Looking back on 2011, Florida’s existing home sales rose 8 percent for the year, with a total of 185,921 homes sold compared to 172,462 homes sold in 2010. The statewide existing home median price for 2011 was $131,700; it was $135,900 in 2010 for a 3 percent decrease. In Florida’s condo market, a total of 87,581 units sold statewide in 2011, a gain of 15 percent compared to 76,209 units sold in 2010. The statewide existing condo median price in 2011 was $88,300; it was $90,000 in 2010 for a 2 percent decrease.

Sixteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales at the close of 2011 compared to 2010; the same number of MSAs also reported higher existing condos sales.

“Florida’s economy is continuing to strengthen, which is good news,” said 2012 Florida Realtors President Summer Greene, regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Florida 1st in Fort Lauderdale. “Many people are hoping to take advantage of the current record low mortgage rates and affordable conditions to find their Florida dream home – but overly restrictive lending requirements continue to create barriers to homeownership for qualified homebuyers. To re-energize the housing market and the economic recovery, we need improved access to affordable financing options for qualified buyers and investors.”

In December, a total of 15,290 existing single-family homes sold statewide, a decrease of 2 percent from the 15,546 homes sold in December 2010. The statewide existing home median sales price last month was $134,300, up 1 percent from the $133,000 reported in December 2010, according to Florida Realtors’ data. The national median existing single-family home price was $165,100 in December, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

In the year-to-year comparison for statewide existing condo sales, a total of 6,836 units changed hands last month, compared to 6,985 condos sold in December 2010 for a decrease of 2 percent. The statewide existing condo median sales price in December was $91,900, up 4 percent from the $88,400 reported a year earlier. The national median existing condo price was $160,000 in December, according to NAR.

“Although sales were down slightly in December, they’re up strongly for the year, which reinforces the reality that Florida is in a slow real estate recovery,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “Our expectation is that recovery will continue through 2012. The major obstacle in the market is the inadequate accessibility to financing. Prices are moderating, but we don’t expect too much movement owing to the continuing significance of distressed properties.”

In December, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.96 percent, down from the 4.71 percent average during the same month a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. The annual average rate for a 30-year mortgage in 2011 was 4.45 percent. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home, please contact Sea to Sky Realty, the INTERNATIONAL Bradenton / Sarasota Real Estate Company.

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Sarasota – Connecticut residents Neal and Sandra DeFeo bought the most expensive luxury property in Sarasota County in December – a 4,239-square-foot house off Shell Road on Siesta Key. The DeFeo’s paid $3.015 million, or $1.1 million less than Kevin D. Cogan paid in May 2006.

All told, 18 luxury homes or condos sold for more than $1 million in Sarasota County last month.

Here are the top 10 Luxury Home Sales in Sarasota for December 2011:

1. $3.015 million: 4083 Shell Road, Siesta Key

Buyer: Neal and Sandra DeFeo
Seller: Kevin D. Cogan

2. $2.4 million: 7100 Manasota Key Road, Manasota Key

Buyer: Jonross Inc.
Seller: Nancy Blackstone Spiegel

3. $2.275 million: 1403 Kenilworth St., Sarasota

Buyer: Robert Bonilla
Seller: Pamela Morris

4. $2.2 million: 8140 Manasota Key Road, Manasota Key

Buyer: Carolyn Joseph
Seller: Harold S. Samhat

5. $2 million: 15 N. Sandy Hook Road, Siesta Key

Buyers: Renee Chase and Edward Aroyan
Seller: Linda M. Boring

6. $1.975 million: 1281 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key

Buyers: Paul and Lisette Jacobs
Seller: Ingrid Leitzen

7. $1.89 million: Luxury condo, the Hyatt Siesta Key Beach, 915 Seaside Dr, Siesta Key

Buyer: Judith K. Peters
Seller: NS/CSE Siesta Key LLC

8. $1.8 million: Luxury condo, Ritz Beach Residences, 1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive, Lido Key

Buyer: Eugene S. Kahn
Seller: Arlene Barsumian.

9. $1.705 million: 929 Casey Cove Drive, Nokomis

Buyer: Steven and Deborah Grossman
Seller: Mary E. Guyton

10. $1.6 million: 751 N. Manasota Key Drive, Manasota Key

Buyer: Robert and Patricia Darroch
Seller: Claude Darroch

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Buyers must plan to live in the home and pay full list price. They must also take out an FHA loan, and standard underwriting rules apply. FHA loans typically require a 3.5 percent downpayment.

The deal also helps buyers who want to buy a home that needs repairs. The $100 downpayment offer can also be applied to FHA’s 203k loans, which allow a buyer to borrow more than the list price and use the extra money to fix it up. By rolling the loan money plus fix-up costs into a single loan, buyers can pay it off over time with one monthly payment.

In most cases, HUD will also cover up to 3 percent of closing costs.

For more information, visit HUD’s website.

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Florida-owned Citizens Property Insurance can increase its rates no more than 10 percent per year, but the company has two options that allow it to raise rates without impacting that cap: nixing discounts some homeowners receive for hurricane mitigation efforts and increasing a home’s replacement cost in the premium calculation. And they use both of them!

