A Once-In-A-Lifetime Situation In Florida
Bloomberg reports on Florida. “Listings in the Orlando, Florida, area show 26,300 homes for sale, a 20-month supply, said Gary Balanoff, a real estate broker in Oviedo, Florida. ‘I’ve been in business 23 years, and I’ve never seen some of the price reductions we have here,’ Balanoff said. ‘It’s painful for people.’”
The Orlando Sentinel. “Orlando-based brokerage IDX Realty will auction off an estimated $100 million in property early next month in one of the largest local auctions of its kind in the slumping real estate sales market.”
“IDX broker Christopher Sampson said he has lined up sellers from Florida and four other states who want to unload their properties fast in a mega-sized, one-day sale.”
“Sampson said there have been lots of real estate auctions in the past and more announced every day because of the anemic sales environment, ‘but very few, if any, to this degree and magnitude involving so many properties at one time.’”
“The properties for sale run from vacant land and commercial buildings to multimillion-dollar estate homes.”
The Beacon. “Property owners in DeBary Golf & Country Club are using a new tool to speed up home sales in Volusia County’s slowed-down market. The tool is the auctioneer’s gavel.”
“Twenty luxury townhomes and two houses in the prime DeBary community will be sold to the highest bidders Thursday, Sept. 27, in an ‘absolute auction.’ Whatever the bid, no matter how low, each of the properties will be sold to the highest bidder.”
“Auctions are a growing trend in the real-estate market, as home prices continue to plunge and builders and developers become pressed to reduce excess inventory, said William Bone, whose company has been auctioning properties for over 30 years.”
The Miami Herald. “In another sign of the deteriorating housing market, South Florida builder Levitt Corp. said Tuesday it was cutting 200 jobs, more than a third of its workforce, and that it was suspending further lot development.”
“Fort Lauderdale-based Levitt also said in a regulatory filing that it was in discussions with its lender to amend terms of its loan agreements, including modifying the timing and amount of some of its payments.”
“‘The home building market in Florida just continues to deteriorate,’ Levitt CE Alan Levan told The Miami Herald., ‘We wouldn’t do it except for the fact that the economic reports suggest that this situation is going to last for sometime, possibly through 2009, 2010,’ Levan said.”
“Levan said the company had reduced prices and offered incentives, but it still wasn’t ‘attracting the level of buyers that create a sustainable model for some of these communities.’”
“‘This is the worst market that we’ve experienced in 25 years in home building,’ he said.”
The Sun Sentinel. “The decision to make the cuts was ‘gut-wrenching’ but necessary, said Levan, who also runs BankAtlantic Bancorp. Prices that some Levitt homes are selling for are ‘un-economic and below cost.’”
“Levitt and Sons will suspend lot development. It has reported more than $90 million in losses from decreases in the values of land and inventory during the past 18 months.”
“Levitt and Sons has built more than 200,000 homes throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Europe since 1929. ‘Even the guys that have been mainstays aren’t immune to what’s been happening in the market,’ said David Levin, a Delray Beach-based housing analyst.”
From NBC 6. “Mortgage fraud is a growing problem in South Florida. The crime can cause you to lose money by affecting the price of your home and your property taxes.”
“Pete, whose identity NBC 6 is concealing, wanted $250,000 to sell his South Florida condo but he got a better offer. ‘I got a call from real estate agent who told me that he has a contract, an offer for $350,000,’ Pete said.”
‘”I asked him, ‘If I’m asking 250 and they offer 350, there’s got to be a catch.’” “Pete’s hunch was right. The buyer wanted $100,000 back at closing.”
“Pete said he was told the extra $100,000 was going to be used to renovate the condo, but he had already updated it. He contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department. ‘If the lender knew that money was going back to the purchaser, they would never do the loan,’ said Sgt. Richard Davis of Miami-Dade police.”
“Realtors said the fraud happens in unlikely places — neighborhoods in Coral Gables, Pinecrest, and pricey Gables by the Sea. ‘In a week’s time we might see more mortgage fraud offers than we do legitimate offers,’ said Realtor Beth Butler.”
“‘They usually will pick properties where you can get appraisals — properties to appraise higher than they’re actually worth,’ Butler said.”
The Tampa Tribune. “Florida’s foreclosure activity jumped 77 percent in August, compared with July, boosting its foreclosure rate to the third highest among all states. It was even worse in Tampa Bay, where foreclosure filings more than doubled.”
“In Florida, 33,932 foreclosures were filed in August. That’s a 106 percent increase from August 2006. In Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties, there were a combined 5,904 filings in August, up from 2,871 in July, RealtyTrac said.”
“There’s been a large jump in the number of people losing their homes. In the Bay area in August, 770 properties were taken over by lenders. That compared with 266 in July and just 38 during August 2006, according to RealtyTrac. Statewide, 2,364 properties were repossessed by lenders.”
“‘It’s alarming that number of properties are making it that far in the process,’ said Daren Blomquist, communications manager for RealtyTrac. ‘I think this shows that some people in danger of foreclosure now have fewer options to get rid of their homes.’”
The Naples News. “The downturn in the Southwest Florida real estate market should reverse itself by next year, a national economist told a gathering of Naples area Realtors and brokers Thursday.”
“‘The recovery will not be a robust recovery … but nonetheless it will be an improvement,’ said Lawrence Yun, senior economist at the National Association of Realtors. ‘What people experienced back during the (real estate) boom was a once-in-a-lifetime situation,’ he added.”
“Some local brokers who attended Yun’s talk blamed the media for giving the perception that the market is bad, which in turn hurts foreign investment who base real estate choices on media input. Others attributed the market downturn to the overzealous mortgage firms and the bottoming-out of subprime lending.”
“More stringent U.S. visa restrictions have also affected the number of foreigners investing in Naples real estate, according to Yun.”
“According to local real estate associate broker Birgit Wolf, ‘it was a good time to bring (Yun) in and give Realtors a bit more confidence.’ Foreign real estate investors are holding off on local investments now ‘because of the media’ according to Wolf, who has been an area Realtor for six years.”
“Other Realtors said that investors were the ones who needed the reassurance, not their real estate agents. ‘Everybody is sort of not knowing what is going to happen next and how far we’re going to have to wait until the market turns,’ said Hilda Díaz-Perera, a local broker who attended Yun’s speech.”
“‘I think we have the subprime rate that really killed us, because investors don’t have any confidence at all,’ she added. ‘There is no confidence. They don’t want to put their money in real estate.’”
‘I’ve been in business 23 years, and I’ve never seen some of the price reductions we have here,’ Balanoff said. ‘It’s painful for people.’”
Compared to what? Price reductions on massively inflated real estate? Big effin deal. Now, if we were dealing with reductions from 2000 prices, THAT would be a story. Reductions from 2005 prices, yawn.
