Naples Florida Real Estate » susanowens

Should You Buy That Condo?

susanowens — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:14:10 +0000

Homeowner’s fees apply to a large majority of communities in Naples and Bonita Springs FL. Many of these communities have seen homes go to foreclosure which means that the dues are left unpaid. This causes the residents to have to bear the unpaid cost creating an increase in HOA dues or even a special assessment on the community.
On the flipside, prices are low. And for the brave home buyer, there are bargains out there. The trick is looking closely at the homeowner association’s health. Buyers need to question the association board about dues payments, and have their inspectors examine common elements before committing to a purchase. It’s also important to review the financial documents that every buyer has a right to inspect before closing.
Points to consider about the HOA before purchasing:
Make sure you get all the documents, and have sufficient time to look them over, Check the financial statement, Review the reserve study, See what percentage of reserve funds has been raised.
Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574475640874117808.html

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Tagged: Condo Purchase

Australia Real Estate Continues Surge

susanowens — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:42:24 +0000

As an island of property boom in a global sea of downturn, Australia faces a dubious dilemma with Melbourne and Sydney leading another big monthly gain in housing prices. While this boom threatens housing affordability, price increases could also stimulate lending and construction, helping fill the supply side of the equation. For more on this, see the following article from Property Wire.

Residential property prices in Australia are continuing to surge as the Royal Bank of Australia warns that the real estate market is about to explode.

The latest price index from RP Data shows house prices rose 1.9% in August, the largest monthly movement since the group’s indexes began in January 2005.

Melbourne and Sydney recorded the biggest jumps in August, up 2.67% and 2.09% respectively. Australia’s two biggest capital cities have also outpaced the rest of the nation this year, with Melbourne prices rising 11.6% and Sydney up 8.67% in the first eight months of 2009.

Overall, Australian house prices are up 7.9% in the same period. source: http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/australia-real-estate-continues-surge-53794.aspx
The state of the world market is not always as doom and gloom as the national media would project. There are still areas in the world as well as the US where there are positive gains in the market. One of those places would be Naples, Fl. Each month the Naples Area has experienced an increase of sales from the previous month.
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Tagged: International Real Estate Markets, Luxury Beachfront Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Drop for Second Straight Week

susanowens — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:23:23 +0000

The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased last week to 5.48%, down from 5.58% the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by real estate website Zillow.com®. Meanwhile, rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.87% from 5.01%, and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages also fell to 4.65%, down from 4.73 the week prior.

On Monday, rates for 30-year fixed purchase mortgages dropped further, with the average rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 5.34%. Source: RISMedia.com

Historical low rates on mortgages, tax credit for first time buyers, and home prices that have not been around since before 2003. Is there a better time to buy in Naples Florida?

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Tagged: Beachfront Homes

‘Recycling’ of Urban Real Estate

susanowens — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:23:38 +0000

Bank of America is giving cities, not private buyers, the inside skinny on new foreclosures.

The nation’s biggest mortgage lender and servicer has come out with a new way of working with states and cities like Chicago that are receiving Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If it all works according to plan, the result may be that cities have an easier time buying foreclosures, redeveloping them and then reselling them to homeowners in neighborhoods hardest hit by the housing crisis. Source: RISMedia.com

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Tagged: Beachfront Homes Bonita Springs

Southern California Real Estate Shows Signs of Life

susanowens — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:14:42 +0000

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Listen closely, and you just might hear a faint heartbeat in the jumbo mortgage market in Southern California, almost two years after the market for higher-end homes lost its pulse amid the implosion of the non-conforming mortgage market.

Shifting sales activity away from a heavily-discounted glut of foreclosures in the Southland and a re-emergence of at least some sales activity among homes in the $500,000-plus range helped push the median price of a Southern California home upward in May for the first time since July 2007, according to data released Wednesday by San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.

SoCal home sales volume rose for the 11th consecutive month in May, the highest total for May since 2006, as foreclosures continued to fuel the market for sales. MDA DataQuick said that a total of 20,775 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties last month. That was up 1.3 percent from 20,514 in April and up 22.8 percent from 16,917 a year ago. Source: nuwireinvestor.com

The summer season historically brings buyers resulting in a temporary increase in sales. However, the Southern California median prices have risen, an increase that has not been seen in at least a year. As the foreclosure inventory declines and more buyers join the market, it is expected that a positive outcome will result.

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Tagged: Barefoot Beach Waterfront Homes

Homes May Be Undervalued Today

susanowens — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:40:17 +0000

After dropping for two years, home prices appear to be bottoming out, and any further declines would be an overcorrection, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told thousands of practitioners at the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

The median national home price today is about $169,000, down almost 14 percent from a year ago and an estimated 30 percent from its peak. Today’s prices are justified by the fundamentals of the economy and may even represent an undervaluation, Yun said.

Lender Policies Hinder Recovery

Distressed sales, which today comprise about 50 percent of transactions nationwide, are creating market distortions in otherwise stable neighborhoods. “We’re only capturing transaction prices,” he said, and those prices might be 20 percent to 25 percent below actual values. For that reason, it’s possible that widely cited projections that a third or more of homeowners are underwater might be off the mark, he said.

The consequences of these missed projections could be huge. Lenders, shying away from refinancing mortgages of troubled owners, exacerbate the downward spiral of homeowners’ financial position and that, by extension, hurts the broader economy.

Contributing to the problem is the lack of reasonably priced financing for higher-cost homes at a time when declining prices, low rates, and the home buyer tax credit are helping the entry-level market.

Indeed, while housing overall is at a 9.5 month supply, down from double digits not that long ago, homes above $729,750—the threshold for jumbo loans—face a 40-month supply.

Key Test

By summer, all of the incentives that have been put into place by the government will have had several months to work, Yun said. If sales start picking up significantly, then prices should stabilize and trigger a broader economic recovery.

If sales don’t show a significant response, then the federal government might have to look at another big injection of funds into the economy, something no one has an appetite for.

Yun’s forecast reflects the brighter scenario: “My projection is home sales will be 10 to 20 percent higher the second half of this year than last year and we will come out of this recession in 2010,” he said. Source: Realtor.org

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susanowens — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:40:44 +0000

With the nation’s real estate market still struggling to find a bottom and subsequent rebound, there may be a few pleasant surprises on tap for investors. Hard-hit by economic turbulence, some of the country’s most expensive markets are turning up the best values seen in years.

Those seeking to take a bite out of the Big Apple may not find a more opportune time to do so – if they have the cash to put down for the privilege. Manhattan-based appraisal firm Miller Samuel reports that Manhattan median prices were $675,000 in the first quarter, a 21 percent drop from $852,500 a year earlier. Those figures are painful, but not nearly as bad as in neighboring Brooklyn, where sales have declined 57 percent year-over-year.
Investors may also wish to consider Florida, one of the hardest-hit states. In Miami, home prices are down 32 percent from a year ago, while prices tumbled 27 percent in Orlando and 9 percent in Jacksonville, according to Moody’s. Add in unemployment figures higher than seen in a decade, and you have markets that may be ripe for the picking. Source: Nuwireinvestor.com

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