“Would Be Sellers Feel Mounting Frustration” In Florida
The News Press reports from Florida. “Compared to the market a year ago, both prices and numbers of sales in Lee County were down sharply: prices were off 7 percent from January 2006’s $287,200 and sales were down 34 percent. Locally, some would-be sellers are feeling a mounting frustration as they find themselves unable to dispose of their homes for what they consider a fair price.”
“‘It’s incongruous,’ said Jerry Adler, who’s been trying to sell his four-bedroom, three-bath house in south Fort Myers for a year and a half so he can move to Tucson, Ariz. ‘The mortgage rates are good, the median price is down, building permits are down, employment is up, so what the hell does sales price have to do with it?’”
“Adler started off asking $535,000 and now has it listed at $464,900 but still hasn’t had a nibble, he said. ‘It’s not logical.’”
“Meanwhile, the supply of unsold resales continues to mount: about 15,000 single-family homes for sale in Lee County, about four times what it was a year ago.”
“(Realtor) Phil Wood said part of the problem is unrealistically high expectations from sellers. ‘There’s the real inventory and the fake inventory,’ with about 40 percent of the houses listed for sale being beyond the range of what someone might realistically pay, he said, sellers need to adjust their asking prices to the real world.”
“One expert said the big price increases for homes in 2004 and 2005 are to blame for sluggish sales. ‘The Fort Myers area was heavily speculator-driven during the run-up,’ said Brad Hunter, an analyst at Metrostudy. Speculators listing properties ‘are not yet lowering their prices enough to let those properties sell.’”
“One hopeful seller, Cindy Infiesto, is trying to sell her 6,300-square-foot, all-concrete Alva house on 7.5 acres with a seven-stall horse barn and a putting green.”
“Infiesto, a real estate broker with the Florida Real Estate Store, is motivated to sell, with a property tax bill of more than $13,000 this year and skyrocketing insurance rates. But at $1.4 million, no dice.”
“‘I’m desperate to sell my house,’ she said. ‘I’ll even throw in the horses,’ she said with a chuckle.”
“The washed out hotels, crumbled asphalt and shuttered businesses that marred Pensacola Beach after Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis in 2004 and 2005 are mostly gone. But real estate agent John Pinzino still cannot find buyers for the homes and condos he has listed.”
“Only five of 354 residential properties on the market in Pensacola Beach sold in January. Pinzino lost one deal after the prospective buyers paid a deposit, but later discovered the $3,500 they had estimated for insurance would actually be $8,500.”
“‘(Insurance) is a huge deterrent to anyone looking at buying property anywhere in our state. We have property for sale that normally would have been gobbled up but, because of the insurance situation, is just sitting,’ Pinzino said.”
The Herald Tribune. “Many of the homes in the south Manatee County gated community were built around the same time and are of similar appearance. That makes for easy comparisons.”
“In early 2004, the houses were changing hands for list prices in the mid $400,000s. Toward the end of that year, some sellers were asking for and getting prices in the low to mid $500,000s.”
“Then, during 2005, pricing got wackier, edging into the upper $500,000s and the low $600,000s. Even in 2006, with the market starting to crumble, one asked and received $624,000 for a 2,400-square foot home on the same street as real estate agent Steve Dutoit’s listing.”
“Dutoit just listed the three-two with a den, a three-car garage, twin pantries, a deluxe kitchen and a screened pool for $519,500. ‘That home probably would have sold in the sixes, say, in the summer of 2005,’ said Dutoit. ‘We’ve just seen probably a 30 percent drop in value in most of our inventory.’”
The News Journal. “In Volusia-Flagler, Realtors sold 520 houses, down 19 percent from the 643 sales in January 2006. The median sales price, the point at which half sell for more and half for less, was $207,100, down 8 percent from $225,600 in January last year.”
“Stephanie Decker is confident her house will sell. She just doesn’t know when. ‘I’ve had a lot of people looking at it,’ she said Tuesday. ‘I’m not really worried. It’ll sell eventually.’”
“In Flagler County, a large inventory of home builders’ spec homes is adding to the pressures sellers are facing, said Honora Giumenta, president of the Flagler County Association of Realtors. Giumenta said homes have to be priced right to make them attractive to buyers, and some sellers are ‘rethinking’ and lowering their asking prices.”
The Palm Beach Post. “Struggling local housing markets started 2007 not with a bang but a whimper. Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast both reported plunging home sales and declining prices for existing single-family homes, the Florida Association of Realtors said.”
“Some Realtors said buyers are still sitting on the fence, despite recent price drops. ‘People keep talking about the lack of supply of affordable housing, but they are not rushing toward the opportunity,’ said (broker) Randy Bianchi in West Palm Beach.”
“Hesitant buyers, and sellers who won’t lower prices, pushed the inventory of unsold homes between Boca Raton and Hobe Sound to 22,888 homes in January, according to Illustrated Properties Real Estate. That’s a 37 percent increase over January 2006.”
“A housing economist believes the inventory of unsold condos for sale in Palm Beach County could shoot up in a couple of years ‘when all the units currently under construction are reaching completion,’ said Bradley Hunter, of MetroStudy.”
“The likely result will be more condos in the MLS, Hunter said, since many of the thousands of new condos still being built were bought by investors who don’t intend to live in them. ‘I would expect to see a lot of price declines going forward,’ Hunter said.”
The St Petersburg Times. “In the Tampa Bay area last month, condo sales were half what they were in January 2006. Sales of single-family homes locally were down 41 percent from a year ago.”
“Yet median sales prices of local residences barely budged from the 2006 level, indicating plenty of stubborn sellers with unrealistic expectations.”
“‘Prices aren’t reflective of the actual market yet,’ said Carolyn Kling, a real estate agent in Pinellas County. ‘A lot of buyers are out there waiting till those prices get where they need to be.’”
The Tampa Tribune. “The Tampa Bay area experienced its steepest home price slump in recent memory in January, while the number of home sales continued to drop. The median sales price of existing single-family homes in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area was down 7 percent from December and significantly below the real estate market’s $239,900 peak in June.”
“‘The housing market in Tampa doesn’t look good at all,’ said Per Gunnar Berglund, senior economist for Moody’s Economy.com. ‘This is the sharpest drop in pricing since the early 1990s.’”
From Florida Today. “Chris McCarty, director at the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said Tuesday that some Realtors and people shopping for a home are hoping for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. However, McCarty said, given recent data on inflation, and statements from Fed board members, ‘it is very unlikely that interest rates will be lowered in the near term.’”
“‘We still are predicting the effects on housing to spill into other sectors of the economy by May or June,’ McCarty said. ‘This should be more pronounced here in Florida, given the enormous gains in the value of Florida real estate. It has much further to fall than other states.’”
The Sun Sentinel. “Sellers of existing homes in Palm Beach County found relief in the new year when plummeting prices leveled in January after 2006 ended with three consecutive months of double-digit declines.”
“‘I’m still concerned about the overall affordability issue. Prices are still not low enough for the average person.’ said David Levin, a Delray Beach housing consultant.”
“Mike Halleran, who is buying a home in Boca Raton, said many of the properties on the market are overpriced by at least 10 percent. Another buyer, Melissa Rutherford, of Boynton Beach, agrees. She and her fiancé plan to wait awhile longer because they think prices will keep falling.”
