It's Halloween

Sometimes there are just some fun sites out there and the following link is to the top ten haunted houses on the market in the US.
Happy Halloween: The Top 10 Haunted Homes for Sale

I am also including a link to one of the nicest and most unique riverfront lots now available.  It is over 200 feet on the water and already landscaped.  We just reduced the price $100,000, if you know someone who is looking you might pass the link on it is truly beautiful.

http://pub.realtyweb.net/link.html?ud9961jf6sj,14,1

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Landscaping - Really?

Great, Friday afternoon and you want to talk about landscaping?   Tomorrow is Florida - Georgia or for my North of the border friends Georgia - Florida and I know you do not want to talk about yardwork but if you are thinking about selling your home now or even next year, you need to make sure that FIRST impression is a good one.  As far as a return on the $$ invested this may be the highest.  A few flowers well placed and the yard cut and edged will make all the difference in the world.  If it gets out of hand you can expect low offers or buyers wont even stop.  I've attached a link about this and a few other tips for selling this fall!

OK so get up early, get a little exercise in the yard and then enjoy the game!

3 Tips to Sell Your Home This Fall

Rent versus buy

This has always been the debate and in the past we took into consideration appreciation.  Well what happens if there is little appreciation.  A current report (link) says that those that rent spend a higher proportion of their earnings on housing than those that own.  This is because rent rates are going up and prices have fallen.  The decision to rent or buy can be difficult and is certainly different in each case.  We are handling both rentals and sales and the rental market is certainly the stronger.  Most homes or condos on the rental market and properly priced are vacant for less than 30 days.

By the way, if you are in the office or home most of today, step out ...now.  It is a beautiful day jsut take a 5 minute stroll.

Renters Outspend Owners on Housing

I won't post two in one day unless important

For those of you that are looking for bank owned property or just curious about real estate auctions, follow this link.  This site describes 26 properties owned by a local bank that are being auctioned off on November 17.  Several of the properties are in Clay county and some are residential and some are commercial.  Remember in the description that "absolute" means they will sell that day otherwise the bank will probably have a minimum.  If you have questions or would like to be there or even over the internet and want to be represented by a real estate professional (I hope you will consider me) just let me know, it will not cost you anything and you do not save anything by not haveing a Realtor represent you.  Happy Hunting!

http://www.rowellauctions.com/index.php?subp=1&sct=&pg=ap&pid=24042&ap_sub=cat

New home ...Really?

Do not rule out a new house for fear that it will cost twice as much as a re-sale.  There are a ton of lots on the market almost everywhere that are CHEAP.  Builders have bought up a lot of lots at very low prices in order to be competitive with re-sales.  The cost of construction is down over previous years and if you are looking at buying a home and living there 20 years, you may want to get it just like you want it in the beginning as opposed to making changes to the bargain house over the next several years.  The attached article speaks to the rise in September of new home sales.

  http://rismedia.com/2011-10-20/housing-starts-surge-in-september/

Rember, if you have thoughts you want to share with others reading the BLOG just write a comment.  Have a great week!

It's Friday

Friday is not the last day of the week but often times it seems like it.  In real estate the weekend can be very busy but normally Friday's seem to wind things down.  The same is for the year end real estate market.  November and December are not our busiest months due to the holidays but there is still business to be done.  Some buyers want to be in by Christmas and they will start to push, others will drop prices knowing it is a slow season.  Call it only a hunch and I have tried to not do hunches the past few years but I think the early part of 2012 is going to be stronger than this past year in the real estate market and I think we will actually start to see a slight up tick in prices.

This is a goodarticle from the Wall Street Journal, the writer thinks that now might be the time to reconsider real estate.
 Have a great weekend!

http://www.linkedin.com/e/7leben-gtzgzdja-61/nab/843046475/0ScP0UdzkMdjwIdjoNcPcVczgUb3kQczgMcjAQe2MRc30Pd3AUd3wIdjsQdzgMcPgU/true/weekly/eml-tod-b-ttle-44/?hs=false&tok=3O4X8xzVX9tAY1

There are some deals out there

This link will hopefully take you to a list of homes in Clay County currntly owned by banks.  Some of these will be soldsubstantially under even crrent market prices and some will be on the list 6 months from now but for the foreseeable future there will certainly be a list with homes being added almost every day and also being sold almost as often.  The good thing is that once they are owned by the bank, the process is normally much shorter than the "short sale" process.

Take a look and share these with your friends, if you have any questions please call , e-mail or comment.

http://pub.realtyweb.net/link.html?ud5cfqhl26a,14,1

Foreclosures

Foreclosures are a complicated subject with a lot of pieces.  SUffice it to say right now that they are a mixed bag in the market place.  Over the past three years they have been the hot topic.  Everyone has to understand that foreclosures are dealt with differently by each of what seems to be 100's of banks.  Overall, the trend for banks currently is to try to work out loans with home owners but this certainly does not work all of the time.  According to the attached link, the number of foreclosures in many markets is down but there will be a steady stream for the foreseeable future.

As you have questions about foreclosure please let me know.  Over this week I will send out a few specific homes in our area.

http://www.inman.com/news/2011/10/11/foreclosure-slowdown-stabilizes-real-estate-values

Mortgages

No one wants to talk about borrowing now after the problems the last 4 years.  But the rates are at an all-time low and even if you are not buying, you may want to consider re-financing.  This is a link to some current numbers.  Personally, I do not see real significant changes for the next 12 months but the combination of low housing prices and low rates make this a good market to consider.

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/10/12/mba-mortgage-applications-increase-1-3?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=beta&utm_content=Real+Estate+News&utm_term=Charlotte+Real+Estate

I promised some more sales numbers:
Duval County (without beaches) 2010 1/1 - 9/30 =6,178  2011 = 5,797 or a drop of 6.2%
Jacksonville Beaches 2010 = 457  2011 = 464  +1.5%
Nassau County 2010 = 282  2011 = 305  +8.2%

"So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work"
   Peter Drucker

Answer First, then some numbers

John, that was a great question in the comments but not a "softball"!  Right now the rental market for residential is tightening up and we are not only seeing a drop for instance in vacancies in CLay county in particular but we are starting to see a rise in rent rates as well.  There are still many financially distressed pieces coming to the market which will make a very reasonable return for the investor that has cash to put in the market.  However on the commercial side, I still see a soft market and those properties that have at least a reasonable rent roll are holding fast and the only real deals are properties that are vacant or under leased and finding tenants is still not easy, commercially.

Closer to home, here are some numbers to ponder:
According to NEFAR MLS residential homes (not Condos) sales (closings) in Clay County 1/1/2010 through 9/1/2010 = 1649
   For 2011 for this time frame = 1744 or 5.8% increase

For St Johns County 2010 = 1743 and for 2011 = 1927 or 9.5% increase

Tomorrow I will give you the Duval and Nassau county figures.

"There but for the grace of God, go I"  John Bradford 1555

We are going to have some fun

I love Northeast Florida and I really like real estate, so I have decided to do my best to talk about and inform friends and clients as to changes in the market place her in our area and the state and nation.  Today I am attaching an article that talks about some optimism in the real estate investment market, please note it is written by an economist for the National Association of Realtors.  Let me know what you think about the article or any other question you have been thinking about

Ready to invest in homes again.