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Florida’s Foreclosure Rate Dropping

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Fla.’s foreclosure rate dropping, state now No. 4

IRVINE, Calif. – July 14, 2016 – While Florida continues to have a higher number of foreclosures, the total number continues to drop, and the state’s U.S. ranking is in decline as it moves from its often No. 1 spot down to No. 4 in RealtyTrac’s 2016 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

New Jersey now tops RealtyTrac’s foreclosure-rate list (0.98 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing) followed by Maryland (0.90 percent) and Delaware (0.78 percent). In fourth place, Florida (0.70 percent) still outranks its long-time competitor for the top spot, Nevada (0.68 percent).

The top 10 list of foreclosure-rate states for the first six months of 2016 is rounded out by Illinois (0.61 percent), Ohio (0.54 percent), South Carolina (0.54 percent), Connecticut (0.48 percent) and Indiana (0.47 percent).

In a look at foreclosure rates by metro area, Florida has three cities in the top 10: Lakeland-Winter Haven was No. 4 (0.91 percent), Tampa-St. Petersburg was No. 8 (0.85 percent) and Jacksonville was No. 9 (0.80 percent). The top U.S. foreclosure cities were Trenton, New Jersey (1.31 percent) and Baltimore (0.96 percent).

“South Florida saw a 34 percent drop in foreclosure filings year-over-year,” says Mike Pappas, president and CEO at Keyes Company. “With strong employment, low interest rates and with lenders continuing to carefully scrutinize borrowers – foreclosures will soon be at the lowest levels in a decade.”

The length of time it takes from first foreclosure notice to final judgment continues to impact the Florida market. In the state with the longest foreclosure timeline, New Jersey, it takes 1,249 days. It’s followed by Hawaii (1,236 days), New York (1,058 days), Utah (1,025 days) and Florida (1,012 days).

According to RealtyTrac, investors buy 1 in 4 foreclosed homes: 27 percent of all properties sold at foreclosure auction were purchased by third-party investors. It’s the highest share for the first six months of any year since 2000 – the earliest national data is available.

National foreclosure details

The U.S. had a total of 533,813 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – in the first six months of 2016, down 20 percent from the previous six months and down 11 percent from the first six months of 2015.

Counter to the national trend, 19 states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in the first half of 2016. Among the nation’s 20 most-populated metro areas, five posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity.

“Although there are some local outliers, the downward foreclosure trend continued in the first half of 2016 in most markets nationwide,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

“While U.S. foreclosure activity is still above its pre-recession levels, many of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis have now dropped below pre-recession foreclosure activity levels,” he adds. “With some exceptions, states with foreclosure activity continuing to run above pre-recession levels tend to be those with protracted foreclosure timelines still working through legacy distress from the last housing bust.”

States where Q2 2016 foreclosure activity was still above pre-recession averages: Florida (26 percent above pre-recession levels), New Jersey (215 percent above), Illinois (36 percent above), New York (127 percent above), Indiana (2 percent above), South Carolina (376 percent above), Massachusetts (127 percent above) and Washington (29 percent above).

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

 

Full Article in FL Realtor Magazine

New FHA rules created to protect at-risk homeowners

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WASHINGTON – July 1, 2016 – HUD announced changes to its Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP), which sells severely delinquent FHA mortgages to private investors. HUD says the new rules should protect homeowners from “payment shock.”

According to HUD, “certain families with distressed mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) may soon be eligible for a reduction of their outstanding loan amounts should their mortgages be sold through DASP.”

On average, mortgages sold through DASP are 29 months delinquent at the time of the auction.

Additional details on the latest enhancements are posted on HUD’s website.

“While thousands of homeowners avoided foreclosure through this note sales program, we continue to explore new ways to help these families and to offer more opportunities for public-minded organizations to have a seat at the table,” says Ed Golding, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Housing.

