Tag: Orlando Short sales

Median Prices of Orlando Real Estate Rise amidst Higher Inventory

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

According to an Orlando real estate industry report, the housing inventory for the city saw a 42 percent hike in February, just ahead of the much-awaited spring selling season. The increase in inventory however is not without an increase in median prices of homes – a phenomenon that Orlando Realtors are attributing to increased demands for residential properties in Orlando.

Orlando Real Estate- high inventory – high demand – high median prices

The overall median price of homes in Orlando for February 2014 stood at $158,000 – 18.80 percent higher than the median price during the same time in 2013 when it was $133,000. With the increasing prices, there has also been a rise in the number of non-distressed property owners entering the Orlando real estate market, providing the inventory a much-needed boost.

The nearly 19 percent increase in median price, despite a 42 percent increase in inventory is because desirable homes in Orlando continue to attract multiple buyers. As a result, these homes disappear quickly from the open market, tightening the inventory.

Considering consecutive year-on-year growth rates, the city’s overall median price has increased 36.80 percent in 31 months, registering year-to-year gains throughout the period. Further, the median price for February 2014 was 5.69 percent higher than in January 2014.

According to Orlando short sale realtors, the median prices increased 18.30 percent for short sales and 12.23 percent for “normal” sales. Condos registered a 16.40 percent hike in their median price, compared to February 2013 while single-family homes registered a slightly higher increase of 17.69 percent.

Short Sales, Normal Sales, and Pending

In February 2014, foreclosures and short sales accounted for 34.27 percent of all home sales. Back in 2013, they amounted to 46.01 percent of the total sales. The number of sales closed in February 2014 was 17.26 percent lower than in February 2013; however, the figure exceeded the number of sales closed in January 2014 by 1.48 percent.

Realtors hold that the slower rate of closure is because prospective buyers, especially first-time buyers, had to face the challenges posed by tighter credits, increased rates of mortgages, and higher prices.

Compared to the corresponding value in February 2013, “normal” sales of residential properties saw a 0.72 percent hike in February 2014. The rate of closure for short sales, on the other hand, saw a massive decrease of 63.53 percent and the sales-closing of foreclosed properties decreased by 15.29 percent.

The number of pending sales in February 2014 decreased by 19.72 percent as compared to the same period in 2013. However, it was recorded to be 9.67 percent higher than the number of pending sales in January 2014. Further, the report also found that homes came under contract or closed, faster in 2014 than they did in 2013. Homes typically spent 76 days, listed on the market in February 2014 as against 84 days in February 2013.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

3 Things To Help Orlando Realtors Stay Positive

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

With all the New Year’s resolutions that have fallen by the wayside, it’s time to get up, brush yourself off, and get refocused. Being a real estate professional is not easy and can be mentally as well as physically demanding, especially when that deal that you worked so hard for just fell apart. That’s why it’s very important to implement healthy habits that will help you to perform at the best of your ability. I’m not talking about spending two hours a day at the gym or going on an extreme no carb and no fat diet. As a matter of fact, if you make changes that are too extreme, then you are sure to fail miserably. What I’m suggesting is to implement small changes to your habits that you can do consistently.

Many years before I became an Orlando realtor  I was a personal trainer. I used to design routines for people who either wanted to lose weight or to get into better shape than they already were. Being a trainer, I learned that everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for the next person which is why they call it “personal training”.   However, today I want to share a few tips and tweaks that real estate agents can use in their day-to-day lives to become healthier and more active.

1. Eat Smaller Meals- How many times have you gone out for lunch and ended up eating too much to the point where you just want to take a nap afterward? It’s a pretty bad feeling, especially when you have work to do! The last thing a potential client wants to see is their realtor yawning at a listing appointment. If you’re like me and have a big appetite, then drink a big glass of water before ordering your lunch. This will make you less hungry and cause you to order a smaller portion.

2. Walk Faster and More Often- I’m not saying you should speed walk to your listing or showing appointments. What I am saying is that when you do walk, walk a bit faster than you normally do whenever possible like walking to the copier, going to the bathroom, walking through the supermarket, etc. Also, take a nice long walk after dinner. Not only will it help your digestion and burn some calories but walking helps you to clear your mind and think more clearly. Whenever I’m frustrated about something or have a problem that needs solving, a good long walk always seems to get my wheels turning.

