Recession???

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jan. 30, 2008 – Florida’s consumer confidence index fell to 70 this month, its lowest level in 16 years, a new University of Florida (UF) study reports.

“Consumer confidence in Florida reflects the same conditions we had during the recession of 1990-91,” says Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “Florida is almost certainly in a recession now, and the country is not far behind. Most economists agree that we are in for at least two quarters of very low growth.”

This month’s drop to its lowest level since December 1991 is due to declines in four of the five components that make up the index. The biggest drop was in consumers’ expectations about national economic conditions over the next year, which fell 10 points to 55, its lowest level since August 1992

2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Foreclosure Rate/Florida #2

According to an AP report, information received through Realtytrac reported foreclosure filings up 79% from last year.

While the numbers can be somewhat skewed due to Homeowner Association's filing actions for past due fee's, the number is still high.

Florida ranks #2 in the country.

Florida's growth slows

DEMOGRAPHICS

Census figures show that Florida continues to grow rather than shrink, but the number of incoming residents from other states dropped by about 86 percent in just two years thanks to higher home prices, property taxes and insurance costs.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press, Matt Sedensky (Associated Press Writer).



Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n3-012308.cfm
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30 Day Home Sale Report

Sales by Realtors for the tri-county area in the past 30 days dropped over 500 homes compared to the previous month to 1496 properties priced to $5,000,000.00.

Existing inventory was up over 2000 homes, and pending sales jumped by 409 properties.

No comeback yet, though buyer activity appears to be increasing as home prices drop and foreclosure's and short sales become more abundant.

Home sales for Florida

HOME SALES

Florida’s housing market followed the national trend in 2007. By year’s end, a total of 130,241 existing single-family homes sold statewide for a 29 percent decrease compared to the 2006 sales figure, according to FAR. The statewide median sales price was $233,600.
© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

Yes on 1???

Gov. Crist says that the "yes" vote on the property tax amendment will "ignite the real estate market".

Based on conversations I have had with potential out of state buyers, homeowners, and others I believe this statement is well......an over statement. While some will benifit, it does nothing for many. People moving from other states hesitate because even with a $50,000 exemption a $250,000 home purchase wil result in a property tax bill of $4,600. It's a $575 difference, save the new home buyer 50 bucks a month, but will this change the current state of our real estate market.

C'mon.

Property Tax Cut

The TBT reports that Hillsborough county would lose 8% of it's operating funds if the proposed property tax break is approved by voters on January 29th. 39 million dollars.

With a county budget of 871 million dollars will this truly affect the governments ability to function? I think not.

Time to cut the spending on unnecessary projects and programs.

Monthly Sales

Closed transactions for the period from 11/26/07 thru 12/25/07 were up by 376 properties from last month. An unusual trend for the time of year.

A total of 2041 homes closed the majority of which were priced under $300,000.

The inventory of homes dropped for the first time in six months.

Pending sales are also lower.

What does this mean? Next month will paint a clearer picture, but if the trend stays we could be experiencing a more active home buying market.

Senate property tax rollback plan a joke!!!!

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – April 16, 2007 – A tax-protest leader told a Senate committee Friday the chamber’s bipartisan property tax reform package is too weak, while business interests and local government officials offered mixed reactions.
Republican and Democratic Senate leaders released their plan Thursday. It includes a rollback of city and county taxes to 2005-06 levels, then a two-year freeze and cap on future increases.
The plan is expected to save taxpayers $11 billion over the next five years. A competing proposal offered by House Republicans would slash taxes by more than $25 billion over the same span. Most Democrats and local government officials oppose the House GOP plan.
“The Senate plan leaves a lot to be desired, I’m sorry to say,” said Dr. David McKalip, a St. Petersburg neurosurgeon and spokesman for the Florida Taxpayers Alliance. “The rollbacks are not enough.”
McKalip told the Finance and Tax Committee the alliance is pushing for rollbacks to 2001 as included in the House GOP plan.

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-041607.cfm

Realtors push for reform

More than 1,000 Realtors traveled to Tallahassee yesterday for FAR’s 2007 Great American Realtor Days’ events. In a coordinated effort with local boards and associations, FAR members started meeting with their local senators and representatives on property tax reform, affordable housing, property insurance and other housing issues. The event continues through today.
Read the full story:
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-041107.cfm

Hernando County development news

DADE CITY - In a part of the county where new developments used to be a dime-a-dozen, another megaproject has now left the scene.
Crosswinds Florida, the local offshoot of a 36-year-old Michigan-based developer, will no longer build 500 homes proposed on 280 acres in southeast Dade City.

