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ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 20, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued their upswing in September, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 10 percent last month with a total of 15,036 homes sold statewide compared to 13,723 homes sold in September 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

“One of the most overlooked statistical trends in all of real estate is the growth in home sales, both single-family and condo, in the state of Florida,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “We’ve seen an upward trend in sales since January 2011, and September’s sales were a full 10 percent above September 2010. Even prices, which have been static over the past few months, are well above where they were in January 2011.

“One of the reasons for this is stabilization in the distressed property market. This is not a problem that’s going away, but there’s a degree of certainty that is helping the market.”

Fifteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales in September; 11 MSAs had higher existing condo sales.

The statewide median sales price for existing homes last month was $133,900; a year ago, it was $135,000 for only a 1 percent decrease. According to analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in August 2011 was $168,400, down 5.4 percent from a year ago, according to NAR. In California, the August statewide median resales price was $297,060; in Maryland, it was $241,564; and in New York, it was $220,000.

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 6,666 units sold statewide in September, a 10 percent gain over the 6,035 units sold in September 2010. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $87,200; a year earlier, it was $81,800 for a 7 percent increase.

“Historically low mortgage rates and stabilizing home prices all across Florida’s local housing markets continue to attract potential buyers – housing affordability conditions are very favorable right now,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “However, financially qualified buyers are still being denied home loans because of overly restrictive lending requirements, and that’s a significant obstacle to the housing recovery.”

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.11 percent in September, down from the 4.35 percent average during the same month a year earlier. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

June 06, 2011 12:01:00 AM
PAT KELLY / News Herald Writer
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The timing was perfect.

As the area moves into the crucial summer tourism season, The Weather Channel has named Panama City Beach the best beach in Florida and one of the top five beaches in the country.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” said Buddy Wilkes, chairman of the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC).

Al Roker talks about the best beaches here.

As the economy has tightened, and as the Internet has gained traction for vacation surfers, bookings are coming later and later in the age of the website, Wilkes said.

There are still a lot of room reservations to be made along the beach this summer, he said, “and this will certainly help.”

The Weather Channel posted an online poll for a week on its Facebook page and asked viewers to rate beaches in five areas of the country: Florida; East Coast (except Florida); Gulf Coast (except Florida); West Coast; and Great Lakes.

In Florida, Panama City Beach took the No. 1 spot, followed by Daytona Beach and Destin.

Other beaches around the country ranked in the top five were Nags Head, N.C.; Gulf Shores, Ala.; Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island, Mich.; and Coronado Beach, San Diego, Calif.

Dan Rowe, TDC executive director, said the poll was particularly significant because it was decided by lovers of weather, beaches and the outdoors. Fans of The Weather Channel know where to go for a good time, he said.

“This is an incredible honor for Panama City Beach,” Rowe said. “Especially to have The Weather Channel Facebook fans ranking us the highest, people who come to the beach, who have an interest in weather.”

The Weather Channel said Panama City Beach took the top Florida spot because, “with its wide beaches filled with white sand and emerald green waters, there’s no doubt why people flock to this small beach town.

“Hit the beach at night (make sure you’re away from the lights),” it continued, “and you may just catch a loggerhead or green turtle coming ashore to lay eggs.”

Since The Weather Channel was acquired by NBC, Wilkes said it is fast becoming more than just a cable weather station, offering news’ segments that give it a more national influence.

“I think the national recognition (by the show) is important,” he said. “They do a lot of stories along the U.S. coasts and travel to a lot of beaches.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. – May 12, 2011 – Stung by the crash of the housing market, some struggling homeowners are using a little known but increasingly popular provision of the bankruptcy code to eliminate second mortgages and avoid foreclosure.

Statistics are hard to come by, but bankruptcy lawyers say the provision has been used effectively on hundreds, if not thousands, of cases in the San Francisco Bay Area during the past two years.

“It’s a big thing in our valley,” said James “Ike” Shulman, a San Jose bankruptcy lawyer. “But it’s not widely known.”

Shulman, co-founder of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said he has helped a number of clients who have filed for personal bankruptcy use the law to hold on to their houses – including three last week.

Cathy Moran, a Mountain View, Calif., bankruptcy lawyer, said one of her clients had a $132,000 second mortgage voided by the court.

“This is a really big-ticket issue that allows people to keep a home and conform the mortgage to something closer to real value,” Moran said.

