Korean Buyers Looking at US and Florida Homes for Sale

According to an article written by Jane Han of The Korean Times, Korean investors are looking at the US housing market and are "pinpointing" areas in which to purchase investment property. Florida is mentioned along with California and New York as being the most sought after areas in which to invest in.

This makes sense when considering the prices of homes being offered for sale in Florida and especially the Central Florida market area. According to the Orlando real estate association the median price of homes fail be over 30% in January 2010 compared to January 2009. Bank owned, pre-foreclosure and short sale opportunities are attracting buyers from all over the world and country as Florida real estate is as affordable as it has been in years.

Related blog posts on the Florida real estate market

Is the Florida real estate market improving?

Is the real estate market improving in Central Florida?

Buyers and sellers are wondering if the real estate market is improving in Central Florida. After several years of dropping prices and fewer homes selling is the market improving in 2010? There is good news being reported along with news that indicates we still have a ways to go.

Florida real estate market

According to the Florida Association overall sales throughout Florida increased in January 2010 compared to January 2009. However home prices fail by 6% with the new median price of 130,900 compared to $139,400 a year ago.

Orlando real estate market

In the Orlando market area the Orlando Association reports that home sales have increased from January 2009 to January 2010 by over 65%! Home sold median prices during this comparison period dropped by 30%.

Market condition

The drop in prices and increase in sold units are considered a direct result of the number of foreclosure, bank owned property and short sales listed throughout the area. The continued increase of sales driven by these distressed properties will eventually work to stop the falling of home prices. As efforts to keep homeowners in their homes become more successful along with tax credits and incentives bringing more buyers into the market place supply and demand will become balanced.

Real estate markets are traditionally localized. If you are planning on selling or buying a home in Florida and want to find out if now is a good time for you, give me a call to discuss your situation. 407-304-0255

Source: http://www.gregstaker.com/is-florida-real-estate-market-improving.html

Related Florida real estate blog posts on the Florida real estate market

Florida real estate market

The following statistics are compiled and reported by the Florida Association of Realtors for the State.

• Median price of a home for June: $205,500.


• Median price of a condo for June: $183,700.


• 11,700 homes sold in June

In the Orlando market area the median sales price of a home is $219,500.

Related Florida real estate views:

What are the repair obligations to the home seller when using the FAR contract?

Florida home median sales price increase

Orlando dominates 2008 Central Florida home sales

- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Builders say tax credit will boost sales.

According to the latest National Association of Home Builders press release, builder confidence in the real estate market continues to fall.

NAHB President Sandy Dunn stated, “The worsening housing slump and the near-meltdown in financial markets last week makes it even more urgent for Congress to complete action on the housing bill now, a move that will help stabilize and restore confidence in housing and the U.S. economy.”

A portion of the housing bill calls for a tax credit of up to $8000 which the builder association believes will attract buyers into the market place.

Builder Association press release


Related Florida real estate views:

Home builder want tax credit for home buyers

Is now the time to buy a new Orlando home?

Orlando builder Taylor Morrison offering low fixed rate on new homes


- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Foreclosure sales increase in Central Florida

Bank owned or foreclosed homes continue to make up a large portion of certain Central Florida housing markets. Recent MLS statistics indicate that in June, homes that were foreclosed on and now being resold by the lender are a major source of business for Realtors.

Reports indicate that Deltona led the way with 45% of the sold inventory being bank owned. Kissimmee followed closely with 39.8% of June sales reported as bank owned and Orlando 19.8%.

Area Realtors are aware of this latest trend and are prospecting lenders in hopes of listing these REO properties. Additional prospecting is centered on locating buyers by holding open foreclosed homes weekly.

The bank owned numbers should continue to rise as foreclosures increase throughout Central Florida.


Related Florida real estate view:

Lender says no to deed in lieu

There comes a point when you have to foreclose.

Is there a way to search for foreclosures in the MLS?


