Fall Clean Up

On this day in history...

1st closed-circuit auto race held at Cranston, RI in 1896.

The historic Farley Post Office building in New York City opened for postal business in 1914.

First Miss America Pageant was held in 1921.

Interpol is formed in Vienna in 1923.

Boulder Dam, now the Hoover Dam, began operation in 1936.

Integration began in Wash, DC & Baltimore, MD public schools in 1954.

The PLO hijacked 4 planes in 1970.

ESPN premiered in 1979.


Fall Clean Up

Spring isn't the only time to clean up your home. Fall is a very important time as well. Many of you in the northern areas will need to start to winterize your home - getting it ready for the winter ahead.

For most of us in Florida. It is a time, usually mid-October, that we can open our windows again after the long summer.

It's funny because as I've looked around on the internet for fall clean up ideas, it appears that what would be the normal clean up projects up north are our normal projects come the spring time. The reason that I can gather this is that up north you are preparing for the winter and snow, while down here in the spring, we are preparing for the rains. The reason that I come to this conclusion is that two of the jobs that I keep on seeing repeated are check your roof & clean your leaders and gutters. Now, granted, these are good to do at both seasons.

It appears that all of the ideas that I'm finding for a fall clean up are basically the same as the spring clean up. The only differences really are checking the heating as opposed to the a/c system - generally the same unit down here in Florida. Up north you're starting to pack your summer furniture away and down here we are starting to use ours again.

But the basic cleaning is just normal cleaning that should be done all along.

Oh well, there goes what I thought would be a good blog on tips for a nice fall house cleaning.

Til next time...Marc It Sold!

Buying and Selling in Today’s Market – Is It Right For Me?

We are all aware of what’s going on in today’s real estate marketplace. There is no way that you can escape the news. It’s all over on the radio, television and in print. So where do you stand?

Firstly, the situation is not going to change anytime soon. There are too many factors that have contributed to our present market. One of the greatest, that most people are not aware of, is that of the mortgage lending business. This has greatly contributed the our present set of circumstances.

A little history. A long time ago when someone took out a mortgage, they generally had a relationship with their lender, who more often than not was their banker. The banker knew of their ability to repay a loan and lent money on this criteria. The banker also kept and serviced that loan for the life of that particular mortgage.

Well, the industry changed greatly in the past twenty years. Now, the originating lenders take the mortgages that they’ve made and then bundle them up and sell them to investors. Thus, giving the original lender money to go back out and sell more mortgages. This is great in that it brings more available money back into the marketplace. The downside is that the original lender no longer has the risk of carrying that loan. So, therefore, criteria became quite lax for procuring loans.

This is why we are seeing so much trouble with the subprime market. Too many loans were made to people who could marginally afford a home. With interest rates rising so has many adjustable rate mortgages and this further pushed many more people into that group. They couldn’t afford the higher payments and especially with the addition or higher insurance rates & property taxes.

Because so many of these loans were heading towards default, that it why we are seeing a collapse in the subprime market. It used to be that you could find a loan for someone with credit scores of less than 580. Now, that the subprime market is drying up, it is difficult to find a loan for someone with a FICO score under 620.

This fueled a lot of the buying and selling that we saw over the past several years. This, in addition to the fact, that a lot of people as they saw the prices of real estate moving up so quickly wanted to get in on the action also. Unfortunately, a lot of these people should not have. Many used their available funds or even home equities in their primary residences to purchase second homes or rental properties. When they could no longer afford these properties, they tried to sell them, but found that they couldn’t at a profit.

Many also used the increased value of their homes as a sort of spending account. Since incomes were not increasing relative to the value of their property, they would take money out, utilizing home equities, and use this money to buy cars, trips, etc.

But, this had to stop and it did! We were finding more homes languishing on the market. The builders were still building at an expanded pace. Therefore, even more homes on the market. The statistics show that most of these builders made profits last year, but that is now changing. Many, if not most, have seen losses this year. Many builders have stopped building speculation homes.

The combination of all of the things that I’ve just written about has contributed to the glut of properties available for sale. And yes, has driven down the price of homes. If you purchased a home within the last two years, you will find it quite difficult to sell it now at a profit and in most cases breaking even, if you are lucky.

Yes, there are many more factors that have also contributed to our state of affairs, but this is to just give you a general overview. So, now to the title of this blog.

It is definitely a buyer’s market and will remain so for quite some time. Right now in the two counties that make up the majority of the Greater Orlando area, there are over 20K single-family homes, condos, townhomes & villas for sale. This, when in what might be considered a normal market, when there was much less than 1/3 of that number of available properties for sale.

