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The Florida Association of Realtors numbers are in for the month of December, and they paint a very rosy picture for residential sales, marking the 16th straight month that sales activity has increased! Existing home sales in the State rose 33 percent last month compared to December 2008, with a 91 percent increase in existing condos! Median sales prices, however, continued to decline—10% less this December as opposed to last December. (The median is the midpoint at which half the homes sold for less and half sold for more.)
Manatee County fared almost on par with the Statewide figures: sales of residential properties increased by 30 percent, and condo sales more than doubled for a 140 percent increase. Our median sales prices continued to decline as well; however, single family home median prices declined by only 2 percent, while the median condo price declined by 7 percent, well above the State average.
Although foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they sell at a discount relative to traditional residences, there’s still good news for us from sales growth in general. And, let’s not forget: as long as interest rates continue to remain favorable and as long as consumers return to the housing market, prices won’t continue to drop forever. Don’t miss the bandwagon by holding out too much longer.
Realtors and Economists alike, predict that 2010 may herald the top of the short sale market. That’s one reason why I am happy to see that the Obama Administration realeased guidelines to become rules in April providing incentives for loan servicers and homeowners to engage in short sales when borrowers don’t qualify for a loan modification.
The most salient guidelines allow borrowers to receive pre-approved short term sales prior to property listing; release borrowers from future liability if the sale goes through, and finally, require that loan servicers respond to offers within 10 days of seller approval. In addition, they prohibit the reduction of real estate brokerage commissions stated in listing agreements (a practice that’s been a sore point with many real estate agents).
Although the new guidelines also offer some monetary incentives to borrowers, servicers and second lien holders of up to $6,500 in total, there are still too many obstacles, in my view, to substantially speed up the process. Among the most difficult obstacles is the lack of organization within the lender/investor ranks to help create a unified process through which to move short sale offers. And in the coming months as short sales increase, approval times will most likely bog down.
Is there an assembly line expert in the house?
Duncan Real Estate has added two associates to its team of realtors, adding more Island and mainland expertise to its residential real estate ranks. Wendy Gaudioso, a sales associated with over 20 years of real estate experience joins Duncan following a several year hiatus from real estate. She had previously worked for Coldwell Banker. Nicole Skaggs, with A Paradise Realty for nine years, joins Duncan as a Broker Associate. Both TeamDuncan members bring a myriad of experiences and professionalism above and beyond.
Wendy, a native of Rochester, NY, spent over 20 years in Salt Lake City, Utah, owning and operating early childhood education centers and served as a child advocate with the Utah legislature. She came to Bradenton in 1998 with her husband, Dr. Larry Gaudioso, and their three children to be near their parents. Nicole, a “military brat” born in Germany, has been a local Florida resident for the past 25 years. Prior to becoming a realtor 10 years ago, she served as a legal assistant, a community controller, commercial property manager and held varied marketing and advertising positions. She is the mother of a grown son, Matthew, who attends Nicole’s Alma Mater, The State College of Florida.
TeamDuncan is getting stonger by the minute.
Buying an income-producing property now may be the best way to start the New Year. Prices have consistently fallen for the last three years, making such an investment very affordable and propitious.
In 2006, a record 138 income properties (properties from one to five units used specifically for rental purposes) sold at an average price in Manatee County of almost $296,000. By the end of December, 2009, only 66 income properties sold with an average sales price of about $113,000, a greater than 50% price drop. Of the income producers which sold this year, those fetching the top nine sales prices were all situated on Anna Maria Island. At an average price of $394,573, these sales topped the average County price by more than 300 percent!
While the market continues to deliver income producers with an excellent return on investment based on these low prices, I’d counsel any investor to think about a duplex, triplex or other, while the rental market remains strong and while income is very apt to cover expenses. Another piece of advice I give too is this: You aren’t buying a home for yourself nor your mother. Be realistic about upgrades and remodels since renters are there for the short term, and won’t be as stringent as if they were in their own homes.
If 2009 will go down in our minds as the year of the economic slowdown, then 2010 is hopefully going to become the year when gray skies cleared. One sign of this new beginning is the fact that the number of residential home sales in Manatee County from January 1 of this year through December 15th grew 14% over last year for the same period. Another sign I like is that condo sales, which had fallen from grace (in all of Manatee County, a total of only 575 units sold during the 2008 period), this year represent about 21% of total unit sales. To put this into better perspective, condo sales outperformed single family home sales on the Island this past year. They represented just under half of all residential sales as opposed to last year when condo sales accounted for under one third of all sales on the Island.
Pricing was down, however. The average County residence sold in 2008 for $252,000; this price dropped this year by 33 percent to $170,000. However, because rates appear to be staying low, and with homebuyer tax credits extended, I am confident that unit sales will continue to grow. And, I also believe prices will stabilize, given that predictions point to and end of foreclosed properties by the end of 2010.
