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Michael Saunders & Company Web Statistics May 2011
Beth Ward
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Dr. Beach's Top 10 Beaches, 2011: Siesta Beach
MSC Marketing
Coastal scientist Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research and known as “Dr. Beach,” announced his 21st annual Top 10 Beaches list on May 27. He has compiled the list annually since 1991 using 50 criteria. Here are his top 10 picks for 2011.1. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.:Siesta Beach in Sarasota boasts that it has the finest and whitest sand in the world, and I cannot argue with this claim; the powdery sand is nearly pure quartz crystal,” Leatherman said. The water is blue, clean and clear, making it particularly inviting to bathers and swimmers.The beach is hundreds of yards wide, attracting volleyball players, beachcombers and sun worshippers. Waves are normally measured in inches, and the beach gradually slopes into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, making it a safe area for children.This beach park is complete with showers and bathrooms, snack bars, grills, picnic tables, shade trees and a large parking area, which fills up on summer weekends. Siesta Beach is a smokeless beach, earning extra points for cleanliness and environmental management.“My favorite time to visit is after Labor Day when things have calmed down, and the water is still warm enough for swimming until November,” Leatherman said. “Snowbirds from northern climes call this area home during the winter because of the great weather. The beaches are for exploring, but not swimming at this time of year, albeit I have been in the water as early as March.”Fans of Dr. Beach will note that Siesta Beach was on last year’s Top 10 list in spite of the BP oil spill. “Siesta Beach in Sarasota was on the list in 2010 because I strongly believed that the Loop Current would keep any oil away from the southwest Florida beaches, which it did — my prediction was correct,” Leatherman said.Slide show text by Robin Dalmas, Bing Travel; photo editing by Connie Ricca. -
Realtors® Applaud Bill to Speed Lender Response to Short Sales
MSC Marketing
Washington, April 13, 2011
A new bill to improve the process for approving short sales may soon bring relief to distressed home owners who are unable to keep their homes and hope to avoid foreclosure. The bill, introduced in the U.S. House yesterday and strongly supported by the National Association of Realtors®, would impose a deadline of 45 days on lenders to respond to short sale requests.The legislation, the “Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011,” was offered in Congress by U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Robert Andrews (D-N.J.).
“The current short sale process can be time-consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from a sale that could have saved a home owner from foreclosure,” said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. (More …)
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Pricing Is ALWAYS Local … Most of the Time
MSC Marketing
by The KCM Crew on April 11, 2011
We understand that real estate is intensely local. Whether you are thinking of buying or selling a home, you should sit with a real estate professional familiar with your local area. However, that does not mean that what is happening nationally doesn’t apply to your market. What is taking place with home values is a perfect example of this. Prices are softening in many parts of the country. We all hope that our region is the exception to this trend. Before we buy or sell we should make sure. Just how widespread are these price declines? Let’s take a look at what the current pricing indices have found.S&P/Case Shiller
Their Home Price Index shows that 18 of the 20 cities they monitor had year-over-year depreciation. San Diego and Washington D.C. were the only two markets to record appreciation. However, San Diego was up a “scant 0.1%”, while Washington DC posted a healthier +3.6% annual growth rate.
CoreLogic
Their Home Price Index states:
“Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas measured by population, 86 are showing year-over-year declines.”
National Association of Realtors (NAR)
Their Existing Sales Report showed that 13 of 17 metros they report on had median sales prices decline in the last year. Only Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Diego and St. Louis saw their median price increase.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
Their website has a visual that shows how widespread the price situation has become:
Bottom Line
Pricing is a major challenge in the vast majority of regions right now. Definitely sit with a local agent. However, make sure they tell you what you need to know not just what they think you may want to hear.