Hurricane mitigation discounts

Florida homeowners get a property insurance discount if their home has added features that help lower potential damage from a storm. To receive the discounts, homes must first be inspected, and a number of policyholders have done so. However, Citizens claims that the original inspections have listed hurricane mitigation upgrades that don’t exist, and many homeowners don’t deserve the discount.

As a result, Citizens is reinspecting homes, and, according to the Palm Beach Post, only about one in three homeowners keeps a hurricane mitigation discount after the reinspection. About 78,000 Florida homeowners have been reinspected so far, and the ones that lose a discount end up paying about 24 percent more – an additional average of $717 per year. Up to 200,000 total homes are slated for reinspection before the end of 2012.

Replacement costs

Even though home values have decreased, many owners have watched their replacement cost, I have warned about this practic more than once – the amount it would take to rebuild a destroyed home following a disaster – increase. And as the replacement cost increases, the cost of property insurance increases. For some policyholders, their home’s replacement cost is double its value in today’s market. So the insurance lets you insure for twice the amount they are actually paying in case of a disaster.

Citizens says it used a private vendor, 360Value, to calculate replacement costs. However, Citizens says it will reevaluate the calculations for South Florida and Tampa homeowners this month.

“In light of publicly expressed concerns about some of the replacement cost valuations generated by 360Value, Citizens will supplement its normal contract monitoring to include a targeted review to validate the accuracy of 360Value outputs,” Citizens said in a release.

Our tip: Get an appraisal showing the correct value. Usually this can be a an exterior appraisal costing less than $100. Talk to a knowledgeable Realtor or call us about this issue, most insurance agents are unable or unwillingly to assist you here. We are assisting our clients and past clients in each aspect of home ownership.

Sea to Sky Realty
Axel Weiss, Broker
(941) 866 1666
Contact

MANATEE — Existing real estate home and condo sales rose throughout the Bradenton-Sarasota area in November to mirror upswings nationally. The Bradenton real estate market overcame an uptick in contract cancellations to continue the momentum built earlier this year. November is a historically busy month for housing and real estate in general in Manatee as snowbirds and winter tourists soak up inventory left from the summer.

The downside: Distressed properties (REO, short sales, more info on short sales: Bradenton Shortsale) continue to dominate the landscape, which has kept a tight grip on values across the region. The Bradenton-Sarasota real estate market recorded 816 existing single-family home sales in November 2011, a modest 2 percent jump from October and a 17 percent increase from the same time last year, according to figures released Wednesday by Florida Realtors. Existing condo sales also climbed from October to reach 269 in November, a 7 percent gain from a year ago. Through 11 months of the year, local real estate sales are on track to handily bag their best cumulative total since the days of the boom. But because most of the transactions involve foreclosures and short sales, prices have been slow to recover.The median real estate sales price for existing homes in Bradenton and Sarasota last month was $152,100, a slight increase from the $149,300 reported in November 2010. The median is the midpoint where half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Existing residential real estate sales statewide dipped about 6 percent month over month with 12,993 units sold in November. That figure, however, represents an 11 percent increase over the same time last year, the MLS report shows. Florida’s median real estate sales price held relatively steady at $130,100. Similar to the local numbers, U.S. homes sales rose 4 percent in November to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.

To search for current up for sale homes in the Bradenton and Sarasota area, please check Bradenton and Sarasota MLS property search: Bradenton MLS

For more information please contact us:

Axel and Bea Weiss
Sea to Sky Realty
(941) 866 1666
Email

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The federal government’s previous foreclosure-prevention efforts, such as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), lowered the interest rates on mortgages of homeowners at risk of foreclosure because they had lost income. But the new Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is seen as a possible game changer even for homeowners who are underwater but who have stayed employed and continue making their payments. Homeowners who have missed mortgage payments in the past six months need not apply. Not all details have been disclosed yet, but this is one of the first refinance programs that doesn’t require an appraisal to determine the value of the house.

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“Statewide, both sales and prices are above where they were this time last year,” noted Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “The monthly median prices have ticked down slightly for the past few months, but the overall trend continues to show gains year-over-year.

“These numbers, combined with reports from Realtors throughout the state, indicate that we’re seeing strong interest in purchasing Florida real estate from smart investors who are taking advantage of the current favorable market conditions,” Tuccillo said. “These folks tend to have a long-term outlook and plan to hold onto their property purchases for a while.”

Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales in October; 12 MSAs had higher existing condo sales.

The statewide median sales price for existing homes last month was $131,200; a year ago, it was $136,600 for a decrease of 4 percent. According to analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in September 2011 was $165,600, down 3.9 percent from a year ago, according to NAR. In Massachusetts, the September statewide median resales price was $294,950; in California, it was $287,440; in Maryland, it was $228,879; and in New York, it was $217,600.

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 6,132 units sold statewide in October, a 12 percent increase over the 5,473 units sold in October 2010. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $87,800; a year earlier, it was $80,500 for a 9 percent gain. The national median existing condo sales price in September was $163,800, according to NAR.

