Sarasota real estate market at highest level since 2005

Property sales in May 2010 in the Sarasota market once again hit the highest total since 2005 and median sale prices continued the steady pace observed in recent months.

The 766 sales were the highest for the year, topping the April 2010 total of 757, and were the highest total since December 2005, and 51.3 percent higher than the May 2009 total of 506 sales.

Pending sales were once again strong, hitting 857, but were slower than April 2010. The March and April pending sales figures both topped 1,000, and reflected a last minute rush to beat the federal homebuyer tax credit deadline.

“The May 2010 statistics continued to show that the Sarasota real estate market is continuing a steady recovery,” said 2010 SAR President Erick Shumway. “We saw a slight dip in the pending sales, which will likely be reflected in the sales numbers over the next 30 to 60 days. But median sale prices are higher than last year at this time, and we remain optimistic.”
Members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors® sold 539 single family homes and 227 condos in May 2010, a huge jump over May 2009, which saw only 375 single family homes and 131 condos sold.

The median sale price for a single family home was also trending higher at $169,000, up 8.4 percent from last May’s figure of $155,000. For the last 12 months combined, the median sale price for single family homes was $165,000. For condos, the median price was $184,500, slightly higher than last May’s figure of $181,000, while the median sale price for condos over the last 12 months was $192,000.

The pace of sales quickened for single family homes, with the average days on market dropping to 168, from 195 days last May. For condos, the figure stood at 213 days, slightly higher than last May’s figure of 203 days.
The level of sales of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) rose slightly in May 2010 to 40 percent of the overall market, from 38 percent in April 2010. The distressed market topped 48 percent in late 2009, so the overall trend remains downward – a good sign for a market returning to normal.

The property inventory level remained steady in May 2010 at 6,094, which is the lowest level since late summer of 2005.
The months of inventory for single family homes in May 2010 dropped to 7.2 months, the number of months it would take to sell all available homes at the current pace.

This was a significant drop from May 2009 – 14.3 months – and very near equilibrium. For condos, the figure fell to 9.7 months, much lower than last May’s figure of 19.0 months. Once the market reaches the 6 month level it is considered to be in equilibrium between a buyers and sellers market.

Justin Shirley
CEO
Shirley International Realty
941.448.4872
www.JustinShirley.com

CNL occupies two towers that flank Orlando City Hall downtown.

Orlando-based CNL Financial Group and Sydney’s Macquarie Group have joined forces for the first time to establish a new global REIT, CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust Inc., which will pursue opportunities in just about every sector of commercial real estate in various areas around the world. The partners can afford to think big, as the proposed total offering for the REIT is $1.5 billion.

CNL going on a global buying spree

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 27, 2009 – CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust Inc. announced its first public offering of $1.5 billion common shares for a new real-estate investment trust, with CNL Financial Group of Orlando serving as managing dealer.

The move marks the first partnership between the CNL group and the Australian-based Macquarie Capital Funds, an affiliate of Macquarie Group Limited, which has more than $189 billion of global assets.

Unlike traditional income-driven trusts, the product announced Thursday is growth-oriented rather than income driven, said a spokesman for CNL. The focus will be on acquiring commercial office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties that may “require repositioning or redevelopment” and that may face financial deadlines or be in markets with growth potential, according to a statement released by CNL on Thursday morning.

As much as 30 percent of those assets are likely to be outside of the United States.

University of Central Florida real estate Professor Randy Anderson said the strategy of pursuing well-placed assets for less than replacement costs is the correct move at this time.

“Right now it’s really important to buy right and buy when the assets are depressed,” Anderson said.

It’s key, he added, to be well-funded with a long view of staying with a property seven to 10 years instead of looking to sell in two or three years.

“You can’t be a musical-chair kind of investor,” he said.

Another consideration is going with an experienced team of investors who know to steer away bargain properties that don’t make sense in the long run, he added. CNL has had an “uncanny” ability to buy those strategic assets when the properties are out of favor, Anderson said.