- Greg Staker, Watson Realty Corp., 407-304-0255

Washington Mutual helps more than 7500 homeowners avoid foreclosure

WaMu plans to assist additional homeowners avoid foreclosure. The company has placed another $1 billion, that's billion with a B, towards their borrowers' assistance program.

According to WaMu's press release, under the program, eligible WaMu subprime borrowers who remain current on their existing loans and anticipate pending payment increases may apply for new discounted fixed-rate loans or other mortgage products available to them.

WaMu customers should call 1-800-881-7099 to ask about available programs.

Complete press release

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Mr. Postman look and see if there is a letter from FHA for me.


- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

University of Florida predicts Florida residents will keep their money in their wallet

According to a University of Florida study, consumer confidence in Florida is at an all time low.

“…I would have to predict consumer spending in Florida to pull back dramatically in the coming months.” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center.

The housing market is playing a huge role as one might expect. “The current economic decline began with housing and in many ways it will end with housing,” he said. “Housing prices have continued to decline and have yet to stabilize, although there are some signs that prices in some areas are getting near the bottom” McCarty said.

Here is the complete news release.


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- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Home builders continue to slow housing production.

From the National Association of Home Builders:

Providing the latest evidence of the ongoing downturn in the nation’s housing
market, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today that new-home starts
declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 units in
May.

National real estate market nowhere near the bottom?

I found this interesting real estate housing article written by Caroline Baum, a Bloomberg News columnist. This quote stood out for me:

While homebuilders are pressuring Congress to enact a tax credit for first-time
buyers, they are resisting the one thing that requires no legislative action to
spark buyer demand, according to Thomas Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic and
Housing Consultants in Leesburg, Virginia: Cutting prices.

Let me take you back, way back, back into time.

Anyone remember that song?

I went back to my 5th blog post ever and commented on my observations. Comparing my views and opinions in September 2005 to what is going on now was eye opening.

Here is the post with my new updates.

Florida real estate market observations, then and now.

There comes a point when you have to foreclose.

This Wall Street Journal article discusses the differences between California and Florida's foreclosure market. The article reports that while California sales are increasing in part to the investor purchasing foreclosures, in Florida the same can not be said. Florida seems to be experiencing a backlog.

While the article places some of the blame on Florida foreclosures having to run through our judicial system I think there may be another culprit, the short sale phenomenon.

Lenders, Realtors and home owners are often caught in a 3-6 month dance of trying to get the lender to accept a partial payoff in hopes of avoiding foreclosure. For the traditional home owner this process can have positive effects. A short sale can keep a home owner's credit from being totally trashed which will keep open the possibility of the individuals ability to obtain a new home loan once they have their financial situation in order. While this is going on, lenders are pushing back the foreclosure process.

I believe we need to stop some of this madness. I am all for helping the traditional homeowner who got caught with a high adjustable mortgage or who has seen their financial situation change drastically and are now in need of assistance. But for the rest, let's foreclose.

I am hearing disturbing rumors of some home owners seeking a short sale on their home so they can buy a better home also being offered as a short sale. Is this right? Or how about the individual who cashed out all of their equity to purchase a second home or luxury item and now seek have this debt erased via the short sale route? Should we continue to delay the foreclosure process for an investor who had no business investing in the first place?

In my opinion the answer is no. Lenders need to follow through with their foreclosure proceeding and get these homes back out on the open market for real home buyers and real investors to pick up at a fair price. Doing this will stimulate the real estate market in Central Florida ultimately leading it back to a healthier place.

There comes a time when a foreclosure is needed. Now is that time.

Related Florida real estate views:

Appraisal problems add to the frustration

Foreclosures for sale: Million dollar houses

Real estate agents would be wise to pick short sales over long sales.


- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Florida continues to lose construction jobs

Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation reports the number of jobs in Florida is down 64,500 in April 2008 compared to a year ago. Construction, reacting to declines in the housing market, lost 84,700 jobs over the year (-13.8 percent). Construction losses account for 63 percent of job
losses in the state.


