Melbourne Area Blog

It appears that the Real Estate Market in Brevard is holding it's own!

January was a very good month for sales considering the overall economy. Already in February until today, there have been 383 Single Family homes go under contract. The good news is... we are starting to see an increase in sales of homes in the $400,000 - $600,000 price range.

I have had several people ask me about State Farm pulling out of Florida....

State Farm again asked the state for yet another increase in rates, 47%, which was denied. In the past few years State Farm has steadily decreased the number of homes they would insure, by tightening their requirements. They are unwilling to assume much risk, yet expect the homeowner's that they do insure to carry the burden.

There are many new insurer's approved by the state, selling home insurance in the state. My advice if you have received a cancelation notice from State Farm is to call an Insurance Broker. Many of my clients have had good results with Robinson Insurance in Indialantic.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

SANDY@SANDYLEGERE.COM

There are many positive signs in Brevard Real Estate! February looks to be a very active month for home sales. Today alone over 40 properties went under contract within the last 24 hours.

Traffic through open houses has picked up.

Showings of our listings has picked up.

Interest rates have dropped again... now just above 5%. Some builder's are offering financing of under 4%.

New listings that are coming on the market at market value are selling quickly.... several in just weeks. The average "days on the market" this year has dropped to just over 90 days.

The new housing stimulus plan for first time home buyer's is much better than last year. There is now an $8,000 tax credit at closing that does not have to be paid back. To qualify a married couples income must not exceed $150,000 or a single persons income cannot exceed $75,000.

March generally is the beginning of our busy season. It is encouraging that we have seen these improvements this early in the year!

Questions or comments?

sandy@sandylegere.com

Brevard Foreclosures

As is in most parts of the country the foreclosure rate in Brevard is very high compared with past years.

What is interesting is that in the past two years there have been 14,000 + foreclosures in the county. What is most interesting.... is that of the 14,000,  fewer than 1,100 have been homesteaded (primary residences). The vast majority of foreclosures have been on homes bought on speculation or investment.

A note on interest rates.... two weeks ago the rates fell below 5%, a week ago, rates were 5.12% and as of last Friday rates were just below 5.5%. The trend is for rates to continue to rise, at least in the short term.

Comments or questions?

sandy@sandylegere.com    

A word about short sales. These can be the most frustrating...

A short sale is when a lender agrees to accept less money than is owed on a loan. Generally, a borrower must be 90 days behind on mortgage payments before a lender will consider a "short sale" and the borrower must supply a hardship letter with explanation of why they are unable to meet the mortgage payments.

The lender will not commit to a price that they will accept for a short sale until they receive an offer. Therefore, with any short sale that is listed in the MLS there is no guarantee that the list price will be an acceptable price. Once an offer has been negotiated between buyer and seller it is sent to the lender for "lender approval". This can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. This time lag is what is keeping inventory on the market for extended periods of time. Generally after 30 - 45 days the buyer will withdraw the offer and the listing stays on the market. When the lender responds to an offer, it is either to accept or decline the offer. There aren't any negotiations. Occasionally if declining the offer they may indicate what an acceptable price is.

Fannie Mae is testing a small pilot program in several counties surrounding Orlando and also in Phoenix AZ. The program streamlines the process by getting all of the research on the property along with the necessary clearances done in advance. Hopefully this program will cut the wait time from months to weeks or even days.

If lenders decide upfront how much they are willing to accept it would help move some of the inventory now on the market, stabilize home prices and boost consumer confidence.

Questions?

sandy@sandylegere.com