Great Time to Buy In Florida Click Here
Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Home contracts fell nationwide in July for the first time in three months, a sign that lower prices and borrowing costs aren’t luring in more buyers.
July’s 1.3 percent decrease in the index of pending home sales followed a 2.4 percent gain in June, the National Association of Realtors said Monday in Washington. Economists forecast a 1 percent drop, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
The disappointing national numbers arrived the same day as local numbers from the Miami Association of Realtors hinted at a slowdown in South Florida’s housing market, too.
In Broward, July’s pending sales are up 4 percent over 2010 levels for condominiums and houses. That’s compared to a 24 percent year-over-year increase in June and a 20 percent spike in May.
In Miami-Dade, pending sales grew 19 percent in July over July 2010. That’s down from June’s 33 percent increase and May’s 29 percent jump.
The local numbers aren’t adjusted for seasonality, so month-to-month comparisons can be skewed by the ebb and flow of the home buying season and other factors. In July, Broward pending sales hit 8,124 contracts, a 3.4 percent decline from June. The 12,014 contracts signed by potential home buyers in Miami-Dade last month barely moved the dial: They were up less than 1 percent from June.
Terri Bersach, head of the Broward council for the Miami Realtors group, said the sales pace remains brisk and that she has not detected any buyer pullback brought on by financial turmoil in August.
“We haven’t seen a slowdown yet,’’ said Bersach, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in Weston. “This week in my office, we’re negotiating a $1 million deal.”
Across South Florida, sales have been increasing while prices remain depressed. With national unemployment at 9.1 percent and the prospect of more foreclosures in the pipeline mean it may take years to clear the oversupply of houses, a sign the market is struggling to stabilize.
“Housing is still on the ropes,” Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, said in a note to clients.
Shepherdson said he was concerned that “the chaos in the stock markets might have persuaded a greater proportion of buyers to walk away after signing contracts,” leaving sales short of the level implied by the pending data.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/29/2381203/home-contracts-fall-in-us-slow.html#ixzz1ZMRBDKmg
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Top 10 Questions To Ask A Real Estate Agent
How are you going to advertise my home?
Why are you saying my home is worth $400K when I think its worth $325K?
Is your realty company placing pictures on your website and other listing services?
Will you be at the closing or will you send a lackey?
Show me your municipal reporting on the area?
What are your stats?
How accessible are you
What is your commission?
How can I prepare to show my home?
Can I have the names and phone numbers of the last 3 people that listed with you?
Top 10 Questions To Ask A Real Estate Agent
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
Why are you saying my home is worth $400K when I think its worth $325K?
Is your realty company placing pictures on your website and other listing services?
Will you be at the closing or will you send a lackey?
Show me your municipal reporting on the area?
What are your stats?
How accessible are you
What is your commission?
How can I prepare to show my home?
Can I have the names and phone numbers of the last 3 people that listed with you?
Top 10 Questions To Ask A Real Estate Agent
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
Monday, September 12, 2011
Is It Time to Refinance? Three Questions to Consider
Is It Time to Refinance?
Three Questions to Consider
Leonard Baron, MBA, CPA, and author of Real Estate Ownership, Investment and Due Diligence 101
So you've read that interest rates are near historic lows and you want to figure out if you can refinance. Financing has become significantly harder to do and more expensive in the past few years, thanks to the financial crisis. But refinancing is still possible and may make financial sense.
In this article, we will run through some of the basic issues you should contemplate to help give you a framework for deciding whether to refinance. The best person to help you sort through this framework and help you reach a final decision about when to refinance is your mortgage lending professional. But doing a little homework beforehand will help you ask your mortgage professional the right questions.
Here are three questions to consider when you are thinking about refinancing:
Planning on moving? The first item to consider is whether you're going to own the house in question for at least two to four more years–the longer the better. If you're not planning on owning for at least a couple years, refinancing may not be a net benefit to you. HOWEVER: The bigger the mortgage, and the bigger the differential between your current mortgage interest rate and the rate you might get by refinancing, the more refinancing might make sense even on a shorter term basis like two years. So rather than dismiss the idea, this is a good topic to discuss with your mortgage professional in terms of your unique situation.
Can you even qualify for a refinance? It can be tough to refinance these days. If your loan-to-home-value ratio is too high–meaning that your property doesn't appraise at a high enough value in comparison to the amount that is still outstanding on your loan–it may be harder to refinance. The bank may also consider you to be a higher risk if you're self-employed, have a high debt-to-income ratio, or if you have credit issues. But the only way to know for sure is to check with your mortgage lender to examine your options.
