Tag: Jenny Zamora

Orlando Homes Face Tougher Mortgages

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Prospective home purchasers have observed a significant price shift in house prices in the metropolitan Orlando area. This is coupled with a rise in mortgage rates and tougher mortgage rules for customers who carried substantial debt all through 2013.

Painful increase

According to Orlando realtors, Orlando homes put up for sale in the market have seen a sudden 20 percent increase in their listed price. According to Orlando Regional Realtors Association, buyers who bought a home for the first time at the fag-end of 2013 within 85 percent of the median price, and with a 10 percent down payment, were liable for an approximate monthly mortgage payment of $626, excluding insurance and taxes. This can be compared with the 2012 first-time buyers who paid just $453. As per calculations by Orlando real estate agents, the increase in mortgage payments will saddle homeowners with an extra $2,000 a year when it comes to housing expenses.

This is evident in the words of Teresa Myers, a Cocoa resident who has been searching for an Orlando house to reduce her husband’s commute time. She has informed the realtors in Orlando about her $200,000 budget and is still looking for an ideal home.

Adding to the woes of the buyer is the fluctuation in Orlando mortgage rates. The mortgage rate in Orlando has fluctuated all through 2013 for the fixed-rate 30-year mortgage, climbing from 3.46 percent in December 2012 to 4.57 percent in December 2013. According to economists, the mortgage rates in Orlando and also in the rest of the country will rise to five percent by the turn of 2015.

New mortgages harder to get

According to the US Census Bureau, homeownership in the Orlando metro area has reduced from 71 percent in 2008 to 63 percent in third quarter of 2013. Thus, a number of residents are finding it more convenient to rent a home than to own one. This makes more sense for would-be home buyers due to the new restrictions on mortgage qualifications, which were made effective from January, 2014.

New rules were introduced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which disqualify buyers from getting a standard mortgage if their credit card, auto payments and other debts totals 43 percent or more of buyer’s monthly gross income. The debt to income ratios of prospective homebuyers could reach as high as 50 percent in previous years.

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Florida Real Estate and Housing Markets Revel as Late Mortgage-Payment Rates Drop

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

According to a recent report released by the credit bureau TransUnion, Americans are taking care of the timely payments of their mortgages so much so that the rate of late home mortgage payments has reached a record five-year low. The report, released Wednesday, February 12, reveals that compared to the 5.8 percent delinquency rate in the fourth quarter of 2012, rates improved to become only 3.85 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Key takeaways from the report

 

Apart from being lower than the rate same time last year, the late mortgage-payment rates were also lower than the same year’s third-quarter rates, when 4.09 percent of homeowners were at least 2 months late in their mortgage payments.

TransUnion reveals that the last time mortgage-payment delinquency rates were lower than the current rates, was five years ago – in the second quarter of 2008. And even though the current rates are still twice as much as the rates in 2007, before the housing bubble burst, TransUnion holds that foreclosures will continue to thin down and delinquency rates reduce even further.

The growing job market, lower interest rates, and tight supply are reasons behind the improvement

 

The improving job market, state and federal government incentives to revamp home loans and make them more affordable as well as rising home values are at the core of this improvement.

Real estate agents in Orlando say that rise in property values has been a staple for most U.S. states over the past couple of months and struggling homeowners have also found comfort at the hands of increased job opportunities. The interest rates on home loans have reduced, lending a hand to the housing rebound which was primarily fueled by the tight availability of homes for sale.

Further, the U.S. unemployment rates have dropped and though slow, the growth of jobs has been steady. With several federal and state incentives like that by Florida, job prospects are only getting better.  Upcoming housing markets like those in Florida have greatly benefited from these incentives. Top Orlando realtors, for example, reveal the Orlando real estate industry found several buyers because of Florida’s incentive to entrepreneurs to set up offices and jobs in the state.

The low rates of late mortgage payments have another key driver – the discount on unhealthy home loans that were primarily issued before 2008. Most of these risky mortgages, that went unpaid for a long time were either sealed off and foreclosed by banks or sold to other wealthy buyers. Post the economic downturn of 2008, banks became more strict in lending. Only strong loans that banks were confident about have been passed since then – accounting for a major reason why late payments dropped sharply.

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Confidence in US Economy Rising Among Floridians

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 According to the findings of a new consumer confidence survey by the University of Florida, Floridians are now slightly more confident about the improving US economy than they were the last year. Released on Tuesday, January 28, the report found consumer confidence in Florida rise to 78, one point higher than the previous sentiment index.

The Florida Consumer Attitude Survey

For this statewide survey, the University surveyed over 400 residents over a two-week period from January 14 to January 28. The monthly survey conducted by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research of the University of Florida measures the mood of Floridians towards buying Florida real estate.

Survey takers have to answer two questions about the current financial scenario and three questions about the future exceptions they have about the financial condition of the state. These questions are repeated by the University of Michigan in its national (telephonic) survey.

Findings

To the first question of how the respondents (and their families) were getting along financially in the recent days and if they felt in a better financial position than their position a year ago, respondents revealed their sentiments were slightly lower – their sentiments fell a point below to 68.

The second question in the survey asked citizens their views about buying major commodities like stoves, televisions, refrigerators and so on for their homes. Their sentiment on whether it is currently a good time to make such purchases fell six points, from 91 to 85.

