Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Blog

Statistics released by foreclosure listing service Realty Track report by year end, one-third of all properties for sale nationwide will be sold by banks.

Third Quarter 2008 foreclosure filings were up more than 70% from same time last year.   Almost 766,000 homes received foreclosure notices between July and September.

Approximately 60% of all homes in foreclosure are in Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio and Michigan.  California accounts for 1/4 of all US foreclosures.  The Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market has certainly seen its share of foreclosures and short sales .

Florida ranks 2nd for nationwide foreclosures per the Tampa Bay Business Journal and Fort Lauderdale ranks 5th in the top 100 metropolitan cities with the highest foreclosure rate.

Ohio and Michigan foreclosures can be attributed to the high rate of unemployment and the job crisis related to the auto industry.

Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California foreclosures are attributed to the enormous unsustainable housing appreciation sometimes in excess of 50% per year.

In a FOX News interview with Barry Habib, Chairman of the Board of Mortgage Success Source, Mr. Habib advised “anyone heading into foreclosure may stall the process by asking for proof of payment history when served.  Since the loan may have been sold a few times, asking for proof of payment history may give you some extra time.”

The most important thing to remember is to communicate with your lender.  Banks want to work with you and avoid foreclosure if possible.

When asked if now was a good time to buy real estate, Mr. Habib replied that “this is a great opportunity to buy real estate.  The reason why there are few rich people is because it is hard to do what everyone is saying not to do.”  He went on to say while everyone is saying real estate is bad, advising to stay out of it, perhaps it is the right time to get in.

He added, buyers are in the driving seat, able to buy properties 10-15% or more below market value.  Even if prices come down another 5-10%, so what?  There is plenty of inventory for buyers to choose from.  Since the average person holds on to a home for 14 years, when the market recovers, there is the potential for a great profit.

For more information about buying or selling a home in Fort Lauderdale, or Fort Lauderdale Condos for sale, contact John Sabia at 954-850-2397.

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A Realtor friend of mine in Sarasota has recently faced an aggressive legal battle launched at him by the Sarasota Association of Realtors®, (SAR) of which he is an active member, because of the use of “mls” in his website address.

The use of “area mls” in a Realtor’s website address was widely recommended in a 2002 article written by “Mr Internet” in a publication by the National Association of Realtor’s® (NAR).

Marc Rasmussen, a Sarasota Real Estate Agent, purchased his website address “thesarasotamls” back in 2003 based largely on the advice he read in the article and when marketing real estate on the internet was in it’s infancy.

Mark continued to spend numerous hours and thousands of dollars over the next 5 years creating and improving what had become the number 1 Sarasota Real Estate website and was rewarded for his efforts by achieving high rankings in the internet search engines.

A recent change in Article 12 of the National Association of Realtors® Code of Ethics, now allows local Realtor® Associations at their sole discretion to determine if their members are permitted to use the term “mls” regardless of how long they have used it and especially with disregard to the recommendation featured in the Mr Internet article.

It should be pointed out that “mls” is not a trademark of any Realtor® Association, instead the trademark for Major League Soccer (MLS). The public has also come to know mls as a common everyday term for real estate property listings.

However, it was prior to this change in the ethics code that the Sarasota Association of Realtors® decided to take legal action against Marc, apparently in an effort to shut his website down. A website that was highly respected for doing what a real estate website should do, provide consumers with real estate information and real estate property listings.

Morgan Carey, the web designer for Marc explains in detail in his blog post Help us Fight the Sarasota Association of Realtors® , the legal action which began with an ethics complaint against Marc filed by SAR (Sarasota Association of Realtors®) for which Marc was cleared of any wrong doing.

This is where I and many others believe SAR® went too far crossing the line. The Association, rather then accept this ruling, continued action against Marc outside the scope of an ethics complaint, in a legal maneuver, brought their argument to the Internet Corporation for Unassigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) - which as you will read below, has nothing to do with ethics.

ICANN mission statement

In a split decision, ICANN ruled in favor of the Sarasota Association of Realtors®.

Marc has filed a lawsuit in Federal court against the Sarasota Association of Realtors® to allow him to maintain control over the old website address (domain name thesarasotamls.com). Marc has already redirected the old address to his new website address.

By allowing Marc to maintain control over the old domain and through the redirect to his new website will preserve the past 5 years of hard work and maintain the authority Marc’s old site had gained and avoid Marc having to start all over again.

There has been an enormous outpouring of support for Marc from fellow Realtors® across the country and a barrage of protests against the Sarasota Association of Realtors® has now put this issue into the lime light. They have an opportunity to do the right thing, bring this to a close and allow Marc to remain in control of the old domain.

