Orlando Real Estate - Blog

“Research by the National Association of REALTORS® shows bank-owned and distressed homes typically sell for 20 percent less than normal homes,” explains Simmonds, “and with these types of homes accounting for nearly 50 percent of sales in Orlando, they are naturally creating a downward distortion in median price. It’s important for owners to keep in mind that the distorted median price doesn’t equate to a similar loss of values for traditional homes in good condition.”

The reported $128,000 median price encompasses all types of sales situations. The median price for “normal” sales is $165,000 (holding steady from last month). The median price for bank-owned sales is $84,050 (down a fraction from last month’s 84,500), and the median price for distressed sales is $125,800 (down 9.82 percent from last month’s $139,500).

The $128,000 median sales price of all existing homes sold in August declined 3.76 percent from the $133,000 recorded in July. That same median price is a decrease of 36.00 percent compared to August 2008’s median of $200,000.

Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association in July sold 65.23 percent more homes than in August of last year, contributing to the area’s year-to-date sales increase of 49.40 percent. There were 2,115 closings in August, which brings the year’s total to 14,496, while a total of 9,703 homes had changed by this time last year. Of those August sales, 49.08 percent of the homes were either bank-owned (850) or distressed (188). The remaining (1,077) “normal” sales made up 50.92 percent. complete story

Source: Orlando Realtor Association 

Stop Foreclosure  Save Your Credit Orlando Short Sales

83% of U.S. homes declined in value over the past year

RISMEDIA, September 14, 2009—Four times a year, Zillow.com conducts a survey with Harris Interactive to get a pulse on how homeowners perceive the value of their own homes and their local real estate market. Our quest – to find out how realistic homeowners are about their own homes’ values, and how optimistic (or not) they are about the coming six months.

It’s a fascinating trip into the psyche of owning a home in the midst of the greatest housing recession of our generation. Are we realistic? Are we in denial? We’ve seen it all in the past year, and this quarter’s results are telling of a group that largely “gets it” about the bad news, but just wants things to get better. By the numbers, here’s what we found:

Similar to Q1, most homeowners acknowledge that their own home’s value has declined over the past year.

Additional survey results include:

• 22% think their home’s value has increased

• 19% think their home’s value has stayed the same

• 60% think their home’s value has decreased

In reality, 83% of U.S. homes declined in value over the past year, according to the analysis of Zillow’s Q2 Real Estate Market Reports – up from 80% in Q1. With more homes losing value, the “misperception gap” between homeowner perception and reality grew to a Home Value Misperception Index of 13, up from 6 in the first quarter, and up from 11 in Q4 2008. An index of zero would mean homeowners’ perceptions were in line with actual values. complete story

Source: RISMedia - Zillow.com 

Florida Real Estate Resource

http://blog.orlandorealtyresource.com

The purpose of this blog is to provide useful real estate information, which will assist both buyers and sellers. We will provide you with valuable market updates, statistical data and new trends as they develop. Many consumers find it difficult to locate the information they need when looking to buy and sell a home. This site is being provided as a free service to assist buyers and sellers in the Florida housing market make informed real estate decisions. In order to better educate and inform buyers and sellers, we will continue to develop and provide a set of comprehensive FREE Florida Real Estate Reports as a FREE No-Obligation service to our visitors. In the hope, you who visit this site and in turn, consider us in order to assist you in the purchase or sale of your home.

We truly hope that you find our blog postings, information, tools and resources helpful and we look forward to building a potential business relationship in the future.

Home Buyers - Get the Most for Your Money

Home Sellers - Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar

Sales

In the Orlando office of CB Richard Ellis, David Murphy, senior vice president, and Erik Schwetje, vice president, represented the sellers, Roosevelt and Zsuzsa Rastegar, in sale of a 58,910-square-foot warehouse at 650 Technology Park in Lake Mary for $3.4million. The buyer, Greenwood Properties LLC, was represented by Robin Kesler of Re/Max. ... complete story

Source: Orlando Sentinel - Mary Shanklin

Stop Foreclosure  Save Your Credit Orlando Short Sales

If you’ve ever sold one of the Orlando homes, you’ve probably heard the term “curb appeal” more times than you care to count from your real estate agent. Well, it’s time to hear it again, but maybe in a way you hadn’t considered.