Buyers have a wide selection of properties to look at & choose from. Never has it been greater & especially when you note that the builders are offering such great bargains. Some even $100K and more off of the selling price. Others offering discounts, closing incentives & even a Harley-Davidson in addition. I’ve recently seen a home that was almost 2000sf with a starting price of approximately $250K. And this home wasn’t in the boonies or even near to such, it was right in the metro area.

Now, to the sellers. Unfortunately, there are many that just have to sell. They have to move whether it be for a job transfer, familial reasons, health, etc. These people have no choice. What I’ve stated over and over for these people is that you have to show Price & Value. Your home has to be in tip-top shape. People do not want homes that they have to do work on. There are too many others out there & they will just go to the next one. People are not going to overpay for a property. And this is where it also comes in – sellers have to be realistic in their expectations and pricing. 2005 is a long time ago and has nothing to do with our present real estate market.

Some may read this and think that I am a pessimist. I am not by any means, or at least try not to be. I consider myself a realistic optimist. We are still selling homes, but granted, they are selling at levels that we saw in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. There is over a 16-month supply of available homes on the market.

Real Estate is a great investment, but it has always been meant as a long-term investment. Not, the short-term one it was considered in the recent past. It is no longer the cash cow that we saw through the past several years. There is no real estate bubble that we are going to see burst. But at the same time, you are not going to see lenders utilizing the line-up & sign-up routine of the past for mortgages. The criteria for such has been tightened.

One of the things that quite concerns me is what is going to happen when Wall Street feels the effects of the subprime market. Are we going to be asked to bail them out as we have with property insurance companies, etc? I hope not, they took on the risk & that is where it should stay. It’s not the public’s responsibility to bail out all of these companies. We, as individuals, cannot afford that.

Just remember – Price & Value. If you can show that, you can sell your home.

Until next time – Marc It Sold!

Property Insurance – Our Nemesis II

Unfortunately here, in the State of Florida, we have a couple of items that are creating havoc with our economy and even forcing some into foreclosure. But that is another story and those people need to take blame for getting into something that they shouldn’t have in the first place.

Anyway, back to property insurance. Here’s an example. I know some people in western Oregon. They have a home of about 4000sf on many acres with out buildings, etc. Their homeowners insurance runs them $1000 a year plus another $500 for earthquake insurance. I on the other hand have an approximately 1500sf home on about 1/3 or an acre and am paying approximately the same for my homeowners insurance.

I need to backtrack a little to a previous post where I wrote about insurance companies and actuaries & how they had to know what they were getting into and the rates that they have been charging. Well, I’ve come to learn a little more about the history of homeowners insurance in Florida.

Insurance companies competed by keeping their rates low & then came Hurricane Andrew. After that catastrophe, most had huge losses but 11 of them went bankrupt. So the remaining companies started raising rates to match their level of risk & cancelling policy renewals.

Then our government decided that we needed to do something about this and passed laws to keep our insurance rates down. And then, finally, they created Citizens Property Insurance. This was to be the insurer of last resort. Remember this as we come back to that in a little while.

Well, lo & behold, then came the hurricanes of ’04 & ’05. Unfortunately, this bankrupt some companies as well. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, one of those companies was Citizens Property Insurance. But, don’t worry, we got taxed to bail it out. It even states on everyone’s policies in the State of Florida something to the effect of “Citizens Property Insurance Assessment, Florida Catastrophe Fund Assessment, Citizen’s Recoupment Fee,” etc.

Now, our Governor is asking that these insurance companies pass the buck or I should say the bill along to their customers outside the state of Florida. Additionally, they are allowing Citizens to grow and they were allowing them to raise their rates as well, but then enacted legislation to freeze their rates. They were giving Citizens the go ahead to compete head on with other insurers so they were no longer the insurer of last resort, when you couldn’t find insurance elsewhere.

So now, Citizens has basically gone belly up twice and, as I’ve stated, we are paying for this. It may sound good that there is an insurer out there with affordable rates. But what’s ultimately going to happen is that they are going to grow into probably the largest insurer in the State of Florida and when another unfortunate catastrophe hits this state we are all going to be left with the bill. It’s just a matter of time before Citizens Property Insurance goes bankrupt again.

Citizens Property Insurance is a problem that needs to be addressed quickly!

Until next time – Marc It Sold!

Property Taxes – Our Nemesis! – con’t

I was actually planning on writing about our other nemesis – Homeowners Insurance, but today’s Orlando Sentinel had much ado about property taxes and Marco Rubio’s new plan.

