NAR forecast: Rise in housing activity

NAR forecast: Rise in housing activity May 25, 2011 Share | WASHINGTON – May 13, 2011 – Home sales are expected to stay on an uptrend through 2012, although the performance will be uneven with mortgage constraints weighing on the market, according to experts at a residential real estate forum today at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here. “If we just hold at the first-quarter sales pace of 5.1 million, sales this year would rise 4 percent, but the remainder of the year looks better,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “We expect 5.3 million existing-home sales this year, up from 4.9 million in 2010, with additional gains in 2012 to about 5.6 million – that’s a sustainable level given the size of our population.” Mortgage interest rates should rise gradually to 5.5 percent by the end of the year and average 6.0 percent in 2012 – still relatively affordable by historic standards. “A huge volume of cash sales, supported by the recovery in the stock market, show that smart money is chasing real estate. This implies that there could be a sizeable pent-up demand if mortgages become more readily accessible for qualified buyers,” Yun said. “The problem isn’t with interest rates, but with the continuation of unnecessarily tight credit standards that are keeping many creditworthy buyers from getting a loan despite extraordinarily low default rates over the past two years.” Yun said that if credit requirements returned to normal, safe standards, home sales would be 15 to 20 percent higher. He added that some parents are buying homes with cash for their children, and offering them loans, which provide better returns than bank accounts or CDs. Yun projects the Gross Domestic Product to grow 2.5 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2012, adding 1.5 million to 2 million jobs yearly over the next two years. The unemployment rate should decline to 8.8 percent by the end of 2011 and average 8.6 percent next year, returning to a normal level of 6 percent around 2015.

 

Source: FloridaRealtors.org http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=259939

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Florida foreclosures down in April

 Florida foreclosures down in April

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 13, 2011 – Foreclosures in April were a whopping 59 percent lower in Florida than a year ago.

 

 Source: News Service of Florida, Michael Peltier

 

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Economy, affordability to drive home sales growth

Economy, affordability to drive home sales growth

May 19, 2011

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 WASHINGTON – May 16, 2011 – Home sales are on track to outperform last year, even though the market doesn’t have the benefit of the homebuyer tax credit, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told a packed room on Thursday during the Residential Economic Update at the 2011 Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings. read more . . .

 

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Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in 1Q 2011

May 16, 2011

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 Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in 1Q 2011 Related:

NAR: Existing-home sales rise in most states in 1Q

ORLANDO, Fla. – May 10, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales rose in first quarter 2011 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 13 percent in 1Q 2011 with a total of 44,531 homes sold statewide; during the same period the year before, a total of 39,406 homes changed hands according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos in the first quarter rose 29 percent compared to the year-ago sales figure.

Source: Floridarealtors.org

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Home Market Takes a Tumble

BY NICK TIMIRAOS AND DAWN WOTAPKA

Home values posted the largest decline in the first quarter since late 2008, prompting many economists to push back their estimates of when the housing market will hit a bottom.

Home values fell 3% in the first quarter from the previous quarter and 1.1% in March from the previous month, pushed down by an abundance of foreclosed homes on the market, according to data to be released Monday by real-estate website Zillow.com. Prices have now fallen for 57 consecutive months, according to Zillow.

Source:  Wallstreet Journal click here for article

 

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Sanibel's Real Estate Pending Sales Statistics

May 11, 2011

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  Pending  Sanibel 2011 Residential  total #’s 

5/11   4/27   4/20    4/13   4/6   3/23   3/16      3/8      2/24     2/17

  48       43       42     34       34    34      34        40        30         31

Pending  Sanibel 2011 Condominiums total #’s

5/11    4/27    4/20   4/13    4/6     3/23     3/16      3/8      2/24

36          35         32       40    33       31       30           24         16

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Good news on the Sanibel & Captiva Real Estate Market Watch:

Good news on the Sanibel & Captiva Real Estate Market Watch:

Pending home sales rise again in March

WASHINGTON – April 28, 2011 – March saw another increase in pending home sales, with contract activity rising unevenly in six of the past nine months, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.1 percent to 94.1 in March from a downwardly revised 89.5 in February. The index is 11.4 percent below 106.2 in March 2010; however, activity was at elevated levels in March and April of 2010 to meet the contract deadline for the homebuyer tax credit. The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months. “Since reaching a cyclical bottom last June, pending home sales have posted an overall gain of 24 percent and demonstrate the market is recovering on its own,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The index means modest near-term gains in existing-home sales are likely, which would be even stronger if tight mortgage lending criteria returned to normal, safe standards.” The PHSI in the Northeast fell 3.2 percent to 63.4 in March and is 18.4 percent below March 2010. In the Midwest, the index rose 3.0 percent in March to 83.5 but is 16.6 percent below a year ago. Pending home sales in the South jumped 10.3 percent to an index of 110.2 but are 10.5 percent below March 2010. In the West, the index increased 3.1 percent to 103.7 but is 4.1 percent below a year ago.

 

Source: www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=259296

 

 

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John R. Wood Island Real Estate Inc. is locally owned and independatly operated.  Located at 1019 Periwinkle Way Sanibel, FL. 33957

Phone:  239-472-2411   website: www.SanibelRealEstateMarket.com

Homebuyers shun ‘fixer-uppers’

Homebuyers shun ‘fixer-uppers’

NEW YORK – May 3, 2011 – About 87 percent of first-time homebuyers prefer a move-in ready property, according to a Coldwell Banker survey, which has real estate agents encouraging sellers to spruce up their homes before putting them on the market.

“It seems buyers will pay a premium, engage in a bidding war and even overpay just to avoid buying a ‘project’ house,” explains Beth Freed of Ridgewood, N.J.-based Terrie O’Connor Realtors.

Sellers who take the time to make cosmetic repairs, eliminate clutter, and address maintenance and safety issues will sell their homes faster and for more money. Removing excess furniture, clearing the floors and depersonalizing the space will make rooms look larger and help buyers imagine themselves living there.

Agents might even help sellers declutter and stage, noting that those who refuse to do so will have to reduce their price expectations. 

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John R Wood Island Real Estate Inc is located at 1019 Periwinkle Way Sanibel FL 33957

Phone: 239-472-2411  Fax: 239-472-1898

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Former Major League Baseball Player Presents at John R. Wood Island Real Estate

Sanibel Island, FL. 

Guest Presenter Jim Sprankle former ML Baseball player whom handed out the awards for our recent contest and is shown here with a few of his historic signed baseballs.

 Jim Sprankle is an islander that many people know him for his famous wildlife sculptures.  What you may not know is that he is a former major league baseball player and has one of the best signed baseball collections in the country.  

Economy stronger, survey says

 Economy stronger, survey says

Global woes don’t deter U.S. growth

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON-Economists say the U.S. economy is gaining strength despite political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East and last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  A survey from the National Association for Business Economics finds that economists are hopeful that the broader economy is substantially improving, with rising employment reported for the fifth quarter in a row.  The survey found that “companies appear to be positioning themselves for a firming economic environment," said Shawn DuBravac, an economist with the Consumer Electronics Association, who analyzed the findings.

Source: Floridarealtors.org

 

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John R. Wood Island Real Estate inc.  is locally owned and independtly operated  located at 1019 Periwinkle Way Sanibel FL. 33957

239-472-2411 www.SanibelRealEstateMarket.com"> www.SanibelRealEstateMarket.com