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The News
International Interest in U.S. Homeownership Increases, Realtors Report Monday, 26 July 2010 09:42 |   
International home buyers are increasingly attracted to property in the U.S., according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2010 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. Several factors, including the strength of the dollar, the value and desirability of U.S. real estate, and the emerging economic recovery, continue to drive international interest in owning a home in this country. “While all real estate in the U.S. is local, the same is not true for property owners,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder. “The U.S. continues to be a top destination for international buyers from all over the world. Foreign buyers understand the value of owning a home in this country and can rely on Realtors to help guide them through the complex process of buying property in the U.S. With expertise, knowledge and experience, Realtors have a global perspective.” The survey covers the period between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010. During that time, foreign buyers, including those with residency outside the U.S. as well as recent immigrants and temporary visa holders, are estimated to have purchased $66 billion of U.S. residential property, or 7% of the residential market. Slightly more than a quarter of Realtors, 28%, reported working with at least one international client in the past year. This is a significant increase from the 2009 report, when 23% of Realtors worked with foreign clients. Eighteen percent of all Realtors were estimated to have completed at least one sale, compared to 12% last year. International buyers came from 53 different countries around the world. The top four countries were Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and China/Hong Kong. With 23% of international buyers coming from Canada, the country has remained the largest buying group in the past three years. Foreign buyers from Mexico have been steadily increasing. In 2010, Mexico replaced the U.K. as the second largest buying group with 10% of buyers. Buyers from the U.K. decreased from 10.5% in 2009 to 9% in 2010. Eight percent of recent buyers came from China/Hong Kong. Two factors important to international clients when purchasing property in the U.S. are proximity to their home country and the convenience of air transportation. Florida typically attracts European, Canadian and South American buyers while the East Coast draws Europeans. The West Coast brings Asian buyers and the Southwest attracts Mexicans. International buyers were reported in 39 states in 2010, but a slight majority of the total buyers are concentrated in Florida, California, Arizona and Texas. These four states account for 53% of purchases and have remained the top destinations for the past three years, with Florida and California remaining the top two destinations. A majority of international buyers, 66%, purchased single-family detached homes. However, more international buyers purchased a condo than did their U.S. counterparts, at 23% and 7%, respectively. Only 44% of international buyers used a mortgage to pay for their home, compared to 92% of domestic buyers. Fifty-five percent of foreign buyers paid all cash. Realtors reported that a majority of international buyers use all cash because of the difficulty in establishing international credit in the U.S. Over one-third, 34% of potential foreign buyers were unable to complete transactions because of financing problems in the U.S Short sales not immune to debt collectorsMonday, 26 July 2010 09:41 |
With more than half of the Central Florida’s homeowners owing more for their homes than the properties are worth, the question for some has become: How do I get out of this?
Of all the existing-home sales reported by Realtors in the core Orlando market in May, 23 percent were short sales. They are called “short” sales because the sales price come up “short” of, or less than, the amount owed on the mortgage. What these homeowners, whose loans are “underwater,” may not realize is that they could successfully complete a short sale of their house but then face a lawsuit from their lender for not paying off the entire loan, a shortfall known as a “deficiency.” At particular risk of being hit with such a debt judgment are owners of second homes and investment properties, homeowners who haven’t faced any kind of financial hardship, and owners who have a second mortgage. “That’s going to be a huge problem moving forward in the next few years,” said Orlando lawyer Matt Englett, who specializes in home foreclosures. “These people who use Realtors to advise them on the transactions can end up facing deficiencies, and the deficiency notes will go to third-party collections agencies, and they will start suing and progressively pursuing those people.” Officials launch ad campaign: Bay Area beaches are openMonday, 26 July 2010 09:36 |
