Live Large in this Fabulous Bay Home. Totally updated throughout. Minutes to the Beach & Marina. Boat slips available. Views from every room 3/4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathroom Den/workout area/huge bonus room. Gorgeous Gourmet kit, Granite designer cabinets, Stainless appliance’s. Magnificent porcelain tile. Large Master Suite with sitting area. Deck off Master over looks stunning Bay. Beautiful Master bathroom with 2 sinks & Marble counter tops. Marble counters also in other bathrooms. French doors off 2nd bedroom to deck. 46ft. long lanai off family room. Central vacuum. Pool & huge private yard. For lease mls#381384. This is a Short sale. Call me at 941-809-7759 for more information or a private showing.
Virtual Tour: http://wcf.thevtpros.com/tours/1112
Builders open model homes in Lakewood Ranch
May 27, 2008
Local builders London Bay and John Cannon have opened new model homes in the Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch. The community, which borders the Manatee and Sarasota county line, unveiled two new showcase/model homes. The homes are The Amaroo by John Cannon Homes and The Belita by London Bay Homes. Lakewood Ranch is a green-certified community bordering the Manatee and Sarasota county line. To get to The Lake Club, take Interstate 75 to University Parkway and travel east approximately four miles. The Lake Club entrance is on the left. Please call me at 941-809-7759 for more information or a tour of the area.
Home sales in the Sarasota MLS for April 2008 stood at 567 – the highest level in 10 months, and approximately 72 percent higher than the sales in January 2008. In 2008, sales have been progressively stronger month by month, possibly due to the influence of the new property tax portability law adopted in late January. Sales have climbed from 329 in January to 423 in February, then 514 in March.
Bucking the trend of dropping median sales prices for single family homes, April also saw the median sale price rise to $285,000 from $266,750 in March – about a 7 percent increase.
Condominium sales prices have shown a decline of about 8 percent since the first of the year, but they are also beginning to trend upward and have remained at relatively high levels for the Sarasota market. The median sale price for a condominium stood at $277,000 in April, about 18 percent higher than the $235,000 median sale price in March, but roughly 8 percent off the 2008 peak of $303,500 in January.
“We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful, vibrant community, with world-class culture and amenities,” said Helen Sosso, 2008 SAR President. “These obvious factors continue to enhance the value of local properties, and we are seeing this reflected in our stronger sales figures. In addition, it appears we are beginning to see the effects of the recent state legislation which made it easier for families to upsize or downsize, without such a dramatic impact on their property taxes. Portability will likely continue to be a factor as we move forward in 2008.”
The April 2008 report continued to reflect strength in pending sales, which stood at 765 – the highest level in the past year. In April 2007 pending sales were at only 609. Pending sales have been edging upward since December 2007, when there were only 374 pending sales reported. Pending sales reflect contracts executed by buyers and sellers, and indicate more closings in upcoming months and an improving market in the early summer months.
Inventory levels were lower in April 2008 at 9,830 single family homes, compared to 10,443 in April 2007. Condominium levels also decreased from the April 2007 level of 6,344 to 5,608 in April 2008. Lower inventory normally means a tighter selling market, which tends to put upward pressure on prices over time.
Declining inventory is one of the indicators that a market is beginning to return to a more normal, balanced state. In fact, the Sarasota MLS statistics reveal a lower level of new listings on the market, combined with higher unit sales, which means the inventory is declining for two reasons and should more quickly reach a healthy equilibrium.
The days on market, which translates to the average time it took to sell a property, was at 166 days for single family homes in April 2008, slightly higher than the 158 days in March 2008. The figure has been steadily in the 158 to 160 range throughout the year. Average days on the market for condos was at 189 in April 2008, lower than the 192 figure in March 2008, and much lower than the 203 days reported in February 2008. The days on market reflects the pace of sales.
In general, the Sarasota MLS statistics show a rebound throughout 2008 – every month seeing stronger numbers than the month before.