30 Day Sales Report

Closed sales through the Multiple Listing Service from the period between February 22nd and March 22nd totaled 2,635 for homes up to 5 million dollars. Typically, homes priced under $400,000 were the majority. This is a little over 500 more homes sold from the prior month. Pending sales were down from the previous month to 4,061.

Property Tax Info

The Florida Senate has said little about property tax reform so far; but yesterday, Democrats released a wide-ranging plan that would cut property taxes for most homeowners. However, longtime homeowners, who already pay reduced taxes thanks to the Save Our Homes amendment, would pay more.
Read the full story:
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-032807.cfm

UF study: The price is right, so buy now

Hopeful homebuyers in Florida should act now: The price is right as the state’s single-family residential housing market bottoms out, according to a University of Florida study released today.
“If you’re thinking of buying a house, there’s probably not much to be gained by holding out at this point,” says Wayne Archer, director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies. “It doesn’t look like prices are going to fall anymore.”
The quarterly survey of experts in the real estate industry completed in January shows that the share of respondents observing a drop in single-family housing prices has dipped, while a growing number find prices staying even with inflation, Archer says.

New tax proposal...Fair or not??

GOP leaders Wednesday unveiled a two-part plan that includes a proposed state constitutional amendment that would abolish taxes on homestead property – primary homes – while increasing the state’s sales tax from 6 percent to 8.5 percent. The increase would go to local governments to partly offset property tax losses.

This puts a larger burden on renter's but only by 23 cents more per $100 spent. If you spend $21,000 per year on goods and services the increased tax amount is $47.00

Monthly Sales Report

According to the Multiple Listing Service for the period from 1/22/07 thru 2/22/07, home sales were down from the previous month from 2799 to 2173.

Pending sales increased by 829 homes for a total of 5017 anticipated closings over the next 60 days.

Inventory was up a little over 1%.

There are currently 41,123 homes listed for sale with Realtor's in the tri-county area.

mortgage fraud scams

Attorney General Bill McCollum issued a consumer advisory, warning Floridians of common mortgage fraud scams. Mortgage scams ranked among the top 10 categories of complaints received by the Attorney General’s office last year.

Home equity scams come in several variations. Equity stripping occurs when a lender encourages a consumer to manipulate their loan application in order to qualify for a greater loan amount. Loan flipping involves lenders who repeatedly encourage consumers to refinance their loans, which may require them to borrow more money and, as a result, accumulate higher fees. Other scams include baiting and switching, where the lender offers one set of terms prior to the loan application and then pressures consumers to agree to a different set of terms after signing the application. Deceptive loan servicing, another common complaint, happens when lenders do not provide their clients with accurate or complete account statements and payoff figures.

Existing-home sales to improve, later recovery for new homes

Consumers are responding to more favorable housing market conditions, but new home construction will be dampened until inventories decline further, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, looks for a steady rise in existing-home sales. “After reaching what appears to be the bottom in the fourth quarter of 2006, we expect existing-home sales to gradually rise all this year and well into 2008,” he says. “New-home sales should continue to slide, but we look for that sector to turn around later in the year. When you put it all together, home sales may appear weak in comparison with the record surge in 2005, but they will be sustained at historically high levels that are in line with long-term demand.”

PROPERTY TAXES

Homeowners' first crisis - unaffordable and unavailable homeowners insurance - has been addressed by the Legislature, but there is more heavy lifting to be done. Lawmakers will gather in Tallahassee on March 6 and property taxes are now their top priority. But any change to the state's tax structure requires a constitutional amendment.

Pending sales up

Pending home sales are higher, affirming the stabilization that is occurring in home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in December, rose 4.9 percent to an index of 112.4 from an upwardly revised level of 107.2 in November, but is 4.4 percent lower than December 2005.
The monthly gain was the biggest increase since March 2004 when the index rose 6.9 percent. A steady narrowing from year-ago readings has been observed since last July when the level of unsold housing inventory peaked at an all-time high.