Category: Orlando Real Estate

Orlando Real Estate Still On The Upswing

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Although Orlando real estate still has one of the more affordable housing markets in the US, it’s evident that the price of residential real estate in “The City Beautiful” is steadily on the rise.

In the month of May, home buyers in Orlando spent an astounding 18% to 20% of their income on the mortgage payment. I don’t know about you, but this sounds really high to me. Especially, when you consider that at the height of Orlando’s low point in 2010 [after the big crash of 2007] buyers were only spending 10% to 12% of their income on the mortgage payment. What’s wrong with people??!!

Have you ever heard the joke about how Johnny’s dad wouldn’t buy him a $200 bike because of an $80,000.00 mortgage. Although it would be perfect to include in this post, I can’t write about it here because of the adult content that it contains, but if you’re over 18, you should Google it!

There’s nothing wrong with people [for the most part] per say. It’s that they have no choice but to do what needs to be done in order to provide food and shelter for their families. If that means having to spend a nice chunk of their income to keep a roof over their heads, then so be it! We can only do what the market permits us to do.

Check out these numbers; the median home price in Orlando back in 2010 was $1000,000 and just 2 months ago [June 2014] it was up to $165,000. I’m not sure what that exactly means but… Holy Cow! That’s a big increase! 

Orlando Real Estate Market Keeps On Growing and it Shows No Signs Of Slowing.

Even with this huge increase, affordability levels are still relatively low when you look at historical averages. This means that we’re not done growing yet, even if mortgage rates go up a point. Here’s how it works; If mortgage interest rates would go up a point, let’s say from 4% to 5% on a thirty-year mortgage, it would mean that homeowners instead of spending 18% to 20% of their income on a mortgage payment, they would be spending 20% to 22% on their mortgage. According to RealtyTrac this also includes property taxes.

Consider Renting Over Buying

Orlando is said to have one of the most affordable housing rates for buyers in the nation. However, for renters it’s ranked as one of the LEAST affordable places to live in the US… Hold on to your hats! Renters in Orlando spend an average of 34% of their income on paying the rent! Now that’s crazy right?…  Not always.

There are many advantages to renting as opposed to buying a home in Orlando. Here are a couple of advantages of renting over buying.

You don’t have to qualify for a mortgage- Probably the worst part of buying a home is qualifying for it. Unless you have impeccable credit and have never missed a payment in your lifetime, chances are whatever lender you try to get a mortgage with will make you jump through more hoops than a show dog with no guarantees that you get approved. If you rent a home, this is a non-issue and you don’t have to worry about plopping down 20% at the closing table

There’s no commitment- When you commit to a mortgage, you agreed in writing to pay back the entire amount of the loan to the lender or they reserve the right to foreclose on you putting your credit and probably your spouse’s credit at risk. When you rent, you’re only committing to the term of the lease and you can easily pack up and move on. This is why renting is especially attractive to people who are uncertain of there future because of a new job or some other circumstance that would cause them to have to move.


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Why Use An Orlando Listing Agent?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Listing Agents Vs. FSBO

Recently, there has been an upward trend of Orlando homeowners attempting to sell their houses on their own by way of FSBO [For Sale By Owner]. They are convinced that they have a plan that will save them thousands of dollars by not using a real estate agent. Unfortunately, this is never the case. When someone is advertising an FSBO, they don’t realize that the money they set out to save by not using a real estate agent will usually be spent just by doing the things that a realtor usually does.

Think about it this way…If you had to go to court because of an important case that involves you, would you want to show up without an attorney? Of course not, that would be suicide. Then why on earth would you not want to be represented by a professional in the sale of your most valuable asset? I believe that some people have this idea about real estate agents being lazy and they feel that they can do anything a realtor can do.

Orlando Realtors are trained professionals that are licensed by the state of Florida. They provide services that are meant to ease the burden of selling a home and ensuring that everything gets done legally and in a timely manner. Also, realtors are able to market your home to a much larger audience than you could ever dream of reaching by listing it on the MLS in addition to all the other marketing tools that real estate agents have access to.

Use An Orlando Realtor With An Online Presence

These days, It’s important to choose an Orlando Realtor with a strong online presence because 85% of Florida home searches start online.  Every realtor has or should have access to the MLS.  The MLS or “Multiple Listing Service” is a service that allows realtors to submit their listings for maximum exposure.

However, a successful real estate agent won’t rely just on the MLS for marketing a house for sale. A top Orlando realtor will have a very strong online presence as well.  At the very least, they should at least have their own website.

Our company not only has a main website but we also use social media sites, Youtube videos, and a blog to market our properties. By using all the tools available to us, we’re able to sell our properties extremely fast compared to other real estate agents in Orlando.

 

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Protect Your New Orlando Home With A Home Warranty

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Protect Your New Orlando Home

So you’ve purchased your first Orlando home, it’s wise to consider a home warranty and how they will give you piece of mind. No one expects for things to go wrong as soon as they move in to their new home, unfortunately many times that’s exactly what happens. As an Orlando real estate agent I always inform my clients about the benefits of a home warranty. Sometimes homes sit vacant for extended periods of time and like with everything else that doesn’t get used for a while, different components of a home such as AC unit, water heater, etc. can start to give you problems after not being used for a while.