3. Maintain A Positive Attitude- Working as an Orlando realtor, I know firsthand how hard it can be to maintain a positive attitude when things just aren’t going the way you would like them to. Dealing with clients that are upset about their shot sale falling apart or buyers that you’ve already shown 20 houses to decide it’s not a good time to buy, etc. Being a realtor means that you regularly encounter negative people and it’s important that you not let the negativity affect you and your job. Try thinking about 2 or 3 things that you are appreciative of like how well your kids are doing in school or that wonderful vacation that you’ve been planning with your family.

As real estate agents, it’s crucial that we maintain a positive attitude if we want to be successful. The tips that I’ve shared with you today have served me well over the years and will hopefully help you too!   https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

Orlando Home Builders Association Changes Name and Moves to a New Location

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Metro Orlando Home Builders Association wants to turn a new leaf and several changes are underway as part of its efforts to re-brand itself. The professional trade association that leads the Orlando real estate industry was established in 1953. Since then, it has governed and regulated several aspects of the city’s housing market including Orlando short sales, services of listing agents, and Orlando’s public-education programs to name a few.

The association revealed some of its re-branding initiatives on February 27, when it revealed plans to change the name from Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando to the Greater Orlando Business Association.

Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando moves to new headquarters

On the same day, the association also broke ground on what its new headquarters is going to be. The association is currently headquartered at 544 Mayo Avenue, Maitland but will ditch the 30-year-old venue and move to the new office in 1000 Sanford Avenue as soon as the construction work is done. The new headquarter will sit at the site donated by Charles Clayton III – the previous president of the Home Builders Association and also a long-standing member of the association. In addition to a changed name and a changed location, the association is also set to sport a more environment-friendly and greener office.

Word is, that the building at 1000 Sanford Avenue will file for a green certification with the regulatory bodies, including the Florida Green Building Coalition.

President Nathan Cross talks about right-sizing offices

Nathan Cross, President of the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando said the association wants to right-size its offices so that the changing needs of staff, as well as the real-estate business, could be better matched. Moving to a new office was part of the right-sizing efforts.

Ensuring construction projects will create new jobs for construction workers. According to listing agents in Orlando, new opportunities for the local material suppliers. With new infrastructure development projects underway in Central Florida, including the SunRail passenger system, the real estate market of Orlando is expected to bring in worthwhile opportunities for architects and engineers.

The Home Builders Association has been an important part of the real-estate scene in Central Florida – participating in and regulating important industry events and initiatives through its councils and committees. How the re-branding is going to affect its reputation and standing in the market remains to be seen. https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

Why Do Some Lenders Take Longer Than Others To Sell Foreclosed Homes?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

A community’s chances of a speedy recovery from a hung-over Florida housing market not only depend on how many foreclosed homes they have in the neighborhood but even more importantly on which lenders own those properties.

Working as a short sale realtor in Orlando, I can tell you exactly what banks are the best ones for doing short sales as well as which ones make me cringe as soon as I hear their name in a conversation. Now, things tend to change a bit when are talking about bank-owned homes. This is when the lender takes a home through the foreclosure process and ultimately ends up owning the property after it goes to public auction. Once they own the property, it becomes an REO [real estate owned] which they will then list with a local realtor to try and get it sold.

You would think that lenders would try and get the property sold as soon as possible to avoid any further losses that they’ve already suffered. However, this is not always the case. Many times a bank-owned property will sit vacantly and abandoned with no sign at all of an attempt on the bank’s part to market it and get it sold.

Some realtors believe that it’s a strategy by the lenders to avoid flooding the market with properties again which would cause a dip in prices so they only release a certain amount of properties over a pre-determined amount of time. Others will tell you that it’s because the banks expect the Florida real estate market to continue improving and they want to hold out in order to try and capitalize on higher sales prices.

If that truly is the case then I believe that lenders are taking a huge risk in holding out to sell in a hotter market. For one thing, you should never ever depend on the appreciation. This is something that I learned a long time ago when I first started investing in Orlando real estate. Getting into a real estate investment for the sole purpose of expecting the market to get hot then cashing out is what got a whole lot of folks into trouble in 2007.

Not only that but houses that just sit vacant will continue to rack up homeowners association fees, property taxes, risk of vandalism, as well as code enforcement fines if the home is in some way in violation of county code enforcement or safety issues. Also, the longer a house sits unattended the deeper it will fall into disrepair.

For some reason, the smaller lending institutions appear to be a bit more nimble when they deal with foreclosures. It’s probably because they’re only dealing with a fraction of the number of properties that the big lenders are.

 

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

Florida’s Housing Market Recovery Still Intact After October Hesitancy

Posted on by 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.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*