If they continue to force Marc to surrender the website address to SAR®, than in my opinion, as shared by many others, this was never about ethics, nor an action to protect the consumer. Rather a contemptuous action far more rooted in taking down a Realtor’s® website possibly because of jealousy or envy.

Read the linked articles, and you decide.

• Inman News - MLS Name Dispute Lands in Court
• Paul Francis - Sarasota Association of Realtors - Who Does it Really Hurt?
• Eric Blackwell - SAR: The Real Cybersquat
• Cal Carter - The SAR Pokie
• Ryan Ward - Sarasota Association Slaps one of Their Own
• Charles Richey - Don’t Cross the SAR
• Judy Orr - Sarsota MLS attacks Its Own Member
  
• Joe Lane - TheSarasotaMLS is gone - Maybe Your Next
• Knox - TheSarasotaMLS
  
• Herald Tribune, Sarasota - Man Fights Realtors Over A Web Address
• Wanna Network - Unite Against The Sarasota MLS Board
• Cal Carter - Sarasota Association of Realtors® Throught It’s MLS Takes Down It’s Own Member ……. featuring a listing of all related blog posts

To list your article here, email me or post in comments.

To voice your support for Marc, contact the Sarasota Association of Realtors®

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Recent Sale at the Pilot House Condo in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Clients from Canada just recently bought this 2 bedroom 2 bath condo at Pilot House Condo in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a condomininium situated directly on the Intracostal Waterway.

The Purchase Price was $270,000 which respresents 83% of the listed asking price of $325,900.

Pilot House was built in 1978 and stretches the entire northeast to southeast point lots boasting incredible Intracoastal views with comfortable living. Residents at Pilot House have a choice of floor plans from townhomes and condos and when available, deepwater dockage for their boat.

If you are looking to buy, rent or sell a Fort Lauderdale Condo or home, or another one of the many Condos for sale in Fort Lauderdale, please contact John Sabia today.

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Find Affordable Fort Lauderdale-Area Foreclosures

Fort Lauderdale Foreclosures are at an all-time high as well as in other areas in South Florida and nationwide, and they offer the perfect solution for buyers who are interested in purchasing a new home at a cost below market prices. Along with a wide variety of properties, there are several types of foreclosures, including pre-foreclosures also known as “short sales“, bank foreclosures and HUD foreclosures.

When a homeowner is unable to make the payment of the requisite amount in the agreed time period, the property is reposed by the lender and resold in an auction in an effort to recover the amount that was lent.

While many banks and government agencies publish lists of their foreclosed properties, real estate agents can help save buyers money, time and stress when finding and securing a foreclosed home. Realtors can obtain information on foreclosed homes from title companies, lenders and a variety of resources at their disposal.

Realtors can also explain the government auction process and aid potential buyers in the purchase of a government foreclosure home. Quality real estate professionals work closely with banks to sell their foreclosures and put them back in the hands of homeowners. Buyers should chose a Realtor who is very knowledgeable about the neighborhoods they are interested in.

Those interested in purchasing a foreclosed home may also want to check out listings posted online, but beware that many of these Web sites, such as Foreclosure.com, require a small fee. Other Web sites allow buyers to view listings for a short trial period for free. Popular online resources include Hud.org and Realtor.com, and Web sites such as Trulia.com allow buyers to ask questions about foreclosures specific to their city, state or region.

Although challenging, buying a foreclosed property can certainly yield major benefits to homebuyers in search of a bargain. Like many aspects of the real estate world, patience is key. Find a good agent and request a full inspection of the foreclosed home before making a purchase.

While foreclosures can offer great bargains, don’t limit your search for the perfect home. In today’s market, inventory for Fort Lauderdale Homes and Fort Lauderdale Condos is presently at a 20+ month supply without any new homes coming on the market.  Privately held homes are selling below market value and the process is typically shorter than going through the bank.

When buyers go through a bank as oppose to an individual, it can sometimes take a month or two or longer to receive a response to an offer. Short sales are considerably longer.  A good agent should be able to show you a balanced mix of deals on foreclosed and privately held homes.

For more information about buying or selling a foreclosed property in Fort Lauderdale, contact John Sabia today at 954-850-2397 or visit the #1 Fort Lauderdale Real Estate web site.

Home and Condo Sales figures for July 2008 - Fort Lauderdale

Listing and Sales Activity in the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market for July 2008 reports some positive news from last month, but we are headed in the right direction.

Closed Sales for single family homes in Fort Lauderdale were down just 2% while the median price was up 2% from June 2008, however an 18% decrease from July 2007.