It seems that State Rep. Rubio’s previous plan was too drastic for many in the Senate, if not the House, to swallow. As you may have read in my previous posts, I have been a strong opponent to his plan. His new plan just seems to be a rip off of the one I wrote about yesterday, the one that was proposed by David Simmons of Maitland.

Unfortunately, Rubio’s new plan again goes too far. He is proposing that we pay property taxes on only 20% of the first $300K of the assessed value; 30% for the next $700K; and, then 70% of any assessed value over $1M.

This equates to a home with an assessed value of $300K, would only have a taxable value of $60K. As good as this sounds & what it will mean to our pocketbooks, this is absolutely outrageous – totally ridiculous. I don’t know if this man is trying to just make a name for himself in the short-term or what. My mind is just boggled thinking of the repercussions from a move like this. Yes, I agree that we need property tax reform, but come on guys, let’s use our heads.

Can you imagine the catastrophic cuts that will have to occur on the city & county level if something like this passes. Granted, I agree that there needs to be some trimming & more accountability, but this is not the way to go about it. With cuts like this it has to affect our basic services, nevermind what it could do to education.

Yes, a tax cut will finally get rid of Save Our Homes & at least we are seeing some that might be more equitable. Yes, a tax cut will also allow some long-term homeowners to possibly move who otherwise may have felt trapped because they might have been hit with a huge tax increase.

If Rubio’s plan or something similar with drastic tax cuts comes to fruition, all we are going to see is an increase in taxes somewhere else. Again, this is absolutely ridiculous. And the fact of the matter is that we will most likely pay more in the long run.

Hmm, so what purpose does this really serve except for someone getting their name in lights. I hope that I am wrong about Mr. Rubio, but all the signs point otherwise.

I look forward to seeing a property tax cut – as a homeowner & as a realtor®. I don’t like what’s happened with property taxes. Tax relief will surely help fuel more housing transactions. I think that it would surely help turn around a market that we are seeing flounder. I know that it would surely bring more buyers out of the woodwork. But again, our lawmakers have to be realistic.

Until next time – Marc It Sold!

Property Taxes – Our Nemesis!

Finally someone has come up with a tax-cut proposal that is somewhat realistic. David Simmons, a state representative from Maitland, has proposed a property tax plan that will offer big tax cuts, but asks homeowners of larger more expensive homes to get a lesser tax cut percentage. More in line with how income taxes work. Basically using a sliding scale approach.

Here’s how this would work. All homeowners would get a tax break of 65% on the first $100K of assessed value of their home. For homes valued $100-200K, these people would receive a 55% tax cut on the second $100K of the homes taxable value. This would be further reduced to a 45% tax cut on the next $100K of taxable value and so forth with homes valued over $600K receiving a 5% tax break.

Breaking this down, this would mean that a home valued at $200K (remember we are talking assessed value not the market value of a property) would pay taxes on approximately 40% of the homes value, while the owner of a $500K home would pay on approximately 56% of the homes value.

This is much more reasonable and differs greatly from Marco Rubio’s plan which is to eliminate the property tax altogether on your primary residence & to raise the sales-tax. This would have created a major shortfall in revenue for local and county governments. Fiscally, I could never see this work in the long-run.

As some of you have read my previous posts, my main concern with all of the tax proposals out there was that they were offering to fix a flawed system with an equally flawed system. Yes, these politicians could all say, “Look what we’ve done for you.” That would only be short-lived.

What are the implications of creating these revenue shortfalls? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if we would see a property tax again in the near future.

Granted, I am not saying that the tax cut plan proposed by David Simmons is flawless, but it seems to be the most realistic & best conceived of all that have been offered.

Until next time – MARC IT SOLD!

The Southern Lawn

OK, so I’m going to try to blog about something other than the market conditions, etc. I know that sometimes it may seem somewhat depressing to you. I still wanted to give you helpful information, nevertheless.

Well, it’s May, the A/C is on, we haven’t had enough rain, it’s already in the 90’s almost every day. You got to love, but ‘oy’ how does your lawn feel about it?

Firstly, you should have already fed your lawn. This should be done at least twice a year. I usually do mine in March, July & again in October. There are some that also feel that you can do a late spring feeding in May – June and also a late fall feeding in November – December.

Now, to watering. I see too many people water incorrectly & this does not help you lawn in the long-term. As a general rule, most lawns require about one inch of water per week. The best time to water a lawn is early in the day. You don’t want to water during the heat of the day, because you will lose a lot of that watering due to evaporation. Secondly, it is illegal to water from 10am to 4pm in most parts of Florida due to our drought restrictions. You also don’t want to water in the late evening, because then you may be putting your lawn at risk for developing mildew and fungus disease.

