Existing Homes, Condo Sales Rise

According to Florida Realtors, sales of existing homes in Florida rose 12 percent in July 2011 from July 2010, for a total of 15,517 homes sold, up from 13,874. The statewide single-family median sales price was $136,500, which is a slight decrease from the $137,700 in July 2010. Existing condo sales also increased 12 percent, from 5904 units to 6619 units. The median condo sales price was $90,900, a four percent increase from July 2011, when it was $87,800.

More Homeowners Getting Shorter Mortgages

In the first quarter 2011, 34 percent of those who refinanced switched to a 15- or 20-year loan term from a 30-year term, which is the highest level since 2004, according to Freddie Mac. A vice-president at Lending Tree said requests for 15-year mortgages has increased 30 percent in the last year. And Quicken Loans reports that the most popular loan term in their new Yourgage program (which allows borrowers to select their desired term) is eight years, followed by 13 years.

In fact, rates are so low that some borrowers could switch to a 15-year term at 3.5 percent from a 30-year term at 6 percent and not see their payments go up. However, not everyone can qualify to refinance. Borrowers usually need a credit score of 720 and at least 20% equity in their home to obtain the best rates. If you don't qualify, you can always make extra mortgage payments in order to pay down your principal more quickly.

Founder of ForSalebyOwner.com Uses Broker to Sell His Condo

Colby Sambrotto, the founder of ForSalebyOwner.com, used a real estate agent to sell his Manhattan condo when he failed to sell it on his own after six months of trying. But the best part is that the agent convinced Mr. Sambrotto that he had underpriced his condo and got him to agree to raise his asking price. After multiple offers were submitted the condo closed for $150,000 more than his original asking price.

It is easier, faster and often more lucrative to use a real estate agent to sell your home. Sellers believe that they will save themselves the sales commission, but buyers expect that savings to be on their end and thus subtract roughly what they think the commission would be from their offer.

Existing Home, Condo Sales Rise

According to Florida Realtors, existing home sales rose 1 percent statewide in the second quarter of 2011 compared with a year earlier. The second quarter of 2010 saw 51,973 homes sold and that rose to 52,421 for 2011. Condos saw a much larger gain of 14 percent, from 22,137 to 25,263.

The good news does not stop there, however. Statewide existing home sales increased 17.7 percent from the first quarter 2011 to the second quarter and condo sales rose 8.1 percent for the same period. The median existing home sales price rose 8.9 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter and the median price for condos rose 17.3 percent.

Existing Home Sales Rise 18 Percent in Palm Beach County

Existing homes sales in Palm Beach County rose 18 percent in the second quarter of 2011 over the same time last year, as compared to a statewide increase of 1 percent. Nationally existing homes sales fell 13 percent. The median sales price for single-family homes in Palm Beach County decreased 13 percent to $206,000; the statewide median sales price decreased 5 percent to $134,600, according to Florida Realtors. Nationally the median existing single-family home prices was $171,900, a decrease of 2.8 percent from a year earlier.

Southern Florida has seen in influx of investors and foreign buyers snapping up fantastic real estate deals. While our market may have been hit hard, Palm Beach County is still one of the most beautiful and desirable places to live and buyers are taking advantage of the lower prices.

Nuisance Tax in West Palm Beach

On Monday the West Palm Beach city commission unanimously voted to pass three chronic nuisance codes that will allow for police and code services to be billed to an owner's property tax bill. The new codes say that if police respond to three nuisance calls on a residential or commercial property within 30 days that the owner will be required to present a written remediation plan and fix the problems or else the cost of code enforcement will be assessed on the property tax bill. The point of the new codes is to discourage nuisance activity and to require property owners and not taxpayers to bear the cost of enforcement.

Obviously this will present a challenge for landlords who will now be financially culpable for the transgressions of their tenants that result in complaints to the police. But it will be good for neighborhoods to finally have a way to penalize residents who violate local codes and laws. And although financial projections were not given, it certainly provides another source of revenue for the city in a time of decreasing property tax revenues.

Rate on 15-Year Mortgage at Record Low

The interest rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.54 percent from 3.66 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac, which is the lowest rate since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1991. The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.39 percent from 4.55 percent.

Bank of American Demolishing Foreclosed Homes

In an effort to lower their supply of the 40,000 foreclosed properties on its books, Bank of America is donating 100 homes in Chicago, 100 in Detroit and 150 in Cleveland to area agencies and is helping to pay for their demolition. The chosen homes are their most decrepit properties, some valued at less than $10,000. The cost of restoring the homes would be higher than their resale value and by donating them and demolishing the bank is no longer responsible for the maintenance or taxes. Bank of America intends to make similar donations to nine other cities this year. The land from the homes will be used for open space, urban farming or development. Fannie Mae, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo also have similar plans.

Banks to Register Abandoned and Foreclosed Properties?

In an initial vote on July 28, Palm Beach County commissioners unanimously voted to create a foreclosure registry. Banks would be required to register the names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for the property managers of properties in foreclosure. A final vote on the issue will be held on August 16.

The registry would be run by Federal Property Registration Corp., located in Melbourne. Banks would have ten days to register the property after a legal notice of action was filed in court. The banks would pay a $150 fee that would be split evenly between Federal Property Registration Corp. and the county. The fee paid to the county would go toward repairing abandoned home and code enforcement. The money spent on repairs could potentially be recouped when the home is sold.

While it would be excellent for the county to have contact information for abandoned properties that are in violation of local codes, there is some concern over whether it is fair to register distressed properties that are still occupied, particularly if the homeowners are pursuing a short sale or loan modification, thus ultimately avoiding foreclosure.