“‘We don’t want to buy a house that’s valued less than what we paid for it in six months,’ Rutherford said.”
“Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes remains a concern. Palm Beach County has more than 33,400 homes and condominiums for sale, up nearly 19 percent from last year, according to the Keyes Co. of Miami. At the current sales pace, it would take several years to sell that inventory.”
different this time
from 1990-to95 my mom’s house in Venice FL kept going up
off 25% from peak nov 05 …..this time
I love the story about the broad with the 6,300-square-foot house on 7.5 acres with a seven-stall horse barn and a putting green. Her line of business? A real-estate broker. Now she’s got to sell the house. She must have thought that she’d be walking in high cotton for many seasons, and spent accordingly. Good grief!
Realtors eat their own dog food in Florida. Problem is, it really is dog food.
“Realtors eat their own dog food in Florida. Problem is, it really is dog food.”
Real estate “professionals” were probably the single biggest part of the bubble in S Florida.
she needs to cut the price to less than $1 million…. and pray…
Well its a good thing the mkt has cratered in her part of Fl. That way she can spend more time cleaning the stalls and taking care of the horses.
She’s worried about $13k in taxes?? WTF does it cost to buy, feed and care for 7 horses each year???
About 3000 bucks a month (according to the ex-wife’s Domestic Relations Affidavit)…..assuming she lives out in the country somewhere
Assuming the horses are already “paid for”………..
All-concrete house … 1.3 million. Riiiiight… The property should be about half a million if it’s zoned residential.
Just imagine the air conditioning bill in that place, let alone the cost she paid for all the furniture in it. My stars and garters.
“Hesitant buyers, and sellers who won’t lower prices,”
A recipe for realtor frustration and meltdown. I like it. My question is, who will the realtors become more frustrated with, the hesitant buyers or the delusional sellers? And will we see more realtors crack under the strain here in Florida, like the husband and wife realtor team murder/suicide? Who drove them to the brink? A hesitant seller or a delusional buyer?
For everyone who has been frustrated with all the lying and fraud during the bubble, here’s your big chance to get even by being equally infuriating.
As a potential buyer, no skin off my ass. I can wait. Can the seller? Can the realtor? I don’t think so. Good things come to those who wait.
“Hesitant buyers, and sellers who won’t lower prices,”
Yeah, we are gong to see LOTS of sellers following the market down. They will drop their price just a little too late, sit, drop it again, a little too late…….until?
The comments posted on the sun sentinel article about house prices are interesting, a few months ago most comments were “why all the doom and gloom” and “it is different here” Now the majority sound like members of this blog (well except for the usual idiots and trolls) I almost never saw/heard we will just wait/rent for now, and now you hear it alot, I think many people are finally “getting it”
How is it down there these days in Ft. Lauderdale? I used to live there, from 1980 to 2000. Used to be a great place to live, work and play. I haven’t heard good news from my accountant, who still lives in the area. Ever since Wilma blew through, there’s been a lot of discontent.
well, we only moved here about a year ago, and we love it, we suffer from severe boating disease though, and Ft lauderdale is a very good area for that. I work from home and airports so the traffic doesn’t bother me, and I still think it is very easy to live here if you are east of 95, shops, food etc are all close, people are friendly etc. and you just can’t beat the boating. Where else do you see dolphins on your way to dinner like we did last night???
Ft. Lauderdale, that’s one of the great things about Florida, if you’re a boater, there’s no other place to be, especially Ft. Lauderdale. If you work from home, all is well and especially if you are east of 95. You would have loved it there years ago even more. The Las Olas Isles were enchanting. I really enjoyed the time I spent there.
Different folks, different strokes.
I know Ft. Lauderdale very well and consider it one of the most hellish, ugly, pretentious, sh@tholes in SE Florida.
It’s flipper/greed central and compared to many other Florida places… the boating sucks, unless you own a mega yacht.
…. but that’s just me.
“I know Ft. Lauderdale very well and consider it one of the most hellish, ugly, pretentious, sh@tholes in SE Florida.”
Ft. Lauderdale is a very nice place to play. I think you’re being harsh. I can think of many worse places (even right in SE Florida). Personally, I feel Palm Beach County offers more of a family friendly atmosphere…excluding certain areas of course…The schools are better, the property is marginally less expensive, and the traffic is not as hellish.
Agreed, Andy. There are FAR worse places in that area that Ft. Dodderdale (my grandmother’s name for it–apparently it was the playground of old millionaires when she was young).
I think a lot of Ft. Lauderdale is quite nice, but once you go a mile from the beach it starts turning into sprawl hell … a giant metro cancer extending some 30 miles north and south. Ugh.
I’d heard it called Ft. Lottatail for all the spring break fun that goes on there.
From what I’ve been reading in magazines like Boat US, Sailing, Cruising World, etc. Florida is the most unfriendly boating state in America. They deny US citizens the right to anchor in their waters. Several major lawsuits are currently under way. Florida is NOT boater friendly. Just one more good reason not to move to Florida. SHAME ON FLORIDA.
well having boated on most of the eastern seaboard I would have to disagree that it is just Florida, but I will agree that all states are becoming hostile to live aboards and anchorages, my cynical side believes they want to charge property taxes and they can’t do that if you are anchored, but it is not just Florida, we hope to retire on a boat and it appears we may have to leave the US to do so, (at least if we want warm water) and the facilities here are good for any boater, small or large in my experience, but to each his own.
Hey, Ft. Laud, you must be a rich b*stard living in high heaven. The rest of us in South Florida score it more like Palmetto does. Don’t talk up this area. It’s corrupt and needs an enema in the worst way.
I meant Penina. You know what I mean. (Sorry again, Palmy.)
No worries, mate. lol, I made the same comment below about Florida needing an enema, but I include the entire state. Tallahassee would be a good place to start.
Got thermite? Got bulldozers?
RE: Tallahasse…spent 4 days there before being dispatched to Niceville for FEMA disaster inspection work.
Save for the Florida State Seminole football stadium there sure wasn’t much except strip malls and shitloads of traffic.
Some of the older roads in the area have beautiful tree branch canopies. Especially in the early morning and late afternoon, you really can get the sense of “old Florida” if you’re driving on them. Of course, sooner or later “new Florida” intervenes with those items that you mentioned.
I meant Tallahassee, not Ft. Lauderdale.
Gainesville and Ocala area are the same way. That’s why I like taking back roads. Also St. Augustine area. The sad thing about St. Augie is that most of the people I know who go out there from here go for the outlet malls, not the scenery.
““Dutoit just listed the three-two with a den, a three-car garage, twin pantries, a deluxe kitchen and a screened pool for $519,500. ‘That home probably would have sold in the sixes, say, in the summer of 2005,’ said Dutoit. ‘We’ve just seen probably a 30 percent drop in value in most of our inventory.’”
Dutoit was saying that prices were in the 600k range…well, a 30% drop from that would put him around the 420k mark. He still doesn’t get it.
“In early 2004, the houses were changing hands for list prices in the mid $400,000s…Dutoit just listed the three-two with a den, a three-car garage, twin pantries, a deluxe kitchen and a screened pool for $519,500.”
Even if he has to cut the price to, say, $450K, sounds like a decent investment. Just ignore the years in between. Perhaps that should be the new mantra — just 2004 and 2005, and perhaps also 2003 and 2006.
“Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes remains a concern. Palm Beach County has more than 33,400 homes and condominiums for sale, up nearly 19 percent from last year, according to the Keyes Co. of Miami. At the current sales pace, it would take several years to sell that inventory.”
Not only the rising inventory of unsold homes, but combine that with people who are leaving the state and those who are staying away in droves.
It is actually getting pretty ugly here. Floridians are usually quite complacent, but they are organizing protests on taxes and insurance. Plus the violent crime statistic is on the rise. FUGLY!
Oh, man, I was just over in the Bits Bucket thread and saw the comments about the markets. Holy Shorts, Batman! Here comes some more burnt toast for Florida. Perhaps more than any other state, Florida is dependent on investment income, because of the retirees. And I’m sure many of those retirees (who, once they don’t have job, start fancying themselves as investment moguls) are being taken to the cleaners.
They’re such easy pickings for the slimeball investment “strategists” down here it’s ridiculous. “The real estate opportunity of a lifetime!” “Invest in unleaded gasoline! Gold futures! Florida swampland! Oh wait! You already invested in the swampland! Okay then! How about the Iraqi stock market! Pawn shops! Bennigan’s franchises!”
bwahahaha… swampland, no s***. and the best part is, Bennigan’s is in the sh****r. They messed up their ‘formula’ and their profits as well.
Taxes are actually cheap here (Florida) at 2% in Broward county and they also knock $25K off the taxable base if you live in it (Homestead). Compare that to Houston where many areas are 3.5% and San Antonio which is a little over 3%. The real problem is that the GF’s drove up the prices to where no one can afford the whole package if they were trying to buy NOW. If you weren’t a GF and are still in your Florida home that you bought prior to the bubble (say 2002 or earlier), you have one of the lowest taxes in the nation. Floridians should stop wanking about their taxes. They want their cake and to eat it too…i.e. maintain high home values, but pay low taxes. Leave things alone and when home prices retreat to what people can afford, the property taxes will go down as well.
“If you weren’t a GF and are still in your Florida home that you bought prior to the bubble (say 2002 or earlier), you have one of the lowest taxes in the nation.”
True, but that’s an endangered species and the people complaining about taxes are the GFs and FBs, with their “NO FAIR, NO FAIR!”. I agree, Floridians should give it up on the taxes. And there probably wouldn’t be so much beefing and farting if it weren’t combined with insurance.
Palmetto, you are right. But if those GF’s and FBs would have calculated what their taxes would be and stuck to their incomes in deciding how much to pay or offer for a house, they wouldn’t have kept bidding up house prices. I think most are speculators (even if they live in the house) because they all based their decisions on either believing or hoping that home prices would continue upward indefinately…so the associated high tax bill didn’t matter. Since that isn’t the case they are waking up and wanking about the hole they willingly dug themselves into! I guess that is human nature to bitch about taxes, but no one forces anyone into overpaying for a house and taking on the burden of the associated taxes AND ultimately if they don’t like it, they can leave or not buy in the first place (which ultimately would help reverse house prices back down).
“Taxes are actually cheap here (Florida) at 2% in Broward county and they also knock $25K off the taxable base if you live in it (Homestead). ”
That is SO well stated. People look at me like I’m stupid when I tell them it’s a lot worse other places. My taxes on a $225K home are $3900 yearly. Back in MI where I’m from, they’d be in the neighborhood of $5,000 or more depending on the municipality.
Yeah, well, Michigan…All that money’s going to police, whereas in Florida it’s all going to developers and crooked politicians. There is a difference, y’know.
Florida’s behind the curve. The money will start going to the police once the populace starts screaming for the blood of the developers and politicians.
“Yeah, well, Michigan…All that money’s going to police…”
Police…what police? There’s no police in MI. They don’t have any money left to pay them! Have you seen Palm Beach County? It’s the closest thing to a police state you can find. I can’t drive to Publix on the corner without seeing a cop.
Hell, whenever I turn around, I seem to find one. I must admit you have to go 90 to flush them from their Coney Island.
Send your cops to Gainesville … no, seriously.
Thieves steal stuff from houses with impunity (and also from businesses!) because the cops don’t bother to follow up … no resources.
People routinely run red lights–I don’t just mean gunning the yellow, I mean they stop at a red, wait for an entrance, and go. The city incorporated a large area but didn’t increase the number of traffic enforcement cops. (They’d rather spend the money on more homeless handouts or on themselves.) If you ever spend a day in traffic court, you’d note how many of the accidents were caused by red light running.
I agree with your assessment on the police here in Florida (I’m currently in South Florida). I have discussed this often and termed the police actions here as being “reactionary”. They turn a blind eye to almost everything, until there is an actual accident or crime that has already happened. Red light runners everywhere with absolutely no action by the police, but if there is an accident, even minor, then there are at least 5 police cars and numerous cops standing around chatting with each other. In SoCal, though there are plenty of problems I won’t get into, the police are much more proactive and are constantly practicing “active” policing, same with the CHP as compared to the FHP. I’ve studied that a society gets the kind of policing that they want and I guess the third world mentality here in South Florida doesn’t want to be policed on “minor” things like traffic enforcement. I’m out of here in four months and can’t wait.
Yep…and Floridians can’t forget that they pay NO state income tax. Geez…even back when my house in San Diego was at $290K in 1999, I was paying $5,000 in property tax with Mello Roos, and then add in the income tax bite which is incremental up to your first $55K in income and a whopping 9% after that…AND one of the highest sales taxes in the nation, at about 8% .
“Yep…and Floridians can’t forget that they pay NO state income tax.”
They want to whine and complain. If it wasn’t taxes and insurance there would be something else. What I really want is someplace with an average temp of 75, median house price of $100K, taxes at 0.5%, no disasters so no insurance necessary, and a median income of $250K per year. Anyone know where that exists?
Jimmy Buffet land.
Ca also has a much higher median income than Florida. Florida wages suck and will not support the inflated insurance / taxes / home prices. That is why Florida is falling hard.
“Adler started off asking $535,000 and now has it listed at $464,900 but still hasn’t had a nibble, he said. ‘It’s not logical.’”
When sellers could buy a place for $464K, and then 6 months later sell it for $535K, they were not worried if it was “logical” or not.
In fact, the market value is probably about $395K, which IS logical if you compare it to what the market was 4 years ago.
REPLY TO NORTH GA DAVE;
ADLER THE ILLOGIAL GUY, PAID $209K in 8/’00 for this house, CURRENTLY listed for $464k, down from $535K..Tax value is $350K
Thanks for that, that’s what I figured. Sounds like Adler is the illogical one!
Can we please rip on this dork some more?
“‘The mortgage rates are good, the median price is down, building permits are down, employment is up, so what the hell does sales price have to do with it?’”
i think this has got to be the end all stupid comment in the history of real estate. I can’t believe I’m not hearing more bashing yet. But I’ll keep going down the page . . .
I almost feel let down.
Chad,
Agreed. Frankly this statement is so stupid its just too easy a target.
Perhaps Adler is unaware of the last fact in the story:
“Meanwhile, the supply of unsold resales continues to mount: about 15,000 single-family homes for sale in Lee County, about four times what it was a year ago.”
So, supply is gigantic and growing, demand is falling (if it exists at all). And he’s wondering about the “logic” of why his property won’t sell at his ridiculous price?