Don’t water more often than twice a week. This actually hinders your lawn more than help it. And, surely, don’t give your lawn light sprinklings. This will only promote shallow roots.

Two types of weeds show up in lawns: broadleaf weeds and grassy weeds. Basically, any plant growing in the lawn that does not resemble grass is a broadleaf weed. If your lawn is full of weeds, the best solution is to use a broadcast herbicide to kill them. A few weeds can be pulled up by hand, but many will grow right back because of their deep tap root. It may appear that the entire weed was pulled out, but the tap root simply breaks and what is left in the soil sprouts new weed growth above the soil.

Grassy weeds are a bit tougher to control. Typically, grassy weeds like crabgrass die in the fall and drop thousands of seeds that germinate the following spring. This is why a crabgrass preventer is recommended in the spring.

The best defense against weeds is a thick lawn that is properly cared for and never scalped by mowing. A thick lawn will choke out weeds and never allow them a place to establish in the lawn.

Mowing your lawn once a week is sufficient and most Bahia & St. Augustine grasses should be 2 – 4” in height. Keep your mower blade sharp. A dull blade tears the ends of the grass & this will turn brown & possibly promote fungus.

Never cut off more than 1/3 of the length of the grass blades in a single mowing. Mow in different directions each time you mow & never mow a wet lawn. Again, this will not only give you an uneven cut but may encourage fungus growth.

Well that was fun. OK, happy lawn care to you!

Until next time – Marc It Sold!

WOW - 2007 - con't

This started as just a comment, but has obviously ended up as much more. Just give me an inch...

Anyway, thanks for all the comments. In regard to the appreciation that Jennifer commented in from the last post, I agree with her. The reason for my stating a higher rate is because this has been typically true in the Greater Orlando market.

Orlando is a destination city & has continually bucked the national trend. Generally, while the nation has normally seen a 6-8% appreciation level, we in Orlando have encountered a typically 10-13% rate.

To make this a little clearer, Orlando was definitely behind in regard to the national median housing price. For many reasons in the past several years this has quickly been adjusted. Unfortunately, we are still mostly a service-oriented area. I won't get on my soapbox here about this rise continually locking more and more people out of purchasing homes.

The powers that be are definitely making efforts to try to change our being a more service-oriented industry market. They are doing so by alluring some high-tech companies to the area and obviously this includes much higher wages.

Another reason for our quick gain, is that many people move to this area from more expensive areas & have been willing to pay more for real estate.

In regard to the median housing price, the Greater Orlando area's median is $250K. Even though this figure see-sawed through 2006, it is still higher than 2005. Maybe not by much, but still more. Many markets cannot say this, unfortunately.

According to FAR (Florida Association of Realtors), "In Sarasota-Bradenton, for example, the median price went to $277,900 from $340,700 during the year-over-year period ended in October." WOW!

Until next time - Marc It Sold!

Selling Your Home With Pets

Let me begin by saying that I am a pet lover having had many over my lifetime & enjoying those of friends & family. Unfortunately, there are many people out there that are not pet lovers or at least not of many breeds.

Most of us would not think that this is a problem. But, there are many people that will not go into a home with pets that are 'on the loose.' Additionally, there are many people that will spend less time in a home that has pets that are not of their liking. Too many of us this is surprising and may even sound bizarre, but when you put it into perspective it is quite understandable.

So, therefore, we need to take many things into consideration when selling a home with a pet(s). Now, again as I've said, I love most pets. I will usually play with the pet & keep him/her occupied while my clients are viewing the home. This usually works for the pet as well as the prospective buyers. A lot of times, you will find buyers that have no issue with the pets. And, yes, we all know about those loveable, cute pets that just pull at your heartstrings just by looking at you. They can almost sell the home themselves.

But here are some things to possibly remember & some tips for all of us.

1. If it smells... That in itself is probably enough to be said. Sorry, but I've had cats & very rarely did my litter box smell. Guess what? I don't want to smell yours. Neither does anyone else. Clean that litter box & keep it clean or put it out of the way. But those are not the only smells. Most odors come from dander. You need to deodorize your home often & keep your pet bathed and groomed.

2. Stains. Clean them, there are many good products on the market for 'pet stains.' Clean that carpet before listing your home, or if it is that bad, then consider replacing them. Sorry, but smells, stains, etc. are not going to get you top dollar for your home, nevermind, the length of time on the market needed to sell a home in that condition especially when there are so many other available homes to purchase.