With curb appeal, you might think of cutting your lawn, trimming bushes and getting rid of weeds. Have you considered that creating a beautiful landscape for your home can add resale value? Here are some tips on how to do just that:

Planting Frenzy

A beautiful landscape adds increasing value over time. That doesn’t mean you go on a planting frenzy, however. As a landscaping do-it-yourselfer, you don’t want buy a whole bunch of plants and throw them in the ground. You need to purchase the type of plants that will give your home the best resale value. The types of plants that add more resale value to Orlando homes are trees and long-living flowering shrubs. Others, such as perennials, add less resale value, and still others, like vegetable gardens that need to be replaced yearly, add the least amount of value to a home.

Steps to Take

By following these steps in order, you have a much better chance of getting the best resale value out of your landscaping work:

1. Talk to the experts

Local nurseries, gardeners and professional landscapers can help you with what to plant, how to plant and where to find them.

2. Check grading and drainage

Bad drainage can ruin a lot of landscaping work, as can a poorly graded lawn. Pay attention during a heavy rain and make sure there is no erosion in your planned area, and no standing water. Both conditions can make a mess of landscaping.

3. Remove local plant pests

Local plant pests include such things as eucalyptus, scotch broom, pampas grass and certain types of ivy. These plants can quickly overgrow your garden, lowering your property value. If you have any plant pests, check online or with professionals to find out how to remove them.

4. Design

As any good landscaper knows, always start out by drawing out a landscape design on graph paper. Pay attention to the spacing needed for each plant, as well as such things as when the flowers will bloom and what the colors will look like together.

5. Prepare the soil

Not every yard has soil that’s perfect for planting. Make sure you have a good soil mix and make sure the plants you use match the PH of the soil.

6. Start planting!

Orlando homes with beautiful landscapes have a much better chance of selling, and selling well. Turn your thumb green and get to work on your home’s curb appeal.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, with or without a beautiful landscape, we can help. Call us at 407-876-5771 for more information.

Are you looking at homes for sale in Orlando and feeling overwhelmed by the choices? Back in the Dark Ages before the Internet (1986 or so), if you wanted to look at a house, you had to call a real estate agent, find out the address and then physically drive to the house. Thanks to the Internet, however, you can start narrowing down your choices before you ever talk to your agent.

What do you need to know?

Looking online can give you the information you want to know about the homes for sale in Orlando. However, if you just go surfing on the Web, that information can be as overwhelming as the number of choices. Before you start shopping online, make a list of the things that are important to you about the city or neighborhood in which you want to live, such as:

• What are the average property taxes in the neighborhood?
• What is the average utility cost for the home?
• What is the neighborhood like?
• How high is the crime rate in the neighborhood?
• What is the average climate of the city?
• What is the unemployment rate of the city?
• How good are the schools?

Once you have your list of questions, go online with an eye to answering them. Here is a list of links that might help you on your quest for information:

My Government Website – Sunshine Review: Here you can find a list of cities with official websites. Choose the city you’re looking for and be magically transported by way of the Internet to that city’s official website. You’ll find all the great stuff that calls people to move to a particular city, including attractions, businesses, restaurants and beautiful housing developments.

City Data: City Data is just that - a website with nothing but data on U.S. cities. You’ll find the nice and not so nice information about any city. Crime rates, shortest commute, weather patterns and more, all at your fingertips. The only drawback is that the information is two years old.

Interest: Interest.com will show you the current mortgage interest rates for the area you’re interested in.