Some beaches in northern Florida are fighting off the oil, but here in the Bay Area, we're fighting perceptions. The TV and radio ads developed by state tourism officials are clear: Florida is open for business and most of the state's beaches remain free of oil. Even so, it is still unclear just how many people are getting the message. "Our challenge right now is there's an HD camera, 24-7, of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico," said David Downing of Visit St. Pete Clearwater. "We're the number one tourist destination on the Gulf of Mexico. It's really hard to separate that image from our destination." To fight the images and the perception, Pinellas tourism officials are launching a new ad campaign this week, saying in part: "Here in St. Pete-Clearwater, our beaches are still America's best beaches. As pristine as ever. We're open. Wide open." The ads are paid for with $1.15 million in BP grant money. Tampa home prices find balance in MayWednesday, 23 June 2010 10:18 |
Home prices continue to stabilize in the Greater Tampa area as single-family sales climb. The median sales price for existing single-family homes in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater in May dropped just 1 percent compared with the year before on the heels of a 20 percent increase in sales from 2,427 units to just under 3,000, according to Florida Realtors. That was better than the state average, which experienced a 2 percent median price drop, but still trailing Sarasota and Bradenton, where median prices climbed 6 percent to $166,400 and sales grew 31 percent to 1,029 homes. Lakeland single-family home sales grew 8 percent to 346 homes while the median price there dropped 7 percent to $104,500. The median price for existing condominiums didn’t fare as well in Tampa. It dropped 5 percent to $103,700 in May. That was despite sales growing 47 percent to 878 units. Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in MayWednesday, 23 June 2010 10:16 |
Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 18 percent in May, marking 21 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.
A total of 16,745 single-family existing homes sold statewide last month compared to 14,172 homes sold in May 2009, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide existing-home median price of $140,400 in May was slightly higher – by $300 – than April's statewide existing-home median price of $140,100. It marks the third month in a row that the statewide existing-home median price has increased over the previous month's median. Across the state, a variety of housing opportunities continues to be available at attractive prices while mortgage interest rates remain historically low, said 2010 Florida Realtors President Wendell Davis, a broker with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville. No flood insurance available againFriday, 18 June 2010 12:08 |
For the third time this year, the National Flood Insurance Program lapsed which means if your lender mandates you have flood insurance to buy a home, the transaction will not move forward until Congress renews the availability of it.
New Orleans home buyers, Bennett and Leslie Straight are among the thousands of buyers who cannot move forward with their home purchase. "It's mind boggling," she says, "that they can't do this so as to make it possible for people to buy homes and improve the economy." The Flood Insurance Program expired at the end of May and Congress has yet to reach an agreement on how to renew it. NAR Commends Senators for Offering Homebuyer Tax Credit ExtensionTuesday, 15 June 2010 13:49 |
The National Association of Realtors on June 11 expressed thanks on behalf of America’s homebuyers to three Senators for introducing a measure to extend the present home-buyer tax credit closing deadline to Sept. 30.
They are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn. “As the leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, NAR commends these Senators for their attentiveness and sensitivity to thousands of qualified home purchasers, who through no fault of their own, are not able to meet the closing deadline of June 30 for the homebuyer tax credit. Now we urge the Senate and the House to act quickly to pass this legislation and ease the minds and pocketbooks of these homebuyers,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz. The measure was offered as an amendment to H.R. 4213, a tax extension bill now in the Senate. NAR estimates the number of home buyers who have qualified for the tax credit and met the contract deadline of April 30, but who would not be able to close their transaction by the June 30 deadline, could go as high as 180,000. Realtors have reported as many as one-third of qualified applicants have been notified by lenders that their mortgages will not close before June 30 due to the sheer volume of applications in the pipeline. Last Updated (Tuesday, 15 June 2010 13:51) Foreign buyers are flocking to Florida condos againWednesday, 02 June 2010 08:07 |
Nearly 800 Canadians jammed a hotel ballroom near the Toronto airport Sunday to hear the gospel of Florida real estate.
