Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in July

ORLANDO, Fla. – Aug. 18, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales rose in July, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 12 percent last month with a total of 15,517 homes sold statewide compared to 13,874 homes sold in July 2010, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos last month also rose 12 percent compared to the year-ago sales figure.

“Realtors in markets across the state are reporting increased activity from potential homebuyers who are ready to advantage of historically low mortgage rates and current availability of affordable housing options,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart.

Fifteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales in July; 13 MSAs had higher existing condo sales.

The statewide median sales price for existing homes last month was $136,500; a year ago, it was $137,700 for only a 1 percent decrease. Analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in June 2011 was $184,600, up 0.6 percent from a year ago, according to NAR. In Massachusetts, the statewide median resales price was $325,850 in June; in California, it was $295,300; in Maryland, it was $247,100; and in New York, it was $221,595 Read More of Store

NAPLES REAL ESTATE SHOWS STABILITY IN AN UNCERTAIN ECONOMY

Report Shows Inventory Decreased 19 Percent

NAPLES, Fla.-August 12, 2011- Key indicators such as pending sales, inventory and the median closed price show signs of real estate stability during challenging economic times, according to a report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).

Overall pending sales increased two percent with 776 contracts in July 2011 compared to 760 contracts in July 2010. The median closed price for properties over $300,000 increased two percent to $550,000 for the 12 months ending July 2011 compared to $540,000 for the 12 months ending July 2010.

“The fact that we are not seeing volatility in the residential real estate market is positive. Home prices and sales are level but seem to be trending upward, inventory is declining, the average days on the market are declining, all indicators of the stabilization process,” said Tom Bringardner, President/CEO of Premier Commercial, Inc.

“The decrease in the percentage of non-traditional sales, foreclosures and short sales, is contributing to the stabilization and is good news for the real estate industry,” said John Steinwand, President of Naples Realty Services.

In July 2011 the Naples area saw 87 foreclosed sales compared to 250 in July 2009.

According to Kathy Zorn, Broker/Owner of Florida Home Realty, “There were more closed sales recorded in the first seven months of 2011 (8,110) than there are available in our current inventory (7,010) which sends an encouraging message to consumers that our market is stabilizing.”

The July report provides annual comparisons of single-family home and condo sales (via the SunshineMLS), price ranges, geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. The statistics are presented in chart format, along with the following analysis:

 Overall pending sales for the 12 months ending July 2011 increased 3 percent with 10,030 contracts compared to 9,785 contracts for the 12 months ending July 2010.

 Single-family home pending sales increased 3 percent in July 2011 with 447 contracts compared to 432 contracts in July 2010.

 Condo sales for the 12 months ending July 2011 increased 3 percent with 4,108 sales compared to 3,995 sales for the 12 months ending July 2010.

According to Brenda Fioretti, NABOR President and Managing Broker of Prudential Florida Realty, “Inventory continues to drop at a rate of 19 percent for this period and we currently have less than 9 months of inventory, which is the lowest we have seen since tracking the available inventory in April 2007.”

The available inventory in July 2011 is 7,010 properties compared to 8,731 properties in July 2010.

“Since April 2007, inventory has declined by 5,000 units. Investors continue to purchase properties in the Naples area which is helping in the reduction of available inventory,” said Mike Hughes, Vice-President of Downing-Frye Realty.

“Naples has two of the most desirable natural assets in the world, the warm weather and the beach. The influx of capital and the increased sales activity in the beach area is due to the lifestyle opportunities that buyers see there,” said CoCo Waldenmayer, Managing Broker of Engel and Voelkers.

Pending sales in the Naples Beach area for the 12 months ending July 2011 increased 12 percent with 1,747 contracts compared to 1,553 for the 12 months ending July 2010.

To view the entire report, visit www.NaplesArea.com

Market Statistics

State forecasts property value increases

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Aug. 4, 2011 – In a sign that Florida’s housing market may be on the road to recovery, the state’s top economist expects an increase in school property tax rolls next year of 1.3 percent.

