Category: Florida Real Estate

Florida’s Housing Market Recovery Still Intact After October Hesitancy

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

 Florida’s housing market has been seeing great development in the recent past, even though this recovery process paused in October. According to Florida real estate agents and builders across the state, the underlying trend of recovery is still improving despite October’s setback.

The October setback for Florida’s housing market

Prices and sales were slowly scraping their way back to normality from the housing market collapse. The lower interest rates were doing well to lure buyers looking for their first home. Price appreciation was also doing a great job to boost move-up purchases from buyers who could sell existing homes that were bought in the last few years, without incurring any losses.

However, October presented a few obstacles in this steady recovery process. The partial shutdown of the government that lasted for two weeks seemed to have affected the confidence of consumers. The recent spike in flood insurance costs also hit the desire for customers to buy homes in coastal communities. Along with these reasons, seasonal trends of home-buying injured the number of sales when compared to the buoyant market in summer. Even though sales percentages were up from last October, the pace was slower than a 36% year-to-date growth recorded by the Florida area president of David Weekly Homes.

The housing market is recovery still recovering strongly

Recovery had taken a rapid and noticeable growth spurt in May, though October made itself a nuisance due to dramatic cost spikes in insurance as federal subsidies fell away. There were insurance bills that topped $10,000 which easily scared off prospective buyers. Such insurance bills effectually took away a large provision of inventory from the market. However, even though October was regarded as a small “hiccup” in the recovery progress, buyers are now focusing on newer homes that are less affected by these insurance premium increases. Thanks to this, November sales were off to quite a good start.

Price appreciation has started to bring move-up buyers and sellers back onto the market as their home equity returned. One-time homeowners that were subject to Orlando short sales and foreclosure have now repaired their credit enough to enable them to buy again. Even though it is quite normal for the market to dip at this time of the year, the government shutdown did not help. The biggest problems that are being faced right now are the job markets and consumer confidence. Builders are also not producing as fast as they once did. However, there are many Orlando realtors that remain very optimistic concerning the industry.

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Are Florida Real Estate Prices Set to Plummet with the Onset of Global Warming?

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Global warming is not an unfamiliar topic of discussion; every day we move closer to a very grave situation, that of the steadily melting polar icecaps. The water from the melting of these icecaps is slowly resulting in a rise in the sea level, and it’s not just scientists that are keenly studying this phenomenon; Florida real estate agents have also begun to consider the fact that rising sea levels may start to eat into the desirability of real estate in low lying areas.

If reports are to be believed, the onset of the first dramatically noticeable effects of global warming is just a decade away, and anxious real estate owners are looking to sell their land in a bid to avoid losing money due to the predicted drop in Florida real estate prices in areas that are low-lying, with respect to their altitude above sea level. In a situation like this, the only measure that would offset this price drop is preventive action on behalf of governments, to reduce practices that contribute to an increased rate of global warming.

Some buyers are still unaware

According to a statement given by one of the directors at the Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Environmental Studies Florida real estate agents are discretely in contact with the university in order to gain an approximate idea of how much the sea level is expected to rise over a certain time frame. What scientists are puzzled about is the small number of realtors that have actually thought of this possibility.  People are still buying waterfront property at premium prices, unaware of the possible threats they face a decade down the line.

Rising sea levels are the cause of concern

According to the calculations of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, the price drop on account of a one-foot rise in sea level are approximately four million USD, with a three-foot high rise in sea level exponentially increasing this value to thirty-one million USD. Real estate agents are speculating on how much longer such waterfront properties are going to remain desirable.

According to the projections generated by the Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida is expected to see a three to seven-inch rise in sea levels by the year 2030 and anywhere between nine and 24 inches by the year 2060. According to the Florida Atlantic University, the change in these real estate prices will be clearly visible when the region experiences a natural calamity, post which rebuilding initiatives will determine which areas are worth rebuilding and which aren’t.

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Online Property Searches in are More Popular than Ever! – Orlando Real Estate

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Several years ago in the not-so-distant past, potential home buyers would start searching for a house the traditional way which was by calling up an Orlando realtor in the area where they want to live. The next step would be for the buyer to give the agent all the criteria that they were looking for in a home and wait for the agent to provide a list of great homes to go see. However if the buyer chose the wrong agent to work with, there are several things that can go wrong such as the agent coming back with a list of properties that the buyer doesn’t like, or maybe the agent won’t call back at all. Either way, this was very frustrating for homebuyers but unfortunately, they had no other choice than to search for properties by using a realtor. The whole key to finding the perfect home all hinged on finding the right agent first.

Buyers are now able to search the MLS just like a real real estate agent

The web has truly changed the way that the Bienes raíces en Orlando business is done. Potential homebuyers benefit from this just as much if not more than real estate professionals. Homebuyers are now able to search the MLS on their own without even speaking to a realtor first.

Anyone and everyone are now able to search for properties on the MLS at their own convenience from their own home at all hours of the day or night. All the buyer has to do is present a list of homes that they have chosen to their Orlando realtor and go see them. By doing this, the buyer saves time and so does the agent.