3. Keep Pets from Showings. If it is at all possible, take the pet for a walk while your home is being shown. It will make it a much more pleasant experience for the prospective buyer. Loud barking dogs are not always a pleasing sound & may actually scare potential buyers. This only limits your potential pool of buyers. As your realtor, we are constantly trying to increase this pool for you.

4. First Impressions. The old adage is so very true - First Impressions are Lasting Impressions. This not only includes smells & carpet stains, but also possible gnawed moldings, scratches doors & door jambs, holes in the backyard, poop in the backyard, etc. You obviously get the picture & so will the potential buyer that viewed a home like this. I don't care how pretty the home may be otherwise, it is the total picture that has to be taken into consideration. And, yes, first impressions do last & will most likely have the prospective buyer out of your house quickly if care is not taken to these details.

5. It's all about perception! If someone enters a home & it smells & there are stains on the flooring & scratched door jambs, etc. They should also wonder what else this home holds for them. I'm sorry if this seems harsh, but if I enter a home and see this, I do have to wonder what else hasn't been taken care of & kept up. This is only being realistic & I'm not being mean.

We love our pets & there is no reason that they should hinder a sale. Nor do they have to be responsible for lowering a realistic price on a home. It is our responsibility & this can be taken care of without a great deal of inconvenience to all.

Best Wishes & until next time... Marc It Sold!

A Little of This - A Little of That!

Housing costs have risen substantially within the last couple of years. Have wages increased as much? We know the answer there. Now, I'm not going to get on my soapbox. But, we continually each day lock more and more people out of the housing market. Condos are costing in the 100K's; a nice relatively reasonable 3/2 single-family home will run approximately the mid 200's. Enough of that, but it is something that we do have to keep in mind. We should never forget, because that only leads to possibly losing the lesson.

Real Estate has returned to what it was normally. The market is very healthy. We are very lucky in the Greater Orlando area, because we are a destination city. We are also the #2 city in the nation for Conventions, even knocking Chicago out of that position. But, there is a lot of competition out there. There are over 21,000 MLS listings available.

This is going to be a difficult time for For Sale By Owners, unless they are willing to wait, what I would think would be, quite a while. I've even noticed what seems to be more homes going into pre-foreclosure. The summer of '05 is no longer. I'm not saying this for doom & gloom. But this is reality.

In regard to pre-foreclosures, people should speak to their lenders before it is way too late. And by too late, I mean, when they are already starting the papers. It takes several months before a homeowner is served with a pre-foreclosure notice. If you are late, there are some lenders that will allow you to tack on those payments to the end of your loan period. Granted, this will definitely cost you, but what will losing your home cost you? There are also other ways, but you must speak with your lender. You have to understand that the lender does not really wish to own your property. They are not making money on it. They make money from the payments that you send in each month.

Anyway, enough for now. Call me & I'll be more than happy to discuss this and any other topics with you.

Until next time....Marc It Sold!

Supply of homes on market takes dip?!?

That was one of the font page headlines in today’s, 10/21/6, Orlando Sentinel (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-homes2106oct21,0,349657.story?coll=orl-home-headlines). While this may be so, as reported by ORRA (the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association), I find that it is at the same time somewhat incorrect in that there is a better defining picture of this situation.

Statistics are great. They are the numbers – the so to speak ‘black & white’ of the situation. But at the same time they can be manipulated. That is one basic reason that I do not believe in the CMA (Comparative Market Analysis), because I can take those numbers and manipulate them to my needs. At one time, & I apologize for the digression here, an appraisal was as good as the bible when it came to real estate valuation. But this has drastically changed over the years. Lately, I’ve seen appraisals that were so wholly undervalued & then another appraiser might come in with a greatly different value. The reason that I mention this here is that as good as numbers are, then can be greatly manipulated.

Back to the article in question. While a good article, it states in the second paragraph that the supply of homes in the Greater Orlando market has dipped. And this is true. But in the fourth paragraph, the article mentions the sales drop "in the Realtors' core Orlando market (mainly Orange and Seminole counties)."

Why I say that this is conflicting is because for the past 10 months I have weekly gathered the data on inventory of single-family homes, condos & townhomes that are listed available for sale in the MLS in just Orange & Seminole counties. While I’ve seen a couple of weeks here & there where there has been a drop in inventory, the overall data suggests differently.

Proof in point:As of 10/17 the total inventory, as specified above, is 16,045. On 9/20, this figure was 15,828; and, on 8/22, 15,479. I utilized these dates because they are approximately 1 month apart. This shows you that even though there was a week 9/28-10/4 where there was a drop in available home of 93 units, that we have had a consistent rise in inventory in the core Orlando market.

