Real Estate in South Florida

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In many markets across the country, the number of buyers searching for their dream homes  greatly outnumbers the amount of homes for sale. This has led to a competitive marketplace where buyers often need to stand out. One way to show you are serious about buying your dream home is to get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage before starting your search. Even if you are in a market that is not as competitive, knowing your budget will give you the confidence of knowing if your dream home is within your reach. Freddie Mac  lays out the advantages of pre-approval in the  My Home section of their website: “It’s highly recommended that you work with your lender to get pre-approved before you begin house hunting. Pre-approval will tell you how much home you can afford and can help you move faster, and with greater confidence, in competitive markets.” One of the  many advantages of working with a local real estate professional is that many have relationshi...

In Realtor.com’s recent article , “ Home Buyers’ Top Mortgage Fears: Which One Scares You ?” they mention that “ 46% of potential home buyers fear they won’t qualify for a mortgage to the point that they don’t even try .” Myth #1: “I Need a 20% Down Payment” Buyers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan. According to the First Quarter 2017 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) from Down Payment Resource, saving for a down payment was the barrier that kept 70% of renters from buying . Rob Chrane, CEO of Down Payment Resource had this to say, “ There are many mortgage -ready renters today, but they don’t know it. Often, homebuyers remain sidelined for years due to the down payment. ” Many believe that they need at least 20% down to buy their dream home, but programs are available that allow buyers put down as little as 3%. Many renters may actually be able to enter the housing market sooner than they ever imagined with new programs that have eme...

We often discuss the difference in family wealth between homeowner households and renter households. Much of that difference is the result of the equity buildup that homeowners experience over the time that they own their home. In a report recently released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), they reveal how valuable equity can be in retirement planning. Craig Copeland, Senior Research Associate at EBRI, recently authored a report, Importance of Individual Account Retirement Plans and Home Equity in Family Total Wealth , in which he reveals: “Individual account retirement plan assets, plus home equity, represent almost all of what families have to use for retirement expenses outside of Social Security and traditional pensions. Those families without individual account assets typically have very low overall assets, so they have almost nothing to draw from for retirement expenses.”   The report echoed the findings of a working paper, Home Equit...

      Many real estate economists have called on new home builders to ramp up production to help relieve the shortage of inventory of homes for sale throughout the United States. The added inventory would no doubt aid buyers in their search to secure their dream home, while also helping to ease price increases throughout the country. Unfortunately for builders, there are many forces that are making it difficult for them to do just that! Last week at the National Association of Real Estate Editors 51 st Annual Conference, CoreLogic’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft broke down the 4 ‘L’s of New Home Construction: Lots, Labor, Lumber, and Lending. The concept of supply and demand is ripe in the new home construction industry. The four ‘L’s of new home construction are each suffering a supply problem, and with that comes added costs. Let’s break it down! Lots – There is a shortage of land near metros at an affordable price, causing builders to move farther and farth...

CoreLogic’s  latest  Equity Report   revealed that 91,000 properties regained equity in the first quarter of 2017. This is great news for the country, as 48.2 million of all mortgaged properties are now in a positive equity situation. Price Appreciation = Good News for Homeowners Frank Nothaft,  CoreLogic’s Chief Economist,  explains: “ One million borrowers achieved positive equity over the last year , which means risk continues to steadily decline as a result of increasing home prices.” Frank Martell,  President and CEO of CoreLogic , believes this is a great sign for the market in 2017 as well, as he had this to say: “ Homeowner equity increased by $766 billion over the last year, the largest increase since Q2 2014 . The rising cushion of home equity is one of the main drivers of improved mortgage performance. Since home equity is the largest source of homeowner wealth, the increase in home equity also supports consumer balance sheets, spen...

The results of the latest Rent vs. Buy Report from Trulia show that homeownership remains cheaper than renting with a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage in the 100 largest metro areas in the United States. The updated numbers actually show that the range is an average of 3.5% less expensive in San Jose (CA), all the way up to 50.1% less expensive in Baton Rouge (LA), and 33.1% nationwide! 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. With rents & home values moving in tandem, shifts in the ‘rent vs. buy’ decision are largely driven by changes in mortgage interest rates. Nationally, rates would have to reach 9.1%, a 128% increase over today’s average of 4.0%, for renting to be cheaper than buying. Rates haven’t been that high since January of 1995, according to Freddie Mac. Bottom Line Buying a home makes sense ...