#3. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
Monday, March 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Fla.’s housing market continues on positive track in Feb.
Pending sales and median prices rose, while the inventory of homes for sale dropped in Florida’s housing market in February, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.
“Growing optimism about the economy, gains in the state’s jobs market and continued low mortgage rates are generating interest in Florida real estate,” says 2012 Florida Realtors President Summer Greene, regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Florida 1st in Fort Lauderdale. “Increased statewide pending sales for both single family existing homes, up 36.1 percent, and for townhouse-condo properties, up 19.8 percent, show that buyers are encouraged by these positive signs.”
Pending sales refer to contracts that are signed but not yet completed or closed; closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in February was $134,000, up 7.2 percent from the year-ago figure, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department and vendor partner 10K Research and Marketing. The statewide median for townhome-condo properties was $95,000, up 15.9 percent over Feb. 2011.
The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in January 2012 was $154,400, which is 2.6 percent below the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in January was $268,280; in Massachusetts, it was $265,000; and in Maryland, it was $219,500.
The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. Housing industry analysts note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Statewide sales of existing single-family homes totaled 14,270 in February 2012, down 4.8 percent compared to the year-ago figure. Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of townhomes/condos, a total of 7,545 units sold statewide last month, down 16 percent from those sold in February 2011. NAR reported the national median existing condo price in January 2012 was $156,600.
In February, the months supply of inventory stood at 6.2 for single-family homes and at 6.3 for the condos/townhomes, according to Florida Realtors.
“The overall picture that these statistics show is of a stabilizing housing market,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “While closed sales are down, so are listings and so is inventory. These are signs of a market that’s moving from being a buyer’s market to a balanced market.
“For the past year, median sales prices have been slowly rising; and over a longer period of time, prices have really flattened out – again, signs of an improving housing market.”
The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.89 percent in February 2012, down from the 4.95 percent average during the same month a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac.
To see the full statewide housing activity report, go to Florida Realtors Media Center and look under Latest Releases, or download the February data report PDF under Market Data.
ORLANDO, Fla. – March 21, 2012 © 2012 Florida Realtors®
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www.LakeMaryRealEstateSales.com
“Growing optimism about the economy, gains in the state’s jobs market and continued low mortgage rates are generating interest in Florida real estate,” says 2012 Florida Realtors President Summer Greene, regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Florida 1st in Fort Lauderdale. “Increased statewide pending sales for both single family existing homes, up 36.1 percent, and for townhouse-condo properties, up 19.8 percent, show that buyers are encouraged by these positive signs.”
Pending sales refer to contracts that are signed but not yet completed or closed; closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in February was $134,000, up 7.2 percent from the year-ago figure, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department and vendor partner 10K Research and Marketing. The statewide median for townhome-condo properties was $95,000, up 15.9 percent over Feb. 2011.
The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in January 2012 was $154,400, which is 2.6 percent below the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in January was $268,280; in Massachusetts, it was $265,000; and in Maryland, it was $219,500.
The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. Housing industry analysts note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Statewide sales of existing single-family homes totaled 14,270 in February 2012, down 4.8 percent compared to the year-ago figure. Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of townhomes/condos, a total of 7,545 units sold statewide last month, down 16 percent from those sold in February 2011. NAR reported the national median existing condo price in January 2012 was $156,600.
In February, the months supply of inventory stood at 6.2 for single-family homes and at 6.3 for the condos/townhomes, according to Florida Realtors.
“The overall picture that these statistics show is of a stabilizing housing market,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “While closed sales are down, so are listings and so is inventory. These are signs of a market that’s moving from being a buyer’s market to a balanced market.
“For the past year, median sales prices have been slowly rising; and over a longer period of time, prices have really flattened out – again, signs of an improving housing market.”
The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.89 percent in February 2012, down from the 4.95 percent average during the same month a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac.
To see the full statewide housing activity report, go to Florida Realtors Media Center and look under Latest Releases, or download the February data report PDF under Market Data.
ORLANDO, Fla. – March 21, 2012 © 2012 Florida Realtors®
"Maximize Your Equity...Enjoy Life!"
www.LakeMaryRealEstateSales.com
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Property Taxes Start To Decline
More than five years after real estate prices began to tumble, Americans are finally starting to get property tax breaks on their devalued homes, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
Cities, counties and school districts today collect about 20% more in property taxes than they did in 2006, when home values were one-third higher than now, but the tax tide is slowly starting to recede.
Last year, property tax collections rose just 1.2% -- and actually declined 0.9% when adjusted for inflation, according to data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s the first time property tax collections have fallen below the inflation rate since 1995 and only the third time in 40 years.
