In an encouragement-is-where-you-find-it report, the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices released on Apr. 28 reported continuing deep declines in the prices of existing single-family homes in the U.S., but for the first time in 16 months the annual declines in the two components of the index did not set new records.
The data, reflecting home prices through February, indicated 10 of the 20 metro areas in the index show record rates of decline, with 15 showing declines of more than 10% year-over-year. The 10-City and 20-City composite indexes posted year-over-year declines of 18.8% and 18.6%, respectively. That was slightly better than January, when they fell by 19.4% and 19%, respectively, year-over-year.
"While the declines in residential real estate continued into February, we witnessed some deceleration in the rate of decline in some of the markets," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a news release. "Furthermore," he added, "this is the first month since October 2007 where the 10- and 20-City Composites did not post a record annual decline. Source: businessweek.com
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
New name for Bonita Springs community
BONITA SPRINGS — The principals of AMA Development LLC have unveiled a new name for their Bonita Springs community — Monaco. The community was previously called Villages at Old Cypress.
AMA’s principals Meir Alice and his brother Aviel have been involved in Southwest Florida real estate for more than 20 years and have participated in the creation of many area neighborhoods.
Monaco is comprised of twin villas and single-family homes in two- to four-bedroom designs. The overall site plan includes streetscapes, landscaping and oversized lakes.
Planned community amenities include Club Monaco, a 2.5-acre complex that will offer recreational activities including a fitness center, grand salon, card room, billiards room and business center/conference room. There will also be a resort-style pool and spa, separate children’s pool, tennis courts and basketball courts.
Floor plans include the Milano, a two-bedroom with den/third bedroom twin villa with 1,600 square feet of air-conditioned living space. The villa lives like a single-family home with a private master suite and large grand living and dining area and encompasses 2,151 total square feet.
The Riviera twin villa has 1,982 square feet of air-conditioned living space and offers three bedrooms, a den or fourth bedroom, plus a large living/dining room that encompasses 2,549 total square feet.
Monte Carlo is a single-family home design with 2,264 air-conditioned square feet, three bedrooms, a den and a great room/dining room. The home has 3,082 total square feet with the option to upgrade to a four-bedroom with an en suite.
Every residence at Monaco includes a gourmet kitchen with granite countertop; wood cabinetry throughout; built-in bar with wine storage; granite and upgraded tile in master suites and master baths, tile roofs, and brick paver driveways and walkways. Homes are priced starting at $219,900. Monaco is off Imperial Parkway, north of Bonita Beach Road. Source: naplesnews.com
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AMA’s principals Meir Alice and his brother Aviel have been involved in Southwest Florida real estate for more than 20 years and have participated in the creation of many area neighborhoods.
Monaco is comprised of twin villas and single-family homes in two- to four-bedroom designs. The overall site plan includes streetscapes, landscaping and oversized lakes.
Planned community amenities include Club Monaco, a 2.5-acre complex that will offer recreational activities including a fitness center, grand salon, card room, billiards room and business center/conference room. There will also be a resort-style pool and spa, separate children’s pool, tennis courts and basketball courts.
Floor plans include the Milano, a two-bedroom with den/third bedroom twin villa with 1,600 square feet of air-conditioned living space. The villa lives like a single-family home with a private master suite and large grand living and dining area and encompasses 2,151 total square feet.
The Riviera twin villa has 1,982 square feet of air-conditioned living space and offers three bedrooms, a den or fourth bedroom, plus a large living/dining room that encompasses 2,549 total square feet.
Monte Carlo is a single-family home design with 2,264 air-conditioned square feet, three bedrooms, a den and a great room/dining room. The home has 3,082 total square feet with the option to upgrade to a four-bedroom with an en suite.
Every residence at Monaco includes a gourmet kitchen with granite countertop; wood cabinetry throughout; built-in bar with wine storage; granite and upgraded tile in master suites and master baths, tile roofs, and brick paver driveways and walkways. Homes are priced starting at $219,900. Monaco is off Imperial Parkway, north of Bonita Beach Road. Source: naplesnews.com
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Monday, April 20, 2009
In the Naples area, home resales exceeded new listings in the first quarter.
In the Naples area, home resales exceeded new listings in the first quarter.