FHA’s new DASP enhancements include:

  • Principal reduction/capital arrearage forgiveness
    Principal forgiveness is the first option investors must consider when evaluating borrowers for a modification
  • Payment shock protection
    FHA will limit interest rate increases to no more than one percent per year after a five-year period where the rate is fixed
  • Walk-away prohibition
    FHA prohibits any purchaser of single-family mortgages under DASP from abandoning lower value properties in order to prevent neighborhood blight
  • Alternative bidding for non-profit buyers
    Qualified non-profit organizations may now bid on a partial pool of notes – up to five percent of a National Pool – and to pay the reserve price. This offers another opportunity for non-profit organizations and local governments to participate in DASP, HUD says
  • Streamline direct sales to government entities
    FHA is providing new standard guidance on the sale of distressed mortgages directly to qualified government entities and local governments
  • Target loans for DASP sales based on the non-profits and local governments
    FHA says it will enhance its efforts to identify and offer loans in targeted distressed areas to non-profits and local governments

FHA strengthened DASP last year, too. It expanded a foreclosure moratorium from six-to-12 months, requiring purchasers of these distressed mortgages to suspend any foreclosure action. It also provided advanced notice of pending sales and extended the due diligence periods; offered a “first look” opportunity for non-profits to purchase vacant properties; and created specific pools of mortgages exclusively for non-profit organizations and local governments.

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

 

This article on the Florida Realtors Website

Study: Gated community homes sell for more

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BOCA RATON, Fla. – July 1, 2016 – Homes in gated communities command significantly higher prices – almost $30,000 on average – compared to similar homes in communities without a gate. However, gated neighborhoods’ additional amenities can also reduce sale prices because they bring maintenance costs that outweigh the benefits of the amenities, according to recent research published by the American Real Estate Society (ARES).

“This study provides clear evidence that homes in gated communities sell at a premium relative to comparable homes in non-gated communities,” says ARES Publication Director Ken Johnson, Ph.D., a real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) College of Business and co-developer of the Beracha, Hardin and Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index.

The study examined 11 gated communities and a sample of matched non-gated properties, using a data set of housing sales in Shelby County, Tennessee. The researchers found that residential properties in gated communities command a noticeable price premium of approximately $30,000, most likely resulting from actual or perceived benefits associated with additional privacy, homeowner associations’ tighter controls on maintenance, home design and the added assurances against crime and other undesirable activities.

“Additional maintenance costs associated with these amenities often outweigh their benefits, and it appears that while a gate has value, additional neighborhood amenities do not always provide additional value,” says Mark A. Sunderman, Ph.D., University of Memphis.

So, what does all this mean to buyers and sellers?

“The long-held belief that gates add value is supported by the data, as long as the impact of the amenities is properly factored in,” Johnson says. “This should set buyers’ minds to rest as to whether or not they are actually receiving a boost in value when they purchase inside a gated community.”

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

 

This article on the Florida Realtors Website

The ‘Brexit’ and Florida Real Estate

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‘Brexit’ could boost U.S. real estate – or not

ORLANDO, Fla. – June 27, 2016 – Britain’s vote to exit the European Union (EU) will likely have a long-term impact on the world economy – but in the short-term, U.S. real estate could be flooded with investors flocking to the U.S. as a safe haven, pushing up the dollar and sending down mortgage rates.

“Demand for U.S. real estate could rise,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

On the commercial side, global corporations could show additional interest in U.S. real estate as they come to see the U.K. as a less certain place to set up or maintain their businesses, Yun says, “especially in London as it becomes a less attractive place to conduct global business.”

While a rise in the dollar could hurt U.S. exports, it’s also expected to put downward pressure on long-term mortgage interest rates.

“Mortgage rates will tumble,” says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, “possibly hitting new record lows. If you’re a borrower, don’t wait to lock in your rate, as this opportunity may not last long.”

However, Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan says low rates could last for a while. “The Fed will very likely be on hold for some time as it observes the impact on U.S. and global financial markets and economic activity,” he says.

If mortgage rates – already at historic lows – drop even further, that could help drive up sales of all types of U.S. real estate, including on the residential side.

In addition, foreign households who might have otherwise looked to London to buy might turn to U.S. residential real estate, although U.K. citizens, who historically are among the top buyers of investment and vacation homes in the U.S., could pull back. “The British economy will be disrupted, and hence we should expect fewer Brits able to buy in the U.S.,” Yun says.

Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group, was quoted in a Bankrate.com article saying a further drop in mortgage interest rates could give new life to home-mortgage refinancing, which started to cool early this year after several years of big growth. “This would create another mini-refinance mortgage boom at financial institutions, as homeowners rush to lock in near-historic low interest rates,” he said.

In the long run, though, the uncertainty stemming from the vote could cause broad global weakening, which would hurt jobs, income and consumer confidence. That would be a net-negative for U.S. real estate, even if it sees gains in the short-term.

Source: Robert Freedman, Realtor® Magazine

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

Click here for the original article

Consumer confidence surges on hopes for the future

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NEW YORK CITY – March 29, 2016 – The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index improved in March after falling a bit in February.
The Index now stands at 96.2 – up 2.2 points from 94.0 in February.

The Present Situation Index declined moderately from 115.0 to 113.5, while the Expectations Index,
that gauges attitudes about the short-term future, increased from 79.9 to 84.7 in March.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions posted a moderate decline, while expectations regarding the short-term turned more favorable as last month’s turmoil in the financial markets appears to have abated,” says Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “On balance, consumers do not foresee the economy gaining any significant momentum in the near-term, nor do they see it worsening.”

Consumers saying business conditions were currently “good” decreased from 26.5 percent to 24.9 percent.
However, those saying business conditions are “bad” edged down from 19.0 percent to 18.8 percent.

Appraisal of the labor market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” increased from 22.8 percent to 25.4 percent,
while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” also rose to 26.6 percent from 23.6 percent.

Consumers were more optimistic about the short-term outlook than in February.
The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months
increased moderately from 14.5 percent to 15.0 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen
decreased from 11.6 percent to 9.2 percent.

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was also more favorable over the short-term future.
Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased slightly from 12.2 percent to 12.9 percent,
while those anticipating fewer jobs decreased from 17.7 percent to 16.3 percent.

The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined moderately from 17.7 percent to 17.2 percent,
while the proportion expecting a reduction in income edged up from 11.6 percent to 11.8 percent.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a probability-design random sample
and conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen. The cutoff date was March 17.

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

Februar 2016: Pending Home Sales are up by 3.5%

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NAR: Feb. pending home sales up 3.5%

WASHINGTON – March 28, 2016 – Pending home sales rose solidly in February to its highest level in seven months, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Led by a sizeable increase in the Midwest, all major regions except for the Northeast saw an increase in February contract activity.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 3.5 percent to 109.1 in February from a downwardly revised 105.4 in January and it’s 0.7 percent higher year-to-year. The index has now increased year-over-year for 18 consecutive months, though last month’s annual gain was the smallest.

“After some volatility this winter, the latest data is encouraging in that a decent number of buyers signed contracts last month, lured by mortgage rates dipping to their lowest levels in nearly a year and a modest, seasonal uptick in inventory,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

“Looking ahead, the key for sustained momentum and more sales than last spring is a continuous stream of new listings quickly replacing what’s being scooped up by a growing pool of buyers,” Yun adds. “Without adequate supply, sales will likely plateau.”

According to Yun, last month’s noticeable slump in existing-home sales had one silver lining: Price appreciation lessened to 4.4 percent, which is still above wage growth but more favorable than the 8.1 percent annual increase in January.

“Any further moderation in prices would be a welcome development this spring, particularly in the West, where it appears a segment of would-be buyers are becoming wary of high asking prices and stiff competition,” adds Yun.

Existing-homes sales this year are forecast to be around 5.38 million, an increase of 2.4 percent from 2015. The national median existing-home price for all 2016 is expected to increase between 4 and 5 percent. In 2015, existing-home sales increased 6.3 percent and prices rose 6.8 percent.

The PHSI in the Northeast declined 0.2 percent to 94.0 in February, but it’s still 12.6 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest, the index shot up 11.4 percent to 112.6 in February, and it’s now 2.5 percent above February 2015.

Pending home sales in the South increased 2.1 percent to an index of 122.4 in February but it’s 0.4 percent lower than last February. The index in the West climbed 0.7 percent in February to 96.4, but it’s now 6.2 percent below a year ago.