“Now, if we were dealing with reductions from 2000 prices…”
Look for them. They exist right now. Banks are taking at minimum 33% off the loan they are stuck with on foreclosures. Sellers that really MUST move or estate sellers at least in Palm Beach County, are putting houses up in the 2000-2001 prices.
My neighborhood which hit the $320’s+ for a boarded up shack has homes listed right now in the $150’s and $160’s. In 2001 homes went in that range. It hasn’t been less than that since the late 90’s when the homes were going in the $130’s.
I paid $221K back in December when the writing was on the wall for the Mortgage mess, but I didn’t read it. I only read the real estate side of things. If I would have clearly seen the mortgage meltdown I would have held off for 2000-2001 prices instead of 2003 prices.
Prices have come down, but there is still a lot of room to fall.
My retired father (lives in Europe, loves Florida for winters) has been hot to buy a new condo in Lauderdale for 2 years. I’ve been pushing him to consider rent versus own and the chance of losing significant equity. He’d pay cash, and his excuse has always been fear of a falling dollar. For 2 years, many ‘experts’ told him that housing was a safe place to protect those assets versus a CD or stocks. Thankfully, he’s been casually listening to me.
Last year, he offered $225k on a $249k asking price for a condo. I told him he was nuts, that it would likely sell for $125k before all was said and done. I showed him the same condo was around $80k years ago, and with a casual inflationary adjustment for price, $125k would be “fair” based solely on inflation over the years. The $225k offer was laughed at. A few months later, the foreclosure began on the same unit, and he offered $189k. The owner lowered their asking price to around $209k and refused the office. The bank now owns the place and lowered asking to $189k, and my dad offered $170k. The bank denied that, and the condo goes to auction this weekend. We’re flying down there to look at places (I’m going to assist him in hopes of getting him to wait a bit longer). I honestly think that particular unit will sell at auction, but likely for 20% more than it should (I bet it’ll go for $170ish on a winning bit of $155+10% buyers premium).
For good ole dad, he’s getting older now and just wants a place to use in the winter. I explained to him that renting makes WAY more sense, but he also wants “protection” from inflation. I explained to him that sitting on $150k at 5% in the bank versus buying a $150k place that falls to $125k in 2 years are worlds away — both get destroyed by inflation, but condo gets more destroyed because of the oversupply/underdemand. I guess for him losing $50k in 2-3 years is “cheaper” than renting, but he still refuses to calculate in the cost of taxes, insurance, HOA and maintenance.
Hopefully we’ll come back from the weekend auctions sans title and with the escrow check still in our pockets. I detest SoFLA, and I know pops has many more years of fun left in retirement, so waiting 1-2 years makes more sense than catching a hot, sharp falling knife.
Dada;
Your story proves the old real estate saying: “In a bad market your first offer is probably the best, if not the only offer you’ll get”
at least you didn’t pay 05 prices
I disagree… Im trying to lowball, granted I havent tried too hard… but the second I mention I want this much in such area, I know I dont hear a ‘click’ just because that might be just too unprofessional.
I agree - did these same people complain when they took out a $40K HELOC based on 1-years worth of appreciation?
Palmetto,
You hit my focus straight away. What a twisted view.
5 years ago I was saving money for a down-payment on a new house. It was going to be a simple relocation, but I wanted to buy and move before I sold my current house.
I am able to save $1000 per month and wanted to put $20,000 down on a 100-120k house. I had 8k, and figured in a year, i would buy the house.
During the first year, comparable houses increase $20-30,000. I lost all my savings to house price inflation in one year by waiting to buy more prudently. No one is crying for me.
The pig-buyer, No money down flippers think I owe them $100k. I don’t think so. I will let them continue to pay the mortgage they can’t afford until all their paper gains disappear. I worked hard for my money. They overpaid, and I won’t give them the profit they think they
“earned”. These brokers make me sick.
diogenes, if you’re still looking to move to Pinellas, it won’t be long. Really sucks that all these pig-buyers got in the way, but you will probably be able to get more of a deal than you even dreamed of. Right now, you can practice by throwing out lowball offers, just for the fun of it. Heck, I’d post an ad on craigslist and see what comes. Name your price, your location, your requirements. If nothing else, it might be amusing to see the responses.
I like Tarpon Springs
Palmetto,
I was thinking along the same lines. Take out a buyers add. Something like have 800 fico, am prequalified, have 20% down and can close in 30 days. Low offer gets my cash.
That is a rocking comment. I was, and am, in a similar boat and completely agree.
test
I am almost certain that the wave of using auction as a means to unload RE is in its infancy and the trend of a declining ratio of viable buyers to desperate sellers will soon result in auction no-shows as the norm. The largest auctions will have the least bidders.
. “The downturn in the Southwest Florida real estate market should reverse itself by next year, a national economist told a gathering of Naples area Realtors and brokers Thursday.”
“‘The recovery will not be a robust recovery … but nonetheless it will be an improvement,’ said Lawrence Yun
- This ‘Yun’ thing is Oriental … right? It must mean ‘When upside down is right side up’.
He’s adapting Greedspam’s “FEDspeak” to the RE Industry. “When the bell rings, the air outside will turn green”.
He means 2011, not 2008.
Yun and the NAR just won’t quit.
If you look at the now famous ARM reset chart, the majority of the subprimes are resetting now, in Aug and Sept of 2007. Considering that there is a 9 mos to a year in lag time between the reset and the foreclosure, the FB making a payment or two, then quitting paying altogether, the bank or who ever trying to negotiate, the foreclosure process and finally the bank getting possession and putting the home on the market, the chart says that foreclosures, and thus housing inventory will accelerate and peak in late 2008 and than begin to decline.
Considering the other factors that add to inventory, over building, people loosing their homes because of job lose etc, we are seeing a tsunami of housing inventory that will get much higher and will take years to deal with.
Don’t expect a recovery in 2008. Possibly in 2010.
Yunomics = when the economic model doesn’t work, create a new model based on hopes and wishes of your employer
Yun is just a costume that Lereah is wearing. He never left. Perpetual optimist whose glass is more than half full.
“According to local real estate associate broker Birgit Wolf, ‘it was a good time to bring (Yun) in and give Realtors a bit more confidence.’
Yun = professional arranger of the deck furniture on the the unsinkable USS REIC Titanic, who is also a non swimmer. Ba Bye Yunny
I keep wondering about Lereah’s two books and how anyone would hire him or even listen to anything he would say.
Oh, yea I forgot! After NAR canned him (he left to spend more time with his family, wink, wink) he basically admitted he was full of s**t and his books were totally wrong.
Anyone who bought a house based on his line of s**t will take great comfort in his redemtion.
Yun is so damn stupid he didn’t learn from watching Lereah implode. When Yun gets canned I want the job.
“Spokesman for NAR, DarthEconomist predicted today that a comet the size of the moon will impact earth, merging with our planet and doubling the land mass. Realtors will begin subdividing and listing the new land as soon as the dust settles and the resultant ice age is over which by NAR’s estimation should be by next Wednesday.”