Really, too easy a target.
OK. Moron of the year award goes to Adler. This did strike me as one of the stupidest comments of the year. Must be the kind of guy that you would find passed out drunk in the parking lot at the Beach Pierside Grill or the 7-11 at 7 am.
Hey Crazy G,
How did you get the purchase price info for this guy Adler’s house in 8/’00? Where can I find info like that if I only have the owner’s name and not the address?
Thanks,
Maria
MassBubbleGirl, at most county records web sites you can use last name OR address and you have access to all recorded info. I’m actually surprised that there isn’t more privacy. In addition to property info (tax assessment, sales, etc) you can also see what the owners mortgage(s) are, and also other info like divorce or other proceedings. Lots of fun for inquisitive types. I love to look up co-workers and see how much they paid for their homes.
MASSBUBBLE REPLY; County property appraiser, has all transactions listed..then hop on over to the Court Register of deeds, and using name or Property I.D #, etc You can find out Mortgages, liens, YADA
“(Realtor) Phil Wood said … sellers need to adjust their asking prices to the real world.”
But they can’t because they gotstucco with unreal mortgages.
200 down and falling….
Can you say “dropping like a stone?”
Back up to no change at 2 PM. PPT at work?
“Infiesto, a real estate broker with the Florida Real Estate Store, is motivated to sell, with a property tax bill of more than $13,000 this year and skyrocketing insurance rates. But at $1.4 million, no dice.”
No shi@ Sherlock. It figures this seller is a real estate broker trying to find the next GF. She complains about the $13,000 property tax bill this year…WTF, why should she expect some GF to pay her the $1.4M asking price and assume a $28,000 property bill on the same property??? Based on her current tax, she probably only paid around $650K for the property. How can they look you in the eye and act like they are desparate sellers, when they are trying to pocket over 100% gains. These ass wipes that feel they are entitled to enormous profits drive me insane. She could sell in a week if she simply dropped the price down to a fair price.
Outof, are you still in South Florida? If I remember correctly, you wanted desperately to leave. How’s that going?
Palmetto, thanks for asking. Just under four months and we are out of here. I’m retiring early from my job so we can leave. I could have had a job transfer if I worked here another year, but my wife would have left without me (she dislikes it here more than me…she’s the one who has to interact at the crappy school my kids are in, etc.). I don’t harbor any ill will to the people that like it here, but it just isn’t my cup of tea and I don’t like having to try and be bi-lingual. By the summer we will be living back in the U.S. Hot Dogs and Apple Pie!
“‘I’m desperate to sell my house,’ she said. ‘I’ll even throw in the horses,’ she said with a chuckle.”
I wonder if that is all she is willing to do — Realtwhore!
If she’s chuckling, she’s not desperate.
“Adler started off asking $535,000 and now has it listed at $464,900 but still hasn’t had a nibble, he said. ‘It’s not logical.’”
——————————————————————————
You’re absolutely right Jerry. Why would anyone now want to pay $ 464 k for a house that is probbaly worth $ 250 k tops?
As posted above, jerry paid $209K [8/'00], tax value $350k..
Nice appreciation if you can get it!!!
Well hell! He is not going to give it away….Dammit…..
Geez
Damn right! He can’t let some idiot buyer screw him over with only a measly 50% gain! Stupid buyers.
I think we have Florida’s new Housing Bubble Poster Child of the month.
“One hopeful seller, Cindy Infiesto, is trying to sell her 6,300-square-foot, all-concrete Alva house on 7.5 acres with a seven-stall horse barn and a putting green.”
“Infiesto, a real estate broker with the Florida Real Estate Store, is motivated to sell, with a property tax bill of more than $13,000 this year and skyrocketing insurance rates. But at $1.4 million, no dice.”
Analysis: She bought more house than she wanted or could afford. Insurances and taxes are exploding. She is a broker fer gawdsake. That means her income has cratered, she essentially doubled down a bet on real estate.
“‘I’m desperate to sell my house,’ she said. ‘I’ll even throw in the horses,’ she said with a chuckle.”
No thanks, I’m not that hungry but you will be soon.
“No thanks, I’m not that hungry but you will be soon.”
LMAO.
She could always eat the horses.
She should throw in the mules and the ass too.
Which one? -
Price per acre she paid was probably 5 or 10k per acre now she wants a 100k per acre and another 700 for constructed $#itbox on it.
she can grow her own food … make a little green house out of plastic and plant some beans…
“Pinzino lost one deal after the prospective buyers paid a deposit, but later discovered the $3,500 they had estimated for insurance would actually be $8,500.”
Sucks when you got a buyer willing to run the numbers independently and not a member of the flock.
Yeah, I know. No wonder they’re dumbing down the education system. Need more mouthbreathers.
They’re all leveraged up already down here. Nobody left. Every illegal within 300 miles has a mortgage.
“Pinzino lost one deal after the prospective buyers paid a deposit, but later discovered the $3,500 they had estimated for insurance would actually be $8,500.”
Simple math folks. $125 per square foot replacement cost is $787,500. Take 1% for insurance (if newer construction) and that’s $7,875. Now let’s insure that horse barn!
Who in their right OR wrong mind would guess $3500 for insurance on a 6300 square foot house in S Florida? Maybe someone from Montana.
ISM just came out, market perceives as good, market recovering. I hope this dead cat bounce takes it positive, because I will then get everything into cash and watch.
If there’s a “dead cat bounce” I’m thowing my house on the market and jumping into Olympia. Minto’s giving those houses away right now…we’re talking 2002 prices from when they started pre-construction. I’d hate to be a 2005 buyer…errr bagholder.
Get a good price Andy there were a lot of specuflippers in there!
“Get a good price Andy there were a lot of specuflippers in there!”
Don’t I know it. I have a friend who bought in ‘05 and took delivery Jan of ‘06. Paid $525K for 4BR/2BA/2CG. Same house (different model name of course) is selling for $405K from the builder right now.
$334 buys you 3/2.5/2 today. At $300K I could be in the market. That was my only point.
I think if you wait you might see 250 or less in a year or so. I think we are one hurricane from capitulation in PBC.
” I think we are one hurricane from capitulation in PBC.”
We’re 1 hurricane away from a new feeding frenzy you mean. That will delay the bottom by years. People move down for clean up, speculators get fueled again…That will not be a good thing for bears in the near term.
The current inventory level in the Palm Beach Area is 44 months. Enough said.
To me this is the best and most disturbing quote I have read in a while:
“‘It’s incongruous,’ said Jerry Adler, who’s been trying to sell his four-bedroom, three-bath house in south Fort Myers for a year and a half so he can move to Tucson, Ariz. ‘The mortgage rates are good, the median price is down, building permits are down, employment is up, so what the hell does sales price have to do with it?’”
Does he not understand that you are obligated to pay the bank back for the mortgage? Has financial edumacation become this poor? What is going on in the minds of joe six pack right now? Have we been brainwashed to think that you don’t have to fully pay the mortgagae at some time?
This is not right and there is going to be a reconing.
I nominate this quotation as the all-time winner for seller/flipper with:
The MOST
- Brainwashed Realtor-Inspired Spin
- Attitude
- Disconnect from Reality
- Unintended hilarity
The LEAST
- Understanding of the most basic arithmetic
- Clue of any kind whatsoever
All the stupidity and greed in the Great Real Estate Fiasco of the early 2000’s is summed up perfectly in that one short statement from our less-than-brilliant but outspoken poster boy, Jerry Adler.