Bankruptcy laws prevent homeowners from eliminating the debt of a first mortgage if they plan to stay in their home. But second mortgages are treated differently. They can be declared unsecured debt when there is no equity to cover them, as is the case for millions of houses that are now worth far less than a few years ago.

When that happens in a personal bankruptcy proceeding, the second mortgage is put on hold and no payments are required while the homeowner completes a repayment plan for other debts, which typically takes three to five years. At that point, the second mortgage is eliminated.

Many of these second mortgages were granted during the housing bubble, when home prices were going in one direction only – up, up and up.

“A lot of these are loans that shouldn’t have been made at all,” said Henry Sommer, editor of Collier on Bankruptcy, a publication on bankruptcy law.

One of Shulman’s clients, Veronica – who asked that her full name not be used – was struggling to keep the San Jose house she bought in 2005 for $612,000.

Her home’s value has dropped to about $367,000 – less than her first mortgage of $489,000 – which allowed her to petition the bankruptcy court to set aside her $122,000 second mortgage. The court granted her motion.

She successfully completed her payment plan for other debts two months ago, and her second mortgage is now eliminated.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “After almost six years, I am finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m so, so grateful.”

Mortgage bankers don’t like the practice.

It’s “a troublesome phenomenon. It’s one of those things that’s just now developing and bubbling up,” said Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Association. But there is little the mortgage industry can do, aside from seeking to change the law. That could be difficult given the current partisan lineup in Washington.

And there are no complaints from investors in first mortgages, like the pension and retirement funds represented by the Association of Mortgage Investors. “We think with the right controls, something like this to allow a responsible, distressed homeowner to reorganize their assets, liabilities and cash flows is a very pro-business proposition,” said Chris Katopis, the association’s executive director. “We disagree with what the mortgage bankers associations are saying on this.”

The law has been like this for years, bankruptcy lawyers say. It’s just never been used as much because in the past there was usually enough equity in a home to cover the second mortgage.

“We’re having great results” using the rule, said Brette Evans, a San Jose bankruptcy lawyer. In one recent case, a small-business owner was able to hang on to her home by setting aside a $240,000 second mortgage, she said.

That put the borrower in “a safe zone” where she could work out a modification of her first mortgage, Evans said.

© 2011 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.). Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. – May 9, 2011 – When Tracy went into the foreclosure mediation session last month, she hoped the bank would consider reducing her mortgage rate instead of taking her Palmetto home.

Instead, the bank demanded that she pay off the entire loan amount of more than $50,000. When Tracy said she couldn’t afford that, the bank offered to pay her $1,000 – for a rental truck if she moved out within 60 days.

“I broke down and cried,” said Tracy, not her real name. “I was so shocked, I felt like I was having a heart attack.”

Her experience illustrates one reason why Florida’s foreclosure mediation program has been so far ineffective, experts say.

And other flaws in the program – the voluntary nature of mediation, homeowner ignorance or unwillingness to participate and hardball negotiating tactics by banks – likely means negotiations will fail to help many borrowers, they say.

“The mediation process is what it is: an opportunity to sit down and talk,” said Dawn Bates-Buchanan, a Bradenton attorney who has attended more than 25 mediation sessions as a mediator and homeowner adviser. “It’s all voluntary. Nobody’s forced to do anything. If nobody has to do anything, usually nothing gets done.”

Low success rate

The Florida Supreme Court in late 2009 required mediation in new foreclosure cases involving homesteaded properties. Its aims were to aid borrowers and reduce a foreclosure backlog of more than 462,000 cases.

While it and other efforts have helped reduce the backlog by a third, the program has fallen short of meeting the first goal, state figures show.

Nearly 58,000 cases statewide have been referred to mediation in the six months since the program began in March 2010, according to a recent report from the Office of the State Courts Administrator. Of those, just 2,162 cases – or less than 4 percent – had resulted in an agreement between the bank and borrower by May 1 of this year.

The 12th Judicial Circuit, which consists of Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties, had a higher success rate: 71 settlements out of 1,691 cases, or 4.2 percent.

That’s not good enough, the circuit’s top judge said.

“I’m not pleased with the results we’ve seen so far,” said Chief Judge Lee Haworth, who helped create the mediation program as a member of a Supreme Court task force. “I don’t think anybody is.”