It could happen!!
“In Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties, there were a combined 5,904 filings in August, up from 2,871 in July, RealtyTrac said.”
WOW! Wowie-wow wow wow! And it isn’t even October yet. Caution. More pain ahead.
I live in a house that the lender just filed a foreclosure notice on on Monday. I’m living rent-free until the end of Oct. There is an AMAZING number of foreclosures in South Tampa, which had a ridiculous price runup (median is now around $575K for my area) but not a lot of building activity. If you look at properties on the MLS, and then research them in the clerk’s system, I found 3-4 houses of the ten I checked that have had foreclosure notices filed within the last 2 months. I don’t even have the time to check all those condos on Harbour Island and in Channelside. I absolutely agree with my coworker, who predicted (as he gazed at the sea of ugly condos from the Crosstown) that there will be plenty of Section 8 tenants in Channelside. They won’t even have to move very far from where they used to live in Central Park housing projects. Can’t wait for the sweet, sweet comps when the banks start unloading these puppies. Burn, baby, burn.
“that there will be plenty of Section 8 tenants in Channelside. They won’t even have to move very far from where they used to live in Central Park housing projects.”
Love it. BTW, could you stay beyond October if you wanted to? I would think the banks wouldn’t mind having some decent tenants in their REO, although it might make it more difficult to sell them.
The estate of my deceased landlord is listing it in a last-ditch effort to avoid foreclosure. I refuse to keep my house clean and my dogs crated to have strangers traipsing through my house. Plus, stuff is breaking right and left (toilets, pool heater, etc) and there is no money to fix it, and there is an ant problem. I just want out.
Did you pay a security deposit when you signed the lease? If so, what’s happened to it? I tell you, it’s renter beware out there.
We stopped paying rent in July. We’ve stayed through our deposit and last months rent, which was prepaid. Just walked thru a gorgeous golf-course view 1920’s Spanish in Palma Ceia, and am signing the lease tomorrow. Deposit will be held in escrow, owners bought in 2001 and have not refinanced, so they are less likely to go under. It really is renter beware. I feel bad for the folks out there who don’t have a law license to use to scare shady landlords. This will be the third place I’ve rented since moving to Tampa in 2005. Lost the first place to a condo conversion (probably nearing foreclosure), this last one definitely due to foreclosure. The real reason I want to buy at some point is to have the security of being able to stay until I feel like leaving. Moving is expensive and a royal pain in my a$$.
We were told by chevy chase bank on a foreclosed rental that “We’re not in the landlord business”. They’d rather let a property rot.
I think we have the solution.
Don’t fudge the income, raise the Fannie/Freddie limits and skip the downpayment. Cut the price.
“‘I think we have the subprime rate that really killed us, because investors don’t have any confidence at all,’ she added. ‘There is no confidence. They don’t want to put their money in real estate.’”
That’s right. No confidence = no money.
Note that the guy is referring to “investors” - he’s not even pretending that actual people who want to buy a house to live in would be interested in these places.
“As many as half of the 450,000 subprime borrowers whose mortgage payments increase in the next three months may lose their homes because they can’t sell, refinance or qualify for help from the U.S. government. ”
Apparently, alot of people did buy them to live in, but they never could afford them.
Why do they need to refinance or sell when the payments reset?
Don’t you make your mortgage payments?
Who put these people in serial mortgage refi’s???
How did this become a way to “buy” a house?????
I think he’s referring to the bond buyers. aka, Stuckies. When ever the risk premium goes away, it comes back with a vengeance.
Patience. This is just starting. 2008 is when it gets its stride and 2009 is the sprint. When is the finish? Good question.
Got popcorn?
Neil
L.Y.’r:
Confidence Man, as it turns out…
“According to local real estate associate broker Birgit Wolf, ‘it was a good time to bring (Yun) in and give Realtors a bit more confidence.’ Foreign real estate investors are holding off on local investments now ‘because of the media’ according to Wolf, who has been an area Realtor for six years.”
“More stringent U.S. visa restrictions have also affected the number of foreigners investing in Naples real estate, according to Yun.”
Yes, it’s the media’s fault, and now, the visas. There’s a terrible visa problem out there.
And it’s coming to your town.
Yes, all those foreigners who can’t wait to buy overpriced RE in Naples Florida. What are they going to do, buy so they can live there on vacation? Or maybe buy so they can rent them out even though they could never get enough in rent to pay the mortgage.
Added comment
Give it up Yun, the magic RE appreciation money machine has gone into reverse. Nobody wants investment property that not only will not make money but will lose money.
Can’t come soon enough!
If Birgit Wolf thinks the media is deterring rich Latin Americans and Europeans from descending upon Naples, Florida, to overpay for mass-produced overtaxed barely-insurable houses indistinct from one another, she’s got a hole in her head. She might as well have wished for Santa Claus to buy. This state has now resumed its historical role of being synonymous with “tacky” and “scam.”
“This state has now resumed its historical role of being synonymous with “tacky” and “scam.”
You mean there was an interruption in that perception? Much as I do like Fla despite its faults, I’ll never argue with the fact that it is known for scams and tackiness, ever since Ponce de Leon trekked through looking for the “Fountain of Youth”.
CA and AZ and NEV may have their Joshua trees, I prefer to use a pink flamingo lawn ornament. Give ‘em the old Pink Flamingo treatment, LOL!
Wasn’t it just earlier this year that the final pink flamingo came off the assembly line? At least you still see for sale those colored-mirror balls on pedestals — they’re real nice, too.
I think they’re called gazing balls. It’s some kind of feng shui thing or something. Mostly I think it’s because people just like to spend money on tacky lawn ornaments. Up north it’s the black silhouette out of plywood. I think the fat lady bending over is especially classy.
This “cash back at closing” scam is, I suspect, all over the place. There is strong indication it has been going on where I live, too. Real easy to get comps in a gentrifying neighborhood where the guy at Countrywide in Phoenix can not know he is lending against a burnt-out crack house in between two rehabbed rowhouses.
Come to think of it, he probably doesn’t even care….
‘ “cash back at closing” scam’
- I work in sales and this should be referred to as a ‘Courtesy Fee’
It also used to be illegal to give cash back at closing. The only money at closing was for repairs and it was held in escrow and paid only to the company doing the repairs. Nothing was allowed to go back to the buyer, and everything had to be spelled out in the contract. The loans also had to be 80% LTV. Boy how times have changed.
It’s definitely all over the place. It was usually done with brokers, rather than a big company like C-wide. Had something similar happen to me when I sold a duplex in Detroit. Offer came in a few grand over the ask. Sure, I wondered what was up, at the time I didn’t realize what was going on. Didn’t see anything illegal at that point either. After closing, the mortgage broker came up to me and asked when I was going to pay him half of my profit. Say what??? I wasn’t clued in to the scam, so I told him no way Jose, you just made thousands funding the sale, why are you asking for part of my little profit???