Related Florida real estate views:

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- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Florida home median sales price increase

“In February 2003, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes was $140,500, an increase of about 41.6 percent over the five year-period, according to FAR records.”

Over 41% since 2003 according to a published report on FAR’s website. What does this mean to a potential home buyer in today’s market? Homes are typically a good mid to long-term investment.

Related Florida real estate views:

Florida real estate market

Florida home prices increase by 26%

Orlando home prices are within reach of potential homebuyers

- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

FDIC Chairman, Sheila C. Bair sees no end to housing woes

In a statement to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs the FDIC Chairman states:

"Poor underwriting and abuses in the subprime mortgage market are having a significant negative impact on the housing markets and the U.S. economy. In the coming months, large numbers of subprime adjustable rate mortgages will reset to higher interest rates and borrowers will generally be facing default and possible foreclosure. In addition, a wave of nontraditional mortgage resets is looming in the next year."

"Current market conditions indicate this negative trend will continue, as a significant rebound in housing market activity or home prices is unlikely during the coming year."

The statement focuses on the mortgage industry performance, foreclosures and financial distress she offered this observation regarding the housing industry;

"The combination of declining home prices and scarce refinancing options will stress borrowers with subprime hybrid ARMs and other nontraditional mortgage loans and could result in hundreds of thousands of additional mortgage foreclosures over the next two years. These foreclosures, if they occur, will inflict financial harm on individual borrowers and their communities as they drive down home values. Studies show that property sales associated with foreclosures tend to reduce average home prices in the surrounding neighborhood, placing stress on remaining homeowners and their communities."

The complete statement can be found here.


Related Florida real estate views:

FDIC – Home ownership declines with income levels

FDIC offers suggestions to obtain the best mortgage terms

FHA expected to help thousands avoid foreclosure


- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Beauty is in the eyes of the real estate market beholder

According to the article found here, an appraiser claims they were denied work by a lender simply because the appraiser would not list the market area as 'stable'.

I wonder how our Orlando and Central Florida appraisers are describing our market?

Stable or unstable?


Related Florida real estate views:

An interview with Watson Realty's Central Florida Regional Director Ken Bennett .

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- Greg Staker - Watsom Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

You may be able to walk across the US faster than you can sell your Orlando area home.

Gary "Walkingman" Hause is reported as having walked across the US in only 87 days.

The Orlando Realtor Association reports that it is taking an average of 116 days for homes to sell in the Orlando area.

Those sellers who wish to move in May should be considering placing their home on the market now in order to be out by late Spring.

Of course if you would like to sell your home faster than it takes to walk across the country it will take a combination of several items to give yourself a chance. Competitive pricing, home staging and your real estate agent's marketing efforts go hand in hand to help speed up the sales process.

Give us a call to start walking to find out how long it will take to sell your home.


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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Which Central Florida city has the most homes for sale?

Orlando and the Central Florida market have continued to maintain a record pace of available homes for sale. Listing inventories continue to rise in spite of record low sales being reported.

Which Central Florida cities have the largest inventory of homes for sale?

The following are the listing inventory totals for several key cities in Central Florida as of this weekend.

City/# of homes for sale

1. Orlando 11287
2. Kissimmee 4571
3. Clermont 1626
4. Deltona 1492
5. Apopka 1060
6. Sanford 936
7. Deland 912
8. Winter Park 882
9. Windermere 759
10. Oviedo 674
11. Lake Mary 493

For a complete look at available inventory in Central Florida you can visit my Central Florida homes for sale page.

Related Florida real estate views:

What Central Florida city has the most foreclosed homes for sale?

Where can you find a foreclosed home in Florida?

7% of Kissimmee listed home inventory are foreclosures

-Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Will the real estate market improve in 2008?

I thought it might be interesting to see what the Google results would be for my question. For sake of this... uh... research, my goal was to examine the first page results for my query and score them for improve as compared to no improvement. Improve can include even the slightest of hope and no improvement will include the worst-case scenario crash burn and die predictions.

Here are the results for --

will real estate market improve in 2008?