Where are borrowers?

A big reason why there haven’t been more settlements: few borrowers coming to the bargaining table or even knowing the table is there.

Those administering the program have been unable to reach the borrower in 3 out of 5 cases, state figures show. In the 12th Circuit, the contact rate is even less: 35 percent.

That might be because the borrower’s phone has been disconnected, the borrower has moved without leaving a forwarding address or is overwhelmed by or ignoring foreclosure-related mail and phone calls.

Copyright © 2011 The Bradenton Herald, Fla., Duane Marsteller. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

MIAMI – April 15, 2011 – According to a Wells Fargo report released this week, Florida is No. 1 in potential job growth once the state shakes off lingering effects from the recession.

The study looked at regional competitiveness – the factors that might lead employers to create jobs locally. To compile results, Wells Fargo analyzed 20 years of employment data and growth trends. It then projected future growth. While an expected boost in tourism post-recession played a part in Florida’s ranking, Wells Fargo also cited an expanded diversity in the state’s job market, such as the Scripps Research facility in Palm Beach County.

“The influx of new medical research facilities will help reinvigorate … growth in Florida, helping further diversify the state’s economy,” according to the report.

The study found Florida competitive in 22 industries. Georgia – No. 2 on the list – had 21. Wells Fargo considered traditionally white-collar industries as Florida strengths, including professional services, insurance and finance.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – April 12, 2011 – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a complaint yesterday against a home loan modification company for allegedly requiring consumers to pay an upfront fee for services.

According to an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Mitigators, LLC, allegedly required consumers to pay an upfront fee of $2,100 before it would render services. Many consumers reported paying the $2,100 fee and an additional $399 application fee for services they never received. The Attorney General’s complaint against the company seeks more than $48,000 in restitution for consumers.

“Charging upfront fees for loan modification services is illegal,” says Bondi. “If consumers have been asked to pay upfront fees for these types of services, I encourage them to file a complaint with my office.”

Under Florida law, loan modification companies may not solicit, charge, receive or attempt to collect or secure payment, directly or indirectly, for foreclosure-related services before completing or performing all services contained in the agreement.

To file a complaint, consumers can call the Attorney General’s fraud hotline at 1-866-966-7226 or file online at http://www.myfloridalegal.com.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also issued rules concerning mortgage assistance relief services (MARS). For more information, visit the Legal Center on the Florida Realtors’ website.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

WASHINGTON – April 8, 2011 – Four fair housing organizations released findings from a year-long undercover investigation of 80 loan modification companies, which they say revealed an industry rife with corrupt practices.

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia Inc., and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center issued a report entitled, “Have I Got a Deal for You! An Undercover Investigation of Mortgage Loan Modification Scams.”

An analysis of the 80 loan modification companies uncovered common tactics used by scammers to entice homeowners to use their services:

• 55 percent required an upfront fee to start work or required a low initial fee to conduct minimal work on behalf of distressed homeowners, such as reviewing loan documents.

• 43 percent guaranteed or promised they could secure a loan modification even before learning about the homeowners’ financial limitations.

• 24 percent advised or encouraged homeowners to stop making their mortgage payments or to stop contacting their lenders.

• 16 percent guaranteed a new, much lower interest rate ranging between two and 6 percent on modified loans.

• 12 percent discouraged homeowners from seeking free help from government-approved housing counseling agencies.

• 8 percent encouraged homeowners to provide fraudulent information to their lenders.

“This is shameful abuse by loan modification scammers to take advantage of desperate homeowners,” says Shanna L. Smith, NFHA president and CEO. “We and our partner organizations will work to see to it that these companies are prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission and other federal and state enforcement agencies.”

With one in nine homeowners nationwide more than 90 days behind on their mortgage payments, a lucrative industry of mortgage modification and foreclosure prevention scams has emerged.

Investigators working on behalf of the fair housing organizations captured scammers saying things like:

• “I’d be breaking the law if I told you to stop paying your mortgage, but friend-to- friend, you won’t get a loan modification until you are behind on your mortgage.”

• “If you don’t qualify, we modify expenses for you. They [the lenders] don’t check it. No one knows what you spend on groceries. We make you qualify by playing with the numbers.”