That’s one trend emerging from a new quarterly report released Friday by the Naples Area Board of Realtors.
The report is based on sales made through the SunshineMLS, or multiple listing service, in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.
The Realtor board, which has been releasing monthly reports on sales for more than a year, is now generating quarterly reports to show broader trends.
In the first quarter, home listings declined nearly 9 percent. The inventory of homes shrank to 11,211, down from 12,207 in the first quarter of 2008.
Here are some of the other findings for the first quarter of this year:
*Sales for homes under $300,000 saw a 113 percent increase. There were 964, compared to 452 in the first quarter of 2008.
*Single-family home sales under $300,000 increased 242 percent to 510, up from 149 in the first quarter of 2008.
*The median price — the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — declined 36 percent to $237,000 for the year ending in March 2009. For the same 12 months a year ago, the median was $370,000.
Over the past year, 5,091 homes have sold in the Naples area. That was 30 percent more than in the previous 12 months, when there were 3,910 home sales.
In the first quarter, 1,335 homes sold, up 33 percent from 1,002 in the same quarter in 2008. North Naples had the most sales at 346. East Naples was second with 322.
“Single-family home sales led the way,” said Brett Brown, president of the Naples Area Board of Realtors and a broker at Downing-Frye Realty.
“We’re outpacing the inventory with closed sales,” he said.
An online real estate listing service called FrontDoor.com recently named Naples the No. 2 bargain home buyer market.
The market continues to be driven by foreclosures and short sales. Buyers are looking for bargains.
While sales more than doubled for homes priced at $300,000 or less in the first quarter, they were down in all other price ranges compared to a year ago.
“That market below $300,000 continues to be on fire and I think it will be for the rest of the year,” said Mike Hughes, a vice president for Downing-Frye.
The stock market tumble has slowed sales above $1 million over the past few months because it had made those heavily invested more cautious about spending money now. However, he noted that median prices do seem to be stabilizing in markets above $300,000.
Low interest rates are helping to drive more sales.
“I think people are concerned about interest rates going up again,” said Michele Harrison, a broker-associate with John R. Wood Realtors.
A year ago, there was a 45-month supply of single-family homes on the market. Now, there’s a 14-month supply, Hughes said.
Realtors are now getting multiple offers for homes priced at under $300,000.
Earlier this week, his company wrote a contract for a home that had four offers on it.
The buyers are mixed. Many are second-home buyers, who only plan to live here a few months out of the year. There are some first-time buyers, who are taking advantage of low interest rates and an $8,000 federal tax credit, and long-term investors.
Downing-Frye has seen many buyers coming from the Northeast and from overseas.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years is Naples has luster,” Hughes said.
John Steinwand, president, CEO and principal broker at Naples Realty Services, said he’s noticed a lot more buyers from Canada. “They’re back,” he said.
Banks and Realtors are getting better at short sales, which is helping to turn more pending sales into actual sales. Short sales are sales made for less than the bank is owed to avoid foreclosure.
“The agents have honed their skills on short sales. They know how to do them now,” said Kathy Zorn, broker-owner and president of Florida Home Realty.
Monthly statistics for March showed sales continue to increase. There were 569 closed single-family and condo sales, up from 411 a year ago.
There were 414 homes sold for less than $300,000 last month, up from 197 a year ago. In every other price category, sales were lower than they were in the same month a year ago.
Pending sales for single-family homes saw nearly a 137 percent increase last month. There were 625, up from 264 in the same month a year ago.
Condo sales increased 11 percent in March to 277, up from 250 a year ago. Pending sales also rose.
The median price for all homes dropped more than 46 percent to $170,000 in March, down from $319,000 a year ago. Source: naplesnews.com
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That’s one trend emerging from a new quarterly report released Friday by the Naples Area Board of Realtors.
The report is based on sales made through the SunshineMLS, or multiple listing service, in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.
The Realtor board, which has been releasing monthly reports on sales for more than a year, is now generating quarterly reports to show broader trends.
In the first quarter, home listings declined nearly 9 percent. The inventory of homes shrank to 11,211, down from 12,207 in the first quarter of 2008.
Here are some of the other findings for the first quarter of this year:
*Sales for homes under $300,000 saw a 113 percent increase. There were 964, compared to 452 in the first quarter of 2008.