When asked how they perceived their financial situation to be, a year from now – the same, better or worse, respondents’ sentiments remained unchanged, at 78. They were however, clearly optimistic about the business conditions in the US as a whole, over the next 12 months. Their confidence that they would have good times financially jumped three points from 73 to land at 76 this time around.

Their confidence in the larger US economy for a five-year period was even higher. Jumping nine points, Floridians sentiments that the nation’s health would get better and better over the next five years measured at 83.

Implications

Chris McCarty, the director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research’s Survey Research Center says 2014 is set to be a different year all-together for consumers. Since the real estate crisis of 2007, consumers have faced loss of homeowner equity, declines in stock market and crunchy budgets, but with the stock and housing markets recovering recently, the Federal Reserve is in a better position to purchase securities and treasuries to support the US economy.

How This Affects Orlando Real Estate

Orlando is one of the biggest housing markets in Florida and because of the improving economy in Florida, Orlando real estate agents are expecting a substantial boost in the Orlando real estate market. Even if the market continues on a positive trend,  I don’t believe that we’ll see a market with overinflated home prices to the extent of what we saw in 2006 or at least I hope not.

 

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Florida Water and Land Conservation Bill to be Put up for Voting on November Ballot

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Voters from Florida are now going to decide whether or not the Water and Land Conservation constitutional amendment should be passed, during the November 2014 ballot.

On January 16, the Water and Land Legacy of Florida – the group seeking to push through the proposed amendment, announced that it had received the number of signatures required to put the amendment proposal up for voting on the November ballot.
About the Water and Land Conservation constitutional amendment

The amendment seeks to set aside $10 billion from Florida’s state funds for the purpose of land and water conservation, over a period of 20 years. Conservationists began pushing for the amendment after the government slashed funding reserved for the Florida Forever program.

The program, which aims to purchase and manage critical pieces of land that are environmentally endangered, received most of its funding from taxes on real estate purchases and leases before the slashing of funds. The proposed amendment makes no attempts to increase the real estate spending tax and has revived the approval of a majority of the real estate agents in Orlando and Florida.

Florida’s Division of Elections website mentioned that the Water and Land Legacy had in fact overshot the required number of signatures by 2,822 by submitting an impressive 685,971 signatures on Thursday morning.
Improving land and water quality will have various positive implications

Water and land quality issues impact multiple areas of Florida’s economy, including the real estate market. In booming markets like that of central Florida and Orlando, environment-friendly campaigns like the protection of natural areas and water sources go on to boost consumer sentiments in real estate investments.

These programs also attract prospective home buyers to the neighborhood, and Orlando realtors expect to see increased activity in the Orlando real estate market. With the Water and Land Legacy group surpassing signature thresholds in 15 of the 27 Congressional districts of the state of Florida, it is clear that residents are growing increasingly concerned about the water quality issues in the state.

Will Abberger, Chairman of the campaign launched by the organization said the amendment would focus on spending funds to acquire new pieces of conservation or recreation lands, manage the existing ones and protect land and water sources that were critical for freshwater supply, in a bid to restore degrading natural systems in and around the state.

The Senate has already started working on a $220 million funding package that would be used to improve the water quality of the Lake Okeechobee and Everglades. There also exist several other spending programs in the pipeline and come November 2014, the people of Florida will put the Water and Land Conservation Amendment in action if 60 percent of the total voters pitch their votes in favor of the bill. https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/

 

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Buying a Home? – What You Need to Know

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 

With gazillion home listings and realtors available out there, buying a home in Orlando can get a little overwhelming. Having a clear-cut picture of what you want can make hunting homes in Orlando a lot easier. Once you get a good idea about what you are looking for in a house, you can discuss it with your Orlando realtor to get your dream home. Read on, and we’ll tell you how to make your home buying journey a lot less stressful.

 Knowing your budget

 As tempting as it is to first pick out a nice house and then focus on the budget, let’s face it, it’s a bad idea. Chalking out a budget will give you the advantage of zeroing in on houses that are available within that range and sticking to it. Also, make sure you take additional expenses into account while planning your home budget. This could be closing costs or interest rates that add up. The location of the house greatly affects the price, if you have a particular neighborhood in mind, research the house costs. If the house needs fixing, you need to estimate the fixing costs prior to buying the house. While most sellers, renovate their houses before putting it up in the market, some offer houses at a lower price if the buyer is willing to fix the house and bear the expenses that come with it. Estimate the cost of these homes with and without repairs before you make a choice. Talk to your Orlando real estate agent , on whether you want a ready-to-move-in house or don’t mind buying one that needs some touch-up.

Features and amenities

 While the budget largely rules the kind of features the house will offer, Orlando real estate agents  say that there are a variety of homes on sale in Orlando that can cater to everyone’s budget and needs. Start by making a list of features you can’t do without in the house. This is crucial as it is easy to get carried away by that sparkling pool or that rustic library. Be it the number of bedrooms/bathrooms in the house, or the state of the kitchen, ask yourself what are the absolute essentials. Once you’ve got that done, move on to the facilities and amenities in the house. Is it what you’re looking for? Can you get some additional features installed while operating within your budget? Get a better picture of your needs and tell your Orlando realtor about them.

Search Florida Homes For Sale Just Like A Pro!

Many people like to do their own looking around before enlisting the help of a real estate professional with their search. This is the reason why we have a state-of-the-art home search tool that allows potential home buyers to search the MLS just like a realtor…All from the comfort of their own home!

Visit our website and find your Florida dream house. Within a few clicks of your mouse you’ll be on your way to finding the perfect home for you and your family.

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