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

Top 10 Tips for Staging a Home for Photos

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Find this article on realtor.org

Top 10 Tips for Staging a Home for Photos
Posted in Staging Tips, by Blog Contributor on November 30, 2015

By Justin Riordan, Spade and Archer Design Agency

Ah, yes the beloved Top 10 list. If only life were that simple and any skill you ever wanted to learn could be perfected with just 10 easy to learn, neatly packaged tips. I can see it now… “The top 10 tips for removing your own brain tumor” or “The top 10 tips for raising the dead.” Now don’t get me wrong — I don’t think that having your house photographed is as complicated as brain surgery or necromancy but it is often best left to the professionals. However, if you find yourself without a professional and needing to prepare your house for photographs either for a vacation rental, to sell it, or to just show off your new digs to friends and family, here are Spade and Archer’s top 10 tips on how to best get’r done.

1. Design for the camera, not for the end user

DESIGN FOR THE CAMERA
Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

When putting together a space, we always think of the camera first. Will this angle look right, will it show off the best feature of the house? Will the light hit these items correctly? The good news is you have a camera in your pocket as you read this. When we stage a house for market, we are constantly taking photographs of it and looking at it through the camera lens. It helps us to see errors in symmetry, lighting, cleanliness, etc.

2. No more wrinkles

Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

In real life, wrinkly sheets don’t make a lick of difference. You will still sleep the same and wake up refreshed, whether you iron the sheets or not. The camera, however, hates wrinkles and makes them look 100 times worse than they really are. Our best advice on this one is to use a professional steamer. The hot steam will take those wrinkles right out and makes the sheets, pillows, shower curtains, etc. all look perfect in the picture.

3. Light it up.

Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

Light can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you don’t know how to control it, you are destined to fail. The time of day and weather conditions can make a huge difference on how well your space photographs. If the afternoon sun is blazing into your room throwing harsh shadows all over, the shot is destined to look “blown out” with areas as dark as night and as bright as a nuclear holocaust. To help combat this problem, look for the best time for indirect sunlight outside and inside your space. Cloudy days are perfect for this. It is also a great idea to turn on your interior lights and lamps, this will help to even out the lighting in the space.

4. Fluff the carpet.

Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

Sorry, fellas, this is not a euphemism for dining out. So often we see houses photographed with harsh vacuum lines or matted carpet that looks old and tired. The best way to fluff up your tired wall to wall is to use a broom. Running the broom over the top of the carpet in random directions will bring new life to a sagging floor textile.

5. Look beyond the window.

Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

It’s true enough you are photographing the interiors of your space but the outside of your windows will be seen in the photos. If there are piles of trash covered with blue tarps right outside your window, they are going to come through in the photos. Clean up the areas outside the window and make it visually quiet so it does not draw attention to itself. If the area can’t be cleaned up, consider a frosted film on the window.

6. Limit the color scheme.

Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

There are neutrals and there are colors. The neutrals are black, white, grey, brown, beige, cream, silver, and sometimes gold. You can put as many different neutrals in a room as you want. They can form a great base for your color. The colors are the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Colors must be used with great restraint. We endeavor to have only one “color story” per room. A color story might be blues or reds or colors of the peacock, or teal and yellow. If you have more than one color story per room, the photographs will start to look chaotic and visually noisy.

7. Rely on symmetry, repetition, rhythm.

Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

Symmetry, repetition, and rhythm can be found throughout nature and humans find them to be aesthetically pleasing. Symmetry can be found in most animals and insects. Repetition is why we find flowers so pleasing. Rhythm can be found in the ripples of a sand dune. A quick and easy way to make a space more aesthetically pleasing is to use these simple principles of good design.

8. Look at the problem from a different angle, then design for the best one.


Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

So often when I am first training a designer, they worry about every angle that a room will be seen from. I find them paralyzed by viable arguments, both good and bad, derived from seeing a space from two vantage points. I always tell them the same thing. What is the first impression going to be? Design for that view and the rest will fall into place. Figure out where the camera will most likely be and make every decision for the room based on that. Chances are, it will turn out great.

9. Hire a professional.


Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

It always makes me so sad when clients pay me lots of money to make their house beautiful then they run through with an iPhone and snap 16 horrible pictures of our beautiful space. I always wonder why they choose to spend thousands of dollars on staging and then value engineer (that is a euphemism for cheeping out) a photographer to save a couple hundred dollars. My best advice is if you want great photographs, hire a great photographer.