To read the full report, go to www.nationalfairhousing.org.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

Finally; the first good news for the Panama City Beach condo market since the meltdown in 2006. Your friends at www.condosaletrends.com have updated our Panama City Beach condo market data as of February 8, 2011.

It’s been a long slog, but indications are that the bottom may be near. The number of sales from the 75 buildings in our data base during November, December, and January has been higher than any other similar months over the past three years. December and January sales were significantly higher. While short sales and foreclosures still represent a large portion of the sales, sale prices have appeared to stabilize over the past two months. No new sale price lows were established during the past two months.

It appears that buyers are sensing the bottom and that prices can’t go much lower. The next several months will be very important in determining if the bottom is really here or if the last two months were just an anomaly.

The chart below illustrates the number of monthly sales within the 75 buildings in our data base over the past several years.

WASHINGTON (AP) – March 31, 2011 – House Republicans pushed through legislation Tuesday to terminate an underachieving Obama administration program designed to reduce mortgage payments for homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.

Most Democrats, while acknowledging that the Home Affordable Modification Program has fallen short of original goals, protested the vote to kill it. The White House, in a statement, said that if the bill ever reaches President Barack Obama’s desk, his senior advisers would recommend he veto it. The vote was 252-170.

The GOP-led House this month has voted to kill three other programs aimed at reviving the struggling housing market, including one to aid homeowners who have lost their jobs or become sick, and another helping state and local governments buy and revamp abandoned properties. All face veto threats in the unlikely event they clear the Senate, but they have given Republicans a platform to show their commitment to ending inefficient or expensive federal programs.

The HAMP program, said Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., chairwoman of the House Finance Committee’s housing panel, is “a poster child for failed federal foreclosure programs.”

HAMP, enacted two years ago with funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, offers incentives to loan servicers to modify loans for people having trouble making payments. But the Treasury Department has no authority to compel banks and loan servicers to participate, and so far the program has only modified about 600,000 loans, well below the 3 million to 4 million anticipated.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the sponsor of the bill, claimed that a majority of those who enter the program end up being harmed because they use up savings and damage credit ratings during months of waiting, and then are rejected for permanent reduced loans.

But Democrats questioned that conclusion and said Republicans were killing the program without offering an alternative. “Rather than try to get the program right we abandon all those people who are underwater,” said Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.

Fifty House Democrats led by Rep. Maxine Waters of California on Monday wrote Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging him to “act as quickly as possible” to overhaul the program. “It is important to contrast these 600,000 modifications with the approximately 5 million foreclosures that have been completed since the program started,” they wrote.

Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, top Democrat on the Finance Committee, also denied that the program was a burden on taxpayers, saying that any TARP money spent and not returned to taxpayers when it ends in 2013 will be provided by large financial institutions.

Biggert said the program already has given out about $840 million out of the $30 billion in TARP funds available. The Congressional Budget Office said termination would save the government $1.4 billion over 10 years.

Frank’s office said the median savings to homeowners receiving modifications is $527 a month, and 85 percent who received trial modifications were able to get permanent changes in their loans. Money is given out only after a trial period during which homeowners show they can make the modified mortgage payments.

The bill is H.R. 839

Online: Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press, Jim Abrams.

WASHINGTON – March 23, 2011 – Bargain prices on housing combined with low interest rates below 5 percent may bring the real estate market its busiest spring season in years, economists say.

Distressed sales continue to put downward pressure on home prices, which may lure more buyers off the fence and ready to snag a deal during the typical prime-time buying season.

Some builders are ramping up discounts on new homes as well as boosting commissions to brokers to try to spark more transactions.

Sellers of existing-homes also are getting more competitive in pricing their homes.

“After three years of the housing downturn, people are becoming much more realistic in terms of valuing their homes,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors®.

An improved job market with better income potential may also motivate more people to buy, says David Berson of the PMI Group. “Household formations are also very important,” Berson says. “Kids may have moved back in with their parents, or two people may have moved in together because of job concerns. Now they can move into their own place.”

While interest rates are sitting comfortably below 5 percent for now (30-year fixed rates averaged 4.76 percent last week), economists warn the attractive low rates won’t last long.

“Few think mortgage rates are going lower,” says Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics chief economist. “It’s more likely they will be 6 percent than 4 percent next spring. This lights a fire under buyers.”

Source: “Discounts expected in spring housing market,” The Wall Street Journal (March 22, 2011)

© Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688