Congratulations Jerry!
I second that nomination. Price is the only thing that has to do with it. gordo
I love the FLA thread.
philly, we bearish Floridians have adopted you as an honorary cracker. Heck, most of us here in Florida are honorary crackers.
lol
if only you knew how close you were to the truth!
I’m an honorary Ritz cracker.
Me too.
Agreed! Jerry Adler is our new poster boy of idiocy.
To Jerry Adler: suck it dude, you are a greedy bafoon and I hope you are HELOC’d up to your eyeballs so the bank can foreclose on you. Please stay in FL. Your intent is to relocate to AZ, and that will put you too close to me. No doubt you were one of the people who couldn’t figure out how to vote in 2000.
I don’t think he knows which day to vote
There’s the ripping. I’m proud again!
the price is just numbers it dont mean nothing… lol
go to a bank and they draw the numbers I need to get hit and no problem… (I think thats his train of thought)
the collective IQ of the State of Florida is gonna rise once this dumbnut leaves the state.. wait, he’s gonna single handedly drop it by a few points once he gets to sunny AZ…
And we in Tucson just can’t wait to have him join us!
When I drove to Ft. Myers last weekend, I saw a “house for sale/motivated seller” snipe sign planted in the median as soon as I exited I-75. That was just a preview of what I saw later; someone really should drive around southwest Florida with a video camera, because what has happened to the area is a crime.
I tried explaining to friends that Ft. Myers used to be a cow town. No one is going to buy that guy’s house for anything close to what he wants. Not retiring boomers, not rich foreigners, not someone with a 600 FICO score. He will not be moving to Tuscon. If he has a HELOC problem, he is up sh*t creek without a boat. And I don’t care.
By the way, if I have the right person on the Lee County property appraiser site, he bought that house in 2000 for $209,000.
AMEN; I confirmed the $209K also!!!
If we’ve got the right person, here’s the house. Truly one-of-a-kind.
http://tinyurl.com/22sv54
Just when I thought Angela DiMauro (aka LoanQueen) of the Reno Realty Blog had the Dumbazz Crown firmly planted on her head, here comes Jerry Adler.
(Last wk. Bantering Bear posted a blurb from loanqueen’s site, but Reno Realty Blog must have deleted it. Poor Angela must have suffered major flamage from HBBers.)
Can you find the refi or HELOC history?
This guy Jerry Adler, must really be a piece of work. I really can’t tell you what he has been doing, with 57 entries in the last 5 years, with a multitude of properties and entries.
Mortgages, liens, power of attorney, YADA, YADA, YADA…
Looks like Jerry’s a flipper, he should know all about price. He and what appear to be his flipper family bought 4 places in Danforth Lakes subdivision from Beazer homes and flipped them all.
Quite the bizarre comment. I wonder if he’ll use the same logic when he shops for his next home in AZ? Who cares what anything costs as long as he can make the payments, right?
These kind of sellers like Alder just don’ get it. Alder moved to Florida just a few years ago and paid $209K for his POS, probably as a retirement home, and his property tax bill last year was only $2,683.67 (remember, no state income tax either). Why in the hell does he think some idiot will buy his POS now for $465K and assume the new taxes at $9,000? Game Over! The GFs are disappearing, and retirees like him (Alder) can’t and/or won’t pay these new prices. They will stay in Jersey or N.Y. or wherever they currently are. Alder is just dreaming that some idot will give him a couple hundred grand to further fund his retirement so he can move to sunny Tucson and buy a little 3/2 with cash. I don’t blame him for trying, but if he really wants to sell he needs to wise up.
Florida is toast.
I know that is obvious… but they will have a decline a la 1926. The question is how many years will it take. When will they get back to housing values that allows them to attract new business and retirees.
Florida will be the example of how a state can price itself out of its niche in the global economy.
So will California…
DC…
Massachusetts…
Oh, the fun just doesn’t stop!
Got popcorn?
Neil
Neil, Florida is in desperate need of a good enema. I haven’t had a market update in the past 15 minutes, but something tells me the purge is underway.
You hit the nail on the head. We had a good thing going here, with retirees, modest business and low costs. Florida has been through this before. We just might pull through this again. If development becomes a dirty word (and it will) and the illegals leave, we can recover. The only problem will be what to do with all the empty condos and HOAs.
Got thermite? Got bulldozers?
“If development becomes a dirty word (and it will) and the illegals leave, we can recover.”
When there are no under the table construction jobs, the illegals will move inland for under the table farm jobs. Prices will begin to increase again.
The condos won’t remain empty. They’ll be marketed for 55+ after years of 75% vacancy. Prices will be $80s on up for 1BR, $120’s up for 2BR and $140’s up for 3BR. That’s my prediction.
Illegals won’t be going back to farm jobs, trust me, at least not the ones who left farm jobs to get into construction. They look down on those working in the fields and groves. I’ve heard them talking, I know just enuf Spanish to understand. Many will take their profits (as some already have) and return home where the living is cheap. Others will be desperate enought to look for other Clay Moores who might not be as resourceful.
As to condos, I agree the prices will plummet, but even then I don’t think the population will be here to afford even the low prices. Maybe they’ll be turned into apartments for all the hordes who won’t be able to get mortgages.
Got thermite? Got bulldozers?
Palmetto-not worry as they (condos) will all be fishing reefs once the ice melts from global warming.
palmetto: I hope you are right. I know alot of people here bash FL, but I think I could live there no problem. You did have a good thing going there, and it is a shame that Easy Al Greenspan and the speculators did what they did. An economy hinged upon housing is just moronic, and it angers me that more people cannot see this.
CA Guy, Florida-bashing has been a national pasttime ever since the Marx Brothers movie memorialized by GetStucco. Most of us just shrug our shoulders and don’t even bother to respond, as we go off to fish or swim or golf. I really hope we do come back, but I’m not sure about Miami. SouthBeach is just a pretentious flat wannabe version of Santa Monica, with high humidity.
Most of the time I’ve been pretty angry about all of this myself, but it isn’t good for health, mental and physical. That’s why I am so frustrated with the fits and starts of the stock market meltdown. It is ugly and it wants to die, but the PPT won’t disconnect the feeding tube. The sooner we take our medicine, the sooner the recovery. A market meltdown would be good for Florida in the long run.
I respect everyone on this blog and thank you for all your knowledge and insight. I don’t consider myself to be your intellectual equivalents. However, I genuinely know when things aren’t right (call it instinct or intuition). You have helped me understand why they’re not right. I’m thinking that many people leaving the state could be a great thing. Our schools, roads, and shops will become less crowded. This could make south florida a much more livable place. Am I way off? I grew up here and this used to be a nice place to live.
“I’m thinking that many people leaving the state could be a great thing. Our schools, roads, and shops will become less crowded. This could make south florida a much more livable place. Am I way off?”
Yes, you’re way off. The school system, police force, garbage collection, retail establishments, … all have been staffed to the current population. If you lose it, you lose all of those things. The police get laid off, the teachers leave the state for lack of job security, retail establishments leave and the politicians cry broke. Pandora’s box cannot be closed once it’s been open. What we can hope for is balance. Stop development now. Prices will level off and so will all the “doom and gloom.”
I don’t see that happening. There are so many mcmansions ($600 -$2m) houses on the market. Not to mention all the rest of the homes and condos. I’ve never seen anything like it. Something has got to give. Equilibrium is a long way off. There just isn’t any demand that I can see.
“Something has got to give. Equilibrium is a long way off. There just isn’t any demand that I can see.”
When the $600K McMansions become the $300K McMansions (and we’re really starting to see that…look in Olympia and Victoria Grove and Ibis) there will become market for it. If not for the working class, for the people from NY and NJ who are 50 something and have just enough to get retired. They are the ones who will fill the market.
Equilibrium is a long way off if we continue to see drops in the 10% range. As soon as you see 40-60% it will return. It probably won’t be for those of us still working though.
So. Fla. Bubble Girl reply: “”" DEBT “”" is going to take them down, BIG TIME….Take away home building, and shopping malls, and leave empty houses, and streets, and what have you got….”"ANARCHY”"
These homes are so large. The upkeep is very expensive. Why would anyone take that on even if the prices was much cheaper?
recycle thats the word… you could also export homes to mexico and the carribean lift place onto barge and ship… (granted costly but some asset recovery at least).
DC- I’m here and stuff’s moving again
if you’re within 15 miles and under 700k it’s selling at early 2005 pricing- gov keeps growing as the sheople never complain
Not surprising. The commerce department reported today that incomes rose, driven by executive bonuses (wall street, anyone?) and FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAY RAISES.
I’ve been wondering: how many of the new jobs created in the past 5 years are directly attributable to federal government? How many related to only the worthless “homeland security?” (I really despise that name, Homeland Security. Sounds like the USSR or nazi Germany) Anyways, combine federal jobs with realtors and mortgage brokers, and I bet you’d have 99% of all new jobs.
On a local level, I think that at:
http://www.viewfromsiliconvalley.com/index.html
… some research was done to ascertain employment “growth” in the Valley from just before the dotcom craziness took off up until the present.
Healthcare, education and government job hires accounted for the majority of hiring. Surely the area went through a dramatic private sector shakedown in the early ’00’s, but this is in an area where leaders and others are trumpeting another “Silcon Valley comeback!”
And yet I still see empty office parks in the area.
Today’s “Whiskey and Gunpowder” (agourafinancial.com) addresses just this question.
Ans: 1,201,000 since 2001.
I read a report stating that the REIC & healthcare jobs only offset jobs lost elsewhere and that government jobs essentially accounted for all of the workplace expansion. Scary, eh?
Jesus, are you saying there will be no burst in the DC area?
-Lost
Maybe an EMP burst. The only growth industry is adding staffing to make sure that no one is enjoying themselves.
Significant overbuilding, frequent hurricanes, high taxes for new purchasers, and high insurance for practically everyone. No other state has this many RE negatives. Florida is indeed thermonuclear toast.
“Significant overbuilding, frequent hurricanes, high taxes for new purchasers, and high insurance for practically everyone. No other state has this many RE negatives. Florida is indeed thermonuclear toast. ”
Carolina are next! Just wait for the cat 5 to hit.
That’s true. But what percent of Florida’s land mass is within 50 miles of the coast? What percent of North and South Carolina’s land mass is within 50 miles?
A hurricane can come in on Florida’s gulf coast, travel across the flat peninsula, and exit into the Atlantic, still a hurricane. A hurricane coming ashore in the Carolinas can whack Myrtle Beach or Charleston or Wilmington, but it is soon a tropical storm.
BTW, we live near the mountains. Our friends from near Hilton Head will soon be moving here. They expect to have a hard time selling their house in HH. Other friends from St. Pete will also soon be moving here. They still thank their deity of choice every day that they were able to quickly sell their single family condo last fall. Never even had a chance to plant St. Joe in the yard.
There’s a thought. I wonder how many folks are having a tough time with their faith now that the statue hasn’t produced any GFs, oops I mean buyers.
God doesn’t rescue people from stupidity.
What’s also interesting/scary is all the condos that are under-construction at the moment, they’ll be coming online in about a year or two (the article mentioned that somewhere).
Will it be possible to buy a highrise 2bd. w/ ocean view for ~50K ?
I hope they don’t get digested by the gov’ment as public housing projects.. it might be painful but for once it would be nice for the market to take care of its own mess without big brother intervention.
I’m just trying to guess/understand how this all is going to unfold.. interesting times i tell ya’.
Probably, I’m sure there’s plenty of section-8 high-rises with an ocean view in Jamaica Bay, long Island.
In 1978 my parents bought a condo in Boca for $48k and 15 years it did not appreciate 1 cent. People would buy them for $50k if they were updated and then would re-sell them for 50k and be happy they broke even.
That was the joke in FL for the longest time. Now those same condos were selling for $170 about 2 years ago. I saw one for sale in our old “hood” and they were asking $217k for it.
It’s been for sale for 17 months. I’d say max that thing is worth is about $85-$95k. They are old now and not very well maintained. It looks like an old run down building and almost looks abandoned.
Used to be in the Tiara in Singer Island. Bought for 100K in 1987. Sold shortly thereafter for $105K because of Riveria Beach and moved to Jupiter. Damned happy to get it since I wanted out. After being assessed about $100K to rebuild after a hurricane where there wasn’t enough insurance, you find them on the market for $250K or so (and not selling). Lots of appreciation there.
“‘It’s incongruous,’ said Jerry Adler, who’s been trying to sell his four-bedroom, three-bath house in south Fort Myers for a year and a half so he can move to Tucson, Ariz. ‘The mortgage rates are good, the median price is down, building permits are down, employment is up, so what the hell does sales price have to do with it?’”
Ha ha ha…Let ME take a wild, wild guess.
You, like a million others down there, have an over-priced POS that nobody WANTS and you want a small fortune in Profit for it ???
Dang, This is gonna be a rough year.
http://terrorismawareness.org/know-about-jihad
Not to worry we haven’t used the Mousad yet. That will take care of it.
This is a great example of the falling prices in Florida. I was looking at various properties in Mirasol (North West Palm Beach) and came accross this house.
http://www.langrealty.com/HomeDetail.asp?MLSAliasName=&tablename=regional_data&homedetailtemplate=&price=499900&street=185%20VIA%20CONDADO%20WY&beds=3&baths=2&sMinBuildingSquareFoot=2437&state=FL&zip=33418&MlsNum=R2710602&citystate=PALM%20BEACH%20GARDENS&propertytype=&piclink=
It appears very nice, at least from the pictures and ad. The house originally sold in May 04 for $400,420 and was resold in Sept 05 for $630,000.
From Palm Beach Assessors website
http://www.pbcgov.com/papa/aspx/web/detail_info.aspx?p_entity=52424134070000430&geonav=Y&styp=general&owner=&city=-1&zip=&method=address&cidx=-1&sdiv=&sdivnam=&stno=185&pdir=&st=VIA%20CONDADO&strnm=&sufx=&ptdir=&cty=&rng=&twp=&sct=&blk=&lot=&book=&page=&tangid=&condo=&condoname=&use=&usnam=&sloc=&prd=&pedir=&podir=&famt=&tamt=&fsqft=&tsqft=&srt1=&srt2=&srt3=&stpage=0&adlfilter=
It is now on the market for $499,900 and is still probably overpriced. Can anyone find out how long it has been on the market?
