarterly survey of bank lending officers said most banks haven’t made it materially easier to get business loans and commercial real estate loans in the last three months. But more than half of banks said they are accepting interest rates closer to what they pay for deposits, or other sources of money they lend out, according to the survey released Monday.
The report is one of the Fed’s primary ways to assess how credit is making its way into the economy, powering both business investment and consumer spending.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Why is Housing Inventory Falling?
What’s behind falling housing inventories?
NEW YORK – Jan. 29, 2013 – Home prices are increasing across the country as the number of homes for-sale continues to fall. But at a time when buyer demand is picking up, why is inventory still so low?
Inventories fell to 1.82 million at the end of last year, a 21.6 percent drop from one year earlier, the National Association of Realtors® reports.
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted several reasons behind the dropping inventories, including:
• Sellers hesitant to sell: About 22 percent of homeowners with a mortgage remain underwater, owing more than their home is currently worth. These homeowners don’t tend to sell unless a life-changing event occurs because they don’t want to take a loss on the sale. CoreLogic data finds constrained inventories in areas with the highest number of underwater borrowers.
• Not enough equity to trade up: Homeowners often rely on equity from their current home to make a downpayment on the next home. With fewer homeowners seeing equity, they may not have enough money to move into a pricier home – a constraint on the would-be “trade up” buyer.
• Investors continue to snatch up properties: Investors still snap up properties, but they’ve changed their strategy, which also constrains inventories. Now they’re holding onto properties and turning them into rentals instead of rehabbing and flipping them for profit. The result: fewer homes on the market.
• Banks slowing down foreclosures: Banks have new rules to meet with the foreclosure process, and it’s causing them to move at a slower pace. Banks also are showing a preference for short sales and loan modifications, which curbs the number of foreclosed homes on the market.
• Builders doing less building: Housing starts were at record lows from 2009 through 2011, so there’s less inventory added to the market. A rebound in the new-home market has only recently started to occur.
Inventories fell to 1.82 million at the end of last year, a 21.6 percent drop from one year earlier, the National Association of Realtors® reports.
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted several reasons behind the dropping inventories, including:
• Sellers hesitant to sell: About 22 percent of homeowners with a mortgage remain underwater, owing more than their home is currently worth. These homeowners don’t tend to sell unless a life-changing event occurs because they don’t want to take a loss on the sale. CoreLogic data finds constrained inventories in areas with the highest number of underwater borrowers.
• Not enough equity to trade up: Homeowners often rely on equity from their current home to make a downpayment on the next home. With fewer homeowners seeing equity, they may not have enough money to move into a pricier home – a constraint on the would-be “trade up” buyer.
• Investors continue to snatch up properties: Investors still snap up properties, but they’ve changed their strategy, which also constrains inventories. Now they’re holding onto properties and turning them into rentals instead of rehabbing and flipping them for profit. The result: fewer homes on the market.
• Banks slowing down foreclosures: Banks have new rules to meet with the foreclosure process, and it’s causing them to move at a slower pace. Banks also are showing a preference for short sales and loan modifications, which curbs the number of foreclosed homes on the market.
• Builders doing less building: Housing starts were at record lows from 2009 through 2011, so there’s less inventory added to the market. A rebound in the new-home market has only recently started to occur.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
South Florida: Top 20 Places to Buy Foreclosures
Topping a list of 20 metropolitan areas is Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, the Irvine, Calif.-based real estate data firm said.
RealtyTrac looked at four criteria in tallying the “best places”: the supply of foreclosure inventory; foreclosure sales as a percentage of all transactions; the average percentage discount on foreclosures; and the annual percentage change in foreclosure activity in 2012 compared with 2011.
Also among the top 20 metro areas for buying foreclosures are Lakeland (No. 5), Tampa (No. 6), Jacksonville (No.7), Orlando (No. 9) and Miami (No. 12), according to RealtyTrac report.
The No. 12 ranking for the metropolitan area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach was based on the area having a 29-month supply of foreclosures, with foreclosures accounting for 28.7 percent of all sales during 2012. The average price discount on a foreclosed home in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area was 31 percent in 2012, when foreclosure activity rose 36 percent from a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.
RealtyTrac looked at four criteria in tallying the “best places”: the supply of foreclosure inventory; foreclosure sales as a percentage of all transactions; the average percentage discount on foreclosures; and the annual percentage change in foreclosure activity in 2012 compared with 2011.
Also among the top 20 metro areas for buying foreclosures are Lakeland (No. 5), Tampa (No. 6), Jacksonville (No.7), Orlando (No. 9) and Miami (No. 12), according to RealtyTrac report.
The No. 12 ranking for the metropolitan area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach was based on the area having a 29-month supply of foreclosures, with foreclosures accounting for 28.7 percent of all sales during 2012. The average price discount on a foreclosed home in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area was 31 percent in 2012, when foreclosure activity rose 36 percent from a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Florida's Housing Market is Improving
Closing strong
ORLANDO, Fla. – December 20, 2012 -- Florida’s housing market has improved in 2012 compared to 2011, and keeps pushing forward. The year is closing out strong with sales and prices continuing their positive trends. With one month left to go, let’s look at the progress in November as well as year-to-date.
Florida’s pending sales were significantly higher in November. Single-family homes had 45.8% more pending sales in November 2012 than November 2011. Townhouse-condo pending sales were up 30%. Closed sales show a similar trend – increased pending sales push some closed sales through even with hurdles in the market. Both single-family and townhouse-condos closed sales increased from last year. The more exciting news – looking at the difference in the year-to-date numbers – is a 13,703 improvement in single-family closed sales and an 880 increase in townhouse-condos for the year as a whole.
ORLANDO, Fla. – December 20, 2012 -- Florida’s housing market has improved in 2012 compared to 2011, and keeps pushing forward. The year is closing out strong with sales and prices continuing their positive trends. With one month left to go, let’s look at the progress in November as well as year-to-date.
Florida’s pending sales were significantly higher in November. Single-family homes had 45.8% more pending sales in November 2012 than November 2011. Townhouse-condo pending sales were up 30%. Closed sales show a similar trend – increased pending sales push some closed sales through even with hurdles in the market. Both single-family and townhouse-condos closed sales increased from last year. The more exciting news – looking at the difference in the year-to-date numbers – is a 13,703 improvement in single-family closed sales and an 880 increase in townhouse-condos for the year as a whole.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
To Sell Your Home You Must Prepare Your Home
Buyers: Don’t just list a home – prepare it first
ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 16, 2013 – To sell a home or get top dollar, sellers must look at their property through the eyes of a potential buyer. Consider the following five tips:
1. Get rid of clutter and Aunt Mary’s photo.
“Selling your house is about taking your personality out of it and having people going through it envisioning their own life and personality,” says Candice Olson, host of “Candice Tells All” on Canadian television station “W Network.”
It’s hard for buyers to imagine themselves in a home decorated wall-to-wall with photographs of people they do not know, and knick-knacks that hold no special meaning. In preparing a home for sale, all the things that personalize a home to the family within should be stored for the next home – including all the pictures and magnets on the refrigerator.
1. Get rid of clutter and Aunt Mary’s photo.
“Selling your house is about taking your personality out of it and having people going through it envisioning their own life and personality,” says Candice Olson, host of “Candice Tells All” on Canadian television station “W Network.”
It’s hard for buyers to imagine themselves in a home decorated wall-to-wall with photographs of people they do not know, and knick-knacks that hold no special meaning. In preparing a home for sale, all the things that personalize a home to the family within should be stored for the next home – including all the pictures and magnets on the refrigerator.
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