A couple days later some other agent in my office called me and told me they had an agreement where the broker gets a cut of profit too. Told him to kiss off too, especially since there wasn’t anything in writing. That was the end of my time with them.
LOL! Good for you, Blano. I like the idea of a reverse sting on that one. Accept the offer, pretend to go along with the deal and keep the extra. Nothing wrong with that, far as I can see. If someone wants to pay you more, why turn down the money?
If they’re only out a few grand, they’ll forget it. But if they were expecting half of the “gain” from a selling price that was $100K or more above the asking price, then the seller better watch his back.
My total profit was about 10K; the broker made about 7-8K between the front and back, plus wanted half of my 10. He definitely didn’t forget and tried to use his buddies in my office to get me to pay.
Considering that this is a clear violation of RESPA, you are incredibly lucky that you did not give any moneys to the mortgage broker! Under RESPA laws (if they are ever enforced), you would be the guilty party.
Thanks, lol, but I have to admit the reverse sting was purely unintentional. I didn’t really understand much at that time about all the scamming going on, so I have to admit to ignorance as opposed to pretending I was going along. I tended to presume honesty on the part of all parties….ok, go ahead, everybody slap me….I finally learned. Also, that was pretty much my thinking….if someone wants to pay more, who was I to argue??
It wasn’t ’til after that closing that I started to see what was going on. Once I finally understood some of the scams going on, I could see it was running rampant.
Should have turned them in. That is totally illegal for an agent to split even 1 penny with a mortgage broker. They could have all lost their licenses, except to my knowledge mortgage brokers, who handle all the financing don’t even need a license.
Asking re a post on the bb. Did the FHA raise the loan limts? Is that a done deal?
I can’t see what a change in FHA limits does to keep house prices at current levels. With defaults through the roof, who wants to borrow even more? By now, almost everyone knows prices are falling.
When the article came out about it the other day, there were some pretty pissed comment-posters on the SP Times website. I think the general consensus is that FHA loans (for low and middle income borrowers) don’t need to exceed $417K, since low and middle-income people don’t have any business in a more expensive home. Frankly, they don’t have any business in a $200K home.
How true - Someone on the HBB posted results of a study that said only 1/4 of the people can afford a house over 200k. The top quarter should not be using FHA loans.
the only part of the market I can see it helping to move some sales of homes that have been discounted, and are just slightly over the current 417k limit. For example, I was looking at a home the other day that is an REO and they want 615k. This home sold for $550 in 2002, and like models in the same area sold for 850k in 2006. Someone might actually buy this think in the 500-600k range, but may need a little help with a loan.
This is a guarantee which makes the lenders whole at the taxpayer’s expense, makes housing less affordable and does nothing to help Jose 6 Pack pay off a $700,000 loan on $20,000 annual income.
THE TICKER
Senate panel OKs broader loan support
Bloomberg News
September 20, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday approved legislation to help subprime mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing into federally insured loans.
The panel, by a 20-1 vote, passed a bill that would let the Federal Housing Administration back more home loans. The legislation now moves to the Senate floor. The House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill Tuesday.
“These changes will help make FHA a more effective and fiscally sound tool for homeownership,” said Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) was the only committee member to vote against the measure.
On Tuesday, the House passed legislation that would increase the maximum term of FHA-insured mortgages to 40 years from 35 years, raise the agency’s loan limit to $730,000 from $362,000 and reduce the minimum down payment and credit score required of borrowers.
If approved by the full Senate, the bill would need to be reconciled with the House legislation and then sent to President Bush for his signature. Bush last month announced a program to help 240,000 people refinance into FHA-insured loans.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu_brief4_0920sep20,0,5778715.story
If this bill gets passed, I am out. Just make sure one of you turns out the lights when you leave.
US government will buy all bad subprime loans from the Wall Streeters.
Bernanke will print more money to cover the loss.
Everything will be fine.
and the the us govt. will file for bk. transfer of weath has been completed. time to lay the bill on the suckers ie us debt holders
And if so, what is the new limit. This is such horsesh*t BTW. This is absolutely conspiring to keep prices of a particular asset class unsustainably high. It’s crap…
Remember, even if they raise the limits, you have to meet FHA’s rather stringent qualifications to get a loan. I don’t think that many FBs can manage this…
“…even if they raise the limits, you have to meet FHA’s rather stringent qualifications to get a loan…”
That’s what I’m hoping will squash a lot of this nonsense. Assuming the loan limit goes to $730K, FHA will want to see documented income that will support the payments. Someone who can’t put down a penny probably cannot document such income. Fraudulent document probably will be treated a lot more severely by the quasi-fed FHA than it would have been by non-govt lenders. The appraisers probably are not co-opted as in the recent past, and there has to be a pretty thorough inspection of the property.
In all, I agree that the reality will be much tougher terms for getting the loans and very few $730K loans getting done.
And who is to say that the FHA requirements won’t be changed to “we give you free money if you have a pulse.” Their end goal: get taxpayers to fund housing for all (or at least for stupid flippers). This will kill off the last of the savers in the nation and try to get everyone shackled to a house they can’t afford.
If memory serves me right, FHA has more stringent requirements on the condition of the property also. That means that the sellers will have to fix defects and no more ‘as is sales’.
FHA does 2 inspections. The first one will leave a detailed list of everything that has to be corrected. The second is to make sure that the work is done before the loan can go thru. There’s many stringent things in FHA inspections. Can’t have a bathroom anywhere near the kitchen, can only be one layer of shingles on the roof, can’t have over a two car garage, can be no peeling paint anywhere, etc. I don’t know if any of these have changed, but I doubt it.
Quals were changed too. Essentially there are no qualifications anymore.
And just so everyone here remembers who did what:
“The American dream is in peril for many families in this country as foreclosures rise and dreams shatter,” Rep. Betty Sutton, a Democrat from Ohio.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he wanted to whisk the measure to the Senate along with a bill to tighten government oversight of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
However, the administration objects to the bill’s increased limit on the size of mortgages FHA can insure to $500,000 in high-cost areas of the country from the current $362,000. The administration wants the FHA loan limits to be raised to $417,000 in high-cost areas and from $200,000 to $271,000 in lower-cost ones.
But let’s blame Bush nonetheless. Hey it rained yesterday and I know Bush is to blame for that too.
“Essentially there are no qualifications anymore.”
The Republican mantra. No standards, no qualifications, no competence.
It appears that they are asking to raise the rate, that it’s not a done deal yet.
All I’ve seen is House approval, not the Senate’s agreement nor the President’s approval. If it goes through intact, it still may turn out to be a “can’t get there from here” situation for the high-price hopefuls. Even at 40 years, a $730K loan will have payments of over $5K/month when taxes and insurance are added.