Founded in Orlando in 1973, CNL Financial group has formed or acquired companies with more than $23 billion in assets, including hotel, retail, restaurant, and senior housing. Macquarie Group Limited, with headquarters in Sydney, was founded in 1969 and operates in more than 70 office locations in 26 countries.

Copyright © 2009 The Orlando Sentinel, Fla., Mary Shanklin. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

How to beat the $8K tax credit deadline

CHICAGO – Sept. 28, 2009 – It’s not too late for a determined first-time home buyer to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit, which expires Nov. 30.

Scott Voak, a San Diego practitioner specializing in first-time buyers, helps potential buyers target homes that can close quickly. To identify those properties without touring them, he suggests contacting the listing agent with blunt but important questions that aren’t usually addressed in the listing. These can include:

• Is there mold?
• Does the home need extensive repairs?
• Does the home have aging systems or appliances?
• Are there any troublesome neighbors?

Buyers should factor in these questions before making an offer:

• How long has the property been on the market?
• Have there been any price reductions?
• Are there any offers written on the property?
• Do the home owners need to move by a specific date?

Other recommendations include:

• Provide buyers with as much information about financing as possible.
• Encourage buyers to begin the process right away.
• Make sure buyers understand who is responsible for closing costs.

Source: Move.com, Scott Voak (09/23/2009)

Justin Shirley
CEO
Shirley International Realty
941.448.4872
www.JustinShirley.com

Good news about housing and stocks lifts Florida’s consumer confidence

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Aug. 26, 2009 – Rising housing prices, stock market gains and the lack of any new setbacks in the national economy boosted Florida’s consumer confidence three points to 70 this month, according to a new University of Florida (UF) survey.

“We had anticipated an increase in consumer confidence in August based on what appeared to be an unjustifiable two-point drop in July following what was already a two-point decline the previous month,” said Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “While the economic environment is by no means bright, the decline in July seemed unsustainable given the lack of any very bad economic news and some encouraging signs in Florida’s housing market and the stock market.”

Three of the five components in the index rose, one fell and one stayed the same. Perceptions of personal finances now compared with a year ago remained unchanged at 43, still only four points above its all-time low of 39. Perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next year jumped 10 points to 73; perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next five years rose eight points to 80; and perceptions of personal finances a year from now increased five points to 84. The only component to drop was perceptions of whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, which fell five points to 72.

“We are not out of this recession yet, particularly here in Florida, but things are not nearly as bad as they were a year ago,” McCarty said.

Home sales have picked up both nationally and in Florida, and falling prices suggest a bottoming out of the housing slump, McCarty said. The latest report from the Florida Association of Realtors® shows median prices for existing single-family homes flat from last month and still up for the year.

If foreclosures continue, they could depress home prices, McCarty said. The Mortgage Bankers Association has reported that 23 percent of Florida mortgages in the second quarter of 2009 were either in foreclosure or late on payments.

The hardest hit area for foreclosures is along the southwest coast, including Fort Myers, Sarasota and Punta Gorda, all of which are disproportionately dependent on retirees, McCarty said. A slowing of the retiree housing market is a big factor in Florida’s population decline last year for the first time since 1946, which the bureau reported last week, he said.

“We expect consumer confidence to stay mired in the upper 60s and low 70s as the recovery develops,” McCarty said. “Unfortunately, while Florida housing is showing signs of improving, the overall state economy in the long run will likely lag other parts of the country given the prospects for a turnaround in employment.

“As the country moves into recovery over the next year, real estate, construction spending and tourism – all of which have been major sectors in Florida economy’s over the past two decades – will certainly stabilize, but not grow as they had,” he said. “Florida needs a new approach.”

The research center conducts the Florida Consumer Attitude Survey monthly. Respondents are 18 or older and live in households telephoned randomly. The preliminary index for August was conducted from 425 responses. The index is benchmarked to 1966, so a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year.

