Buying & Selling Homes with The Collura Team

Foreclosure Inventory Drops As Economy Improves [INFOGRAPHIC] Some Highlights: Foreclosure Inventory has dropped year-over-year for the last 4 years (48 months). Only 3.4% of US homes are in serious delinquency. 29 states have a foreclosure inventory rate lower than the national average. For more information you can download the full report here

                                   Home Prices: Past, Present & Future CoreLogic released their most current Home Price Index last week. In the report, they revealed home appreciation in three categories: percentage appreciation over the last year, over the last month and projected over the next twelve months. Here are state maps for each category: The Past – home appreciation over the last 12 months The Present – home appreciation over the last month The Future – home appreciation projected over the next 12 months Bottom Line: Homes across the country are appreciating at different rates. If you plan on relocating to another state and are waiting for your home to appreciate more, you need to know that the home you will buy in another state may be appreciating even faster. Meet with a local real estate professional who can help you determine your next steps.

What You Really Need To Qualify For A Mortgage A recent survey by Ipsos found that the American public is still somewhat confused about what is actually necessary to qualify for a home mortgage loan in today’s housing market. The study pointed out two major misconceptions that we want to address today. 1. Down Payment The survey revealed that consumers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan. According to the report, 36% think a 20% down payment is always required. In actuality, there are many loans written with a down payment of 5% or less. Below are the results of a Digital Risk survey done on Millennials who recently purchased a home. 2. FICO Scores The Ipsos survey also reported that two-thirds of the respondents believe they need a very good credit score to buy a home, with 45 percent thinking a “good credit score” is over 780. In actuality, the average FICO scores of approved conventional and FHA mortgages are much lower. Bel

NAR Reports Reveal Two Reasons to Sell This Winter We all realize that the best time to sell anything is when demand is high and the supply of that item is limited. The last two major reports issued by the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR) revealed information that suggests that now is a great time to sell your house. Let’s look at the data covered by the latest  Pending Home Sales Report  and Existing Home Sales Report . THE PENDING HOME SALES REPORT The report announced that pending home sales (homes going into contract) are up 3.9% over last year, and have increased year-over-year now for 14 consecutive months. Lawrence Yun,  NAR ’s Chief Economist , expects demand to remain stable through the final two months of the year, and “forecasts existing-home sales to finish 2015 at a pace of 5.30 million – the highest since 2006.”   Takeaway:  Demand for housing will continue throughout the end of 2015 and into 2016. The seasonal slowdown often felt in the

Prices & Mortgage Rates Going Up in 2016 The monthly mortgage payment on a home is determined by two elements: the price of the house and the interest rate you pay on your mortgage. Recently released reports are revealing that the experts expect both elements to increase in 2016. HOME PRICES CoreLogic has projected a nationwide 5.2% home value appreciation for the next twelve months. Here is their breakdown by state: MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES All four of the entities that provide projections on mortgage interest rates agree: they’re going up in 2016. Here are the predictions over the next four quarters: Bottom Line With both home values and interest rates projected to increase over the next twelve months, buying (or moving-up), sooner rather than later, makes sense.

Fla.’s housing market: Rising median prices in Oct. ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 23, 2015 –Florida's housing market reported higher median prices, fewer days on market and a constrained inventory of homes for sale in October, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes rose last month with a total of 22,147, an increase of 1.2 percent over October 2014. "October marked the 47 th consecutive month that statewide median sales prices increased year-over-year for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties," said 2015 Florida Realtors President Andrew Barbar, a broker with Keller Williams Realty Services in Boca Raton. "Sellers received a higher percentage of their original list price, with single-family homes getting on average 94.3 percent and townhome-condos getting 93.3 percent. It also took less time for homes to sell in October: a median of 46 days for single-fa

Equity Matters A LOT… Just Ask Freddie Mac There are many reasons, both financial and non-financial, that homeownership remains an important part of the American Dream. One of the biggest reasons is the fact that it helps build family wealth. Recently, Freddie Mac wrote about the power of home equity. They explained: “In the simplest terms, equity is the difference between how much your home is worth and how much you owe on your mortgage. You build equity by paying down your mortgage over time and through your home's appreciation. In a nutshell, your money is working for you and contributing toward your financial future.” They went on to show an example where a person bought a home for $150,000 with a down payment of 10% ($15K), resulting in a loan amount of $135,000. The buyer secured a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.5% with a monthly mortgage payment of $684.03 (not including taxes and insurance). The chart below demonstrates the home equity built aft

How to Get the Most Money from the Sale of Your House Every homeowner wants to make sure they maximize the financial reward when selling their home. But, how do you guarantee that you receive maximum value for your house? Here are two keys to insuring you get the highest price possible. 1. Price it a LITTLE LOW This may seem counterintuitive. However, let’s look at this concept for a moment. Many homeowners think that pricing their home a little OVER market value will leave them room for negotiation. In actuality, this just dramatically lessens the demand for your house. (see chart) Instead of the seller trying to ‘win’ the negotiation with one buyer, they should price it so demand for the home is maximized. In that way, the seller will not be fighting with a buyer over the price but instead will have multiple buyers fighting with each other over the house. In a recent article on realtor.com , they gave this advice: “Aim to price your property at or j

    Applying For A Mortgage: Why So Much Paperwork? We are often asked why there is so much paperwork mandated by the bank for a mortgage loan application when buying a home today. It seems that the bank needs to know everything about us and requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form. Many buyers are being told by friends and family that the process was a hundred times easier when they bought their home ten to twenty years ago. There are two very good reasons that the loan process is much more onerous on today’s buyer than perhaps any time in history. The government has set new guidelines that now demand that the bank prove beyond any doubt that you are indeed capable of affording the mortgage. During the run-up in the housing market, many people ‘qualified’ for mortgages that they could never pay back. This led to millions of families losing their home. The government wants to make sure this can’t happen again

                                                                                                                                                   352-279-0899   Buying a Home Remains 35% Less Expensive than Renting! In the latest  Rent vs. Buy Report  from Trulia , they explained that homeownership remains cheaper than renting with a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage throughout the 100 largest metro areas in the United States. The updated numbers actually show that the range is from an average of 16% in Honolulu (HI), all the way to 55% in Sarasota (FL), and  35% Nationwide! The other interesting findings in the report include: Interest rates have remained low and even though home prices have appreciated around the country, they haven’t greatly outpaced rental appreciation.  “In the past year, these two trends have made homeownership even more affordable compared with renting.” Some markets might tip in favor of renting if home prices increase at a great

                             352-279-0899 Some interesting facts: 25 states are forecasted to achieve higher levels of appreciation in the next 12 months than already achieved in the last year. 25 state and the District of Columbia are forecasted to experience a slow in appreciation. All 50 states & D.C. are forecasted to achieve some level of positive price appreciation. Even though each state is appreciating at different levels, you need to know the Cost of Waiting until next year to buy your dream home!

                                                                                                                                                              352-279-0899 Fla.’s foreclosures down 17% in 3rd quarter   IRVINE, Calif. – Oct. 15, 2015 – According to the third quarter foreclosure report issued by RealtyTrac, Florida is clearly on the way to recovery as the number of foreclosure starts drops 28 percent and the number of auctions declines 46 percent year-to year. Overall, Florida foreclosure activity in the third quarter decreased 17 percent year-to-year. However, the number of homes that have completed the foreclosure process – ones now owned by banks, or REOs – increased 34 percent year-to-year. The state still has the second-highest foreclosure rate in the nation, RealtyTrac finds, but part of the reason is a recovery across the U.S. Five Florida cities posted third quarter foreclosure rates amo

                                                            352-279-0899   How Quickly Are Homes Selling In Your State? [INFOGRAPHIC] by The KCM Crew on October 2, 2015 Some Highlights: The National Association of REALTORS® surveyed their members for their Confidence Index The REALTORS® Confidence Index is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estate practitioners. Practitioners are asked about their expectations for home sales, prices and market conditions. Homes sold in less than 60 days in 39 out of 50 states and Washington D.C. Only Vermont had a median sold date longer than 90 days.