I am not saying your story is erroneous, but I think that this shows a better picture of what is really going on in the Greater Orlando Real Estate Market, especially in the counties of Orange & Seminole.

Until next time – MARC IT SOLD!

Insurance

As I alluded to in the previous post, I wanted to discuss the topic of Insurance and specifically Condo Association Insurance. Again, as I've stated while writing the Market Trends post, this also has been a topic in the news that is of great concern to many of us.

Insurance in itself has gotten out of control in the State of Florida. I won't deny that I am not sure as to the rest of the nation, but in Florida we are probably pushing toward an epidemic of sorts.

If you are not aware of what is occurring, than let me recap for a moment. Firstly, the cost of most housing insurance has skyrocketed in the State of Florida. I started becoming more aware of this situation while helping a client who was relocating to the western side of the State much earlier this year. Now, granted, we expected the insurance to be higher because there was a pool involved, but when quoted that the least expensive would cost $2300/year, we were totally astonished. Couldn't believe that we were getting rates upwards of $2800.

Anyway, we've most likely heard about people being dropped by their insurer, therefore, not being renewed and having to search out other options. In Florida, we have a state insurance fund of last resort, Citizens Insurance. Unfortunately, we've heard the debacle that they are in. Oh by the way, we are all paying for that with surcharges on our policies, whether you are with Citizens or another carrier.

Citizens actually has to have higher rates so that they are not in direct competition with the other insurers that wish to do business in Florida and write policies. Citizen has also become the largest insurer in the State of Florida due to others pulling out. This has put all of us in a precarious position.

OK, enough of that doom & gloom. Now to another aspect of the insurance industry that is also quite scary and will affect so many lives & unfortunately be devasting to quite a few. When you purchase a condo, you should get homeowners insurance. Now the condo association also has a master policy covering the association, buildings, common grounds, etc.

Here's the first part of the sad part. There are fewer & fewer insurers that are wishing to provide this for these associations. Many are just dropping these assocations, while many others are in some instances quadrupling the association rates. I know of one community where I've been told that because of the rate increase they are going to have to raise the monthly maintenance fees that the condo owners pay at least $100. In the Orlando Sentinel, it was mentioned last week, that Lake Villas in Altamonte Springs off of Maitland Ave. has their rates increasing from approximately $33K/year to $197K. This in turn is requiring them to increase the monthly maintenance fee by $200/month.

Can you believe that? Do you understand how this will effect the owners there, many probably on fixed incomes. This will force people from their homes into uncertainty. This for many is like an additional mortgage payment.

Unbelievable, but what really gets me are the insurance companies. All of a sudden we are hearing of their supposed wows. Bunk!! How dare they! Do they give us breaks when they are making lots of money? I don't think so! But, we surely do hear them complain when they have to pay out large sums for the natural catastrophes that we've experienced in the last couple of years.

But & this is what really gets me, they have actuaries. An actuary's job is that of a statistician to compute risks & therefore premiums. So, they had a few years where they had to pay out. How about all of those years in which they didn't have to pay out so much? Again, did they give us a refund? Anyway, we all know that the weather is cyclical. We've gone through periods of this before. This is not something new. But the insurers are asking for increases & getting them, royally.

Where does this put us all? Unfortunately, like I stated at the outset, insurance in the State of the Florida is heading toward epidemic proportions. The state needs to do something and quickly. That means NOW!! Do you think they are listening?

Until next time...Marc It Sold!

Market Trends

My original intention with this blog, was to include more tips on caring for your home & to tell you more about me. But it seems that the slant has been more towards market trends. To some this may be boring & I apologize for that. But it is very important to us. Real Estate has become a much published topic. We read about it in the newspapers & on the net. We hear about it on the evening news. We've seen it & it's effect in our daily lives.

Granted, a lot of what I've written is my educated opinion, obviously derived from my experience; sources that I've read; and, speaking with other real estate professionals. I've mentioned before that I really like numbers. They don't tell the whole picture, but do give us a great insight into what is happening. This is why I've tried to back up my opinions with facts & numbers, so it doesn't seem as if I'm just spouting off at the mouth. Goodness, knows I can do that also.

But the reason that I've written more about the market trends, is that this effects us all and is very important. With all that we've seen & heard in the real estate market, I think that it is something that needs to be addressed. We've all seen the doom & gloom articles & editorials and a lot of what I've read is pure bunk. My intentions are to try to give you a balanced account of the state of real estate. Yes, I do have my prejudices & biases, but I do try to keep those to a minimum when writing an opinion.