© 2009 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

MIAMI – Aug. 4, 2009 – Jose Garcia looks over the contract for his Gables Estates home with Realtor Audrey Ross, who deals with the ultra-luxury housing market. The price of Garcia’s home: Just under $20 million.

Elite Realty. “Now, we’re getting five, six, 10 families coming through. I’m really praying and keeping my fingers crossed this is a permanent thing.”

Confidence seems to be returning, as well as a rising tide of money from outside the country, positive signs for both the high-end housing market, and the real estate market in general. Demand fed by foreign money has always been a critical piece of the real estate puzzle in South Florida.

“We’re on our way out of the worst (of the economic downturn)” said Manny Mesa, a Doral-based trial lawyer who is hunting for a bigger home for his wife and four children.

On Thursday, he toured the digs of former Miami Heat point guard Tim Hardaway. Hardaway is asking $3.9 million for the five-bedroom, five-bath home on almost two acres in the Pinecrest area. It boasts a six-foot coral rock wall for privacy and a closet the size of a very large bedroom.

“People are confident that the world is not ending,” said Adam Greenberg, a managing director for BayBridge, a Miami-based brokerage and mortgage banking firm. “They were so concerned it was ending and that our financial system could falter.”

When the global economy took a dive last year, real estate prices plummeted, including prices for South Florida’s toniest properties, priced at $1 million or more.

And then things got worse. As the calendar year turned, fear that the global financial system was heading off a cliff brought South Florida’s luxury home market – largely dependent on foreign wealth – to a standstill. In January, just nine houses priced over $1 million sold in Miami-Dade and seven in Broward.

But now brokers and some analysts are sensing a collective, if tentative, sigh of relief among the very wealthy, as evidenced by the recent uptick in luxury home sales. In June, the last full month of available data, 25 were sold in Broward and 41 in Miami-Dade.

The figures are still significantly off from the market’s peak, when about twice as many were selling on a monthly basis. And prices are still droopy.

Nonetheless, real estate brokers say it is evident that foreign buyers are returning to South Florida as news spreads globally that many of the region’s tropical, waterfront palaces are on sale. Among the bargains: Shaquille O’Neal’s 2.45 acre estate on Star Island, which sold recently for $16 million, about $2 million less than he paid for it in 2004.

Marketing a really ritzy home can involve having a robust website devoted just to that one property, color spreads in the Robb Report (billed as “The Global Luxury Source”) and advertising spots on shows like Extra and Power Lunch on CNBC. But in other ways it’s not that different from selling a two-bedroom CBS in South Miami. Delinois recommends having scented candles burning and a loaf of bread baking in the oven.

“Smell is very, very important,” said Delinois, who must know something, having sold Hulk Hogan’s home on North Bay Road in Miami Beach for a whopping $17.9 million.

Alas, despite Delinois’ recommendation, Hardaway didn’t have any candles burning or bread baking when Mesa stopped by. He didn’t get the sale either.

Mesa said he was going to keep on looking.

Brokers and analysts say the renewed activity in high-end real estate is at least partly because of a revived interest among lenders in making very large loans, called jumbo loans.

Banks’ appetite for jumbo loans – defined as more than $423,750 in South Florida – had all but evaporated as lenders hunkered down to weather the storm.

“They are marketing, inviting us to their offices to meet with them to tell us what they can do,” said Tere Bernace, a broker specializing in waterfront properties in Coral Gables and a former banker with Barclays Capital. “They say they are trying to increase their profile again in our market.”

Added Delinois: “I have never had a bank calling before to say they were lending.” BayBridge’s Greenberg said banks are interested in the rich and famous because they are looking for safety.

“They see values as very depressed and borrowers in the super luxury home market as a very unlikely default candidates,” he said.

In the past 30 days, BayBridge has closed three loans that were over $5 million.