And if we’re lucky, there will be so much taxpayer outrage emailed in about the $730K limit that it could result in a downward revision. Then the congressmen from high-priced districts can go back and tell their constituents (the banks) that they gave it their best shot.
Let’s say the limit is raised to $730k. With 3% down someone would need $21,900. How many of these 100 percenters have any money to put down. That still leaves a mortgage of $708k. $708k @ 6% for 40 years (I guess most people never plan on paying their house off) is almost $3900/mo. That’s $46,800/year just for the payment and interest, not counting insurance and taxes. So let’s say total you’re looking at $55k a year for PITI. You’re looking at an income of $152k a year just to qualify for the 36% guideline for housing under FHA. Since when is $152k a year a low or middle income salary. You’re looking at housing costing 4.5-4.75x income. I swear no one in Washington passed math in school.
How do you get from $46,800 to $55,000. That’s one hell of a tax bill. Besides don’t focus so much on $730K. That is the limit and yeah not many $730K loans will be issued through FHA. But $400K and $500K loans and the odd $600K loan will be.
What this will do is lower that $500K loan from 7% or 8% to 6% and that will be a huge difference in terms of affordability. And another missed point is now $500K loans can go 40 years under FHA meaning 40 is the new 30 in terms of what is standard.
$500K @6% over 40 years is $2751. To qualify using 28% rule it’s an income of $118,000. That is your typical middle class couple on DC, NY, SF, LA, Seattle.
Take away the new FHA limit and you have $500K @7% over 30 years is = $3326. To qualify using 28% rule it’s an income of $142,500.
$142,500 vs. $118,000 is a big deal. That $500K house is now affordable for a lot more people than it was yesterday.
I agree Chip. Most of the sub prime borrowers are sub prime because they don’t qualify as prime borrowers but they have to meet subprime qualifications to get refi’d.
This is the Wizard of Oz solution. “Yea, we’re helping” says the Gub’ment. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain who will review your qualifications.
My understanding is that Bush will veto it if it hits his desk.
Would anyone know if OJ goes to jail in Nevada will his south Miami home go up for sale?
And at what price.
oj’s house might go up for sale but who would want it? Can you imagine how many bodies could be buried in the back yard? Would cost your a fortune for the haz mat team.
Want to make money? Buy OJ’s house and charge for tours. People have bizzare fascinations; you could probably pay the mortgage every month with the proceeds.
The bathroom at the Minneapolis airport has proved your theory correct.
Would anyone know if OJ goes to jail in Nevada will his south Miami home go up for sale?
And at what price.
I’ll take a stab at this one. Uh-hum, sorry about that but I bet you could make a killing on that house.
This one has the look of actually being a real auction, where things sell for what they will…
“Twenty luxury townhomes and two houses in the prime DeBary community will be sold to the highest bidders Thursday, Sept. 27, in an ‘absolute auction.’ Whatever the bid, no matter how low, each of the properties will be sold to the highest bidder.”
Maybe, but I would be on the lookout for shills.
ler
And of course there won’t be any shills in the audience. That’s always the seller’s way out. If the highest real bid is below what the seller wants for the house, a signal to the shill will bid the price up further. If the shill ends up with the highest bid, then it’s no sale of course.
Know your values. And remember, the winner of an auction is the one who was willing to pay more than anyone else. Pay more? In this environment?
There is nothing prime about DeBary. Nothing. All it has going for it is a planned terminus for commuter rail. It has the sophistication of Titusville, Taft, places like that. Personally, I would not buy in DeBary unless I had pretty low income and needed to work in the area. Eventually, you should be able to get to your job at Disney directly on a train, but who knows when that will be completed. IMO, prices in DeBary, per foot, should not be any higher than they are in Ruskin.
“IMO, prices in DeBary, per foot, should not be any higher than they are in Ruskin.”
If anything, DeBary should be less, since the commute from DeBary to Orlando is longer than that commute from Ruskin to Tampa/St. Pete. Plus Ruskin has great access to Tampa Bay and the Gulf. I’m watching Ruskin carefully, I want to buy back in when the moment is right, provided the illegal situation clears up, which it might do as the construction work dries up and the agriculture disappears due to all the vacant land that vanished in the bubble. Ruskin is actually a great little place, IMHO, but you really have to be careful where you live.
Morrison Homes has a development on College Ave. called “College Chase” (no college, actually) that backs up to a subsidized farmworker housing complex. And the prices there range between $180,000 to $300,000 with a special discount for workers from WalMart, Home Depot and Loewe’s, LOL! As if workers there could afford those prices! Anyway, you couldn’t pay me to live in that development.
“Pete, whose identity NBC 6 is concealing, wanted $250,000 to sell his South Florida condo but he got a better offer. ‘I got a call from real estate agent who told me that he has a contract, an offer for $350,000,’ Pete said.”
I’d love to see some statistics on just how many of these type of “cash-back” sales occurred in Florida, especially South Florida. I also wonder how many sellers who were involved actually smelled a rat but went ahead with it anyway just to get their property sold. I’d like to know how much of this mortgage fraud has been responsible for inflated comps. I’m sure there’s many a taxpayer suffering with inflated taxes because of this sort of crap.
Oh you know it. Part of the problem is that sellers have no obligation to anybody to refuse the deal. It is the buyer/scammer and his agent who have fidicuary duty to the lender in the transaction. You will not find stats on this, even when all is said and done. Just no way to track it.
Remember, too, the tax exemption for sale of primary residence. Most can declare the loot and pay no taxes. What a country!
Good for “Pete” though, for calling the cops. Hope the broker and buyer go to jail.
One of the wild cards in this whole mess. Your point about comps is spot on but it also really goes deeper then that AFAIAC. Just how rampant is it? Have we become a nation of liars and thieves?
I’d love to see some statistics on just how many of these type of “cash-back” sales occurred in Florida, especially South Florida.
The FDLE and FBI has these stats and they are sent to the local law enforcment every month. I believe the general public can also get a copy. The stats are produced from case reports from each jurisdiction.
“More stringent U.S. visa restrictions have also affected the number of foreigners investing in Naples real estate, according to Yun.”
Really, I thought it happened after 9/11 !?!
Here are some other potential causes
1. Inflated house prices (50%+)
2. sky high insurance and taxes
3. No more easy money
4. Common sense lending practices return
Depreciating dollar, too. No foreigner wants to hold dollar assets on the way down.
The Yen is on the move again - 116+ to 114+ in 24hrs. Go Yen Go! Check out your favorite financial site’s charts for today - free fall.
“According to local real estate associate broker Birgit Wolf, ‘it was a good time to bring (Yun) in and give Realtors a bit more confidence.’
Yeah, forget the dollar, the price of oil, the recession, etc.
Let’s make you guys feel a “bit more confident”. Maybe we can get Dr. Phil to give a talk.