10. Put down the toilet seat.

Put down the toilet seat
Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

The fact that this is even on the list is nuts … yet, I still see a picture of the bathroom with the toilet seat up at least once a month. Why not just hang up a sign that says, “I suck, so don’t buy my house. Seriously, I’m super lame.” It would be just as effective.

11. Get out of the mirror.

Get out of the mirror
Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

There is really only one thing douchier than the toilet seat left up. It’s you holding an iPhone in the mirror. If you are still confused how to best correct this error, refer to No. 10: Hire a professional.

12. Furnish the house, but don’t over decorate the cake.

Don't overdo it
Photo Credit: Spade and Archer Design Agency

Empty houses are hard to see. Furniture provides scale, shows use, and adds light to spaces. Without it, the space is just walls, windows, floors, and ceilings. It is important to show how the space is used and how big the space is. Once you have taken care of these items, then stop decorating. There is a point when the decoration is no longer about the house but more so about the decoration. Stop before you get there.

So I see I have more than 10 tips for getting good photographs for your house. Honestly, I have about 4,000 more. I wish I could teach them all to you but then again, I would be teaching myself out of a job. Good luck out there, kiddos!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Justin Riordan, LEED AP, is founder of Spade and Archer Design Agency based in Portland, Ore. As the creative energy behind Spade and Archer, Riordan fuses his formal training as an architect with his natural design savvy to create beautiful and authentic spaces for clients. Prior to opening Spade and Archer in 2009, Riordan practiced interior architecture and interior construction for 12 years, bringing an esteemed skillset and diverse background to home staging. Since founding Spade and Archer, he has personally prepared more than 2,100 homes for market.

Blog Contributor

This post was contributed exclusively for REALTOR® Magazine.
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REALTORS® Code of Ethics

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Realtor 2015 Code of Ethics PosterClick here for the complete Realtors Code of Ethics on NAR’s website

Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
of the National Association of REALTORS®
Effective January 1, 2015

While the Code of Ethics establishes obligations that may be higher than those mandated by law, in any instance where the Code of Ethics and the law conflict, the obligations of the law must take precedence.

Preamble
Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization. REALTORS® should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.

Such interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce. They impose grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty to which REALTORS® should dedicate themselves, and for which they should be diligent in preparing themselves. REALTORS®, therefore, are zealous to maintain and improve the standards of their calling and share with their fellow REALTORS® a common responsibility for its integrity and honor.

In recognition and appreciation of their obligations to clients, customers, the public, and each other, REALTORS® continuously strive to become and remain informed on issues affecting real estate and, as knowledgeable professionals, they willingly share the fruit of their experience and study with others. They identify and take steps, through enforcement of this Code of Ethics and by assisting appropriate regulatory bodies, to eliminate practices which may damage the public or which might discredit or bring dishonor to the real estate profession. REALTORS® having direct personal knowledge of conduct that may violate the Code of Ethics involving misappropriation of client or customer funds or property, willful discrimination, or fraud resulting in substantial economic harm, bring such matters to the attention of the appropriate Board or Association of REALTORS®. (Amended 1/00)

Realizing that cooperation with other real estate professionals promotes the best interests of those who utilize their services, REALTORS® urge exclusive representation of clients; do not attempt to gain any unfair advantage over their competitors; and they refrain from making unsolicited comments about other practitioners. In instances where their opinion is sought, or where REALTORS® believe that comment is necessary, their opinion is offered in an objective, professional manner, uninfluenced by any personal motivation or potential advantage or gain.

The term REALTOR® has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. No inducement of profit and no instruction from clients ever can justify departure from this ideal.

In the interpretation of this obligation, REALTORS® can take no safer guide than that which has been handed down through the centuries, embodied in the Golden Rule, “Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them.”

Accepting this standard as their own, REALTORS® pledge to observe its spirit in all of their activities whether conducted personally, through associates or others, or via technological means, and to conduct their business in accordance with the tenets set forth below. (Amended 1/07)

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Gitta Barth
Coldwell Banker Investors of Citrus County
Cell (352) 220-0466
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