By gathering all this information, you have a much better chance of choosing one of the homes for sale in Orlando that fits your needs. Once you have it all, you can search online or take the information to your real estate agent and get help with your house hunting.

Are you looking for the perfect house? Let us help. Call us today at 407-876-5771 for more information.

Every industry has a few myths. Look at science – according to myth, if you’re a scientist, you’re also a lone wolf and a geek. Now, I’ve known one or two scientists, and they were anything but. Orlando real estate agents carry around a few myths of their own, passed around from homeowner to homeowner since the dawn of time.

Myth #1: Every agent drives a brand new, high-end car. Now, I don’t know about other Orlando real estate agents, but I tooled around town for several years in a used older-model Honda. Not very hip, but it got me where I needed to go. While it’s true I now have a newer car, it’s definitely not brand new, and certainly not high-end.

Myth #2: Lenders and inspectors give agents kickbacks. Not unless those lenders, inspectors and agents want to go to jail. You see, in 1974, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was passed. The RESPA says receiving or giving kickbacks is illegal. I don’t know about anybody else, but I’d rather keep my real estate license.

Myth #3: Agents make a lot of money. Those that pass this little myth around have never asked an agent. Remember the Honda from Myth #1? Once all of our fees are paid, such as MLS fees, overhead, insurance and other expenses, most agents average a salary of around $36,000. For those that don’t know, middle class is somewhere around $75,000 and above.

Myth #4: Agents will say anything to get a sale. Some agents might lie to you, but most won’t. Personal reputation is especially important in the real estate business. An agent with a reputation for lying soon ends up out of work or without a license. Most agents, like me, are in this business because they love to work with people.

Myth #5: The higher the sale price, the more agents make. Many think that agents would be ecstatic if they sold a house for $10,000 more than expected because of their real estate agents' commission. If they are, they’re ecstatic for the client, not themselves. While the seller makes around $10,000, the agent makes about $150. With today’s prices, $150 doesn’t go very far and certainly isn't worth comprising their integrity.

The next time you think about Orlando real estate agents and everything you know about them, consider where you got the information. Is it something that “everybody knows” or something you know from experience?

If you’re looking for a professional agent who puts your needs first, you've found the right team. To learn more about us and the services we offer, call 407-876-5771.

By now, everyone has heard, and understands, the term “down market.” It sounds like a really bad thing, doesn’t it? However, with the help of your Orlando real estate agent, you can take advantage of the many wonderful bargains to be had. Here are a few tips on how to do just that:

#1. Do Your Research

Right now, you have a great advantage as a buyer. Housing prices are generally lower and sellers or normally more willing to negotiate. In addition, there are tons of listings available, so you aren’t stuck with only two or three choices. This is where your Orlando real estate agent comes in.

Once you know the area you’re interested in, you’ll need to know the price range in the area. Knowing what the expensive, median and low prices are can give you room to bargain. Look online, but also check with your agent. If they don’t know the area themselves, a good agent will have contacts that do.

#2. Get Organized

Organization is essential in a down market. You aren’t the only one looking for a bargain on a home, and if you find one you like but delay the buying process, you could lose a great deal. To cover for this possibility, make sure you’re prepared to buy at a moment’s notice.

Get pre-approved for a mortgage (not pre-qualified) and have someone on hand for the closing paperwork. Have a home inspector and insurance agent close by, as well as your real estate agent. The more necessary people you have lined up, the better the chance of getting the deal you’re hoping for.

#3. Use Your Agent

If someone wants to sell his or her home in a hurry, you have better bargaining power. This is the best place to take advantage of your real estate agent. You want those motivated sellers, and a good agent knows how to spot them. As well, they can find out if there’s been a price drop and if the house has been on the market for a long time.

A Orlando real estate agent is a great asset in a down market. If you’re going to hire one, make sure you take advantage of their knowledge and expertise, no matter whether you’re selling or buying.

If you’re looking for a bargain on a great home, we can help. Call us at 407-876-5771 for more information.