Online Property Searches are also a huge advantage for realtors

Realtors also benefit greatly from people being able to search the MLS on their own. It’s a huge time saver if a buyer comes to the agent with a list of homes they want to see instead of the other way around. All the agent has to do at this point is make the appointments to show the properties.

In our office potential buyers are instructed to click on the “Find Florida Properties” tab on our home page. Here they are able to search the entire state of Florida for all the properties that are listed on the MLS at their own convenience.

Recent studies show that 9 out of 10 potential home buyers begin their property search online long before contacting a real estate agent.

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House Hunting Tips To Make Your Life Easier

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

House hunting is a process that takes a lot of time and quite a bit of effort on your part. In addition to setting a budget that you can work with, you also need to create a list of must-haves, while also keeping in mind things that you can do without. For example, while you may hope to get a house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, you may realize upon further reflection that you really don’t need that extra bedroom or that you can manage with just one bathroom after all.

Continue reading for some more tips that are meant to help you make the process of hunting down your new home easier than you would’ve imagined.

Work with a Professional Real Estate Agent

When it comes to finding your dream home, whether you’re looking for your very first home or your third home, you should definitely employ an experienced real estate agent in Orlando. Someone who will be able to show you the very best options that are currently on the market in your price range.

While you can certainly look for homes on the many real estate websites that are available, a real estate agent has access to homes that may not be listed right away and he or she can also be there at every step of the way to answer all of your questions about a property before someone else is able to swoop in and purchase it before you have a chance to even see it in person.

Know the Type of Home You’re Willing to Purchase

Are you looking for a condominium, a townhouse, or a single-family home? Or would you rather invest in a multi-family home that you can use for extra rental income each month? No matter what type of home you wish to move into, you should be able to make your decision before hiring a real estate agent to help you. This will save you time because you can focus only on the types of properties that you want to invest in.

Keep in mind that there are benefits and drawbacks involved with each type of property out there, so weigh the pros and cons before coming to a final decision. For example, even though you may think a single-family home is the only way to go, you may realize that you really don’t want to be mowing the lawn every two weeks and you would rather have someone else take care of the landscaping. In that case, a townhouse or a condo would be more appropriate.

Look for Homes Outside of Your Target Area

Although you may have a specific suburb or city that you really want to live in, open your mind to surrounding areas as well, which may be surprisingly charming and affordable. Once again, working with a real estate agent will really help you in finding homes that are perfect for you, even though they may not be in the town you hoped for.

House hunting can certainly be a tedious process. But by making your decisions ahead of time and working with a professional, you can find your dream home more easily and quickly.

This post was written by Jenny Wadlow; she is a freelance writer and often writes articles for ORC, one of the leading real estate brokerages in Orlando. She enjoys sharing her views and opinions on various issues related to house hunting.

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Renting A Property? Here Are Some Things You DON’T Have To Worry About!

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Many people see renting as a bit of a pain – they would much rather buy a property, but they just can’t pull enough money together to get a mortgage. While there are some disadvantages to renting (for example not being able to decorate it to your own taste, having to sign regular contracts and having no long-term security in the house), there are some big advantages too. For people that move around a lot, it can be the perfect solution with minimal commitment. Other people rent while they wait for their perfect house to become available on the market. On top of the logistical reasons why renting is not always such a bad idea, there are some practical reasons too. Here they are:

Plumbing & Heating? Not Your Problem!

The beauty of renting a house or apartment is that if anything goes wrong with the plumbing, the heating or even the electricity for that matter, it’s just a simple case of putting a call in to your landlord or letting agent who will in turn appoint a plumber to sort things out. You may be inconvenienced while you wait for things to be put right, but at least you won’t have to foot the bill! The cost of repairing or replacing plumbing and heating systems can run into thousands, but somebody else can worry about that for you. If your boiler packs in then it will be repaired or replaced as part of the tenancy agreement. It’s a very stress-free way of living as you know exactly how much is going to come out of your bank account every month.

Maintenance Tasks? Not Your Problem!

A homeowner’s heart will sink when they discover a leaking roof or some missing tiles. Roof repairs can get very expensive indeed, and it’s never a welcome bill. If you rent your house, then at the first sign of damage you can call the maintenance men in who will fix it and send the bill to your landlord. With roofs needing to be replaced every 8-10 years on average, this is a huge headache that you don’t have to deal with (or pay for!). The same goes for loads of other maintenance tasks such as repairs to the flooring, the fixtures and fittings and the windows. All of these could be very expensive if you had to foot the bill yourself.

Need To Move Quickly? Not Your Problem!

Although you may feel very settled where you are right now, what if your company decide to relocate you to somewhere brand new right out of the blue? Homeowners can really struggle to sell or rent out their property, but if you are renting yours then it is a simple case of putting a month’s notice in, and packing your bags ready for the move. Many people really appreciate this way of living as it offers them far more career flexibility.

If you choose to rent a property then always make sure it is through a reputable estate agent in Orlando so that you know that your interests will always be protected.

 

 

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