Though that is actually a slight decrease from the original forecast of 2 percent, it is one of the most promising signs yet that Florida’s ailing and hard-hit housing market is on the mend after four years of plunging values.

Florida’s housing market was one of the hardest hit in the nation, the victim of an overwrought housing bubble, loose mortgage standards and a tourism-based economy.

The state’s housing woes have become fodder for national newspaper and magazine articles spotlighting the housing glut, examining over-developed South Florida subdivisions with plummeting home values.

But now Realtors, economists and property appraisers say they see signs of a housing market recovery.

“We turned the corner,” said state economist Amy Baker, though she cautioned the economic recovery is still fragile. Her forecast was part of a discussion Wednesday of adjusting estimated property tax revenue this year. More Details

Vacation homes: Why it might be time to buy

WASHINGTON – Aug. 2, 2011 – Home price declines remain the norm in many areas, but experts say certain luxury markets are picking up steam and attracting affluent vacation-home buyers.

The median second-home price fell 11 percent to $150,000 in 2010 from the prior year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). And the price dropped 25 percent since 2006, compared to a 22 percent decrease for the overall housing market.

Experts say sales activity depends on geography, with buyers more interested in prime vacation spots. However, financing remains a challenge since banks remain skittish about writing jumbo mortgages.

For many second-home buyers, though, the investment value is not a big concern. NAR says more than 80 percent of second-home buyers made their purchases to simply enjoy the home – not as an investment – with the number of all-cash deals up to 36 percent in 2010 from 29 percent in 2009, enabling buyers to forego a complex mortgage process.

Prices have stabilized or started to rise in Santa Monica, Calif.; Aspen, Colo.; the Hamptons, N.Y.; and Hilton Head, S.C. Meanwhile, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; Vail, Colo.; and Miami and Palm Beach remain depressed but offer some bargains.

Source: Wall Street Journal (07/23/11) Silver-Greenberg, Jessica

Foreclosure activity down in most U.S. metro areas

LOS ANGELES – July 28, 2011 – Most of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas are seeing a sharp drop in foreclosure activity as banks take longer to move against homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments.

In the first half of this year, 84 percent of metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000 saw their foreclosure rate drop versus the same period last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

The firm tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions - warnings that can lead up to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.

All told, foreclosure activity declined in 178 of the country’s 211 largest metropolitan areas during the first six months of the year.

The decline is due to delays in the foreclosure process as lenders work through foreclosure documentation problems that first surfaced last fall. Those problems prompted them to resubmit paperwork on many properties that had been slated for foreclosure and led to a slew of government investigations of the mortgage industry.

Mortgage banks also have put off taking action against newly delinquent borrowers in order to try loan modifications or other tactics aimed at avoiding foreclosure. Lackluster home sales this year also have provided little incentive for lenders to evict homeowners and chance having the property sit empty and unsold for months.

Some 1.7 million potential foreclosures are being held up, according to real estate firm CoreLogic.

The slowdown in foreclosure activity has been most pronounced in states where courts play a role in the foreclosure process and now have to wade through a logjam of cases.

The 20 metropolitan areas that saw the biggest annual declines in foreclosure activity are in New York, Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois – all judicial foreclosure states, RealtyTrac said.

Syracuse, N.Y., led the decline, posting a 78 percent drop in its foreclosure rate versus the January-through-June period last year. The city had the third-lowest foreclosure rate among the 211 metropolitan areas in RealtyTrac’s report.

Despite the slowdown in the pace of foreclosures, many cities continue to have elevated foreclosure rates.

California, Nevada and Arizona, among the states most affected by the housing bust and ensuing foreclosure crisis, account for the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rate for the first six months of the year.

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., registered the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 19 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice – nearly six times the national average. But the metropolitan area’s foreclosure activity fell 17.9 percent from the first six months of last year.

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., metropolitan area was second, with one in 28 households receiving a foreclosure warning, even as foreclosure activity fell nearly 17 percent from the same period in 2010.

California is home to seven of the metro areas that were among the top 10 metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rate in the first half of the year, led by Modesto with one in every 30 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice.

