I have always loved the quote, “The more you CELEBRATE the more you have to CELEBRATE” As I was taking my early Sunday gratitude walk on our beautiful white sand beaches with waves lapping at my ankles I was celebrating every step. Now is a great time to think GRATITUDE for all that we have in Panama City beach and all the good in our lives that we can turn around and share with others. I am sure that many of you know people that make complaining an art form and can go from distress to disaster in a matter of moments but it is my hope that is not our life plan. READ MORE
I know you thought that I was finished talking about short sales but here we go again. There has been a trend in short sale pricing that has been a bone of contention and a sore spot for Realtors and would be home buyers. Let me set the stage…. gorgeous home in a fabulous neighborhood should be about 400,000 even in today’s market and this price is a tantalizing teasing price of $199,000 and the lines begin to form and the phones are ringing off the hook. The trend of pricing a short sale too low is not only misleading at best but can cause all other manner of dominoes to fall. Another issue is the offering too low a price for the foreclosure when market value shows the price is way below market. READ MORE
Let me start by saying that although there are challenges in our great state of Florida right now, we also have some things to celebrate for home buyers, especially those people who thought home ownership was out of the question for them. Many years ago when I bought my first home and you heard about Rural Development loans you thought about going to the back 40 or beyond to be able to afford a home that qualified for this program. Today things have really turned in our favor especially in Panama City Beach where much of the beach falls into that zone so to help you find your way I am going to share a little great news for would be home buyers. READ MORE
I guess it goes without saying that we continue to be in a buyers market and selling your home seems like an Olympic event at times. Each week I am bombarded by questions about how to make your home stand out from the rest when selling. I will not hammer my number one point which is price because I have beaten that horse and I think everyone gets it by now. So beyond price what can you do as a seller? I want to share the Top 4 tips for making your home an inviting and welcoming place.
1. Welcoming atmosphere
Buying a home is not just about the physical, it is a deeply emotional decision. The buyer needs to imagine themselves living and growing in your home. READ MORE
The National Association of Homebuilders reported this week that their “Housing Market Index”, a survey among its members to quantify builder sentiment about the housing market, rose three points in May to 22. While this is still well below the 50 mark which indicates builders feel optimistic about the housing market, it is the highest reading since August of 2007. It has not been above 50 since April of 2006. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that new home construction soared in April – up nearly 41% from the same moth last year. The number of starts in April was also 5.8% higher than the previous month. The number of applications for new building permits actually fell for the month – down 11.5% from March. April 2010 applications were, however, still nearly 16% higher than the same month in 2009. READ MORE
As a flood of first-time homebuyers rushed to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit the Rural Development program has been strained to the limit with a year’s allocation of funds expected to be depleted sometime tomorrow. There has been little interest in Congress to extend funding and it now appears that without a last minute vote to re-fund the program, Rural Development will be out of funds on Wednesday. This will leave lenders with only the ability to secure “conditional commitments” from Rural Development. READ MORE
There is so much to be excited about and write about his week, I have had a hard time making a decision. But as usual I focus on what is actually happening in my little Real Estate world. The market is still very much a buyers market so the push is on for our sellers to put their best foot forward so I thought we would concentrate on a few things that a seller can do to help their Realtor sell their home. I will only briefly remind you that price is imperative from the very beginning… not after it has been on the market for two months but from day one!!!!!!!
READ MORE
What is mortgage insurance?
It’s a financial guaranty that insures lenders against loss in the event a borrower defaults on a mortgage. If the borrower defaults and the lender takes title to the property, the mortgage insurer (MGIC, for example) reduces or eliminates the loss to the lender. In effect, the mortgage insurer shares the risk of lending the money to the borrower. (Mortgage insurance should not be confused with mortgage life insurance, which provides coverage in the event of a borrower’s death, or homeowner’s insurance, which protects the homeowner from loss due to damage from fire, flood or other disaster.) READ MORE
After a week off for Thanksgiving I have plenty of good news to report since my last update. Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that, for the month of October, existing home sales surged 10.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units – far exceeding the 5.7 million units most economists expected. Also last week, the S&P Case/Schiller Home Price Index showed that home prices nationwide rose 3.1% in the third quarter, matching a 3.1% increase in the second quarter and marking the second consecutive quarter prices have risen. In a similar report of local interest – the Florida Association of Realtors reported that Panama City Beach condo prices actually rose 3% in October over 2008, the first increase this year, and sales of condos were up 88% in October ’09 over ’08.
READ MORE
Mortgage rates continue to hover near record lows with the rate on the benchmark thirty year flirting with 4.875% this week. The rate on the fifteen year fixed rate has dipped below 4.50% coming in at 4.375%. Thirty year rates on most government loan programs including FHA. VA and Rural Development have eased to 5%. Rates were helped this week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech on Monday in which he cited “economic headwinds” as rationale for keeping rates low for the foreseeable future. Low interest rates helped keep the value of the dollar low against other major currencies and driven the price of gold to record highs in recent weeks as investors look for a safe alternative to the U.S. currency.
READ MORE
