Tag: Orlando housing

Orlando Real Estate’s Perfect Storm

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

In 2014, the Orlando real estate market recovered significantly. Home sale prices rose and continue to rise and at the same time, mortgage interest rates remain relatively low. These conditions created the perfect storm of opportunities for those looking to buy or sell Orlando real estate.

Different real estate markets across the nation are typically labeled as being either a “buyer’s market” or a “seller’s market”, which is what makes the Orlando real estate market so special right now. It’s both a buyer’s and seller’s market! More and more buyers are being attracted to the market yet the number of Orlando homes for sale remains low compared to the demand. The low-interest rates allow homes to remain affordable while the supply and demand still help sellers to get top dollar for their homes.

New Homes Expected To Drive Down Prices of Older Homes

The bad news is that these market conditions won’t last forever. Moving into 2015 more and more Orlando homeowners are expected to put their homes on the market and home builders are busy developing brand new neighborhoods throughout Orlando and Kissimmee. These new homes will create a lot of competition for homeowners that have older homes thus driving prices downward, especially when builders/developers reveal the incentives they will offer buyers to move into one of their brand new homes. Given a choice of buying brand new or used, I can’t think of anyone that would prefer to buy a used home or anything else for that matter, especially when the homes are in the same price range.


No matter what your situation has been over the past few years, chances are that it’s changed. Lately, when I’m asked to provide a potential seller with a free home valuation report, they become both shocked and happy when I show them how much I can sell their Orlando home for. I also express to them how the real estate market is ever-changing and home values can drop just as easily as they can rise.

My advice to homeowners that are serious about selling is that they should explore their options sooner than later. Homeowners should beware of trying to convince themselves of holding off on selling a home solely because they believe that their home’s value will continue to go up.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

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.


Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Orlando Housing Spurs as Consumer Confidence Pick Up Speed

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

2014 was a significantly sluggish year for the Orlando real estate market. Consumer activity, as well as confidence in the industry, proved to be rather low. But things are changing nationwide and the top Orlando Realtors say “The City Beautiful” will see more consumer activity in the months that lie ahead.

Momentum expected to increase in housing

A report by the Commerce Department showed that the number of new housing projects in the nation jumped by 13.2 percent, far exceeding the forecasts made by the analysts previously. Further, permits filed for buildings nationwide rose eight percent and stood at a figure of 0.7 million more than what was previously expected.

Locally, real estate agents in Orlando explain that demands for new construction work rose because of banks easing up on borrowing costs and their strict credit conditions. Increasing job growth across the nation and the aid of federal stock markets has resulted in improving consumer confidence. All factors together, realtors say, have spurred up the housing market.

In Orlando alone, realtors say they have seen more prospective buyers enter the market in April than in the months before, further increasing the demand for builders. So, the next few months are going to be marked by increased housing momentum.

Factors responsible for the effect

An increase in housing inventory may just be one of the biggest reasons why more buyers are venturing into the market. With the U.S. housing inventory reaching a near two-month high, affordability conditions have improved for many buyers.

Listing agents in Orlando reveal that April witnessed a 16.8 percent increase in the number of previously-owned houses, up for sale. Further, improving jobs and the overall economy as well as lower costs of borrowing has enabled more people to become buyers. The rates of standard 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.14 percent – the lowest in close to nine months.

In April, sellers received 5.2 percent more for their existing homes, in comparison with figures from 2013. The median price of such houses was recorded as $210,700 in April 2014. Of the total number of sales closed, 17.5 percent were from properties valued under $100,000. 44 percent of the properties sold ranged from $100,000 to $250,000.

Retailers like Lowe’s Cos. and Home Depot Inc. are in fact forecasting in favor of improved sales after more consumers began making use of the spring buying season. It’s a great time for buyers as well as sellers, realtors add.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Florida incomes and Orlando real estate continue to rise

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Floridians income increase along with their confidence

 

Florida has shown substantial gains on three different areas, Real estate prices, income and consumer confidence. Much of this can be attributed to the overall housing market in Florida. Orlando real estate is a great accelerator when it comes to creating jobs and increasing local incomes, then the next logical thing that happens is a confidence boost. It’s just human nature, when people are doing OK financially they not only feel better about themselves but they become more confident about how much they can spend when house hunting.

I think It’s good that Floridian’s consumer confidence is at it’s highest point in 5 years but potential home buyers still need to be careful. The Orlando real estate market is constantly changing and right now it’s on the rise as it has been for the past 2 years or so. This doesn’t mean that you should buy just any house listed on the MLS. The truth is that many Orlando properties that I see listed are seriously overpriced. Sometimes this is due to the seller wanting to sell for the absolute highest price in the neighborhood because sellers typically believe that the house where they live is special compared to other houses in the same neighborhood, again…just human nature.

 

Short Sale Lenders are sometimes to blame for overpriced real estate listings

As short sale realtors, we are sometimes told by the client’s lender how much to list the property for. Sometimes, no matter how many years of experience we have in selling Orlando real estate, they still think they know more about the local market than an experienced Orlando realtor. I’ve argued with negotiators until I’m blue in the face as far as “fair market value” is concerned and they will still try to tell me how much the property should be listed for. However I quickly learn, usually on the first conversation, whether arguing my point will do you any good. Lenders that absolutely insist on telling me how much to list a property for… in my area of expertise,  I do just that.

9 out of 10 times, the result is that the property spends a lot more time on the market than it should have. With no offers or contracts after several weeks or even months of the property being listed, short sale negotiators will eventually figure out that they’re asking price needs to be lowered, then…I do just that and the property gets sold.

 

 

Sell A house in Orlando

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields