Pending home sales drop as expected

WASHINGTON – July 1, 2010 – Following a surge driven by the homebuyer tax credit, pending home sales fell, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). To qualify for the credit, homebuyers needed a signed contract by April 30, 2010.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, dropped 30.0 percent to 77.6 based on contracts signed in May from a reading of 110.9 in April, and is 15.9 percent below May 2009 when it was 92.3. The falloff comes on the heels of three strong monthly gains as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of the tax credit.

The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months. However, many closings have been delayed recently from a rush of buyers into the system and slow processing of short sales, in addition to the heavy volume and a more thorough loan underwriting process.

“Consumers are rational and they rushed to meet the (April 30) tax credit eligibility deadline in April,” says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “The sharp decline in contract signings in May is a natural result with similar low levels of sales activity anticipated in June. Surprisingly, though, some local markets such as Portland, Maine, and Jacksonville, Fla., actually experienced an increase in contract signings from a year ago without the tax credit.

“Existing-home sales that close in June will remain elevated, but we’ll then see a notable decline for July and August.” Read more

May shows continued strong pace for existing-home sales

WASHINGTON – June 22, 2010 – Existing-home sales remained at elevated levels in May on buyer response to the tax credit, characterized by stabilizing home prices and historically low mortgage interest rates, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Gains in the West and South were offset by a decline in the Northeast; the Midwest was steady.

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million units in May, down 2.2 percent from an upwardly revised surge of 5.79 million units in April. May closings are 19.2 percent above the 4.75 million-unit level in May 2009; April sales were revised to show an 8.0 percent monthly gain.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he expects one more month of elevated home sales. “We are witnessing the ongoing effects of the homebuyer tax credit, which we’ll also see in June real estate closings,” he said. “However, approximately 180,000 homebuyers who signed a contract in good faith to receive the tax credit may not be able to finalize by the end of June due to delays in the mortgage process, particularly for short sales. Read more

Florida’s existing home and condo sales rise in May, 2010

ORLANDO, FL., June 22, 2010 – Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 18 percent in May, marking 21 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

A total of 16,745 single-family existing homes sold statewide last month compared to 14,172 homes sold in May 2009, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide existing-home median price of $140,400 in May was slightly higher – by $300 – than April’s statewide existing-home median price of $140,100. It marks the third month in a row that the statewide existing-home median price has increased over the previous month’s median.

Across the state, a variety of housing opportunities continues to be available at attractive prices while mortgage interest rates remain historically low, said 2010 Florida Realtors President Wendell Davis, a broker with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville.

“Favorable conditions like this spark buyers’ interest,” Davis said. “However, like the rest of the world, Floridians are deeply concerned about the long-term ramifications of the April 20th explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which killed 11 people and triggered the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.” Read more

Top 10 Most Expensive Tampa Bay Listings

The following 10 listings are the most expensive homes currently on the market in the Tampa Bay area of Florida as of June 17, 2010. They range in price from a high of $17,500,000 to $9,995,000. All are breathtaking.

#1: 706 Guisando De Avila, Tampa, FL 33613 – $17.5 Million

Read more

Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club

Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club

12900 Lake Jovita Boulevard
Dade City, Florida 33525
(352) 588-2233

Read more

Top 5 Qualities of a Good Buyer

1. Be Loyal to your Realtor
If you are working with a Realtor stick with that Realtor. If they aren’t meeting your expectations communicate your feelings so they have an opportunity to remedy the situation. If they don’t improve THEN switch to a new Realtor, but have the courtesy to tell your Realtor your decision.

2. Get pre-approved BEFORE you ask a Realtor to start showing you houses
Only a mortgage broker can calculate what price range you can afford. And it only takes a few minutes to get pre-approved and determine if you have the credit and financial means to buy a home. So show your Realtor some respect and go get pre-approved NOW.