No matter what 2010 is about to bring, I’m one to believe in the New Year as a time for new hope, new aspirations and new beginnings. And that means blue skies.
Close to 500 buyers will be having a very merry holiday this season, as they move into their new purchases. According to MLS, 473 residential properties have come under contract in Manatee County since November 1, most of which are expected to close before the end of 2009. Their average listing price, according to MLS, is $245,600. Since December 1 (and as of this writing December 14), a total of 130 homes have sold in Manatee at an average sales price of $221,766. That’s a 14 percent increase in the number of sales between this and last year although prices dropped 17 percent on average for the same period. On the Island, residential sales fared better: They dropped 10 percent in price for the period, but the number of sales more than doubled the first two weeks of December this year versus last year.
This activity spells lots of cheer for many new homeowners and it means lots of hope and good signs for a recovery in our market. December has not been very active in recent years in our neck of the beaches. This year, there’s an uptick. It’s as beautiful to see as as a gorgeous big ribbon on a box. May the holidays bring everyone some joy.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has just recently announced new lending rules for condominium buyers, which are sure to be a blow to the numbers of buyers who have increasingly relied on FHA financing. The rules place limits on the number of buyers in a given building who can get FHA financing and in new buildings, where at least 30 percent of the units must be pre-sold before the agency insures new loans. Unlike traditional mortgages, FHA loans only require a 3.5 percent downpayment, a reason why one in four new loans today is an FHA mortgage.
Although this would appear to have strong rippling effects in the condo market, on Anna Maria it is not likely to have major impact. For one thing, FHA loans are meant only for primary residences—while on Anna Maria buyers tend to buy second homes or investment properties primarily. For another, condo buyers in general, have already experience the tight restrictions in place with regards to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages for the last year.
It’s no surprise that the Feds have tightly cinched lending rules and regulations. They are only trying to ensure that customers purchase units in viable buildings and that defaults on condo projects don’t rise too high. While I applaud the move for now, I just hope that they’ll be flexible enough to know when it’s time to loosen the knot.
Although the latest statistics issued by the Florida Association of Realtors point to a 45% rise in the number of existing home sales in October as compared to the same month last year, and an amazing 82% jump in condo sales for the same period, there is nothing out there pointing to a full housing recovery yet. More so, with buyers and sellers needing a better understanding of the conditions of the sales environment in which they operate—how short sales impact pricing, how lenders are changing their standards for lending and how disclosure requirements might affect negotiating—it seems that the time for working with a realtor is perhaps more important now than ever before.
Every Realtor®, a member of the National Association of Realtors, is bound to subscribe to a strict code of ethics. Each must also be prepared to provide important services to the customer unraveling and interpreting the processes involved in buying and selling real estate, everything from providing required disclosures and documents, to locally relevant information for buyers making life changes. Realtors, too, serve as allies to their customers, providing negotiation and pricing know-how. They also serve as valuable marketing partners and as interpreters of the specific language relating to real estate. Their expertise on changes in the laws and regulations pertaining to transactions and their usefulness as third party participants greatly aid the buying and selling process.
Even though the real estate stars are looking up and more in our favor, don’t be fooled into thinking that the real estate market coast is clear. Find a realtor. See the light.
In a move designed to better serve our ever growing Property Management business, I am very pleased to announce that Elaine Mullhaupt, a TeamDuncan veteran, will be leading our rental management division. Elaine, who also speaks Spanish, has spent more than 20 years in the international arena, managing sizeable properties and those belonging to investment groups.
Other changes include Frank Migliore, also a long-standing team member, who has been appointed as Service Manager and will continue to handle all long-term rentals. Dianne Hackbart, a newcomer to TeamDuncan, will be serving as the company’s Reservation Specialist.
This reorganization is part of our continuing effort to enhance our customer service and maintain growth for the coming years. Property Management – in all its facets – is one of our fastest growing services, and with these appointments, we are positioning ourselves not only for growth, but to be able to serve you better! I am proud of our team, and know you will be too.
I’m glad to relay the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors which, on Nov. 17th, reported that first time buyers accounted for a record 47 percent share of home sales over the past year, up from 41 percent in 2008. To put this into perspective, that’s a whole 11 percent more than their share of the market in 2006—a cyclical low. Even more encouraging is the fact that existing home sales are up to over 5 million, a 2 percent gain over 2008.
Why is this so significant? According to the NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, the “draw-down of inventory will help home values to turn positive in 2010.” In fact, he predicts that with the tax credit extended to the middle of next year, home prices “should rise” between 3 and 5 percent. He forecasts that sales of homes will rise almost 14 percent in 2010.
Although Florida has been among the states hardest hit by the housing crisis of the past few years, I foresee a faster recovery than most states in the year to come. After all, haven’t I always maintained that sun and sand are always a better bet than cold and gray?
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