Right, now we are told to make the biggest purchase of a lifetime based on feelings. ‘The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut Tuesday should not be viewed as a cure for the struggling housing industry, but it may raise concerns about inflation, local lending experts said Wednesday.’
‘I say with some hesitation it should be good for mortgage rates,’ she said Laure Feld, president of American Mortgage Lending Inc. ‘But it does not solve the housing crisis. It just makes people feel better.’
“It could help those subprime borrowers if it means an adjustment they can better afford,”
Most of the reports you post suggest that the FBs are stretching to make even the payment at the introductory rate. And if they’ve HELOC’d in the time between loan origin and reset, how much help can BB’s goody-bag interest rate offer?
‘I say with some hesitation it should be good for mortgage rates,’
The data disagrees:
Long-term mortgages edge higher in wake of Fed
http://tinyurl.com/2erqg9
Sometimes people (not us HBB’ers of course) are so stupid. Mortgage rates are generally tied to the 10 year government bond and the Fed has no influence over the 10 year rates, which are instead determined by market forces. What the Fed has done is to cut the legs from under the dollar, which will tend to spook our foreign creditors. I would expect the 10 year rates to rise (as they have) due to the Fed rate cut.
The rate cut will only help short term rates like car loans, etc. Most people do not know this.
Here is something else most people don’t know or so it would seem.
ARMs adjust based on LIBOR. LIBOR has fallen sharply since the cut on Tuesday. Therefore all ARMs about to adjust will adjust at a lower rate. Indirectly the 50 point cut will help everyone with an ARM.
The 3-month LIBOR fell from 6.55 to 6.39 after the cut.
The 1 week fell from 6.05 to 5.90.
From the link JP posted:
The 1-year, Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage inched down to 5.65% from 5.66% in the wake of the Fed move.
Does this mean that anyone borrowing new money (ARM) gets it at this rate, but for one year only, and then it resets?
Also, J J GA - any borrower whose ARM adjusts this week will pay the 6.39 new rate?
I’m just confused as to which rate applies to resets and which to new money.
It’s not new borrowing that is affected, it is the ARM reset. Almost 100% of ARMs reset based on a LIBOR. Each loan is different but I think the 3 month and 6 month rates are most common and then the ARM sets using a formula that takes the LIBOR into account.
My point is that many of you seem to think that mortgage rates are not affected by the fed and that is simply untrue. Foreclosures are happening because ARMs are resetting and people can’t afford the new payments. If ARMs adjust to a lower rate fewer people will foreclose.
If ARMs adjust to a lower rate fewer people will foreclose.
I would disagree because the actual savings on a 50 basis point cut is not that much in terms of realized savings. Most of the adjustments from the tickler rates are 3% and would now be 2.5%. That will not save the consumer who is tapped out from a financial standpoint.
It is irrelevant what the teaser rate was. Whether the teaser was 1% or 2% it will adjust to the same. The adustment rate is independent of the teaser rate.
The 50 point cut will result in the ADJUSTED RATE being lower which will cause fewer people to foreclose - not stop all foreclosures obvsiously, but those at the margin will be saved.
Come on, some of you are really sticking your heads in the sand here and acting like it’s no big deal that there was a rate cut or tha the FHA limits have more than doubled.
Both are big deals.
If they wanted this 30 year mortgage rate to go down, they should have raised by 0.5, not cut. This cut will only nominally help ARMs adjusting to a 0.5 lower rate if tied to 1YR Treasury. Perhaps will help about 2% of the people…but then those 2% are underwater and are walking anyway.
“Feelings…wooohhhh, feelings!”
There’s a whole new genre of television show coming….fuzzy feelings for FB’s….how to prepare Spam 15 different ways, how to make that studio apartment over the parent’s garage “yours”, how to cope with your “victimization”…
just like HGTV made hay out of the boom boom years, they will do the same again, just more emphasize on the G…gardening for food.
PBS has already beaten HGTV to the punch for gardening for food. It’s a show called the Victory Garden.
Mom still likes to brag about what a good Victory Gardener her maternal grandfather was. Wouldn’t be a bad thing to bring back.
My mother also likes to talk about the Victory Garden her parents grew during WWII
There’s nothing wrong with gardening for food.
It beats playing video games that simulate gardening (which are ironically very popular).
“‘I think we have the subprime rate that really killed us, because investors don’t have any confidence at all,’ she added. ‘There is no confidence. They don’t want to put their money in real estate.’”
So is real estate pretty much a really stupid investment then?
Just look at that quote, though, “I think we have the subprime rate that really killed us, because investors don’t have any confidence at all.” WTF does that even MEAN? Makes about as much sense as “When the bell rings, the air outside will turn green”.
yes, because when the bell rings, chlorine gas is released
…
By the way, if you are a Florida resident, DO NOT vote for the super-exemption in January. First of all, it is a back door way to eliminate SOH, which, like it or not, probably kept a roof over the head of many folks who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford the taxes on inflated Florida property assessments and would have ended up losing their homes. Secondly, the shills up in Tallahassee have got the propaganda machine rolling out, so it must be a bad idea. It will end up screwing the taxpayer MORE than if things were just left alone, just like they “solved” the insurance problem. You can’t go wrong if you go according to this: “If it comes out of Tallahassee, it’s a REALLY bad idea.”
It doesn’t end up saving most people much money anyway. My parents-in-law (a scientist and a teacher) would have been run out of their S. Tampa house that they bought in 1986 (and will be paid off this year) if SOH hadn’t capped their assessed value. There were so many a$$clown flippers and yuppie douchebags overpaying for houses in their neighborhood, the value of their modest late 40’s block house has more than quadrupled since they bought it.
“the value of their modest late 40’s block house has more than quadrupled since they bought it.”
Fodder for the NAR………….you see, real estate really is the best “investment”.
Can you get stock market returns like that??
Problem is, they can’t pocket the inflation and buy another place to live that’s similar without moving, so it’s not similar. But they get to pay the taxes on the imaginary “value”.
“There were so many a$$clown flippers and yuppie douchebags overpaying for houses in their neighborhood, the value of their modest late 40’s block house has more than quadrupled since they bought it.”
Exactly, which is why SOH was a godsend during the bubble for many people, even if it was a bit of curse for others. A$$clownery ran rampant, I saw it when I was selling our (mine and ex) property. The buyers were nice folks for the most part, but they couldn’t wait to shove us out of the place, it was almost as if they felt we didn’t deserve to live there because we paid such a low price for it and they deserved it more because they were buying as an “investment”.
They should sell it and get the hell out of that area. All those yuppies trying to playing Bob Vila on ‘This Old House’, doing crappy renovations and trying to make an easy buck.
The renovations are terrible! The biggest shame is when some yutz buys up some charming 1920’s bungalow and proceeds to “update” it with granite counters, those stupid vessel sinks, “tumbled marble” tile and other era-inappropriate materials. Then they want a 100% profit because they “improved” the property.
