Are Florida’s Foreclosure Deals Good for Second Homes?

Foreclosure – especially in Florida is a hot topic among the press lately and it is interesting to see a staggering number of the sales in today’s market are comprised of foreclosures and/or short sales… especially in South Florida.  It’s hard to turn on the TV or open up a paper without seeing a sensationalized story about it.

But what’s even more interesting about the foreclosure situation is that they appear to be consolidated in certain areas of the country.  Of the four primary states… two of those were head and shoulders above the others.  [Woo hoo… we never do anything half baked here in FL!]  Okay, sorry, that wasn’t funny.

Drum roll please:  California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada take the cake.  Something worthy of note about these states is that they share some similar characteristics:

1. They all have relative [no pun intended] popularity with retirees
2. Popular with real estate investors
3. They have had large home value jumps during this decade

This creates some extraordinary opportunities for folks looking to buy a second home in Florida.

Everyone else… yeah… they are normal.  the other 46 states account for the remaining 48.8% of foreclosures, or a mere 1.06% average per state of October’s foreclosures.

Now, this isn’t meant to make light of the impact of these foreclosures on the economy — nope. Foreclosures…

Read the rest of this kick-butt article:

Are Florida’s Foreclosure Deals Good for Second Homes?

Orlando Real Estate Market: What we can Control…

By Michael Dale – Vice President, Dave Brewer Realty, Inc.

Wow, given the recent dramatic economic events where do I begin; the stock market, the mortgage market, the secondary mortgage market as represented by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Each of the aforementioned have so overwhelmingly impacted our economy let alone our housing market. Many I have conversed with this past week are angry and frustrated. These institutions are so mammoth and to most of us represent entities that we can’t touch let alone think of impacting or affecting change upon. And then when you add the additional frustration…

Read the whole blog post and see the TELLING historic chart here:

Orlando Real Estate Market: What we can Control…

FLASH: TV Anchors HATE Puppies and Babies…

NEWS FLASH:  THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA is not your friend.  Okay, maybe the subject of this Orlando Mortgage Blog Post is a little extreme, but it does prove my point.  Sensational sells. Unfortunately, truth doesn’t always carry the same punch if it is not. Despite turmoil on Wall Street,  despite the drum beat of doom from the media…the real estate sector continues to deliver good news.

Last month, led by a 22% surge from the West Region, new home sales went UP by 2.7% from August’s numbers.  Okay, so the “West region” isn’t exactly Orlando Real Estate news, but the trend is important.  Waiting for the bottom?  You just might miss it if you don’t perk up and get pre-qualified now.

[A “new home” is a newly-built residence, i.e. a brand-new house.]

The surge in New Home Sales volume is aligned with the other good news we’ve seen from in the real estate market.

Lets count down the good news for real estate that you HAVEN’T HEARD in the last two weeks….

The TOP 4 countdown:
#4 …

Read the Top 4 ‘good news’ stats and more in my blog post:

FLASH: TV Anchors HATE Puppies and Babies…

The Truth about predicting Orlando Mortgage Rates

Weeeeeee……

Not only is that what the snail said as he hitched a ride on the back of a turtle, [laugh, that is as funny as it gets] but it is what most of us are saying about these market dips and jumps! It’s important to remember that markets are unpredictable and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the ‘experts’ from trying.

An obvious example comes from back in May. As oil crossed the $120 per barrel mark [eventually arriving at $147…ouch…] a Goldman Sachs ‘expert’ was quoted as saying that $200 oil was “likely”.

Well, at that time it seemed logical, did it not?

A mere 5 months later, that seems downright laughable. Oil is off by more than 40% since that day. “Well, that is a unique case, Chris.” Huh… wanna bet? There are hundreds of examples just like this one.

Every day, economic experts and analysts are on television, pontificating to us about what’s going to happen:

• They tell us when housing prices will bottom out
• They tell us when stock markets will rebound for good
• They tell us what the economy will do over the next 12 months

But none of them operate with the proverbial crystal ball — it’s all on “gut”. But, I guess I cut them a little slack… I mean, after all, in a world of 24-hour news… they gotta have someone say something new don’t they. Oh, the monster we have created! ROFL

Want another example you say? [Herb, they want another example…] How about today’s CNNMoney.com. In the after math of the govt’s financial ‘response’, a mortgage analyst predicts 7% interest rates over the next 6 months. This would represent a 1.5% increase from recent lows. I guess it is possible, but not ‘likely’ [Oops, i just did it, geez.] Orlando FHA loans have been low too.

Anyway, the rate prediction may be accurate, but it may not. When will we know? In, say, about 6 months i reckon!

But what we know today, though, is that Orlando mortgage rates are all over the place — just like the stock market. One day up, another day down. And nobody knows what they’ll do tomorrow.

Predicting the future has always been an inexact science… maybe art would be a better word… but that won’t stop the ‘experts’ from trying. And the experts are wrong as often as anybody else.

That all being said, my ‘expert’ opinion [don’t worry… the irony is not lost on me] is to not let market conditions trump your personal conditions. Logically, we ALL should be buying Orlando real estate right now… buy low – sell high, right? But the truth is, our personal finances are a very emotional issue… not a logical one. To think otherwise would be foolhardy. If the time is right to buy a house for you… buy one and feel fortunate that the housing gods* are in alignment with you. If it is not the right time for you, don’t do something foolish just because the deals are everywhere!

Just my .02 =0)

Chris

*for the record, I am a Christian and do not believe in said ‘housing gods’… but rather one sovereign God. This statement is made for the entertainment value to the reader. Do not sue me.