Sarasota Florida Flat Fee MLS Listings FSBO – Discount Realtor & Broker

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High-end homes: is the tide turning?

HORSHAM, Penn. – Aug. 14, 2009 – High-end homes appear to be selling better than analysts thought.

Toll Brothers (TOL), the nation’s largest luxury homebuilder, on Aug. 12 announced its first year-over-year increase in signed home contracts since 2005, suggesting that first-time buyers might not be alone in driving improving U.S. home sales.

The Horsham [Pa.]-based builder said that signed contracts in the quarter ended July 31 – though still low by historic standards – rose 3 percent, to 837, compared with the same period a year ago. But revenues fell 42 percent in the quarter, to $461.3 million. The company also said it has been able to reduce buyer incentives in several markets as demand and contract cancellations improve.

“Mood has changed”

No other major builder has matched Toll Brothers’ 3 percent increase in contracts signed, though a few reported a 2 percent improvement in the most recent quarter, said Barclays Capital analyst Megan McGrath in New York. The average quarterly decline in new home contracts for major public builders was about 14 percent, she said.

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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.

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WASHINGTON – Aug. 4, 2009 – Pending home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six years for such a streak, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6 percent to 94.6 from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May; and it’s 6.7 percent above June 2008 when it was 88.7. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was July 2003.

“Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who’ve been on the sidelines,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower priced homes. Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract, first-time buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit because they must close on the sale by Nov. 30.”

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Aug. 3, 2009 – Even as Americans suffer rising unemployment, foreclosure rates in three states hit hardest by the housing bust – California, Arizona and Florida – stabilized in June, offering hope that the worst of the real estate crisis is over, according to The Associated Press’ monthly analysis of economic stress in more than 3,100 U.S. counties.

The latest results of AP’s Economic Stress Index show foreclosure and bankruptcy rates held steady from May in some states. Yet mounting unemployment is hampering an economic recovery in some regions, especially the Southeast and industrial Midwest.

The AP calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on each county’s unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. The higher the score, the higher the economic stress. The average county’s Stress score rose to 10.6 in June, up from 10 in May, mainly because of rising unemployment.

In June 2008, the average county’s Stress score was 6.7. The pain was lower then because the economy was still expanding. In fact, the second quarter of 2008 was the last time the economy grew.

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WASHINGTON – Aug. 3, 2009 – It was – note the past tense – the worst housing recession anyone but survivors of the Great Depression can remember.

From the frenzied peak of the real estate boom in 2005-2006 to the recession’s trough earlier this year, home resales fell 38 percent and sales of new homes tumbled 76 percent. Construction of homes and apartments skidded 79 percent. And for the first time in more than four decades of record keeping, home prices posted consecutive annual declines.

A staggering $4 trillion in home equity was wiped out, and millions of Americans lost their homes through foreclosure.

Now take a deep breath and exhale. The worst is over.

By every measure, except foreclosures, the housing market has stabilized and many areas are recovering, according to a spate of data released in the past two weeks. Nationwide, home resales in June are up 9 percent from January, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Sales of new homes have climbed 17 percent during the same period. And construction, while still anemic, has risen almost 20 percent since the beginning of the year.

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You don’t need to pay 6-7% to sell your home.. Use broker incentives to create a competitve advantage over other listings.. This guy does a super job of highlighting the benefits of the flat fee listing service.. We actually offer this service in multiple MLS’s at once, so you won’t find a local outfit that provides a more exceptional package for marketing your home for sale.

Buyers.. Since we are so in touch with the FSBO community, we have an in-house list of these properties that typically out-price other listings. Since our Flat Fee sellers are not having to pay us a listing commission, they discount their asking price, putting more equity in your pocket and making the whole deal a little sweeter. I always try and push my flat fee listings to buyer clientele because these are typically the best bargains in the community. These are sellers in distressed situations and that is what buyers are looking to purchase. Providing Flat Fee listings to sellers & showing discounted property to our buyers have made Shirley International Realty Inc. one of Southwest Florida’s leaders in selling homes through the first quarter of 2008.