“The latest unemployment figures indicate that Florida’s jobs outlook is improving, mortgage rates remain at historical lows and buyers are able to consider a variety of housing options at affordable prices in communities across the state,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “This is a great time to consult a local Realtor® about homeownership opportunities in your local housing market.”

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.07 percent in October, down from the 4.23 percent average during the same month a year earlier. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

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Though the past four years have seen many cities suffering from large  numbers of foreclosures and a loss in home values, ten of these real estate  markets are now leading the nation towards a general recovery and stability of  the housing sector.  The six markets included – Miami, Orlando, Ft. Myers/Cape Coral, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota/Bradenton & Lakeland/Winter Haven.

Here is Realtor.com’s opinion of the Sarasota FL real estate market:

Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: A total of 11 percent of all foreign buyers in Florida are in Sarasota-Bradenton specifically. Number six on the turnaround report, the market has seen a list prices increase of more than 17 percent year-0ver-year and a decrease of inventory of 32 percent according to the Realtor.com October data. The market still has a long way to go, after losing more than 55 percent of home values from 2006 to the second quarter of 2011 due to foreclosures.

The Realtor.com analysis found that:

• Sarasota-Bradenton attracted 11 percent of Florida’s international buyers.

• List prices in the market are up 17.5 percent from 2010.

• The number of days a home spends on the market before being sold is down 32 percent.

Let’s take a closer look at all markets:

Miami, FL: The number one town on the report, Miami  has gone from being one of the first victims of the subprime crash to having a  healthy inventory that is only half the size from a year ago. Today, Miami is  only reporting one foreclosure for every 407 homes, compared to the national  rate of one per every 213. And, condo sales have increased 79 percent in the  first five months of this year, largely due to an influx of foreign  investors.

Orlando, FL: Ranked second on the report, Orlando  leads the nation in the ratio of Realtor.com searches to listings. Inventory has  also obtained a balance with demand. Foreclosures hurt the market in  2007-08, but foreclosures in Orlando were down 58 percent in September,  compared to last year.

Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL: Median prices in Fort  Myers-Cape Coral have increased almost 33% year-over-year, according to  Realtor.com’s October 2011 Real Estate Trend Data. In addition, foreclosures are  down–only one in 313 homes in September–while inventory has been reduced and  foreign buyers have been attracted to the area’s real estate prices. The metro  ranked third on the turnaround report.

Fort Lauderdale: FL: A decrease in inventory  coupled with an uptick in prices earns Fort Lauderdale the number five spot  on the report. Inventory decreased almost 38 percent year-over-year, according  to Realtor.com’s October data report. Prices have fallen about 46 percent since  2006, but are now going up.

Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: A total of 11 percent of  all foreign buyers in Florida are in Sarasota-Bradenton specifically.  Number six on the turnaround report, the market has seen a list prices  increase of more than 17 percent year-0ver-year and a decrease of  inventory of 32 percent according to the Realtor.com October data. The  market still has a long way to go, after losing more than 55 percent of home  values from 2006 to the second quarter of 2011 due to foreclosures.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL: A year ago,  Lakeland-Winter Haven topped national foreclosure filing lists, but now the  area’s distressed sale market share has decreased 46 percent. The area–ranked  7th on the turnaround list–has seen total listings decreased more than 36  percent year-over-year and median age of inventory decrease more than 17  percent, according to Realtor.com’s October data. Prices are also up 12 percent  compared to last October.

Realtor.com’s Top Ten Turnaround Town Report is compiled using a formula  based on price appreciation, changes in inventory, median age of inventory,  searches by Realtor.com visitors, and unemployment data.

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Existing home sales rose 12 percent in 3Q 2011 with a total of 46,759 homes sold statewide; during the same period the year before, a total of 41,728 homes changed hands according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos in the third quarter rose 13 percent compared to the year-ago sales figure.

Florida’s existing-home median sales price continued to stabilize and remained level at $136,000 for the three-month period; in 3Q 2010, it was $135,900. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less. In the year-to-year quarterly comparison for existing condo sales, 20,383 units sold statewide in the third quarter compared to 17,980 units in 3Q 2010 for a 13 percent increase. The statewide existing-condo median sales price was $89,600 in the third quarter; a year earlier, it was $83,700 for a 7 percent increase.

“The quarterly numbers confirm the general improvement in Florida’s housing market in both sales and prices that we’ve been seeing since January 2011,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “However, this positive trend isn’t receiving the attention it’s due because of the interaction of people’s expectations, perceptions and reality. When you come out of a recession, people expect the real estate market to take a huge jump forward, and when it doesn’t, they perceive that the market is ‘bad’ or still down.

However, the reality is that the Florida market is improving and it has been for some time – it’s just improving more slowly than initial expectations.” Mortgage rates continued to hover around historical lows in the third quarter.

According to Freddie Mac, the national commitment rate for a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.31 percent in 3Q 2011; one year earlier, it averaged 4.45 percent.

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