Think about it from the Realtor’s perspective. Is it fair that they take you out to see a dozen houses only to later learn that you’ve just looked at the wrong price range? Or even worse what if you learn that you’re not qualified to buy ANY house? Go get pre-approved and then see listings. And if you’re paying cash, and don’t need a mortgage, have the courtesy to show proof of funds to your Realtor. This can be as simple as printing your bank statement showing you have the necessary funds. If you aren’t qualified for a mortgage and don’t have the cash to buy don’t stoop to wasting a Realtor’s precious time by having them show you homes you know you can’t buy. Realtors aren’t paid by the hour. They only get paid when they close on a transaction.

3. Don’t look at houses you know you will never buy
If you know you need 4 bedrooms why are you asking your Realtor to show you that 3 bedroom home? Or if you insist on a home with a pool don’t ask your Realtor to show you homes without pools. Of course, seeing your options will often impact your desires, but if you KNOW you need 4 bedrooms and a pool have respect for your Realtor and don’t waste their Sunday afternoon looking at property you have no real interest in buying.

4. Reply to emails and calls
If a Realtor has started to work for you respect their time by being open and honest. If they send you listings via email and you aren’t looking at them, for whatever reason, have the courtesy to call or email and explain this to them. Real time and energy are being expended by your Realtor, and once again, this time and energy is being spent without compensation. If they email you and you don’t reply you’ve just been disrespectful. Reply and let them know, “Hey, thanks for the listings and help but we’ve decided to hold off on buying for now.” Let them know to stop spending their limited time and energy working for you.

Or if you are looking at the listings and still interested in buying periodically say so. Reply to emails and phone calls so your Realtor knows they aren’t talking to a wall. All of this might sound silly to even have to say but you might be surprised to know how many emails and calls go unanswered. If you don’t want to work with a particular Realtor or you are stopping or pausing your quest for real estate say so.

5. Invest YOUR time in this process
You’re buying a house not a bike or pack of gum. This is a huge decision and even larger investment. It isn’t effective, courteous or respectful to ask your Realtor to repeatedly show you one listing at a time. All too often buyers ask Realtors to show them a single property, at dinner time, half way across the city, with no respect for the fact that the Realtor is leaving his or her spouse and children for the showing. While it is true that we make our living off of selling real estate, and showing houses is an integral part of the process, it is not effective to look at one house at a time.

If you want to be a good buyer (respectful of your Realtor) schedule a day in advance where you can look at many listings, during business hours, even if it requires you to take a half day off from work. Again, you’re buying a house. This is typically the largest purchase in a person’s life and if it isn’t worth taking a few hours off from work how serious should your Realtor take you? When viewing homes you need to see them during the day and not at 7:30 pm or later when you cannot see the backyard, neighborhood or even interior of the home due to no sunlight or electricity.

IN CONCLUSION…

Your Realtor will work hard for you over an extended period of time. And they only get paid if and when you close. This means everything they do for you prior to closing is an investment of time and energy. Think about your relationship with your Realtor as symbiotic, or mutually beneficial. Realtors are real people with real lives. They aren’t servants. If you respect their time they should respect you in return.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buying a Home

Buying a home is the single most important financial move in most people’s lives. It only makes sense to have the most pertinent information available before plunging into this difficult process, especially for first-time buyers. This book covers a variety of buying aspects including inspecting, evaluating, negotiating, financing, contracts, and legal issues. The thorough advice, covering everything from buying houses at auctions to what neighborhood to live in, will provide reassurance for every soon-to-be homeowner.

Will the $8,000 tax credit be extended?

According to my sources the $8,000 tax credit will NOT be extended. There simply is not enough money available to extend this first-time home buyer tax credit. So it is now or never folks. If you’d like to benefit from this tax credit you need to be under contract in the next few weeks and closed by June 30, 2010. This means short sales aren’t going to work. Concentrate on traditional sales and bank-owned or you will miss the tax credit. Anyone that tells you that you can go under contract and close on a short sale by June 30, 2010 is either under the influence of something exotic or completely inexperienced with short sales.