*Single-family home sales under $300,000 increased 242 percent to 510, up from 149 in the first quarter of 2008.
*The median price — the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — declined 36 percent to $237,000 for the year ending in March 2009. For the same 12 months a year ago, the median was $370,000.
Over the past year, 5,091 homes have sold in the Naples area. That was 30 percent more than in the previous 12 months, when there were 3,910 home sales.
In the first quarter, 1,335 homes sold, up 33 percent from 1,002 in the same quarter in 2008. North Naples had the most sales at 346. East Naples was second with 322.
“Single-family home sales led the way,” said Brett Brown, president of the Naples Area Board of Realtors and a broker at Downing-Frye Realty.
“We’re outpacing the inventory with closed sales,” he said.
An online real estate listing service called FrontDoor.com recently named Naples the No. 2 bargain home buyer market.
The market continues to be driven by foreclosures and short sales. Buyers are looking for bargains.
While sales more than doubled for homes priced at $300,000 or less in the first quarter, they were down in all other price ranges compared to a year ago.
“That market below $300,000 continues to be on fire and I think it will be for the rest of the year,” said Mike Hughes, a vice president for Downing-Frye.
The stock market tumble has slowed sales above $1 million over the past few months because it had made those heavily invested more cautious about spending money now. However, he noted that median prices do seem to be stabilizing in markets above $300,000.
Low interest rates are helping to drive more sales.
“I think people are concerned about interest rates going up again,” said Michele Harrison, a broker-associate with John R. Wood Realtors.
A year ago, there was a 45-month supply of single-family homes on the market. Now, there’s a 14-month supply, Hughes said.
Realtors are now getting multiple offers for homes priced at under $300,000.
Earlier this week, his company wrote a contract for a home that had four offers on it.
The buyers are mixed. Many are second-home buyers, who only plan to live here a few months out of the year. There are some first-time buyers, who are taking advantage of low interest rates and an $8,000 federal tax credit, and long-term investors.
Downing-Frye has seen many buyers coming from the Northeast and from overseas.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years is Naples has luster,” Hughes said.
John Steinwand, president, CEO and principal broker at Naples Realty Services, said he’s noticed a lot more buyers from Canada. “They’re back,” he said.
Banks and Realtors are getting better at short sales, which is helping to turn more pending sales into actual sales. Short sales are sales made for less than the bank is owed to avoid foreclosure.
“The agents have honed their skills on short sales. They know how to do them now,” said Kathy Zorn, broker-owner and president of Florida Home Realty.
Monthly statistics for March showed sales continue to increase. There were 569 closed single-family and condo sales, up from 411 a year ago.
There were 414 homes sold for less than $300,000 last month, up from 197 a year ago. In every other price category, sales were lower than they were in the same month a year ago.
Pending sales for single-family homes saw nearly a 137 percent increase last month. There were 625, up from 264 in the same month a year ago.
Condo sales increased 11 percent in March to 277, up from 250 a year ago. Pending sales also rose.
The median price for all homes dropped more than 46 percent to $170,000 in March, down from $319,000 a year ago. Source: naplesnews.com
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Gain Seen In Pending Home Sales, Housing Affordability Sets New Record
Pending home sales have edged up, hinting at a possible pickup of sales activity in coming months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 2.1 percent to 82.1 from a reading of 80.4 in January, but is 1.4 percent below February 2008 when it was 83.3.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is continuing to underperform. “Pending home sales have a way to go for there to be a meaningful increase, but recent increases in shopping activity are hopeful indicators that we’ll see additional sales gains,” he said. “More buyers are getting into the market to take advantage of stimulus incentives and much improved housing affordability conditions, but it will take a few months before we could see this turn up in measurable sales contract activity.”
Also in February, NAR’s Housing Affordability Index2 rose to a new high.
The PHSI in the Northeast rose 10.6 percent to 63.9 in February but is 11.2 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the index jumped 14.5 percent to 83.1 and is 3.4 percent higher than February 2008. The index in the South rose 4.4 percent to 85.8 in February but is 0.1 percent below a year ago. In the West the index fell 13.5 percent to 89.6 and is 1.7 percent below February 2008.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said home buyers are in an excellent position. “The drop in mortgage interest rates and home prices mean the buying power of a typical family has never been better,” he said. “If you have a good job and long-term plans, it’s unlikely that you’ll find a much better time to buy a home. This is especially true for first-time buyers who can qualify for an $8,000 tax credit this year, have a great selection of homes to choose from, and are in a favorable negotiating position.”