If the downward trend continues, property taxes may actually bring in fewer dollars this year than last -- even before adjusting for inflation. That hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.
Property taxes generated $436 billion last year, about $66 billion more than in 2006 when home values peaked. Public schools get about 40% of this money. The rest flows to other local governments.
Most states have complex laws that make property tax declines rare, small or long-delayed, even when home values plummet. This makes the property tax stable during economic turmoil, unlike the income or sales tax.
“People say, ‘Hey, my house value went down. How about my tax bill going down?’ But it doesn’t work that way,” says Robert Ross, chief assessment officer for McHenry County, Ill., near Chicago. In Illinois, assessments are based on a formula that considers home values as far back as seven years.
School districts, already suffering from reduced state funding, are feeling the property tax squeeze most. Public schools have cut 270,000 employees -- 3.3% of their workforce -- since July 2008.
“We’re doing everything we can to save classroom teachers,” says Alexandra Nicholson, superintendent of West Northfield School District 31 in Northbrook, Ill., which gets nearly all revenue from property taxes.
The district will ask voters to approve a property tax hike on March 20 to avoid the elimination of sports, band, busing and educational assistants.
Factors delaying lower property taxes:
Tax limits. Most laws that cap property tax hikes have a little-known flip side: limits on decreases.
Delayed assessments. Many states base tax assessments on a home’s value three, six or even 10 years ago -- or on an average of multiple years.
The practice protects homeowners from fast-rising taxes when home values soar, but also delays tax cuts when values fall. It also reduces the administrative burden of assessing every home annually.
Shared sacrifice. New York, Ohio and many other states automatically raise property tax rates when real estate values fall and cut rates automatically when values rise, a practice called equalization.
During the real estate boom, this practice automatically lowered rates when values rose to prevent taxes from rising too quickly.
WASHINGTON – March 14, 2012 – Copyright © 2012 USA TODAY
"Maximize Your Equity....Enjoy Life!"
www.LakeMaryRealEstateSales.com
Cities, counties and school districts today collect about 20% more in property taxes than they did in 2006, when home values were one-third higher than now, but the tax tide is slowly starting to recede.
Last year, property tax collections rose just 1.2% -- and actually declined 0.9% when adjusted for inflation, according to data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s the first time property tax collections have fallen below the inflation rate since 1995 and only the third time in 40 years.
If the downward trend continues, property taxes may actually bring in fewer dollars this year than last -- even before adjusting for inflation. That hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.
Property taxes generated $436 billion last year, about $66 billion more than in 2006 when home values peaked. Public schools get about 40% of this money. The rest flows to other local governments.
Most states have complex laws that make property tax declines rare, small or long-delayed, even when home values plummet. This makes the property tax stable during economic turmoil, unlike the income or sales tax.
“People say, ‘Hey, my house value went down. How about my tax bill going down?’ But it doesn’t work that way,” says Robert Ross, chief assessment officer for McHenry County, Ill., near Chicago. In Illinois, assessments are based on a formula that considers home values as far back as seven years.
School districts, already suffering from reduced state funding, are feeling the property tax squeeze most. Public schools have cut 270,000 employees -- 3.3% of their workforce -- since July 2008.
“We’re doing everything we can to save classroom teachers,” says Alexandra Nicholson, superintendent of West Northfield School District 31 in Northbrook, Ill., which gets nearly all revenue from property taxes.
The district will ask voters to approve a property tax hike on March 20 to avoid the elimination of sports, band, busing and educational assistants.
Factors delaying lower property taxes:
Tax limits. Most laws that cap property tax hikes have a little-known flip side: limits on decreases.
Delayed assessments. Many states base tax assessments on a home’s value three, six or even 10 years ago -- or on an average of multiple years.
The practice protects homeowners from fast-rising taxes when home values soar, but also delays tax cuts when values fall. It also reduces the administrative burden of assessing every home annually.
Shared sacrifice. New York, Ohio and many other states automatically raise property tax rates when real estate values fall and cut rates automatically when values rise, a practice called equalization.
During the real estate boom, this practice automatically lowered rates when values rose to prevent taxes from rising too quickly.
WASHINGTON – March 14, 2012 – Copyright © 2012 USA TODAY
"Maximize Your Equity....Enjoy Life!"
www.LakeMaryRealEstateSales.com
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Barington Club vid.mp4
Not a Short Sale....Not a REO/Bank Owned Sale......
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Thursday, March 8, 2012
Lake Mary Pool Home With Lake View Just Listed
Lake Mary Lake View Home! Charming 3 Bedroom/2 Bath/2 Car Garage, Pool Home.
listing courtesy of Watson Realty Corp.
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Find Your Dream Home at
Friday, March 2, 2012
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