Monday, March 25, 2013

Florida Assist Program

The Florida Assist program offers lower income borrowers up to $7,500 to assist with the down payment and closing costs.  This is a deferred second mortgage with no payments and 0% interest that is repaid when the borrower sells or refinances the home or at the end of the term of their first mortgage.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Home Sales and Prices Continue to Rise According to NAR

Existing-Home Sales and Prices Continue to Rise in February

Media Contact: Walter Molony / 202-383-1177 / 
WASHINGTON (March 21, 2013) - February existing-home sales and prices affirm a healthy recovery is underway in the housing sector, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Sales have been above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, while prices show 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.

Total existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million in February from an upwardly revised 4.94 million in January, and are 10.2 percent above the 4.52 million-unit level seen in February 2012. February sales were at the highest level since the tax credit period of November 2009.

Distressed homes4 - foreclosures and short sales - accounted for 25 percent of February sales, up from 23 percent in January but down from 34 percent in February 2012. Fifteen percent of February sales were foreclosures, and 10 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 18 percent below market value in February, while short sales were discounted 15 percent.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.53 percent in February from 3.41 percent in January; it was 3.89 percent in February 2012.


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NOTE: For local information, please contact the local association of Realtors® for data from local multiple listing services. Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and price information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.

1 Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from Multiple Listing Services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR rebenchmarks home sales periodically using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.
Existing-home sales, based on closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau's series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which account for more than 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger data sample - about 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month - and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.
Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.

4 Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions and investors are from a monthly survey for the NAR's Realtors® Confidence Index, posted at Realtor.org.

The Pending Home Sales Index for February will be released March 27, and existing-home sales for March is scheduled for April 22; release times are 10:00 a.m. EDT.

Marco island Real Estate Sales Statistics - February 2013

Marco Island Real Estate Sales Statistics - February 2013

                           Year 2013 vs 2012

Active Listings
  • Single Family    370   389   
  • Condominium    544   661
  • Lots                  276   336      
Pending Listings
  • Single Family     30   47
  • Condominium     54   67 
  • Lots                   13   20        
Closed Sales
  • Single Family    39   24 
  • Condominium   32   30 
  • Lots                22   16        
Average Sales Price
  • Single Family $667,717   $747,354
  • Condominium $509,431   $397,867
  • Lots               $236,883   $347,563
For more information regarding Marco Island Real Estate, please call me at 239-404-7471.

Marco Island Real Estate Sales Statistics January 2013

Marco Island Real Estate Sales Statistics - January 2013

                      Year   2013  vs 2012

Active Listings
  • Single Family     342   389
  • Condominium    530   666
  • Lots                   278   347
Pending Listings
  • Single Family     46    47 
  • Condominium     70   59 
  • Lots                15   12       
Closed Sales
  • Single Family     21   22
  • Condominium    35   31
  • Lots                   5    16
Average Sales Price
  • Single Family $704,190   $880,901
  • Condominium $442,300   $341,024
  • Lots               $374,600     $282,165
For more information on Marco Island Real Estate  please call me at 239-404-7471.