NAR’s Housing Affordability Index rose 0.9 percentage points to a record high of 173.5 in February from an upwardly revised index of 172.6 in January, and is 36.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. The HAI, a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, shows that the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970.
A median-income family, earning $59,700, could afford a home costing $285,600 in February with a 20 percent downpayment, assuming 25 percent of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest. Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small downpayments are roughly 80 percent of that amount. The affordable price is considerably higher the median existing single-family home price in February, which was only $164,600.
“Obviously, potential home buyers need to be managing their existing debt effectively,” McMillan said. “A Realtor® can counsel you on what you may be able to afford given your personal financial situation. In some cases, buyers who want to build their future through homeownership may need to start reducing their debt and improving their credit score before entering the housing market.”
Last year at this time, the typical family could afford a home costing $265,600, which is $20,000 less than the current affordable price. “Homes in many areas are now selling for less than replacement construction costs – clearly this is an abnormal situation which will change once inventory is drawn down and supply and demand come closer into balance,” McMillan said.
Yun said he expects housing inventories to rise through early summer from a normal seasonal pattern of more sellers appearing in the spring. “But with the positive housing stimulus incentives now in place, we expect home sales to gain momentum in the second half of the year with first-time buyers absorbing a lot of the excess inventory,” he said. “Under these conditions, we should see price stabilization in most markets by the end of the year.” Source: realtor.org
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The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 2.1 percent to 82.1 from a reading of 80.4 in January, but is 1.4 percent below February 2008 when it was 83.3.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is continuing to underperform. “Pending home sales have a way to go for there to be a meaningful increase, but recent increases in shopping activity are hopeful indicators that we’ll see additional sales gains,” he said. “More buyers are getting into the market to take advantage of stimulus incentives and much improved housing affordability conditions, but it will take a few months before we could see this turn up in measurable sales contract activity.”
Also in February, NAR’s Housing Affordability Index2 rose to a new high.
The PHSI in the Northeast rose 10.6 percent to 63.9 in February but is 11.2 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the index jumped 14.5 percent to 83.1 and is 3.4 percent higher than February 2008. The index in the South rose 4.4 percent to 85.8 in February but is 0.1 percent below a year ago. In the West the index fell 13.5 percent to 89.6 and is 1.7 percent below February 2008.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said home buyers are in an excellent position. “The drop in mortgage interest rates and home prices mean the buying power of a typical family has never been better,” he said. “If you have a good job and long-term plans, it’s unlikely that you’ll find a much better time to buy a home. This is especially true for first-time buyers who can qualify for an $8,000 tax credit this year, have a great selection of homes to choose from, and are in a favorable negotiating position.”
NAR’s Housing Affordability Index rose 0.9 percentage points to a record high of 173.5 in February from an upwardly revised index of 172.6 in January, and is 36.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. The HAI, a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, shows that the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970.
A median-income family, earning $59,700, could afford a home costing $285,600 in February with a 20 percent downpayment, assuming 25 percent of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest. Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small downpayments are roughly 80 percent of that amount. The affordable price is considerably higher the median existing single-family home price in February, which was only $164,600.
“Obviously, potential home buyers need to be managing their existing debt effectively,” McMillan said. “A Realtor® can counsel you on what you may be able to afford given your personal financial situation. In some cases, buyers who want to build their future through homeownership may need to start reducing their debt and improving their credit score before entering the housing market.”
Last year at this time, the typical family could afford a home costing $265,600, which is $20,000 less than the current affordable price. “Homes in many areas are now selling for less than replacement construction costs – clearly this is an abnormal situation which will change once inventory is drawn down and supply and demand come closer into balance,” McMillan said.
Yun said he expects housing inventories to rise through early summer from a normal seasonal pattern of more sellers appearing in the spring. “But with the positive housing stimulus incentives now in place, we expect home sales to gain momentum in the second half of the year with first-time buyers absorbing a lot of the excess inventory,” he said. “Under these conditions, we should see price stabilization in most markets by the end of the year.” Source: realtor.org
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