There were 173 houses for sale in Mirasol. My guess is people are going to get more desparate in the next 6-12 months and will begin to panic and then the prices will really fall. It is going to get very ugly down there.
Terry FUNK is the owner of that house in Mirasol. He paid $630 [9'05] with a $472K “”mortgage”"..@ 5.625% adj reset @ 2010yr.
$26K/yr interest alone..Plus tax, insur. and amort. $4-5K/Mo sure
A lot of simple internet real estate sites will offer you the listing date. Yahoo Real estate does, for example.
The comments on yen carry trade and the coming raising in Japanese rates is basically droping the market. IF they actually
rase rates soon expect another huge drop.
It’s like watching a horse race.
I’ve learned never to trust the Japanese central bank to do what’s expected to or should do. You think our central bank is politically motivated? The Japanese make Ben Bernanke look like Paul Volcker. I certainly wouldn’t invest based on an expectation of a Japanese rate rise.
Saw my first Mitt Romney commercial playing to Florida last night. Wow, campaigning is starting early.
I’m guessing I’m not the only one totally repulsed by the “endless political campaign” that we seem to have entered. We got, what, like a week after the Nov ‘06 elections until CNN, MSNBC, and the other psuedo-news organizations started running round-the-clock “Election 2008″ segments. I can’t wait to hear how it’s “the most important election in our lifetimes” again.
“I can’t wait to hear how it’s “the most important election in our lifetimes” again.”
LOL. No sh*t, you ain’t kidding! We must be cats and have nine lives, because it is always “the most imortant election.”
Given what’s happened in Florida, you have to wonder why they bother having them.
This is why I live without a TV.
Ah… Romney-free bliss.
“Saw my first Mitt Romney commercial playing to Florida last night. Wow, campaigning is starting early.”
He has to! Those real right winger Christian core voters consider the Mormon church to be a cult. It will take a whole lot for him to overcome that…especially when you consider that’s your core.
I’m from Massachusetts… Let me tell you, Romney has some serious handicaps in Mormon country. Now, maybe enough time has passed that old wounds are forgotten, but right after the Salt Lake City Olympics he was persona non grata in those parts. The newspaper accused him of shouting at people and using “foul language” including “the foulest of the foul words”. Obviously this is a scandal of the greatest proportions…
“‘People keep talking about the lack of supply of affordable housing, but they are not rushing toward the opportunity,’ said (broker) Randy Bianchi in West Palm Beach.”
IOW, they are not rushing to catch falling knives…
“‘People keep talking about the lack of supply of affordable housing, but they are not rushing toward the opportunity,’ said (broker) Randy Bianchi in West Palm Beach.”
City of WPB just broke ground on “affordable housing” starting in the $170’s for a 1BR condo and $260’s for a 3BR single family home. Affordawhat?
You’d be CRAZY! Right in the heart of the ghetto when you can buy non “affordable” housing just outside of the city for $235K single family and $150K condo.
HIVtv
house haters -those poor bastrds -couples buying in 2005 episodes-man are they screwed
they always ahve the 3 month later epiloge
how about a year or 18 months later ?
“Adler started off asking $535,000 and now has it listed at $464,900 but still hasn’t had a nibble, he said. ‘It’s not logical.’”
Ya Think if he looked around the neighborhood, and was really serious about moving, he would have listed at $464,900 a year and a half ago…it would have sold in 3 days????
Now Like um maybe lower it to $399,000 and Presto its sold. Now just be ready to move in 30 days to tuscon…..but will he?…..nahhhhhhhhh!
From the Herald Tribune article:
“Dutoit believes that the median and average prices posted by the Sarasota Association of Realtors and its statewide counterpart understate the decline in value that occurs during a falling real estate market.
Here is why: If an agent has a buyer in a given price range, say $500,000, the buyer is very likely to stick to his price range and grab the former $600,000 home that has now become available for $100,000 less. That would be reflected in the averages simply as a $500,000 sale, and would not reveal as a statistic the price its seller could have received a year earlier.”
This is true everywhere, not just Florida.
“…an agent has a buyer in a given price range, say $500,000, the buyer is very likely to stick to his price range and grab the former $600,000 home that has now become available for $100,000 less..”
That’s the bottom line. In Palm Beach County, I can speak of how sharply prices have fallen. Stuff that’s been on the market for $500K on up just a year ago is now up for $335K. But if you were in the market for a $500K home, you’d just assume buy the $500K home that was $850K last year. In my neighborhood houses that were selling for $350K are now running $235K. Those that were in the $350 range are buying in the old $500K range. Those that are buying the $235K are the ones who were priced out before.
Ha! How many people do you know that can afford a $500,000 home in any state in America!!?!
To honestly afford a $500K house, with responsible and conventional financing, the buyer would need to have an extra $150,000 for downpayment, closing costs and move-in expenses/improvements.
His annual income would need to be about $200K, to honestly afford this the right way.
Now, there are people in this position. However, how many of them are there relative to the # of $500K + houses, and more importantly, how many people in this financial condition would actually be satisfied with what you get for $500K in FL?
Now,
“Ha! How many people do you know that can afford a $500,000 home in any state in America!!?!”
Those from the northeast that just sold their paid off home for $800K come down here and find $500K to be a real value. Make no mistake, these homes are not for the working class…but to say there’s not a market for them is crazy. The biggest issue is the number of those McMansions they’ve put up. Probably enough to last those from the northeast for 15 years.
And for the working class, anyone can afford $500K on a negative am teaser loan! Don’t you know that real estate only goes up? Seems like a safe bet to me.
Those from the northeast that just sold their paid off home for $800K come down here and find $500K to be a real value.
True, but in most cases someone else has to buy the $800K house, and yet someone else that buyer’s house, etc. until you reach the first-time buyer. But the musical chairs will stop when there are no first-time buyers because of insane pricing.
Those crazies have been selling for a small fortune in the northeast for a decade now. That’s not going to change any time soon. As long as jobs in NYC are paying what they pay, you’ll only see a little bit of a deflation of the bubble there.
Quirk
You got it all pretty much summed up in one sentence, good buddy.
Bill in Carolina, great point. I’ll be in that situation. Hopefully prices will go down where I’ll be moving, but I’m not going to buy the cheaper house, I plan to spend at my pre-set price point, hoping for a discounted house, i.e. buy all that I can afford as I plan to stay there a long time.
OutOfSD,
I strongly recommend you buy the least expensive house/neighborhood that your family would be happy living in. It’s going to be quite a while before housing starts rising significantly. In the meantime, stash the extra dough each month into CDs, treasurys, or whatever you consider a safe investment.
Once the feds changed the tax rule on capital gains on your house, we bought each successive house for less than we sold the prior one for. Each one had a smaller mortgage of course, and guess where the extra money went. Being retired now, it’s nice not to have any mortgage at all.
Bill,
Good advice, but my wife doesn’t want me to “cheap out” and regret it after the fact. Our home is the focus of our lives and we plan to stay in it and enjoy it for a long time (my youngest is only 7). I will stay on budget though and ensure I don’t do anything stupid.