                                                               352-279-0899          #1 Reason to List Your House Today If you are debating listing your house for sale this year or even early next year, here is the #1 reason not to wait! Buyer Demand Continues to Outpace the Supply of Homes For Sale According to the National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) Foot Traffic report , there are more buyers out in the market right now than at any other time in the past three years. The graph below shows the significant increase in foot traffic experienced this year compared to 2014. The latest Existing Home Sales report shows that there is currently a 5.2-month supply of homes for sale. This remains lower than the 6-month supply necessary for a normal market and well below August 2014 numbers. The chart below details the year-over-year inventory shortages experienced so far in 2015: Bottom Line Meet with a local real estate professional who can show you the supply cond

                                                                          Pending Home Sales Remain Steady Posted: 08 Oct 2015 04:00 AM PDT The National Association of REALTORS’ just released the results of their latest Pending Home Sales Index , which showed a small 1.4% decline in signed contracts in August. Pending sales remain strong year-over-year as they were 6.1% higher than August ’14 and have now risen for 12 consecutive months.   What is the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) ? NAR’s PHSI is “a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings”. The higher the Pending Home Sales Index number, the more contracts have been signed by buyers that will soon translate to sales. In every major region of the country, pending sales are up year-over-year as shown by the graph below: What does this mean for the market? Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR explained: "Pending sales have leveled off since mid–summer, with buyers being boun

                                                                                                                            Real Estate To Stay Strong For 2 More Years NEW YORK – Oct. 7, 2015 – Expect at least three more years of favorable real estate conditions, with the overall housing market projected to continue expanding at steady levels through 2017, according to a new survey from the Urban Land Institute Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate. The results are based on predictions from 49 of the real estate industry's top economists and analysts. Compared to previous forecasts, the latest ULI forecast is less bullish on its outlook, however. Overall, real estate indicators are expected to be better than their 20-year averages through 2015 – but the economists predicted that a few real estate indicators won't perform as well: commercial property price growth, equity REIT returns, retail availability rates and single-family housing starts. "

                      #1 Reason to List Your House Today   If you are debating listing your house for sale this year or even early next year, here is the #1 reason not to wait! Buyer Demand Continues to Outpace the Supply of Homes For Sale According to the National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) Foot Traffic report , there are more buyers out in the market right now than at any other time in the past three years. The graph below shows the significant increase in foot traffic experienced this year compared to 2014. The latest Existing Home Sales report shows that there is currently a 5.2-month supply of homes for sale. This remains lower than the 6-month supply necessary for a normal market and well below August 2014 numbers. The chart below details the year-over-year inventory shortages experienced so far in 2015: Bottom Line Meet with a local real estate professional who can show you the supply conditions in your neighborhood and assist you in gaining acce

     Renters: It is about to Get A Lot Worse    We often promote homeownership over renting when a family is ready, willing and able to purchase. There are both financial and non-financial benefits to owning a home of your own. Based on the headlines below, many news outlets agreed with us after they reviewed a recent report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and Enterprise Community Partners . The study states that the number of households spending 50% or more of their income on rent is expected to rise by over ten percent in the next decade. They concluded: “Overall, this white paper projects a fairly bleak picture of severe renter burdens across the US for the coming decade.” What do other experts think of the report? You can tell by the headlines they chose to introduce their stories: “Renters, get ready to take it on the chin” - CNBC “The Rent Crisis Is About to Get a Lot Worse” - Bloomberg Business “Renters Will Continue to Struggle for the

Buying A Home Is Better Way to Produce Wealth Than  Renting! According to the latest Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent (BH&J) Index home ownership is a better way to produce greater wealth, on average, than renting. The BH&J Index is a quarterly report that attempts to answer the question: Is it better to rent or buy a home in today’s housing market? The index examines that entire US housing market and then isolates 23 major markets for comparison. The researchers at use a “ ’horse race’ comparison between an individual that is buying a home and an individual that rents a similar quality home and reinvests all monies otherwise invested in homeownership.” Ken Johnson, Real Estate Economist & Professor at Florida Atlantic University, and one of the index’s authors states: "The U.S. as a whole is still in clear buy territory. The cities of Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City are deep into buy territory." Miami and

                  5 Financial Reasons To Buy Your Home Now We have  reported  many times that the American Dream of homeownership is alive and well. The  personal  reasons to own differ for each buyer, with many basic similarities. Eric Belsky, the Managing Director of the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University expanded on the  top 5 financial benefits  of homeownership in his paper - The Dream Lives On: the Future of Homeownership in America . Here are the five reasons, each followed by an excerpt from the study:   1.) Housing is typically the one leveraged investment available. “Few households are interested in borrowing money to buy stocks and bonds and few lenders are willing to lend them the money. As a result, homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. Even a hefty 20 percent down payment results in a leverage factor of five so that every percentage point rise in the value