Directory of 55+ Housing Communities

I’ve found a really great site for researching which Florida housing communities are for people aged 55 and up. The Florida Commission on Human Relations updates their Directory of 55+ Housing Communities weekly so you can expect their site to be a solid resource.

Search The 55+ Housing Directory by county or city. As an example here are all of the 55+ Communities in Pinellas County. Here are the 55+ Housing Communities in Hillsborough County, and finally here are the 55+ Communities in Pasco County. Of course, you can search all counties in Florida too. I just happen to work almost exclusively in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco.

The Top 10 Overseas Real Estate Portals

Are you interested in buying real estate in Ireland, England, France, or somewhere else overseas? I’ve compiled a list of the top real estate web sites for buying real estate overseas. These international real estate portals are the highest ranking in the world.

1. Kyero.com
“Kyero.com is the No.1 Spanish property portal, with more than 100000 Spanish properties for sale from over 1500 leading Spanish property estate agents.”

2. ThinkSpain.com
“Real estate for sale in Spain.”

3. RightMove.co.uk
“Search over a Million properties for sale and to rent from the top estate agents and developers in the UK.”

4. TheMoveChannel.com
“The overseas property search portal that has been helping UK & international real estate agents, developers, investors and private owners to buy and sell houses, flats, homes, land, residential, investment, commercial and auction property since 1999.”

5. Property Index
“PropertyIndex.com can help you to find the perfect property to buy, rent or invest in, search from over 300,000 properties from estate agents around the world.”

6. PrimeLocation.com
“Find over 650,000 properties from leading UK and international estate agents and developers, including flats, homes and houses for sale and to rent.”

7. Point2Homes.com
“The Best Place on Earth to Find Homes.”

8. FindaProperty.com
“Property for sale & rent through leading UK & overseas estate agents & letting agents.”

9. PropertyShowrooms.com
“Property Investment Overseas – We are experts in property abroad; Operating the International Property Investment Network.”

10. Property-Abroad.com
“Overseas property portal helping you to find a cheap property overseas for sale direct from local estate agents, developers and private owners abroad.”

Can I still get the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit?

This is a question I’m being asked regularly these days both through email and in person. The answer is that there is still time to cash in on this tax credit, but your window of opportunity is shrinking daily. If you’re not out looking at homes right now you need to be. In order to qualify for the tax credit you need to have a fully executed sales agreement by April 30, 2010. And then you need to close by June 30, 2010.

If you want to take advantage of this first-time home buyer tax credit I strongly suggest you get started right away. It usually takes at least a few weeks to find the right home and then you might not win in the negotiation process. Another buyer could buy the house out from under you causing you to have to start the search again. It is better to get moving today and get under contract as quickly as possible.

Bending over backwards for buyers

It’s 2010 and the real estate market in the United States is still in turmoil. Nobody knows what the real long-term prognosis is for this troubled sector of the nation’s economy. Recent news shows us that home sales have now fallen for four straight months, hitting a record-low in February.

With all this uncertainty it is very important to figure out which factors in the equation you can control to some degree. As a home seller you need to realize just how precious and valuable each and every showing opportunity is. You can’t control the big picture, such as the economy or demand for real estate, but you can control the small picture, such as how well your home shows and how easy it is for buyers’ agents to show your home.

All too often sellers get asked to allow a showing on short notice or during inopportune times. Yes, this is annoying and frustrating. I get this. But there is an old idiom, “beggars can’t be choosers,” that really applies here. That buyer that calls 30 minutes before they want to see your house could very well be the buyer that steps up to the plate and makes an offer. Turning him or her away simply on principle because you’re upset they didn’t give you advanced warning of their arrival could backfire on you. That might have been the only buyer interested in your home.

Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and stifle your frustration. Allow that showing while you’re making dinner or watching a recording of the latest American Idol episode. Keep the goal in mind. You want to sell and you cannot sell without showings.