Home Warranties Are Sometimes Included In The Sales Price

By investing in a home warranty, you can feel better about encountering unexpected problems with your new home. Many times the Orlando listing agent or seller will include a home warranty as part of the purchase price as an incentive. 

Something like an AC unit can set you back several thousand dollars right out of the gate. However, with a quality home warranty you have the piece of mind that all you will be paying is he deductible which is usually in the range of $60 or so. This to me is a no-brainer, your home warranty just paid for itself 20  times over with just one use!

In general a home warranty will cover your appliances, Central AC, plumbing, electrical, the roof as well as several other items. The warranty company will send out an inspector to ensure that all of these items are in good working condition prior issuing your home warranty.

It’s important to note that home warranties are very different than home insurance and cover different things. The best thing to do in order to make sure that you’re buying your warranty from a reputable company is to research them online and read the reviews that were written about each company. Once you’ve researched a hand full of them, you’ll be ready to make an educated decision.

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Orlando Home Values Are In The Eye Of The Beholder

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Real Estate Is Not An Exact Science…Not Even Close! 

The truth is that there are many variables involved and I’m not just talking about physical variables like granite countertops and travertine floors. I’m talking about other aspects like the motivations and the desires of both sellers and buyers. It can be very difficult to account for more value or less value when you bring the human element into the mix. Sure, it’s easy to pull up data for value trends in a certain area, but you have to blend that data with variables that are present in each situation.

Working as a Realtor in Orlando since 2004, I realized long ago that real estate is about people and every person is different with different needs and different motivations. Orlando home values can differ drastically depending on who you’re talking to.

These days most home buyers know exactly what they want. What may be considered valuable to one person may be viewed as a negative to another. Does the home provide a specific need for the new buyer? A perfect example of this can be a home with a pool. Living in Orlando especially, I personally place tremendous value on having a pool in the backyard so that my family and I can cool off on those hot summer days.

However, there are people who prefer to not have a pool. Having a pool for them could represent having more things to maintain and more expensive or maybe they have small children who can’t swim. To these people, having a pool is a huge negative and they may not want to even consider looking at a home with a pool.

Other examples that can influence buyers with a specific need may include having an in-law suite, one-story or two-story floor plans, a master on the main floor, a handicapped-friendly floor plan, etc. Some may place the quality of the construction and the home’s design at the top of the list.

Elements outside of the home itself like living in a specific school district, being close to public transportation, or having a pond view can also increase or decrease the appeal of a home depending on what the homeowner is looking for.

People will always be willing to pay more for what they perceive to be valuable to them in their lifestyle. A Home’s Value has to be measured in two different ways: On paper – what the data says and, how well it will serve the buyer and their needs.

Appraisal Value Is The Only Thing That Matters To Lenders

I’ve seen single-family homes in Orlando with bowling alleys, batting cages, and even basketball courts…indoors! However, while a house may contain all these luxurious features, the problem is that these items are considered to be over improvements and just don’t add any “dollars and cents” value to the home.

Although a buyer or a seller may place more value on a home for personal preferences, the lenders are only interested in the appraised value. Attempting to challenge an appraisal in these situations is close to impossible. Underwriters typically do not like to think outside of the box.

 

 

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Value of Orlando Homes Predicted to Increase by 7.3% in 2015

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Homes On The Upswing

It is an excellent time for homeowners in the Orlando area. The value of homes in the Orlando metropolitan area is predicted to increase by 7.3 percent in 2015. According to the Real Estate Market Report published by Zillow, this rise easily beats the national prediction of 2.9 percent.

Other predictions

Other than the predicted increase in home values, there are a number of other predictions about the Orlando real estate residential market embedded in the report:

* The average Orlando real estate home value will increase by 15 percent every year. The value has increased to about $161,300. In the other facet, values also decreased in short term and dipped by 1.1 percent in the period between April and May. According to Orlando realtors, home values in the Orlando metropolitan area are now back to the levels witnessed from 2004 to 2007.
* The average rental value increased by 4.4 percent every year to reach $1,296.
* The inventory of total listed for sale residences increased 36.5 percent every year and increased by 4.4 percent every month in May.

When considered all over the United States, the listed for-sale home inventory increased in May and jumped 11.8 percent. Another fact that should be considered here is that a majority of these gains were achieved among residences that are priced in top one-third and middle home values. According to Orlando Realtors, the sale of homes in affordable Orlando real estate – the kind of property favored by people who are buying their homes for the first time – decreased every year in 28 of the country’s biggest metro jurisdictions. These findings came up when the numbers were crunched by Zillow.

Rents

All over the US, rents fell a little in May compared to April. It was a reduction of 0.1 percent and the median rent was calculated as $1,310. National rents (year on year basis) increased to 2.3 percent in the previous month (May).

In May, value of homes all over the US increased by 0.1 percent as compared to April and touched $172,300. This marked its consecutive rise in 28 months when considered year over year. In May, the value of homes increased in Orlando by 5.4 percent. This yearly appreciation in values is the slowest when considered for more than one year. Average rate of interest paid by purchasers decreased to touch 4.39 percent in April.

 

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