First page opinions on Google web search:

Yahoo Finance under the heading of, Is the slump over yet? The opinion here is if there is an improvement it will be a relatively modest one.

Improvement 1 No improvement 0

The blog, RoofTop Views says the market will improve in 2008

Improvement 2 No improvement 0

AC The People’s Media Company says “2008 Real Estate Market Will Make the 2007 Market Look like Walk in the Park”

Improvement 2 No improvement 1

Realty Times has an article that says ‘NAHB says massive Housing downshift will improve in 2008”

Improvement 3 No improvement 1

Texas Realty Blog says the real estate market better improve. They go on to say that 2008 market should improve.

Improvement 4 No improvement 1

Ezine Articles is listed next with 30 ways to improve a real estate websites for 2008. If enough agents did improve their sites it might help the market improve, but for sake of my question, I cannot count this result.

Improvement 4 No improvement 1

The next result is from NAR, the National Association of Realtors and they say the end of real estate as we know it is near….ok…kidding, they stand by their belief that the market is set to improve with their post titled “Existing home sales to trend up in 2008”

Improvement 5 No improvement 1

HotProperty a UK property website says the market will improve….of course they were speaking about the UK’s housing market. I was not aware that the UK was also having a housing problem. While I appreciate their optimism, I cannot count their opinion in my scoring.

Improvement 5 No improvement 1

A City data forum is the next result and harrythedog says the market will improve when everyone stops thinking it is so bad. I am going to assume since harrythedog has made this statement, then harrythedog must think that the market is not bad. I am going to score this one for improve.

Improvement 6 No improvement 1

And finally,

Real Estate Connect New York City is going to hold a conference to discuss my question. I wonder if they will consider the results of this blog during their conference?

Thanks, Google for the optimistic results. I hope you are right.


Related Florida real estate views:

Florida home sales remain healthy

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Orlando will lead Florida in population, employment and personal income gain


- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Realtors lost in denial

denial: a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts


Here are my favorite responses from agents who have homes on the market for several months that have not received a price adjustment.

"It is the lowest priced home in the neighborhood."

Yes, an it will be the lowest priced expired listing in the neighborhood too. Lowest price means nothing in today's market.

"The agents who showed the home say it is priced right."

Agent feedback means nothing. What did the buyer say? If buyers say it is priced right, it would be sold.

"They need to get this much out of it."

Guess what, they probably are not going to sell it then. A seller's need to sell at price not justified by the market has no impact on a buyer making an offer.

"It is priced right but the yard is to small or it has no garage or an airport is being built next door, or the carpet needs cleaned."

Always something that just keeps the house from selling. You can bag up all of those reasons and simply say, it is priced to high. If it had a garage or a yard or a pool or..or...or... then it would be worth what you are asking. But it doesn't so guess what? Priced to high.

Orlando real estate market report

The end of the year continues down the well-worn path we have experienced now for some 24 months. Recent reports indicate 33 homes have closed from December 1st – 5th as compared to 115 homes during the same period last year. This calculates to a 71% drop in sales in Orlando alone. At the current rate of homes coming on and leaving the market, the Orlando area should have nearly 30 months of inventory.

30 months of homes on the market would seem daunting were it not for the fact that the majority of these homes are not really priced to sell. The vast majority of the sellers and Realtors are not being realistic on their pricing. The real work for buyers and their Realtors is to weed through the thousands of homes unrealistically over priced to find those few homes that are priced correctly and truly marketable.

2008 will most likely be more of the same. The correcting market will continue to make news and leave many perplexed to the final outcome. Now is the time for buyers and sellers to view the current conditions as it only relates to them personally. It will always be a perfect real estate market to an individual buyer and an individual seller who meet, negotiate fairly and agree to mutually beneficial terms. Those types of transactions are still happening throughout Florida and will continue regardless of how the overall market performs.

Related Florida real estate views:

Orlando home sellers: giving in, selling or losing their home?

I would not buy a house in Florida.

Real estate agents would be wise to pick short sales over long sales.

- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255