Closed Sales for Fort Lauderdale Condos were down 14% over June, while the median sales price was also up 4% from last month. Median price from same time last year is down 16%.

Average Sales price for both property categories were down 4% and 6% respectively over last month and down 19% and 6% from same time last year.

Positive territory for New Listing Inventory reports a decrease of 11% of new properties on the market from last month and down 13% from last year.

Positive news for Total Available Inventory as well with a small decrease of 1% of properties for sale over last month and down 4% from last year.

As you can see, there is plenty room for improvement, however, the sky is not falling as you would be lead to believe by most media reporting. It is crucial to remember that real estate is local, not nationwide or statewide and varies significantly between neighborhood to neighborhood and condominium to condominium.

I learned a long time ago from real estate sales coach Mike Ferry, the secret to selling a home in any real estate market and it remains true to this day is that there are only really 2 questions to ask if you are considering selling your home:

• Do you absolutely have to sell your home? not want to, not testing the market - Do you absolutely have to sell?
• Will you price it to sell? not I need, not I want. etc.,
  Will you price it to sell based on market value, market trends and perhaps even below market value taking into consideration, short sales, foreclosures, active listings, pending sales and most importantly closed sales in past 30, 60 and 90 days, not 1 year ago or even 6 months ago.

  If your answer is not yes to both questions, you probably should not be selling your home at this time.

  If you answer yes to both questions, than your next step is to select an agent who understand this.

  All other suggestions and advice for selling a home are only complimented if Price and Motivation are the top 2 key factors in selling a home.

For more information about buying or selling residential real estate in Fort Lauderdale, contact John Sabia today at 954-850-2397 and visit the #1 Fort Lauderdale Real Estate web-site.

source: Realtor® Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale

Even Black Clouds Have Silver Linings

Click through BusinessWeek.com’s slide show, ranking the best- and worst-performing real estate markets by ZIP code and you’ll find a rude reminder of just how low some markets can go in one year alone. The July 31 report, “Real Estate Boom and Bust in the Same Metro Areas,” examined 20 major metropolitan areas to find out just how well they faired in light of today’s turbulent economy. What it found wasn’t all bad news. In fact, many of the studied markets appeared relatively strong. What’s most interesting is that many of the highest-performing ZIP codes are close neighbors to some of the report’s lowest-performing ZIP codes.

In South Florida, for instance, housing prices have taken a serious hit in Davie, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, due to a mix of weak-dollar ramifications, lending restrictions and new construction. The average asking price fell 30 percent to $276,661 between July 2007 and July 2008, according to the report. But the market appears to be much rosier in Jupiter, a wealthy beach town boarded by Palm Beach Gardens to the south and Martin County to the north. Median listing prices in Jupiter climbed 24 percent to $644,750 between July 2007 and July 2008.

Affluent markets like Jupiter are benefiting from the weak dollar because it has opened new markets for well-financed folks who can buy exactly what they want without the competition. While some may argue that it’s a bit of a stretch calling Jupiter — a good 100 miles from the heart of Miami — part of the Miami metropolitan area, the message is still clear: We may be in a recession, but not everyone is failing.

The comparison report, conducted by Altos Research, drives home the point that some neighborhoods are indeed appreciating despite an overall negative feeling toward the real estate market. Unfortunately, the accompanying article, “The Credit Crisis Turns One,” lacks a solid analysis of what these numbers can tell us about what’s in store for us a year from now if the financial crisis continues on its current course. Keep in mind that the study represents only a small snapshot of the country’s more than 43,000 ZIP codes.

It’s unfortunate that the country’s financial meltdown has brought the entire market down, negatively affecting the masses the most and the wealthiest individuals the least. For one thing, it is going to take some time before the South Florida housing market will rise above the daunting overhang of unsold homes and widespread sale of foreclosures.

Don’t Base Your Investments on National Indicators

While it may appear like you’re seeing the same home prices and sales in your local market that are being reported in neighboring counties and states, it’s important not to lose sight of the details specific to your market. Markets can vary widely from city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood or, as in the case of Fort Lauderdale condos such as Las Olas River House, Las Olas Grand,WaterGarden, Symphony, Las Olas Beach Club or L’Hermitage; building to building.

Keeping market-specific details, such as price trends, volume and inventory, in mind when buying or selling residential real estate in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere, is the key to evaluating real estate deals.

Unfortunately, the media has a tendency to generalize and summarize what’s taking place in the real estate market and often times, both buyers and sellers end up making critical decisions based largely on prices and sales. For real-time state of the market, they should be looking at sales volume and inventory trends, which will show how active or soft a particular market is.

To be successful in this industry, you should never look at real estate through a wide-angle lens. Get a more lucid picture of what’s taking place in your local market by breaking it up and examining the details.