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended and Expanded till April 2010

President Barack Obama signed a new law on Nov. 6, 2009 that extended the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and added a new $6,500 credit for existing homeowners.

The legislation extends the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualifying first-time homebuyers that was set to expire on Nov. 30, 2009. First-time homebuyers, defined as those who have had no ownership interest in a principal residence over the last three years, can qualify for the tax credit by having a home purchase under contract by April 30, 2010.

Existing homeowners qualify for the tax credit of up to $6,500 if they have lived in their current residence for at least five years or more during the previous eight years and have purchased a home and entered into a binding contract by the end of April of 2010.

Both credits are available for purchases of “principal residences” with prices up to $800,000. The credit starts to phase out for individuals with income above $125,000 and for joint filers who earn more than $225,000. Previously, the credit for first-time homebuyers phased out for individuals with income above $75,000 and for joint filers with income above $150,000.

For more information go to the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site at www.irs.gov and click the Tax benefits of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 link.

Source: Internal Revenue Service

How to Improve Your Credit Score

What’s My Credit Score and How Do I Raise It?

What does mid score mean?

The middle score is used in mortgage lending by taking all three credit bureaus scores, in order from highest to lowest, and selecting the one in the middle.

Example: If your Experian score is 600, TransUnion 618 and Equifax is 720, your middle score is be 618.

Many people make the false assumption that a FICO mid score is all three scores added together and then divided by three. In other words they assume mid scores are averages of all three credit scores. This just isn’t the case.

In the above example the average of all three FICO credit scores is 646. A 646 is sufficient to get a mortgage just about anywhere. The score could certainly be higher, but a 646 will get the job done. But the mid score in the above scenario is actually not 646, but a mere 618, and it is close to impossible to borrow with a 618 mid score.

This should make it clear why it is vital to watch your FICO credit scores with all three credit agencies. Your mid score matters, when it comes time to apply for a mortgage, and it doesn’t matter that your highest score is 750+. It is your mid score that matters.

The Importance of a Termite Inspection

What are my options if the house doesn’t appraise?

A question I’m often asked by buyers, as we’re discussing how much they should offer for a particular home is, “What happens if the house appraises for less than the contract price?” This is a great question that is important to any and all home buyers.

In the event the buyer qualifies for the loan, but the home does NOT qualify for the loan, the buyer has to make a decision. The buyer can go ahead with the contract at the stated purchase price, waiving the financing contingency and coming up with the additional cash at closing. Or, the buyer may try to renegotiate the price to an amount that the lender is willing to finance. If the buyer wants to renegotiate but cannot agree with the seller on a new price, the buyer may choose to proceed at the stated purchase price OR cancel the contract. The buyer’s deposit would be returned to the buyer.

I’ll add something here that should be rather obvious. If you’re a potential buyer and you have a contract on a house for $200,000 and the appraisal comes in at $180,000 this means the licensed appraiser is saying that the home is not worth what you are about to pay for it! Should you decide to go forward with the contract and pay the agreed upon $200,000 you will immediately be in the red by $20,000. In some unusual cases it makes perfect sense to pay the $20,000 out of pocket and close the sale, but in most cases it is in your best interest, as the buyer, to either renegotiate the price down to the apprised value, or walk away from the purchase.

NOTE:

Not all appraisers will come up with the same value. A second appraisal can often be ordered in an effort to check the accuracy of the first appraisal. If the second appraisal comes in at contract price or higher, and the appraisal gets approved by the underwriter, the buyer can proceed with the purchase of the property at the contract price.

Is a condo right for you?

How to Buy a Condo

Reducing Your Mortgage Fees

What do my clients think of me?

Inquiring minds want to know! Well, I’d like to know.

Today I dropped in the mail a simple 1-page Customer Satisfaction Survey for my past and current real estate clients. I’m looking for honest feedback, whether it be positive or negative, on how I can become an even better Realtor. So when you receive your survey in the mail I do hope you answer the questions openly and honestly. I’d like to learn and grow from this experience so don’t be shy.