High-end Brazilian buyers prefer to be wooed more intimately – perhaps at a cocktail party or a small private dinner – but they are just as pumped. Lured by rock-bottom prices, international buyers are now flocking to buy Florida properties. It’s especially true in countries where the currency is strong against the dollar. “We’re telling Canadians this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – the perfect storm,” said Brian Ellis, who heads Toronto-based Florida Home Finders of Canada. “The prices are just incredible and the Canadian dollar has been so strong.” At least three of five buyers in the Greater Downtown Miami condo market are coming from abroad, estimates Jenny Huertas, international sales director for Condo Vultures, a real estate advisory and research firm. The stampede from overseas is “kind of like a foreign subsidy helping us resolve our real estate problems,” said Peter Zalewski, a Condo Vultures principal. Next few weeks are crucial for home buyersTuesday, 01 June 2010 15:24 |
The next few weeks are crucial for home buyers, who need to close a purchase by the end of June to claim the federal home-buyer tax credit. A hiccup during the next month could cost a buyer thousands of dollars. "If for some unforeseen reason you end up closing on July 1, you lose out on the tax credit," said John T. Walsh, president of Total Mortgage Services in Milford, Conn. To qualify for the credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for some repeat buyers, a contract had to be in place by April 30. Eligible buyers now need to close those transactions by June 30. National Flood Insurance likely to expireTuesday, 01 June 2010 08:33 |
As of Friday, Congress was still trying to avoid a lapse in the National Flood Insurance Program. The program will expire Monday, May 31 unless Congress will have reached an agreement on an extension before adjourning for the Memorial Day recess. The best information we have received from our Congressional allies is that it is likely an agreement was not reached before the expiration. During the Memorial Day congressional recess, NAR Federal Political Coordinators will be setting up meetings with Members of Congress to urge immediate action on a lasting NFIP extension. Additional information regarding NAR’s policy position is available at www.realtor.org. |
Consumer confidence rises in MayThursday, 27 May 2010 08:55 |
Americans' confidence in the economy rose in May for the third straight month, fueled by growing optimism about future job prospects.
Still, many worry improvements in shoppers' mood and spending may be reversed because of sharp declines on Wall Street fueled by fears that a debt crisis in Europe could hammer global growth. The Conference Board, based in New York, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 63.3, up from a revised 57.7 reading in April. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected 59. The increase was boosted by consumers' outlook over the next six months, one component of the index, which soared to 85.3 from 77.4, the highest seen since it reached 89.2 in August 2007, before the economy entered in a recession. Warning: Flood insurance expires MondayThursday, 27 May 2010 08:15 |
The National Association of Realtors(NAR) hopes to see a flood insurance extension before the deadline, but a possible hiatus could threaten some scheduled closings.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) lapsed briefly earlier this year and it's set to expire again on Monday, May 31, 2010. In a letter sent out to Realtors today, NAR said it's working with Congressional allies to avoid another potential lapse in the program. NAR is actively lobbying for passage of several pieces of legislation that are moving through Congress and contain NFIP extensions of varying length. It is unclear, however, which extension is likely to pass before the deadline. Each extension bill has different provisions, and the number of them could make passage more difficult as lawmakers get behind different bills, leaving no single bill with the necessary number of votes for passage. FEMA offers insurance rate cuts under remappingMonday, 24 May 2010 08:21 |
Property owners across the country fearing they may be forced to buy expensive flood insurance under a push to draw up new floodplain maps will catch a break by being offered the coverage at sharply lower rates for two years, a key lawmaker said.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said the Federal Emergency Management Agency's decision to offer the cheaper rates on properties affected by changes to flood hazard maps dramatically softens the financial blow for southwestern Illinois and other affected regions – at least for now. FEMA has agreed to offer up to two years' eligibility for the National Flood Insurance Program's Preferred Risk Policy – the program's lowest-cost option – to small businesses and homeowners on any land the new maps show are in newly designated special flood hazard areas. The new rates are available after the redrawn maps take effect, in many cases this fall or early next year. Survey: 4 in 10 homeowners would consider walking away from ‘underwater’ mortgageMonday, 24 May 2010 08:12 |
More than 40 percent of homeowners with a mortgage say they would consider abandoning an "underwater" property, according to a national online survey released Thursday.
The study conducted this month by Harris Interactive for real estate firms Trulia and RealtyTrac touched on a topic that affects many South Floridians. More than 371,000 homes in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties were worth less than the mortgage amount at the end of the first quarter, Zillow.com said recently. |