Sometimes, it is difficult for me to decide what to write about. There has been so much in the news that is of great concern. So, today, I am going to discuss the annual housing report released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies - "The State of the Nation's Housing 2006." http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2006/index.htm

The report overall is positive on the housing market - that "the housing sector continues to benefit from solid job & household growth, recovering rental markets, & strong home price appreciation," and as long as these remain in place, "the current slowdown should be moderate."

Households are expected to accelerate from about 12.6 million over the past years, to 14.6 million over the next ten which combined with projected income gains and a "rising tide of wealth" should "lift housing production and investment to new highs."

However, affordability will also intensify, as the economy is generating many low-wage jobs and land use restrictions are driving up housing costs. Incomes are rising much faster in the top ranges than in the bottom ranges for homebuyers. The number of households paying more than half of their income for housing has shot up & will continue to increase.

We've seen & heard about affordable rental housing disappearing. Just look at all of the condo conversions that we've seen around.

The report also goes into financing in that we've seen a shift from fixed-rate mortgages to adjustable-rate mortgages & other products. In just 2 years, the interest-only loan shot from relative obscurity to 20% of the dollar value of all loans & 37% of all adjustable rate loans in 2005. Payment option loans accounted for nearly 10% in 2005.

As bad as that sounds, the report says that only 3% of owners had equity less than 5% in their homes & 87% had a 20% or higher equity in 2004.

Housing gains are continuing even while home sales are softening. Driving housing will be the baby boomers who will boost markets for senior housing & second home.

Until next time when I plan to discuss the rising insurance rates & condo associations - Marc It Sold!

Is the Market Insane?

Wanted to Blog, but wasn't sure what to write & then I spoke with a friend & she was under the impression that the "Market is Insane!" I won't deny that I was taken aback by this. But from what we talked about, it seems that quite a few people think this.

Now, I know from talking with quite a few realtors that the impression is that buyers are waiting for prices to come down. I won't deny that I still see homes that are priced for the type of market that we saw last year. But, in general, it seems that people realize that they have to price their homes well to sell. With an inventory of over 15K available homes for sale in just Orange & Seminole county, sellers better price their homes well & possibly offer incentives if they wish their homes to sell.

But, now let's look at the other side of the coin. We are still selling near the same level of homes as was being sold last year. Many do not realize this, but that was a phenomenal year. We sold more homes than in previous recorded history. In fact, in March of this year, ORRA (Orlando Regional Realtor Association) noted that 2878 homes were sold & this compares to 2529 homes in March 2005.

This reverts back to what I've been saying in that we have a very healthy market in the Greater Orlando area. In fact, we've sold more homes in the first five months of 2006 than we did in 2005.

So, homes are selling. Even with the increase in interest rates. Homes that show well & are priced well - will sell, as long as they are marketed properly. I've said this before & even have read it recently, but we are in what most of us consider a 'normal' housing market. Granted, the median price has risen to its highest level at $252,990 (May 2006) with an average sales price of $311,119.

Homes are presently taking 74 days on the market & this will lengthen with time. Historically, we've seen worse & not all that long ago.

It just proves to me that people need to be educated to the facts. As with anything else, this does put things into their proper perspective.

I, myself, have always believed in education. That is why I've gone on and received my GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) & still continue to read & try to improve myself. I also believe at the same time, that it is my job to educate you, the consumer. I believe that if I did not do so, I would be doing you a disservice. I am the Real Estate Professional. This is why you ask me for advice & hire me for my services. And, I wish to thank everyone for that!

Until next time - Marc It Sold!

Rates, FSBO's, Pre-foreclosure

It's been a while. There are several things that I wish to mention today. Firstly, I wish to apologize because we are still working on the links on our website. That problem will be remedied in the near future.

The Fed made another increase, as was expected. Of course, there are the concerns for inflation. Mortgage interests have been climbing. Presently, they are hovering around 7%. Yes, this is higher than we've been experiencing in the past several years. But, when you reflect upon it, you realize that this is not so bad. Eight years ago we were at this level and even 1% higher the previous year. And, who can forget the 80's. My Goodness!! So, when you put it into perspective, it's really a different story.

Now, granted, housing costs have risen substantially in that same period of time. Have wages increased as much? We know the answer there. Now, I'm not going to get on my soapbox. But, we continually each day lock more and more people out of the housing market. Condos are costing in the 100K's; a nice relatively reasonable 3/2 single-family home will run approximately the mid 200's.