Your survey will look similar to:

1. How would you rate your overall satisfaction with me as your Realtor?
___    Very Satisfied        ___   Satisfied         ___   Dissatisfied        ___   Very Dissatisfied

2. Would you consider hiring me again or referring your family and friends to me?
___   Yes           ___   No

3. Have you hired another Realtor or referred your family or friends to another Realtor at any time after I was your Realtor? Please be honest! This is very important to me.
___   Yes            ___   No

4. Please share constructive criticism about your experience with me as your Realtor. Even if you were happy with me please tell me how I could have done an even better job.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

5. If you were happy with my real estate services would you consider writing a brief testimonial for www.CallChrisToday.com/testimonials/?        ___   Check here to publish testimonial anonymously.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

6. Have you ever visited www.CallChrisToday.com and how often do you visit?
___   Yes, and often          ___   Yes, but rarely          ___   No, but I will           ___   No, and I’m not interested

7. What type of articles would you like to see at www.CallChrisToday.com? Are there any specific real estate subjects or questions you would like addressed on my blog?
____________________________________________________________________________________

8. Would you like to continue receiving my monthly printed newsletter?
___   Yes, I enjoy the articles           ___   Yes, but only to keep in contact           ___    No, thank you

9. Have you changed your email address or phone number? Let me know of any changes so that we can keep in contact with each other.

Email: ____________________________________________           Phone: ___________________________

Please use the enclosed postage paid envelope to return your survey. Thank you for your time!

The Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County offering down payment assistance for first-time home buyers

A new mortgage program from the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County could hold the key to homeownership for first-time homebuyers. The First-Time Homebuyers Program is for individuals who have never owned a home, have not owned a home in the last three years or who are veterans.

Now is a great time to buy and take advantage of additional savings with the federal first-time homebuyer credit of up to $8,000. Homes must close before Dec. 1, 2009 to receive this additional credit.

Down payment and closing cost assistance is also available. This program is available for a limited time.

For more information, call (727) 464-8210 or visit the Housing Finance Authority.

Not necessarily an $8,000 tax credit…but probably close!

I’ve recently been asked quite a few questions about the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit. What needs to be understood is that you’re not necessarily getting the full $8,000. Your credit amount is based on the value of the home you purchase. It is the lesser of either 10% of the home’s cost or $8,000. So a $150,000 home will get the full $8,000 tax credit whereas a $50,000 home will get $50,000 x 10% or $5,000. The max amount is $8,000 so basically any house priced less than $80,000 will result in a tax credit less than $8,000, while any home priced over $80,000 will still only get the max amount of $8,000.

This blog post is only addressing this one simple question and is not a blanket statement about whether or not you might qualify for the tax credit. Please contact me if you have additional questions or simply ask them right here on www.CallChrisToday.com. I hope this explanation helped some of you.

President Obama Signs Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension

This last Friday, President Barack Obama signed the new tax credit legislation which provides:

• Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.

• Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

Tampa Bay market is starting to heat up!

The statistics show that the real estate market in the Tampa Bay area is really starting to pick up. If you’re thinking of buying a new house or condo you might want to start getting serious now. Have prices hit rock bottom yet? There is no way to tell, but most people in the business don’t see them going much lower. If you can buy real estate priced relatively cheaper than comparable properties you should be in good shape over the course of the upcoming months or even year.

Breaking News: Congress Extends Tax Credit

Tax credit extension passes House and Senate

By Florida Realtors®

WASHINGTON – Nov. 5, 2009 – The $8,000, first-time homebuyer tax credit has not yet been extended beyond its Nov. 30 end date, but it’s very close to gaining a longer life.

The extension was added as an amendment to an existing bill, HR 3548, that extends unemployment benefits. The U.S. Senate passed that bill on Wednesday and, after debate, the U.S. House passed HR 3548 this afternoon. It now needs only President Obama’s signature to become law, and the White House has indicated it will sign it, perhaps as early as tomorrow.

