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Florida Property Tax Reform |
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Governor Charlie Crist spoke in Orlando April 25, 2007 on property tax reform. As we all know, property tax reform is one of the biggest issues facing the state of Florida along with Insurance reform. Crist answered questions from members of the audience in Orlando. Governor Crist seems to really be pushing property tax reform, which is exactly what he said he would do. Check out the Governor's site at http://www.charliecrist.com/
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http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/12/1212_realestate07/source/10.htm |
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Florida Housing Market Shows Signs of Recovery |
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Industry leaders in real estate are seeing signs of recovery in Miami-Dade's beleaguered housing market with a sharp increase in new business for November. Industry reports business up 24% from November 2005 when our market was still reeling from the aftermath of several hurricanes. This year there were many more closings in January 2007 than in January 2006. Last fall, single-family home re-sales rose 6% from the year before, from 511 to 544 homes. Condominium re-sales fell 6%, from 541 to 508. We saw prices flatten out and we are seeing recovery in the first quarter 2007. The Condo market may not recover as quickly possibly taking another year because of the amount of Condo units becoming available.
Overall, sales were lower in 2006 than in 2005 but we expect February to be a banner month for the reasons that the market is recovering and people are buzzing about it. With out a doubt the worst is over and while interest rates continue to come down, there is more activity in home sales. The market needed adjustments in pricing, and the property owners that are selling have become realistic and faced the fact there has been longer marketing times. Miami Real Estate saw December sales take off and a 20% increase in closing over last year and reports indicate that it was not a result of price dropping. The past year prices have remained stable in most instances and even appreciated in some cases. Research establishes that over the last five years every home in the area is worth at least twice as much as it was making Florida one of the best real estate markets in our time.
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/061228/story2.shtml |
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Interest Rates Go Down Again |
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Rates on 30 year mortgages fell for the first time in six weeks due to the fact that inflation is in check. The 30 year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.17 percent this week according to Freddie Mac down from 6.22 percent the previous week.
Inflation markers showed the slowest growth since May of 2006 keeping investors in a happy mood and keeping interest rates low.
Rates on 15 year fixed mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, dipped to 5.89 percent, down from 5.90 percent last week.
A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.53 percent while 15 year mortgages were at 6.17 percent. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.16 percent and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 5.63 percent.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/22198.html |
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NAR: Pending Home Sales Down, Some Regions Up |
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The forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index shows existing-home sales may ease but should stay fairly close to present levels in the months ahead, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
The index, based on contracts signed in May, rose in the West and Northeast but fell in the Midwest and South. The national index stood at 97.7 in May, dropping 3.5 percent from a downwardly revised April index of 101.2. That number is 13.3 percent lower than May 2006 when the reading was 112.7. In April, the index was 10.4 percent lower than a year earlier.
The Consumer Confidence Impact
Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, says that housing activity continues to be impacted by tighter lending criteria and a lack of buyer confidence. “Some transactions are being postponed from mortgage market disruptions,” he says. “But better supervised lending will put housing in a fundamentally healthier state over the long term."
Mortgage purchase applications are trending up, with some of the rise due to buyers reapplying for alternatives to subprime financing, Yun says. “Nonetheless, home sales should stay close to present levels in the months ahead given an accumulating pent-up demand,” he adds. The pent-up demand results from slow household formation, which is significantly below levels that would be expected in a period of job creation and economic growth.
“As consumer confidence improves, home sales will rise,” Yun says.
Regional Breakdown
Here’s what happened across the United States with the PHSI: West: rose 5.6 percent in May to 95.4 but was 13.7 percent below a year ago.
Northeast: increased 3.8 percent from April to 93.1 but is 9.6 percent lower than May 2006. South: fell 7.6 percent in May to 107.2 and was 15.4 percent below a year ago. Midwest: dropped 8.9 percent in May to 89.4 and was 11.7 percent below May 2006.
The index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed (sales usually are finalized within one or two months of signing). An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.
— REALTOR® Magazine Online
For more housing statistics, visit the Research section of REALTOR.org.
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