“I’ve never had a client that has defaulted on a loan over $5 million in the nine years I’ve been doing this,” Greenberg said.

Spokesmen for Ocean Bank and BBU Bank in Coral Gables acknowledged they are actively seeking the business of luxury home buyers.

That doesn’t mean the loans are easy to get. Large loans require much heftier down payments – up to 50 percent of the purchase price – and stringent verification of income and assets.

Those who buy in the ultra-luxury category (homes priced at $5 million or more) often aren’t looking for loans.

“Most of the people who buy at this price point don’t finance, and if they do, it’s a matter of convenience,” said Audrey Ross, a senior vice president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell.

In the past three months, Ross brokered three sales in Gables Estates – each for more than $5 million, she said. Two were all-cash transactions.

Ross, who has specialized in high-end real estate for 25 years, said typically the ultra-luxury sector takes less of a hit in real estate downturns and is usually the first to recover.

Luxury prices have held up significantly better in the current slump than the market as a whole, according to Coral Gables-based real estate analyst David Dabby.

For homes selling for more than $1 million, the price per square foot has fallen about 14 percent in Miami-Dade and 20 percent in Broward from the 2006 peak.

That compares to a 50 percent decline in the market as a whole, Dabby said.

Jill Hertzberg, a broker with Coldwell Banker, who along with her partner Jill Eber was ranked eighth nationwide in sales volume last year by The Wall Street Journal and LORE Magazine, said unheard of deals on luxury properties are driving interest.

Hertzberg cooed over a fully renovated home in Miami Beach with a stunning wide-water vista of Miami’s skyline that “ ‘screamed out to anyone wanting a downtown view and a beautiful home.”

Originally listed for $4.1 million, the property was dropped to $3.2 million and quickly drew multiple offers. It is now under contract and a closing date has been set.

“These are great properties,” Hertzberg said. “They aren’t second-rate properties. They are adjusting down to prices that are incredible, that no one has see before and people are buying them.”

 Copyright © 2009 The Miami Herald

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For More Information Contact Linda & John @ 941-795-1080

 

Young homeowners gain despite stagnant economy

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – June 15, 2009 – If the real estate bust has a bright side, it’s this: People like Lilly Thomas, Stephanie Driskell and Dexter Wuller can finally afford homes.

Falling home prices and an $8,000 federal tax credit are putting homes in reach of young people who couldn’t afford them a few years ago. As a result, real estate agents say starter homes are the only part of the real estate market that’s showing some life.

It’s not a lot of life. House sales this year are down by a third from the boom year of 2006, and the bust spans all price classes. But the lower end of the market – houses priced under $200,000 – is suffering less, and there’s some evidence that a comeback could be beginning.

Now, real estate agents are starting to worry that rising mortgage interest rates may dampen buyers’ enthusiasm. Rates on 30-year mortgages jumped to an average of 5.59 percent last week, up from 4.84 percent a month ago. Meanwhile, many FHA lenders have raised their credit score requirements to 620 from 580, which will seal some people out of the home market.

House prices in St. Louis dropped 4 percent in the last year, and they’re down nearly 9 percent from their high of 2007, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s index, which excludes the most expensive houses.

‘We got a steal’

Those falling prices prompted newlyweds Lilly and Stephen Thomas to finally make an offer on a house in O’Fallon, Mo.

“As the market fell, we were looking at a $200,000 house that we could get for $170,000,” said Lilly Thomas, 29. “My dad thinks we got a steal.”

They also got a gift from Uncle Sam. The $8,000 “first-time homebuyer” credit is available to people who buy homes before Dec. 1. Buyers qualify if they haven’t owned a house for three years.

The credit may prompt an exodus from Mom and Dad’s house. Dexter Wuller, 23, left behind Mom’s cooking when he paid $88,000 for a century-old two-bedroom house in Belleville. “Once I started looking, I started liking houses. The idea of being out on my own and owning something was pretty good,” he said.