Until the president signs the bill, however, it is not law.

In addition to extending the tax credit for first-time homebuyers under the current rules, the bill adds a smaller tax credit for move-up homebuyers who have lived in the house for five of the past seven years. The bill also increases the income limits of homebuyers from $75,000 (single) to $125,000; and from $150,000 (married) to $225,000.

Florida downpayment assistance

After the president signs the bill and extends the tax credit, the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program – a downpayment and closing costs assistance program relating to the federal tax credit -automatically gets extended too. The state still has about $28 million available for homebuyers. The money is essentially a loan to first-time buyers; they receive it upfront, use it for a downpayment or other costs, and pay it back once they get their federal refund.

Gus Bilirakis responds to my letter supporting extending the $8,000 tax credit

Dear Chris:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for extending and expanding the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers. I appreciate hearing from you.

I support lowering taxes on home purchases. As you may know, H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was signed into law in February of this year. This legislation provided an $8,000 refundable credit for all first-time homes brought between January 1 and November 30, 2009. Several bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate that would extend the tax credit from anywhere from six months to one year, expand eligibility of the credit to multi-family properties used as the borrower’s primary residence, and eliminate income caps of $75,000 and $150,000.

I am reviewing these bills to determine how best to make home ownership more affordable and stabilize prices in the housing market. Your comments have provided a valuable perspective as I evaluate these bills. You may be certain that I will remember your support for expanding and extending the tax credit for first-time home buyers should I have the opportunity to consider relevant legislation in the future. I will also share your comments with my House colleagues, who will benefit from your views.

As a resident of Florida’s Ninth District, your comments and opinions are an important source of information to help me carry out my duties as your federal representative. In hat regard, please do not hesitate to contact me in the future on any issue important to you. Also, if you would like to be informed more frequently about my work in Congress and in Florida’s Ninth Congressional District, please visit my website at http://www.bilirakis.house.gov to sign up for regular email or to send me a message.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.

Sincerely yours,

Gus M. Bilirakis
Member of Congress

I’m aware that this letter was probably sent out to 23,000 other people that sent similar letters expressing support for expanding and extending the tax credit.

Charles Rutenberg is rated #1

If you’ve been paying attention as you drive around Tampa Bay neighborhoods you’ve undoubtedly noticed an abundance of Charles Rutenberg Realty signs dotting the yards. There are good reasons for why we’re dominating the real estate market, but this blog post isn’t about the why of our success. It’s simply to note that we are successful and significantly more so than every other real estate brokerage in town.

Charles Rutenberg has 3x as many listings as the 2nd place real estate company. With 1997 total listings we have more listings than the next 4 brokerages combined. We control an impressive 19.46% of the market for active listings.

But active listings are only one indicator of success. Even more important than what we have for sale is what we actually have under contract. According to the Kenst Report, the industry ratings guide for the Tampa Bay area, Charles Rutenberg Realty is outperforming all other real estate brokerages. Our share of the market is just under 25% at 24.83%. Our nearest competitor comes in at 10.43%.

And even more important than active listings and listings under contract are listings we’ve actually sold. So let’s take a look at those numbers now. From January of 2009 through the end of September 2009 Charles Rutenberg Realty sold more than 2x as many listings as the 2nd place real estate brokerage. And to show this isn’t some sort of fluke we can look at the same statistics for 2008 and see a similar level of dominance.

Why share these statistics with Tampa Bay area home buyers and sellers? The time will come when just about everyone will need to buy or sell real estate. And at this point a decision needs to be made. Will you hire the best or one of the rest? Yes, that rhymed. I couldn’t help it. I feel like a cheerleader right now, but trust me, you don’t want to see me in a cheerleader uniform.

Housing indicators are pointing in a positive direction

A recent Washington Post article pointed out that many of the housing indicators are pointing in the same positive direction. Several analysts attribute the improvements to the soon to expire $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, historically low interest rates, and rock bottom prices in many areas.

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