You can probably come up with a slew of characteristics that differentiate various neighborhoods within your local market such as Bay Colony, Coral Ridge, Las Olas, Harbor Beach, Rio Vista, Wilton Manors and Victoria Park.

It’s critical for buyers and sellers to understand these characteristics and, in turn, communicate their buying or selling needs with a real estate professional. In order to get the best advice, service and consultation, buyers and sellers need to be particularly selective when choosing an agent that is most knowledgeable about their local market and will be able to best meet their needs.

On a similar note, buyers and sellers should not get too hung up on waiting for the housing market’s bottom. Many buyers, who are now sellers, missed all the signs of the market’s top and it’s highly likely that buyers may also miss the so-called bottom — if they wait around to read about it in the news.

It takes a good four to six months for statistics to report the start of a recovery and it will be too late by the time it hits the media. While it’s easy to see a bottom coming, it’s impossible to pinpoint when it will happen exactly. People that are fortunate to buy at the bottom won’t realize their good fortune until it’s passed.

Making sure you do your homework when purchasing a home is a no brainier, but all too often people make investments based on what the media reports. One size fits all doesn’t apply to the real estate world.

If you are considering buying or selling real estate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contact John Sabia at 954-850-2397 or visit the #1 Fort Lauderdale Real Estate website.

The St Regis Hotel & Resort on Fort Lauderdale Beach will no longer be managed by Starwood Hotels which owns the St Regis brand name. As of August 11, the 220-unit resort owned by Castillo Grand LLC will no longer be affiliated with the St Regis name. According to a spokesperson, the contract cancellation decision by Starwood Hotels came after several undisclosed disputes.

The St Regis Fort Lauderdale Condo-Hotel opened on Fort Lauderdale Blvd (A1A) across from the Atlantic Ocean in May 2007, promoted as a prestigious landmark, offers lavish hotel suites as well as luxurious condos for sale ranging in price from just under $2 million and up

Update: Ritz-Carlton will take over operations beginning August 11th marking the St Regis it’s fourth South Florida property including hotels in Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne and South Beach.

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I was watching a recent television airing of the Suze Orman Show when she talked about the decline in the real estate market and how a great number of people are panicking and freaking out because they are watching the value of their home decline significantly. Many people are agonizing about what to do… should they sell? should they stay?

The truth of the matter is that while some people are in the position where they have to sell and will have to bite the bullet in order to move on with their lives, many more people have absolutely no intention whatsoever of selling their home. They are happy in their homes, they are able to afford the monthly expenses and they plan to stay there for many years to come.

These people were very happy in their homes until they started watching the negative news everyday, listening to the radio and reading the newspaper all beating the same drum that the value of their home is going down, down, down. All of a sudden, the bliss turns to frustration because they feel that they are now poor, they have lost a lot of money, they don’t know what to do, should they sell and so on…

Suze warns it is time to stop thinking this way. She explains that while it is true that the housing market in many areas of the country is declining and it is possible the decline can continue for the rest of 2008 and into 2009, the fact of the matter is “a house is where you live.” She drives home the point, “what do you care what the value of the house is, if you are not planning to sell?

“If you have a good mortgage, you are able to keep up with the payments, you love the house, you love the neighborhood, you love the schools, etc, than stop worrying, and stop paying attention to the value of your home! The value of your home will eventually go back up.”

Suze cites as an example, the Hong Kong real estate market in 2001-2002. Hong Kong’s real estate market was very similar to the real estate boom we experienced here in the United States. Properties were skyrocketing. All of sudden, in 2001/2002 the real estate market in Hong Kong fell apart, similar to what we are experiencing now. Properties there had declined drastically to a point that many property owners saw the values of their homes decline to far less than what was owed on the property. Sound familiar?

Suze’s advice to them at the time, ironically, is the same advice she has now, “Just stay put. If you can afford the monthly mortgage and expenses, and you are loving everything about your home, just stay put!”

The real estate market in Hong Kong has rebounded and the property values today are higher than ever before. Will this happen in the United States? “Absolutely!” When it will happen, no one knows. Markets go up and markets go down. The key to remember is that your house is a home. If you can afford it and you love your home, stop worrying about the decline in value.

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Do you want to search Short Sale Listings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida?

I have added a new feature on my website listing available Short Sale listings.

You can view single family and condo short sales in all of Broward County by visiting Fort Lauderdale Short Sale Listings

Short Sales may be great opportunities for purchasing a property well below market value, however, be prepared to exhaust a great deal of patience because lenders have not been very cooperative in approving the sales in a timely fashion if at all.