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Tax time is here again! It seems like only last week my 2006 taxes were being filed, but here we are again in 2008, and the deadline for 2007 taxes are soon approaching. I am not a CPA and never give personal tax advice. I’m asked many questions about personal tax deductions in relation to owning real estate, but always suggest contacting your local tax attorney or CPA for details and clarification for congruency with IRS rules and regulations. But, today I want to highlight 3 fundamental tax deductions the federal government grants homeowners that could save you money.

1-Mortgage Interest- The interest paid on your mortgage is tax deductible. If you have a mortgage for $400,000 and pay 7% annual interest on that money, $28,000 is a huge tax deduction! Take advantage of this one Sarasota! This interest can be deducted on a first or second home loan. There are a few limitations to this I believe.. One being, the total loan amounts on all homes being more than the fair market value of your home, or home equity loans totaling more than $100,000, but check with your CPA on those details. Also, filing married or single has an effect on these deductions as well.

2- Discount Points- If you refinanced your mortgage, you may be able to write off the points you paid to reduce your interest rate on the new loan. These points must be deducted proportionately over the life of your loan. So if your new loan has a 30-year term, you’ll deduct 1/30th of your points each year. If you’ve refinanced before, and you have points from the previous refinance that haven’t yet been deducted, you can write off the rest of those points in the year you refinance.

The points you paid for, to reduce your interest rate on a home purchase loan, are also tax-deductible for that year. Whether you or the seller paid for the points for you, you may be able to deduct them.

3- Capital Gains on the Sale of Your Home- You Sell Your Home! Nice… As long as this home was your primary residence for 2 of the past 5 years, unmarried sellers are immune to the first $250,000 of profit on their home, and married couples filing jointly returns are immune to $500,000 of the profit of sale.

Noted here are 3 important tax favors the federal government rewards you for owning real estate, so take advantage of these. There are many other tax benefits to owning real estate, but contact your local CPA for the details. I have a few great local CPA’s I’d be more than happy to refer you, if need be.

Hope your weekend went well! Let me know what I can do to help with your Florida Real Estate experience..

Justin
 

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Shirley International Realty Inc. is in the process of taking their Flat Fee listing services statewide. However, we are a full-service real estate company, taking full service listing opportunities, representing buyers in the purchase of Florida Real Estate, & outsourcing real estate council to our preferred clients. Part of our new ancillary marketing services provided to sellers struggling in this competitive market is our Flat Fee Rental MLS listing program.

I’ve found that many sellers are in the mindset of, “if our home doesn’t sell, I wouldn’t mind renting it out”. Many buyers are of the same mindset that if the market is at a standstill & prices are still depreciating, this may be a good time to sit on the fence & rent. A market over-saturated with renters isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a short period of time. As the demand shifts for consumers to rent, typically rental supply will go down and prices will likely go back up. This trend will continue until rental prices rise to a point where it makes more sense to buy than rent, and then the cycle shifts to, a “purchase demand-driven market”. This is when appreciation follows and inventory shrinks.

How can Shirley International Realty Inc. help get your real estate rented? We provide strategic marketing tactics to attract tenants looking to make a transition from one rental to another. Among the many venues we stage your rental on, the MLS is the most powerful showcase. The MLS is a brilliant place to market your home for rent because it is searched by all local property managers, real estate agents specializing in rentals, and people around the world that are looking for a home to rent in Sarasota/Bradenton. Our rental listing service will offer the same high-quality standards that we hold ourselves to in listing homes for sale. Click on this link to read all about the details our service entails. The cost for our “rental” service is less than the “for sale” service, so disregard price here. But the quality of excellent service does apply.