My point is just don’t stretch to buy the most expensive house you can afford. When we look back at the last house we owned prior to the capital gain change, where each house had to be more expensive than the last to avoid paying those gains, we were on the edge financially. Of course you want a house for the long term, one that you can be proud of, but it doesn’t have to be the most expensive one you can afford.
In retrospect, picking a house based on a tax strategy was just plain stupid. I’m glad people don’t have to do that any more.
I market to my base clients who purchased and have refinanced over the last 3 years. Purchase money loans are slooow coming.
Have started telemarketing to ‘trigger leads’. Anyone have success with theses? If so could you give some pointers?
Also, contemplating getting a PT job for cash flow. Anyone else doing this? I’m not giving up my business, have a Realtor spouse that hasn’t SOLD anything since last year OCTOBER. On Monster.com looking for jobs for him.
I lifted above comment from Mortgage Grapevine
Its not me thank God
What, pray tell, is a trigger lead? Can I shoot it?
FB
Countrywide down citing late payments on subprime loans
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aYuBtI1SQAF0&refer=news
‘That home probably would have sold in the sixes, say, in the summer of 2005,’ said Dutoit. ‘We’ve just seen probably a 30 percent drop in value in most of our inventory.’”
There will come a day when Mr. Dutoit will sadly remember a 30% drop in value as ‘the good ‘ol days’.
And there you have it in a nutshell. Sellers can think it’s not logical or lament why folks aren’t snapping up there beloved properties, but it’s quite simple; buyers are collectively spooked with even a rudimentary inkling of where real estate is headed. The old adage “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’ doesn’t even apply as ridiculously overpriced sellers aren’t even getting the horses to the trough.
oops, Let me try that again.
“‘We don’t want to buy a house that’s valued less than what we paid for it in six months,’ Rutherford said.”
And there you have it in a nutshell. Sellers can think it’s not logical or lament why folks aren’t snapping up there beloved properties, but it’s quite simple; buyers are collectively spooked with even a rudimentary inkling of where real estate is headed. The old adage “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’ doesn’t even apply as ridiculously overpriced sellers aren’t even getting the horses to the trough.
I broke the blog
italics off please
I’m just going to keep talking to myself here, hope you don’t mind.
Wonder Twin Powers ACTIVATE!
italics: stop!
And now the stupidest quote of the day:
Lawrence Yun, economist for the National Association of Realtors in Washington … said he does not think the Florida housing market will suffer too much. The job market remains strong, and many people continue to move to Florida from the Northeast, which should continue to drive demand for real estate, he said.
“This is a short-term correction,” Yun said. “The local fundamentals are good.”
” The job market remains strong, and many people continue to move to Florida from the Northeast…”
I can’t believe someone from NAR said something I said and it was posted on the same thread. I’m sick to my stomach!
People do move from the NE and jobs ARE pletiful, however they’re not super high paying jobs to afford you a $500K home! Simple economics WILL fix this situation but to call this a short-term correction is poppycock!
The $64 question is: what is the local average income in this area? Folks don’t seem to understand that if most jobs are low paying, those folks can’t afford your expensive housing prices. And if the folks in California can’t get big bucks for their house, they won’t have the money to buy that second or third house in Florida. The whole thing is ridiculous and the prices these people are asking are ridiculous. Houses are worth what someone is willing to pay for them and folks don’t seem to want to pay what these folks are asking. I sure am glad I sold our place last year.
As an average working guy I wouldn’t think of paying over $200,000 for any home based on my income.
It’s pretty obvious that the banking industry and speculators roped in a bunch of fools with trick mortgages
Anybody notice that the states with the most immigrants seem to have the highest home “values”?
lowages, in regard to your comment “Anybody notice that the states with the most immigrants seem to have the highest home “values”?”
- I think it has to do with risk vs reward, i.e. they (the immigrants) have mimimal or no risk since they usually have nothing to lose to start with and don’t mind going BK if that’s how it ends up. They use the system to their advantage. My landlady (immigrant from somewhere in the Caribbean) who wants me to buy her house (ha), told me she just bought a hotel here in South Florida. She loves the U.S. as she said “they” give you money to buy stuff with no down payment! I’ve always noticed the same thing with the numerous small businesses that abound in large cities that are mostly owned by new immigrants (little restaurants, 99 cent stores, etc.). Get a small business loan and give it a shot. If it works great…if not, go BK and the bank takes the loss. Same with houses the last few years. Loose lending makes it all possible. It all seems screwed up to me and penalizes those of us that are more honorable. They only way to get people to be more responsible is to revert back to penalties like debtor’s prison, but the ACLU would never let that happen.
why are people from northeast touted as a cash cow… I am in brooklyn, nyc and my professor laughed when I told him the prices of FL houses. We (northeasterners) like affordable stuff, people went to florid in retirement because it was 1) cheap 2) warm.
Once it becomes expensive the luster is gone… lots of warm expensive places and some of them do not have hurricanes or limited in fallout … South of France, Spanish coasts, Georgia, South Carolina etc…
“why are people from northeast touted as a cash cow… I am in brooklyn, nyc and my professor laughed when I told him the prices of FL houses.”
Because the values there on homes grossly exceed the values in FL. South FL is really the only place that got insanely out of hand. Other markets here only got crazy.
GA= Hot summers, cold winters…No thank you.
SC= Speculation Bubble in the making…No thank you.
FL= Warm weather year round (southern 1/2), lots of other old people (for the retired folks), lots of jobs (for the younger folks). You can buy in S. FL in the $250K range. That’s perfectly doable for a 2 income family.
Things the sane in Chasn, even worse, the Realror Assn. keeps telling everyone that “things are different in Chasn” ” we’re protected everyone want’s to live here.” Prices are 30 to 60% higher than they were in 2004-5; a realtor told us not to make a low offer because these people need a profit. The laws of economics are suspended in SC. O fcoures so is intellegence just look at Clemson.
Bad Andy, you’re kidding right? 1 mil for a condo chitbox on St. Pete Beach… that is insanely out of hand.
Counterpoint is fine (I do it a lot myself), but you’re starting to sound like a Trolltor™
“Cindy Infiesto”
I was rolling on the floor laughing when i saw this FB’s name and thought of the pronunciation. Infest-o.
“Infiesto, a real estate broker with the Florida Real Estate Store, is motivated to sell, with a property tax bill of more than $13,000 this year and skyrocketing insurance rates. But at $1.4 million, no dice.”
I’ll say Infest-o is motivated to sell. a 13,000 dollar tax bill. Yeeeesh.
“‘I’m desperate to sell my house,’ she said. ‘I’ll even throw in the horses,’ she said with a chuckle.”
Wow cindy is very loyal to her animals also. (sarcasm off)
She will sell them at a drop of a dime too. Gosh I would hate to depend on Cindy.
However I bet she was having some great parties during the peak years of 2004-2005 in her little mansion.
Another buyer, Melissa Rutherford, of Boynton Beach, agrees. She and her fiancé plan to wait awhile longer because they think prices will keep falling.”
“‘We don’t want to buy a house that’s valued less than what we paid for it in six months,’ Rutherford said.”
Give Melissa an A+ folks. She doesn’t want to catch a falling knife.
The price of a house is a fairly simple to determine. What’s the price that I could by the house for, so that if I sold it for the same price immediately it would sell in 1-2 months. If you can’t turn around and sell the house you just bought immediately for the same price, then you paid too much.