My in-laws are there to stay. They didn’t buy that house as an investment, they bought it to live in through their retirement years. The neighbors are friendly, and the ‘hood (Virginia Park) has gentrified significantly in the past 20 years, and they can’t afford to move up and don’t care to.
Tallahassee is desperate for revenue, so at this point I don’t trust them further than I can spit.
Here’s a microscopic view of the Florida real estate market, using 15,000 zoom…
Look for “Most Bizarre”
http://www.zyvexlabs.com/EIPBNuG/2005MicroGraph.html#Bizarre
Everyone. Take a read of Walt526 posting of “Nimrod to English” translation toward the end of the CA thread for yesterday. It is a classic. Walt - great job. Too true. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
lets auction of OJs house. Goldmans get whatever pittance it fetches. Reduce the civil suit by a few K. OJ can languish in prison where he belongs - not that I care about that scumbag.
http://www.thestreet.com/s/kass-bernanke-made-a-big-mistake/markets/activetraderupdate/10380295.html?
“The latter point is the most important, as this will serve to further cripple the housing market by raising mortgage rates — especially for those who are facing an imminent reset.”
Ooooh, good one! I don’t like having my savings devalued, but anything that cripples the housing market is A-OK in my book, so maybe I ought to be writing Bernanke a thank you note.
I’m confused, since ARM resets are tied to LIBOR, which is going down, not up. Right?
txchick57, don’t investments look better with inflation? Wouldn’t their bottom line look better since earnings don’t seem to reflect inflation? I ask, since it seems the market is responding positively to the signs of inflation, which must be better than the threat of deflation. Just curious.
I think the market is reacting positively to the scent of bonus money at year end. I would think January - April of next year will be ghastly.
I’m not txchick, but it would seem that this rate cut is an attempt to re-inflate the stock market and in doing so, REALLY cripple the housing market, in the way the guy described. I didn’t think of that and so now it seems to me that the FED is yawing back to stocks and other investments, ping-ponging between housing and the stock market.
So you think they’re trying to bring housing down faster, on purpose? Would there have been anyway for the FED to forsee this happening? Thanks in advance for your response, these past few articles have been very interesting.
No, I don’t think they’re deliberately trying to bring housing down faster, I’m just saying it is happening as an incidental result of the rate cut to save the stock market, as Kass mentioned in the article that txchick posted a link to.
As far as the FED being able to forsee the consequences, if Kass can see it, I don’t know why they couldn’t. Assuming they could, I just don’t think they care. It’s a matter of triage (medical term for how sick and injured are prioritized for care). I’m sure they know the housing market is too far gone to “save”. So why bother?
“The U.S.’s economic problem lies firmly in the consumer/housing market”
It’s gone beyond the housing market. It’s in the CC market and they don’t have a clue yet. The second shoe drops when the CC writeoffs start hitting the MSM. I noticed last weekend that Costco already had its Xmas stuff in, trying to get ahead on Xmas sales. For those in CA second installment of property tax due in Nov. and probably won’t get paid as most will use the money to put items under the tree. This will probably be the last Xmas season with rampant spending for quite a few years. By May of ‘08 I think that the banks and mortgage businesses will be completely denuded.
Anyone know how bad it is in Citus County? My dad has been trying to sell his place there for months…I begged him to price aggressively in November last year and he didn’t listen to me.
Tell him to put a pink flamingo lawn ornament in the yard.
Seriously, though, I don’t know much about Citrus County, except that there’s not much in the way of business there. Strictly retirement. Anyway, most parents don’t listen to their children.
I was in Inverness, Lecanto, and Floral City last month. I laughed out loud when I saw an Inverness realtor’s marquee sign promoting a 3/2 for $325,000. Good luck with that! I also was stunned to see the number of houses for sale in Floral City, which is so small that I previously hadn’t even known it existed (nice live oaks, though). My judgment is that there is a glut in Citrus County just like everywhere else in Florida.
A 3/2 in Inverness for $325,000? ROTFLMAO! I’ll send ‘em a pink flamingo!
And a gazing ball.
Don’t laugh - that area has really shot up the past couple years. Drive through Beverly Hills sometime - especially along 41 there are housing developments out the wazoo. They have to be courting retirees because there is no industry or jobs in that area unless you consider the Circle K a good job. Ocala is in the same boat.
A 50% reduction up there is in the bag.
There’s a place in FL called Beverly Hills?
Anyone know how bad it is in Citus County?
Yes, the RE market is just like the rest of Florida. Tell your father to list his property so that it is in-line with the local incomes of locals and snowbirds if he wants to sell it. Otherwise, the property will sit on the market with no activity.
OT, but is anyone watching BB and Paulson testify at the Senate Banking Committee…talking about raising GSE loan limits, helping the FB’s before they foreclose, etc.
Part of me is scared they will actually succeed in propping up bubble prices, part of me suspects this problem is so, so big that the gov’t won’t be able do do anything substantial to stop the trainwreck. They’re all saying that foreclosures hurt everyone….but if the market were allowed to correct to prices that people could actually afford, we wouldn’t need “exotic” financing. None of them will say that, though.
Meanwhile, the 10 year is up again today….4.59%, up from 4.47% on Tuesday. Good luck “modifying” FB’s into fixed mortgage products. BB’s rate cut will probably send long term rates soaring. Gold and oil are up again also.
I’m thinking of putting some money into Treasuries. Suggestions, por favor…
I just did that thru November first. Most brokerage firms do not even charge a fee to do so.
Metal mavens: silver is the new gold?
Gold, for me, has never been an investment. I look at all forms of non-tool capital as a safety net for value. We buy gold with the top half of every income check, but not as an investment, just as a safe-ish store of value. We buy silver as our gamble/risk, because I do believe silver will have a bubblish upside potential in the near future (2-5 years). Gold is better for me for the long run because it doesn’t tarnish, it is way more dense (100lbs of gold takes up no space, but is worth a ton of dollars), and it is divisible easily at local gold barter meets.
We’ve cost-ounced-averaged on gold and silver for 8 years now, and value-wise we’re ahead quite a bit (I keep a historical chart of the price of consumer goods we buy, insurance, government taxes and maintenance) because our purchasing power is up, but I don’t trust it to stay that way. Even though I feel gold has a relative value of US$1000/ounce, I think there’s a LOT of room to go down as well as skyrocket.
For me, gold has one big advantage: it is hard for me to casually spend. If you go to the mall with US$600 and one ounce of gold, you have a good chance of walking out with US$0 and one ounce of gold. But if I need to sell the gold due to emergency, I have dozens of buyers waiting to grab it for 2% below spot within 2 hours of my call.
I have always wanted to buy gold as a hedge, but were do you buy it(so that you can hold the actual product) and how do you sell it with getting taken on the transaction by fees?