Justin

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I’ve always been curious to know exactly what property tax values are in Southwest Florida counties. After reading another dismal real estate article in the Manatee Herald Tribune, I now have a better idea what those figures are. Property taxes in Manatee County are most commonly taxed at a rate of 1.7% of the homes purchase price. These taxes are reassessed on an annual basis to determine new tax bill figures, minus any deductions you may be afforded for homestead exemptions, disabilities, etc. (Categorically there are a number of options residents may qualify for to receive assistance in the cost of their property taxes). Property tax rates can be higher in certain areas than other. Bradenton Beach, Anna Maria Island, & Holmes Beach would be jurisdictions of higher property tax brackets, taxing at rates as high as 2% of the purchase of the property. Now, let’s analyze how this information and these figures will tie your tax dollars into our local government. Our local government provides many excellent services with your tax dollars. They provide upgraded schools, quality roads, public libraries, parks & recreations, and many other amenities to Bradenton’s residents. The local government entities are as much a business as a real estate company or powerhouse retailer. They have balance sheets, and cash flows that need to be organized, employees that need to be paid, retirement plans that need to nurtured, & all this revenue that fuels these costs come from your tax dollars. In a slowing market, do these government agencies suffer like the rest of the economy? Absolutely. With homes depreciating in value, new tax bills are being slashed and these government agencies are not seeing the bottom line, as they have years in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

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 The Federal Government jumped back into the swampy pool of economic meltdown today, and cleaned up a little, aiding consumers. Wall Street experts speculated a drastic rate cut of 100 basis points, and CNBC hyped-up a potential forecast of a more drastic cut than this. This much of a rate cut would surely spike our deathly-ill economy, and put more money back in the pockets through savings on car loans, credit cards, & the dreaded mortgage payment. However, soon after 2:14pm (Eastern Standard Time) I was glued to the TV screen waiting for the result of the Feds decision. 75 Basis Points! Nice.. Not quite 100 basis points as predicted, but this is a step in the right direction for waking our drowsy economy.

The dollar actually soared and showed signs of life after continuous months of beatings against the Euro, Pound-Sterling, and other noteworthy international powerhouse currencies. When rates drop, that actually destroys the value of “The Greenback”, so why did we see this rally today? (This is what I’m asking myself as I watched my long position with the Euro drop to lower lows, and then lower and lastly, even lower).. My currency trade turned into a complete loss because the speculation of a 100 basis point cut lead the 75 basis point cut to be a let down among international banks & investors. Looks like the cut didn’t quite fill the speculative shoes, in turn, a losing trade for me; however, a learning experience. So, how does the rate cut affect homeowners and our real estate market?The rate will undoubtedly put more money and cash in the pockets of Sarasota homebuyers/investors. Many northeastern second home buyers, who annually lead the serge in real estate buying on the Gulf Coast are waiting patiently on the fence of buying because they can’t dump their northeastern homes. Our market suffers when homes in New York, Michigan, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, etc. aren’t selling. Consumers need that money from those investments to fuel their Florida purchase. This rate cut will allow them to retain more money by paying less interest, on the home equity lines of credit, as well as motivate their interest to forego the “waiting on the fence stall”, and dive into our real estate market to lock in that dream interest rate on a new loan! Anyone with a home equity line of credit will could see improvements as early as next month. Hope they see that improvement before season runs out huh..

Today was a great day for us, & our turtle-slow real estate market.. Minor improvements will result from savings on credit card bills, & car loans. The only potential hazard in a drastic rate cut like this, could result from a future rate hike due to inflation & quick economic growth. This process is all about timing and improvements shouldn’t come over night. Economic improvements should occur this way to create sustainability. Any “too quick” recoveries will create an imbalance in economic forecasting & financial markets, as well, over purchasing of real estate (which is what brought us to this point)..Congratulations Feds! You got it right today! My homeowners, sellers, & buyers should feel great about the short-term opportunities this could bring to our local real estate market.

Justin

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