Bucking the trend, some metropolitan areas saw their foreclosure rates spike in the first six months of this year.

Among those, Seattle posted the sharpest increase, a 10 percent jump versus the same period last year, RealtyTrac said. One in every 98 households got a foreclosure-related notice.

Job loss, rather than time-bomb mortgages resetting to higher payments, has become the main driver behind rising foreclosures.

The Seattle metropolitan area’s unemployment rate stood at 9.2 at the beginning of the year, but it has eased of late, sliding to 8.5 percent in May.

Still, the metro area has seen the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits due to large-scale layoffs increase this year. In the first quarter, it was ranked 8th highest on the basis of initial unemployment claimants due to layoffs, up from 15th a year earlier.

“The lag time between job loss and foreclosure is a little longer than it is in a normal cycle,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “We could be seeing a fallout from job losses there over the last year or two.”

U.S. Consumers more upbeat in July - New York

NEW YORK – July 26, 2011 – The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index improved slightly in July after declining in June. The Index now stands at 59.5, up from 57.6 in June. The Present Situation Index decreased to 35.7 from 36.6. However, the Expectations Index, which gauges expectations for six months in the future, rose to 75.4 from 71.6 last month.

“Consumer confidence posted a modest gain in July, the result of an improvement in consumers’ short-term outlook,” says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “ Consumers’ appraisal of current business and employment conditions, however, was less favorable as concerns about the labor market continue to weigh on attitudes. Overall, consumers remain apprehensive about the future, but some of the concern expressed last month has abated.”

Consumers stating current business conditions are “good” decreased to 13.4 percent from 13.7 percent, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” increased to 39.0 percent from 38.4 percent. Consumers’ appraisal of the job market was also less favorable. Those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased to 44.1 percent from 43.2 percent, while those stating jobs are “plentiful” remained unchanged at 5.1 percent.
Consumers’ short-term outlook improved moderately in July. The proportion of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 17.7 percent from 16.5 percent. However, those anticipating business conditions will worsen also increased to 15.2 percent from 14.9 percent.

Consumers were also mixed about the outlook for the labor market over the next six months. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 16.7 percent from 13.8 percent. However, those expecting fewer jobs also increased to 21.8 percent from 20.7 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes rose to 15.7 percent from 14.1 percent.

The Nielsen Company conducts the monthly Consumer Confidence Survey for the Conference Board based on a probability-design random sample. The cutoff date for July’s preliminary results was July 14, 2011.

Florida Consumer Confidence up in July - University of Florida Study

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – July 26, 2011 – Increased optimism about making major purchases played a significant role in consumer confidence, according to a new University of Florida survey. UF’s monthly index rose two points in July to 68.

Four of the five components that make up the index increased or remained unchanged. The biggest improvement was in confidence to purchase big-ticket items such as cars and appliances, which rose five points to 77.

“Some of this may have to do with declines in gas prices during the month of June and much of July,” says Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “This leaves more money in people’s budgets for other purchases.”

The other index components that rose were perceptions of personal finances now compared with a year ago, which increased three points to 57, and expectations of personal finances a year from now, which climbed one point to 75. Expectations of U.S. economic conditions over the next five years remained at 72. The only component to decline was perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next year, which fell one point to 59.

Another reason for the increase was improved confidence among seniors, which rose five points to 66. A decline recorded last month, McCarty says, was due in large part to seniors’ uncertainty over potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Although the federal government has not yet released its budget plans, the delay in reducing those programs may have led to a slight improvement. Seniors may also have learned that proposed entitlement cuts might not affect those in or near retirement as much as previously thought.

State unemployment was unchanged in June at 10.6 percent, ending five consecutive months of decline (national unemployment was 9.2 percent as of July 8). Home sales in Florida were down in June, but the median price for a single-family home ($138,000) in Florida increased for the fourth consecutive month.

The research center, part of the Warrington College of Business Administration, conducts the Florida Consumer Attitude Survey monthly. Respondents are 18 or older and live in households telephoned randomly. The preliminary index for June was collected from 414 responses. The index is benchmarked to 1966, so a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.