I have relationships with a variety of local gold dealers, but I also belong to a variety of gold bartering clubs (two that I started myself). With the dealers, I often ask them to call me if someone comes in with more gold to sell than they want to buy (rare, lately, but it happens). I get maybe 1 call every 2 weeks from the dealers because someone wants to move a few hundred ounces. In the bartering club, gold is transacted back and forth at 2% below spot for the buyer. I’m always the buyer, although I did sell twice in the past year during short term financial shortfalls due to slow payers.
I sell it either via local dealers (usually 5-10% below spot, though), or usually through the bartering clubs.
Did anyone call the price explosions of last years “painful for people”?
No.
I think is was called a “new paradigm” and the wave of the future, and proof that real estate always goes up in ‘value’, so you should BUY NOW, or get priced out….blah, blah, blah………….L. YUN.
It’s the same mindset that says inventory increases in housing are a “problem” (see yesterday). As a potential buyer, increasing inventory is not a problem. You can see who’s side the media is blatantly on.
“The downturn in the Southwest Florida real estate market should reverse itself by next year, a national economist told a gathering of Naples area Realtors and brokers Thursday.”
“‘The recovery will not be a robust recovery … but nonetheless it will be an improvement,’ said Lawrence Yun
Mr. Yun, hand to forehead, went on to predict that OJ Simpson would be the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and “batboy” from the Weekly World News would go door to door in Tampa dispensing cash to FB’s.
Sadly, Weekly World News went under last month…
Never again will a B-24 bomber be found on the moon (as per the cover that showed said bomber on the lunar surface)
Are you sure about that? It’s on-line version is still going:
http://weeklyworldnews.com/
WWN is my favorite tabloid. The editors have always freely admitted it’s a tabloid parody, yet some people apparently think it’s for real. I found a large Bat Boy/WWN book at B&N with hilarious stories and doctored photographs, including Bat Boy biting Queen Elizabeth.
It was sad indeed.
RIP Bat Boy.
RIP Lobster Boy.
RIP Wolf Boy.
LOL. Funny stuff.
“Foreign real estate investors are holding off on local investments now ‘because of the media’ according to Wolf, who has been an area Realtor for six years.””
BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Wolf has been a real estate agent since, what, 2001…boy he/she is really a seasoned professional! Great pick as a “resource”, Naples News, someone who has been real estate agent for only as long as the boom has been happening.
Six years…bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!
arroyo, for as long as I’ve lived in Florida, it seems the fishwraps (er, newspapers) get their hands on the most un-credible, verbal diarrhea sources out there. It’s not just limited to real estate, it happens in all sort of business sectors and most especially, the Chamber of Commerce spokespeople. You should have been here in the 1980s when Miami Vice was filming on location and people were just hyperventilating how Florida was going to become the new Hollywood, CA. Every retiree and child with a stage mother started trying to get into SAF and AFTRA. Orlando started to compete with Miami to set up soundstages and production facilities, which ended up being used for low budget local commercials and marketing videos. But every time you opened the newspaper, some Chamber of Commerce idiot was talking about what an ideal location Florida was for shooting “features”. Forget about the fact that for six months of the year it starts pissing down rain after 2:00pm and the heat and humidititty is unbelievable. Forget about the fact that we don’t have anything even vaguely resembling a mountain anywhere in the state. And now here comes Gov Crist with a proposal from Dubai to build a huge media center here. It’ll be huge, all right, and empty enough to swing about 15 elephants joined together.
top 3 on Yahoo “features”
More Features
* Double-Digit Home Price Drops Ahead
* Is the Housing Bust Hitting the Super-Rich?
* Forget McMansions. New Homes Are Shrinking
“The downturn in the Southwest Florida real estate market should reverse itself by next year, a national economist told a gathering of Naples area Realtors and brokers Thursday.”
More of the cheerleader crap from the NAR who has not been even correct one time in Yun’s predictions. Yun and the NAR has lost it’s last remaining tidbit of credibility and should be banned from the news industry.
’ Foreign real estate investors are holding off on local investments now ‘because of the media’ according to Wolf, who has been an area Realtor for six years.”
Excellent example of a realtor who thinks he is an expert after 6 years as a realtor blaming the media for the downturn. Wolf is howling to the wind blaming the media, yet he has never experienced any downturn in housing in his six years of experience. I would bet he told his customers during the boom that prices would always keep going up in Florida.
Many of the real estate agents around here totally blame the media for trumpeting bad news about the market and are really pissed off about it, but I didn’t hear a one complain when the media was cheerleading the bubble.
Same in So California too. Residential Agents, and some better educated Commercial Agents too, are blaming the media.
I guess I’ll have to get some gold and silver after hearing this mess…
These brokers make me sick.
diogenes (Tampa) : I have found a very honest broker in Tampa who has an office on Dale Mabry and Erlich (southwest corner). He has been in the business for 30+ years and is honest and up front with his customers. In fact he informed me to hold off purchasing because prices will fall about 20% more by the end of the year. Contact Kirshner realty and speak to Tom. Let me know if you need more info.
When I practiced real estate there were many times I told people not to buy, because of the market conditions, their own personal financial conditions, or the fact that they had a house to sell. I really never lost business, because they sent people to me who were in a position to buy,or who had a house to sell, and they always returned when it was right for them to buy. I also never sold to anyone who was later foreclosed on. In this market I’d only be working with sellers to get their prices down, because I could never advise a buyer to buy right now. I can still get referral fees and for almost 3 years I still tell anyone who calls me to wait to buy. But I gotta tell you, there’s very few honest realtors around anymore. Most got out, because they couldn’t stand working with their own kind.
One of my coworkers in the REIC felt the same as you. She was a realtor on the Main Line, but after about ten years she got sick and tired of her colleagues’ tactics. She stayed in the REIC but as an admin.
Was having drinks with a real estate agent a few months ago. She seemed a lot like your Main Line coworker. So, there are a few good ones out there.
The pig-buyer, No money down flippers think I owe them $100k. I don’t think so. I will let them continue to pay the mortgage they can’t afford until all their paper gains disappear. I worked hard for my money. They overpaid, and I won’t give them the profit they think they
“earned”. These brokers make me sick.
I agree. they earned a big fat loss and the homeowner going to eat it. renter not so bad after all earning over 5% interest. lol!
“IDX broker Christopher Sampson said he has lined up sellers from Florida and four other states who want to unload their properties fast in a mega-sized, one-day sale.”
Want in one hand, $%^& in the other. Let us know which fills up first.
just like they “solved” the insurance problem.
Palmetto: The insurance problem was solved, but not for the taxpayer, rates went up and good ole Charlie is upset at the insurance companies who were supposed to lower rates per the local news this morning.
“Orlando-based brokerage IDX Realty will auction off an estimated $100 million in property early next month in one of the largest local auctions of its kind in the slumping real estate sales market.”
I’m sorry, did you say $100 million? Oh, you meant $50 million, thanks.