What are the costs versus the reduction in interest rate? If you are qualified for financing, your lender will also let you know what interest rate you can secure and how much it will cost you to refinance. You can then do a rate versus loan fee comparison to see if refinancing makes sense. For example, if you refinance a $300,000 loan it might cost $6,500 once you add up points, escrow, title, appraisal, etc. If your loan is dropping by one-half of a percentage point you will save $1,500 per year, which is about $1,000 after taxes. So if you are paying $6,500 to save $1,000 per year, it will take you 6.5 years to earn your money back. That may or may not be a good deal for you, depending on how long you are planning to stay in your home. The bottom line is add up all the costs you will incur by refinancing (remember to exclude items like prepaid interest, taxes and HOA fees that you pay whether you refinance or not) and compare these to your cost savings. This will help you determine whether now is the time to refinance.
Generally speaking, it can be time consuming and challenging to properly dissect the costs versus benefits of refinancing a property. That's why it's a good idea to talk to your trusted lending professional, who understands the right questions to ask and can help you work through the details to make an informed decision.
If you have any questions about your personal situation, contact the professional who supplied you with this month's issue of YOU Magazine. Take action now, so you are protected when you need it most.
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
Is It Time to Refinance? Three Questions to Consider
Three Questions to Consider
Leonard Baron, MBA, CPA, and author of Real Estate Ownership, Investment and Due Diligence 101
So you've read that interest rates are near historic lows and you want to figure out if you can refinance. Financing has become significantly harder to do and more expensive in the past few years, thanks to the financial crisis. But refinancing is still possible and may make financial sense.
In this article, we will run through some of the basic issues you should contemplate to help give you a framework for deciding whether to refinance. The best person to help you sort through this framework and help you reach a final decision about when to refinance is your mortgage lending professional. But doing a little homework beforehand will help you ask your mortgage professional the right questions.
Here are three questions to consider when you are thinking about refinancing:
Planning on moving? The first item to consider is whether you're going to own the house in question for at least two to four more years–the longer the better. If you're not planning on owning for at least a couple years, refinancing may not be a net benefit to you. HOWEVER: The bigger the mortgage, and the bigger the differential between your current mortgage interest rate and the rate you might get by refinancing, the more refinancing might make sense even on a shorter term basis like two years. So rather than dismiss the idea, this is a good topic to discuss with your mortgage professional in terms of your unique situation.
Can you even qualify for a refinance? It can be tough to refinance these days. If your loan-to-home-value ratio is too high–meaning that your property doesn't appraise at a high enough value in comparison to the amount that is still outstanding on your loan–it may be harder to refinance. The bank may also consider you to be a higher risk if you're self-employed, have a high debt-to-income ratio, or if you have credit issues. But the only way to know for sure is to check with your mortgage lender to examine your options.
What are the costs versus the reduction in interest rate? If you are qualified for financing, your lender will also let you know what interest rate you can secure and how much it will cost you to refinance. You can then do a rate versus loan fee comparison to see if refinancing makes sense. For example, if you refinance a $300,000 loan it might cost $6,500 once you add up points, escrow, title, appraisal, etc. If your loan is dropping by one-half of a percentage point you will save $1,500 per year, which is about $1,000 after taxes. So if you are paying $6,500 to save $1,000 per year, it will take you 6.5 years to earn your money back. That may or may not be a good deal for you, depending on how long you are planning to stay in your home. The bottom line is add up all the costs you will incur by refinancing (remember to exclude items like prepaid interest, taxes and HOA fees that you pay whether you refinance or not) and compare these to your cost savings. This will help you determine whether now is the time to refinance.
Generally speaking, it can be time consuming and challenging to properly dissect the costs versus benefits of refinancing a property. That's why it's a good idea to talk to your trusted lending professional, who understands the right questions to ask and can help you work through the details to make an informed decision.
If you have any questions about your personal situation, contact the professional who supplied you with this month's issue of YOU Magazine. Take action now, so you are protected when you need it most.
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
Is It Time to Refinance? Three Questions to Consider
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Boca Raton's Water Is Best
In a recent blind taste-test conducted by The Coastal Star newspaper and prompted by comments from a Manalapan
commissioner, Boca Raton’s water earned a top scoredrawn from each municipality’s town hall, judging appearance, aroma and taste. Boca’s water
tastes good and is a bargain to boot! Boca Raton’s Utility Services Department thinks that’s a combination that’s
hard to beat. They work hard to make that you think so, too!
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
commissioner, Boca Raton’s water earned a top scoredrawn from each municipality’s town hall, judging appearance, aroma and taste. Boca’s water
tastes good and is a bargain to boot! Boca Raton’s Utility Services Department thinks that’s a combination that’s
hard to beat. They work hard to make that you think so, too!
For more information about News, Events, Shows, Activities and things To Do In Boca Raton Florida contact your South Florida Real Estate Advisors
www.SFREA.com or Call 954-839-7406
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