Stephanie Driskell, 28, saved money while living at home for free. That, plus the $8,000 credit, let her to buy a $138,000 home in Affton with her boyfriend. “We’re trying to live the American dream like they want you to do,” she said.

Scott Cottrell, of the Cottrell Realty Group in Ballwin, studies real estate statistics. He sees signs of a reviving market, led entirely by low-end home sales.

In St. Louis County, the monthly count of new sales contracts has gradually caught up to last year’s levels, which he calls a hopeful sign. That improvement comes entirely from the starter home market, he says. Completed sales in the region as a whole still lag last year’s levels.

Sellers may re-emerge

Buyers are in the catbird’s seat today, but Cottrell thinks the situation may reverse this fall. He thinks buyers will slowly reduce the inventory of moderately priced homes through the summer. Then he expects to see a rush of buyers in the fall as the December tax credit deadline nears. “We could get a supply and demand imbalance that favors the seller,” he says.

Things are sadder for sellers of upper-end homes. They suffer from two extra handicaps, says Cottrell. Fewer upscale buyers can get the federal credit because they own other houses or exceed the $170,000 income limit for married couples.

But the biggest hindrance is the $281,250 limit on FHA-backed loans. The FHA has filled some of the hole left by the collapse of subprime lending. The agency permits loans with 3.5 percent down payments to people with some blemishes on their credit.

Bankers slow market

Meanwhile, indecisiveness in the banking industry sometimes stymies sales at all price ranges. Brian Hunt learned that when he bid on two vacant houses in O’Fallon, Mo., but couldn’t get a reply at the bank.

Hunt knows construction work, so he went looking for a deal on a fixer-upper. As a result, he found himself looking at properties in foreclosure or threatened by it.

On one, he offered a “short sale.” He offered a price less than the current owner owes on his mortgage. In other words, the bank that held the mortgage would have to take a loss. Such deals are becoming more common as prices fall and foreclosures loom.

“It’s very difficult to do because you can’t get the bank to call you back,” said Hunt. He waited a month without a response, then withdrew his offer. He made a short-sale offer at another house and got the same non-response.

Real estate agents say that’s a common story. Cottrell, for instance, says he has hired a full-time short-sale negotiator, and still waits 3 1/2 weeks to 5 months for an answer from overwhelmed bank real estate officials.

Hunt finally bought a $115,000 O’Fallon home from an owner who had retired to Florida.

The most active part of the market is at the very bottom. Of 5,500 homes sold in St. Louis city and county this year, 1,079 have been worth $30,000 and less, or 19 percent of sales, according to figures from the St. Louis Association of Realtors. In 2006, these low-value properties represented only 3 percent of sales.

Some of those are “bulk sales” in which banks sell several foreclosed properties to a single investor, who then resells them or repairs and rents them.

Mark Scatizzi has watched the phenomenon firsthand as a real estate agent specializing in selling foreclosed and distressed property.

“What was selling two years ago for the $50,000s and $60,000s has been pushed down into the $30,000s,” says Scatizzi, of the RealtyNet Kratky Team.

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Jim Gallagher. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

International buyers confident of Fla. recovery

MIAMI – June 15, 2009 – Gerson Lehman Group reports that international realty buyers believe the Florida housing market is poised for recovery, and they are paying close attention to distressed properties in the state. The report says these international buyers view homes in the United States as “desirable, profitable and secure” investments.

“Those who delay buying their dream home in Florida may soon find that they have to pay considerably more for the same property in just a few months,” advises the report’s author, Howard Liggett, president of Distressed Real Estate Consulting Services.

Liggett cites data from the National Association of Realtors® and the Florida Association of Realtors® indicating that 25 percent of international buyers are Canadian, 21 percent are British, and 21 percent are western European.