Enough of that, but it is something that we do have to keep in mind. We should never forget, because that only leads to possibly losing the lesson.

Real Estate has returned to what it was normally. The market is very healthy. We are very lucky in the Greater Orlando area, because we are a destination city. We are also the #2 city in the nation for Conventions, even knocking Chicago out of that position.

But, there is a lot of competition out there. There are over 19,000 MLS listings available. This is going to be a difficult time for For Sale By Owners, unless they are willing to wait, what I would think would be, quite a while.

I’ve even noticed what seems to be more homes going into pre-foreclosure. The summer of ’05 is no longer. I’m not saying this for doom & gloom. But this is reality. In regard to pre-foreclosures, people should speak to their lenders before it is way too late. And by too late, I mean, when they are already starting the papers. It takes several months before a homeowner is served with a pre-foreclosure notice. If you are late with your payments, there are some lenders that will allow you to tack those onto the end of your loan period. Granted, this will definitely cost you, but what will losing your home cost you?

There are also other ways, but you must speak with your lender. You have to understand that the lender does not really wish to own your property. They are not making money on it. They make money from the payments that you send in each month. Anyway, enough for now.

Call me & I’ll be more than happy to discuss this and any other topics with you.

Until next time….Marc It Sold!

What A Difference A Year Makes!

OK, I really like numbers & stats. Granted, they are not everything, but they do portend the current situation. So, I was just checking some stats for a project that I'm working on. Presently, there are 12,971 available single-family homes, condos, townhomes & villas in Orange & Seminole Counties. Last year at this time, there were 3710 available properties listed in the MLS in the Greater Orlando area, not just the two counties. Right now we have almost a 7 months supply of inventory compared to 1.19 months last June. Additionally, at that time it took approximately 27 - 30 days on the market. Today, the average is over 50 days on the market. This is just some information. Make your own conclusions, but take into consideration that we are still in a healthy housing market. The supply just greatly outranks the demand. But, the sales volume of sold homes is at pace or ahead of the previous couple of years. Thus making, at this point, 2006 a very strong year.

Boost Your Home's Value Reasonably

Really wanted to discuss the previous post a little more, but felt that the tone of this blog might be taken the wrong way. There is so much information that I wish to impart upon you. Yet, at the same time, wish to make this a not only useful, but some lighthearted blog in nature. So, with that known, I am changing the direction a little today to tell you about several cheap ways in which you can update your home & also increase it's curb appeal.

Whether you’re getting ready to sell your home or want to spiff it up, inexpensively, for your own enjoyment, here are 10 things for you to consider.

1. Make your kitchen really cook! - The kitchen is still considered the heart of the home. Many buyers make a beeline to the kitchen when they view a home. For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet, add new cabinet door handles & update old lighting fixtures.

2. Give appliances a facelift. If your appliances don’t match, order new doors or panels for them. Hint: many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other.

3. Buff up the bath. Even simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for someone to install & they make a big difference in the look of the bathroom. Consider replacing old, discolored bathroom flooring. If the tub or shower are looking dingy, consider re-grouting the tile.

4. Step up your storage. If you have cramped storage areas, adding do-it-yourself wire and laminate closet systems to bedrooms, pantries and entry closets. Your closets will be more functional while you’re living there & it will make your home look more customized to potential buyers.

5. Add a room. Yes, this can be expensive, but consider this, you have a 3 bedroom house with a den. If you add a closet to that room, you’ve now got a 4 bedroom home and that adds a lot of value. You can possibly add a custom closet system and drywall it in for less than 1500.

6. Check the 'innards.' It is well worth it to spend a few dollars & have a plumber & electrician look over your services to make sure that they are in good repair and running properly. When a home inspection is performed, these details will show the potential buyer that the home has been well cared for & can also influence the sales/purchase price.

7. Look Underfoot. Flooring is another detail that can quickly update a home and make it look cleaner. A professional carpet cleaning is an inexpensive investment, especially if your carpets are in good shape. Don't replace them unless they are really hideous.

8. Look Up. Consider replacing the lighting and/or ceiling fans. These can be done fairly reasonably with a wide array of inexpensive lighting fixtures and ceiling fans that are found at the local do-it-yourself stores.

9. Curb Appeal. What buyers see when they first drive by your home is very important. A nicely mowed lawn, fresh much, some nice (& possibly flowering plants) & a clean walkway make a great first impression.

10. The Front Door. A clean front door & possibly freshly painted makes a great impression as does new hardware. This is the first thing that potential buyers will see before entering your home.