http://kcmblog.com/2011/04/11/pricing-is-always-local%e2%80%a6most-of-the-time/
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February Housing Scorecard Shows Increase in Existing Home Sales as Home Affordability Remains High
Beth Ward
RISMEDIA, March 4, 2011—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the February 2011 edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard. The latest housing figures show increased existing home sales as home affordability remains high, but officials caution that the market remains fragile, as prices are unsettled.“In the face of the deepest economic recession and housing crisis in decades, the Obama Administration has taken unprecedented action to promote stability in the market—keeping millions of families in their homes and helping millions more to save money by refinancing. But the data clearly show that the market remains extremely fragile,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. “While we cannot stop every foreclosure, we know that many responsible homeowners are still fighting to make ends meet. Through the broad range of programs this Administration has put in place, we can put help in reach to those homeowners as early as possible.” (More …) -
Economy Embarking on Period of Expansion, According to Fannie Mae’s Economic & Mortgage Market Analysis Group
MSC Marketing
RISMEDIA, February 28, 2011—Continued improvements in economic activity driven by strong growth in consumer spending are moving the economy beyond the recovery phase and into a period of expansion, according to the February 2011 Economic Outlook released by Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group. For 2011, economic growth is projected to accelerate to 3.7%, up from 2.8% economic growth in 2010.Housing has yet to see robust movement and continues to lag the rest of the economy, according to the group. On the upside, the excess supply of housing appears to have peaked. In addition, the rental vacancy rate fell, indicating the excess supply of housing is being worked off slowly—a trend necessary for housing to return to stability. The downward trend in the rental vacancy rate is consistent with the downward trend in the homeownership rate, which implies a rising share of households have chosen renting over owning. The homeownership rate fell to 66.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, down from a peak of 69.2% in late 2004.
“We have confidence that the economy is on stronger legs with a sustainable growth path. Our projected annual growth rate for 2011 is nearly a full percent higher than the annual growth rate for 2010, which is a significant event,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “Economic cross currents such as the lack of sustained strong job growth, state and local fiscal issues and geo-political uncertainty in the Middle East present downside risks. Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives.”
For more information, visit http://www.fanniemae.com.
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Get in while the Getting’s Good – Why Buyers and Sellers Should Take Advantage of Today’s Real Estate Market
MSC Marketing
By Dan Steward
RISMEDIA, February 16, 2011—The Case-Shiller Index is one of the country’s most popular ways of measuring the movement of home prices. And in its latest rating, which went out in late December, the verdict was: Prices are down. The Case-Shiller report’s 20-City Composite rating was 0.8% lower than it was one year previously; the first year-on-year decrease since October 2009.In some markets, sales were the worst ever—as the report noted: “While the composite housing prices are still above their spring 2009 lows, six markets—Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Portland (OR), Seattle and Tampa—hit their lowest levels since home prices started to fall in 2006 and 2007, meaning that average home prices in those markets have fallen beyond the recent lows seen in most other markets in the spring of 2009.” This may make buyers complacent, expecting prices to go down further. And if you’re a seller, your immediate reaction might be to hide under the covers. (More …)
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Demographic Shifts Shaping Future of the Housing Market
MSC Marketing
RISMEDIA, February 9, 2011—With the great recession driving unemployment, foreclosures and vacancy rates to historic highs, the housing market has certainly been on one wild ride the last few years.Today, we see the confluence of a deep recession driving behavioral change and shifts in the demographic distribution of the population poised to impact the real estate market in unexpected ways. Americans who have experienced or witnessed the loss of jobs, homes and home values have grown skeptical about the benefits of homeownership. Not only will the financial impacts of the housing meltdown burden the real estate market for years to come but so too will the emotional impact. More than ever, Americans of all ages are considering their options.
At a time when aging baby boomers might be retiring, they continue working in order to build back up the retirement savings they lost in the economic chaos. This has a trickle-down effect, preventing younger generations from moving up in the workplace or from moving into the workplace to acquire the wealth they would need to drive new demand for homes. (More …)
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Christie's International Real Estate Comparision Chart 2010
Beth Ward
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3 Common Misconceptions That Needlessly Lower Credit Scores
MSC Marketing
RISMEDIA, February 3, 2011—People are having to make tough financial choices today, but many don’t have to wreck their credit scores if they know how the system works, according to credit expert Eddie Johansson, president of Credit Security Group.“With the same amount of money, you can make decisions that kill your credit score or ones that keep your score—or at least give you the ability to rebuild your score quickly later,” he said. “Most people have wrong or little information about how the system works, and that’s a big reason scores go down when difficult decisions are made during a recession.” (More …)
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