1. $8,000 tax credit. It’s hard to say “No” to free money, and that’s basically what the federal government is offering with very few strings attached.  Better yet, the money can be used as a downpayment, thanks to FAR’s efforts to pass legislation in Tallahassee in April. 

2. Other government incentives. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act opens doors to affordable homeownership to people who had not been able to qualify for loans or hand over large downpayments.    

3. Interest rates. Hovering around 5 percent, this means monthly payments are less than even last year for the same home.

4. A buyer’s market inventory. Nothing needs to be explained here. Everyone wants options and choices when making the most expensive purchase of a lifetime.

5. Price. Florida’s median sales price for existing homes in March 2009 was $141,300; a year ago, it was $201,700. Do the math.

6. Look who’s buying. In March 2009, first-time buyers accounted for more than half of all home sales nationally, with activity concentrated in lower price ranges, according to NAR.

7. Spending power. Many younger buyers have high starting salaries out of college. Talk about Bright Scholars!

8. Lifestyles. Many adults in their 20s are marrying, starting families and ready to purchase a home.

9. No contingent sales. First-time buyers don’t have to sell a current residence in order to complete the transaction.

“Given low home prices, plentiful supply, and affordable interest rates, it’s been an optimal time for entry-level buyers with a long-term view,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

An NAR practitioner survey in March showed first-time buyers accounted for 53 percent of transactions, based largely on contracts offered before the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit became available.

NAR President Charles McMillan says first-time buyers are crucial at this stage of a housing recovery. “The housing market always heals from the bottom up, and with large numbers of first-time buyers entering the market it will become a little easier for sellers to trade up or down, according to their needs,” he says.

Another recent study, the CENTURY 21 Homebuyer Survey, shows that Generation Y buyers (born between 1979-1994) are purchasing first homes at a younger age than their Generation X (born between 1965-1978) and baby boomer (born between 1946-1964), counterparts.

Research also indicates that Generation Y consumers want to live close to where they work and socialize but also be near friends and family. Most prefer living in the city or at least in close proximity.

If potential homebuyers have never owned property, they typically welcome professional assistance during the purchase process. “When working with younger buyers, the most important thing is to educate them,” says Lynn Savits, a 25-year sales associate with Coldwell Banker’s Aventura office. “They need to understand the housing market, the process of getting a mortgage and all the steps in the transaction – and they want you to be there the whole way.”

Call Justin Shirley @ 941-448-4872 for more information on Buying Your First Home  

 

Federal program to help first-time buyers use tax credit for downpayment

 Confused about the first-time buyer benefits?

Two programs will allow first-time buyers (those who have not owned a home for at least three years) to use their income tax credit toward a downpayment. Neither the Florida program nor the HUD program has been fully fleshed out, however, and it’s unclear how soon money will become available under either program.

WASHINGTON – May 13, 2009 – First-time homebuyers will soon have another option if they want to use their $8,000 tax credit toward a downpayment. On the tails of a Florida-created program that Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to sign into law, the federal government announced its own downpayment assistance program at the National Association of Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo taking place this week in Washington, D.C.

While the tax credit applies to “first-time homebuyers,” the term is misleading. In general, anyone who hasn’t owned a home for the past three years is considered a first-timer under the program. Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), hopes to have additional details available within a few days, though it’s still unclear how soon homebuyers can apply for the credit.

Donovan said that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would allow its lenders to credit homeowners up to $8,000. He made the announcement to several thousand Realtors yesterday at a special daylong session called, The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy.

“We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the homebuyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans, so that the cash can be used as a downpayment,” Donovan said. According to Donovan, FHA approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit by using short-term bridge loans. Donovan also said that more will be done, and the Obama administration plans to further stabilize the housing market.

“I do think we have some early signs that the market overall is stabilizing,” said Donovan. “Since January, we’ve seen both home sales moving up and down around a relatively stable number, and we are seeing the first signs that the rapid decline in home prices is starting to abate.”

© 2009 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®