Real Estate & Mortgage

Florida real estate comeback

Florida economists are predicting that the state’s housing market will bottom out in the second quarter of 2008 and that the state will avoid a recession.

Sarasota Luxury Condos For Sale

Looking for luxury Sarasota condos for sale  or waterfront condominiums in downtown Sarasota, Longboat Key or Lido Key, Florida? Condominiums in Sarasota nd Bradenton offer preconstruction opportunities, new condos and pre-owned. From  luxury Townhomes to Condo Towers, Sarasota has a variety ogf homes to chose from and a range of condominium options for those who prefer maintenance-free living Compare pictures, virtual tours, prices and amenities before you visit.

Real Estate Opportunities in Brandenton, Florida

Lower real estate taxes, no state income taxes, no state inheritance taxes and the year-round average temperature of 73 degrees may be a factor behind Brandenton Florida's rapid growth. Add the amenities that this area has to offer and the fact that it is in close proximity to neighboring towns and cities and you may  very well have a motivating attraction to Brandenton real estate opportunities.

Real Estate Property in Fort Myers, Florida

Recent months have seen a cooling of the Fort Myers Florida real estate market. Inventory is rapidly rising which means that buyers will have quite a few more properties to choose from. Homes are taking longer to sell and that is resulting in a number of price reductions as sellers try to lower their asking prices. Prices ares still up 7% over last year even though they have become very negotiable.

Real Estate is Booming

Lower cost cities are booming as tech firms have moved to Reno, Fort Myers, Fla., and other no-nonsense, middlebrow places. Fuel prices have caused newer boom towns to emerge. More

Affordable Homes

This from BankRate.com. Housing is still affordable in the right spots

The article says that Coastal metropolises like Los Angeles, New York, Boston and San Francisco all might be ranked among the most desirable places to live, but they are expensive! Thus home prices make it tuff to find affordable housing.

The article refeences Lawrence Yun an Econmist from NAR. He says high home prices in popular coastal cities appear to be driving a wave of migration to less costly locales, according to , economist at the National Association of Realtors, or NAR. "Californians are buying up properties in cheaper neighboring states. On the East Coast,  prospective homeowners are seeking out property in Virginia and the Carolinas."

It appears  United Van Lines reported that California had a higher number of outbound moves relative to inbound ones for the first time since 1995. For every 44 moves into the state last year, the company handled 56 outbound moves.States with a much higher number of people moving in rather than out included Oregon, Idaho, Arizona and North Carolina.

Overall, housing affordability nationwide is at its lowest point in 15 years, according to the NAR. In December, the percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home stood at 14 percent, according to the California Association of Realtors. New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and increasingly, South Florida homes, , according to Yun, are also progressively unaffordable. The most affordable markets, by contrast, tend to be in the Midwest.

Fastest Growing US Counties

Florida's population of Flagler County increased 10.7 percent to 76,410 residents in the year that ended July 1, 2005. Up 53 percent increase in population since the 2000 census making it the fastest-growing U.S. county for the second year in a row, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

Most of the top 10 fastest growing counties were on the suburban fringes of major metropolitan areas, and all but one were located in the South or West regions of the U.S.

The other fast growing counties between 2004 and 2005 include:

2. Lyon County, Nev., near Carson City
3. Kendall County, Ill., outside of Chicago
4. Rockwell County, Texas, near Dallas
5. Washington County, Utah, 120 miles north of Las Vegas
6. Nye County, Nev. 100 miles north of Las Vegas
7. Pinal County, Ariz., near Phoenix
8. Loudon County, Va., suburban Washington, D.C.
9. King George County, Va., suburban Washington, D.C.
10. Caroline County, Va., near Richmond

Foreclosures Up

RealtyTrac™ an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its January 2006 Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows 103,540 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in January, a 27% increase from the previous month and a 45 percent increase from January 2005.

The report shows a January national foreclosure rate of 1 foreclosure - repo property for every 1,117 U.S. households, continuing an upward trend in which the national foreclosure rate rose in every quarter of 2005.

"This is the first time since we introduced the report in January of 2005 that we've seen back-to-back months with increases of more than 20 percent," noted James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "While some of this might have to do with the seasonality of normal real estate cycles, it appears that rising interest rates and softening home prices are beginning to push foreclosure inventories closer to the historic average of one percent of all U.S. households."

Who has the biggest rate of foreclosure? Georgia wins.

Georgia foreclosures spiked in January. The state reported 7,342 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, more than twice the number reported in December. Georgia documented the highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states -- one new foreclosure for every 422 households.

Who was 2nd? The land that has been one of the hottest . With one new foreclosure for every 483 households, Nevada documented the second highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states. The state reported 1,795 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 60 percent increase from December and more than 2.5 times the number reported in January 2005.

With a total of 3,747 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, new foreclosures in Colorado tripled from December to January and increased 36 percent year over year. The state recorded one new foreclosure for every 488 households -- the third highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states.

New Miami real estate

Miami Real Estate: Information, Listings of homes, condos, and land & information about Miami Dade real estate.

Miami Dade County, Florida construction of new single-family homes (not condos)increased by 40% in 2004 vs 2003. New home construction in Broward County increased  275, according to Metrostudy, a market research firm.

Demand for new homes has skyrocketed in the two counties, leaving builders scrambling for available land to develop. Last year, more than 8,600 single-family homes were built in Miami-Dade.

The construction was largely concentrated in the city of Homestead, although builders are finding developable land elsewhere and are building condominiums at an unprecedented level.

Orlando Condos

$54M for Condo Project Near Disney Orlando

FEBRUARY 04, 2005 --

Orlando, Fla.--Mountain Funding LLC closed a $54 million acquisition, development and construction loan which will be used to fund a 432-unit condominium development in Orlando, FLA located near Walt Disney World.

The borrower is Blackwater Crossing, LLC, a Florida limited liability company.

"The fact that this project is ideally located between the successful Reunion and Champion's Gate communities, in a very hot market, and it had significant reservations, were great attractions for us," said Arthur Nevid, managing director of investment and lending at Mountain Funding. "However, the challenge was that the borrower was not a true developer, and he was seeking high 93 percent all-in leverage."

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Designed as a full service gated resort community, the exclusive community will feature two-, three- and four-bedroom units starting at around $300,000. Construction is slated to begin this spring with occupancies starting about 10 months thereafter.

"Mountain's ability to respond quickly, be flexible in structure and utilize its local development affiliate to underwrite all development issues made this closing possible," said Ray Wicken of Americap, the mortgage banker for the transaction.

"The land acquisition was on a very short fuse, so Mountain focused its due diligence efforts on underwriting and closing the land knowing that certain construction conditions, like the admittance of an experienced developer partner and approval of construction contracts, would occur post-closing."