In an article in the Wall Street Journal last month by Cyril Moulle-Berteaux, a managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York, the author puts together a thought provoking piece headlined “The Housing Crisis Is Over.”
In the article, he defined the basic elements of the housing boom, and the historic trends that follow such a boom and return to normalcy. He concludes that the national housing market is bottoming out right now, and says the return of affordability to the market makes a recovery an almost certainty.
He predicts the nationwide home inventory will drop significantly by the end of 2008, and this shift will begin to be reflected in prices.
In the local Sarasota market, we have seen the trend already beginning toward lower inventories, higher sales, and a leveling of prices after a few months of declines. The April figures reflect this new reality.
Sarasota Association of REALTORS®
Spectacular Waterfront Home with panoramic views of the Manatee River. Direct access to Gulf. 1 acre lot, private gated community. Ideal for Boating. Guitar Shaped Pool. Create your Gourmet meals in the Fabulous Kitchen w/ Granite Counters,Kitchen Aid stainless appliances, Designer Cab.Eat-in-kitchen. Tile,Bamboo & Pecan Wood floors,2 wet bars. 4/5 bedrooms,5 1/2 bathrooms. Dual sinks in master w/claw ft. tub. Plantation shutters in master. 2 fireplaces w/a 2-way in master & bath and between dining and family room. 24 ft ceilings in family room/bonus room, with waters views. Office with stone floors. Relax in Luxury. Call Jim Soda for more information 941-809-7759.
Home Construction Indicators Shows Positive Signs
May 20, 2008
Construction of new homes in the U.S. posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April, a rare spot of good news amid the worst downturn in housing in more than two decades.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that housing construction rose by 8.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. Building of single-family homes continued to weaken, however. The growth came from a big jump in apartment construction, which can be extremely volatile from month to month. Apartment building, defined as two or more units, jumped by 36 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 340,000 units.
Still, the overall gain represented recovery after a steep slump in March building pushed activity to the slowest pace in 17 years.
The surprising rebound was expected to be temporary given the headwinds builders are confronting, from slumping sales to soaring home foreclosures.
The larger single-family sector dropped by 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 692,000 units.
Applications for building permits, considered a good sign of future activity, also recorded an increase in April, rising by 4.9 percent to 978,000 units. It was the first gain in permits in five months.
But economists believe that housing construction will remain under pressure until builders have more success in reducing a huge backlog of unsold homes.
That effort is being made more difficult by a record wave of foreclosures as millions of borrowers lose their homes because they cannot keep up with escalating payments, particularly on subprime mortgages, loans extended to people with weak credit histories.
By region of the U.S., construction posted the largest gain in the Midwest, an increase of 24.4 percent when compared to March. Construction rose 18.5 percent in the West and was up 3.6 percent in the South. However, construction fell by 12.7 percent in the Northeast.
Even with the improvement, housing construction nationwide was 30.6 percent below the level of activity a year ago.
The National Association of Home Builders reported Thursday that its monthly survey of builder sentiment edged down in May to a reading of 19, just above the all-time low of 18 set in December. The survey had held steady at the low level of 20 from February through April.
Have you heard of Mortgage Payment Insurance (MPI)?
May 19, 2008
Have you heard of a new type of mortgage insurance called mortgage payment insurance, or MPI? MPI covers cash-flow risk as well as collateral risk, as opposed to traditional mortgage insurance (TMI), which covers only collateral risk.
Cash-flow risk is the risk of an interruption in the scheduled payments from the borrower to the investor or bank. Collateral risk is the risk that proceeds from foreclosure sale will not be sufficient to pay off the loan balance and reimburse the investor for foreclosure expenses.
Under MPI, the insurer would guarantee timely receipt of the payments, so that the investor continues to get the payments after the borrower defaults. If the default is not corrected, the payments continue until the foreclosure process is completed, at which point the investor is reimbursed under the collateral-risk insurance part of the policy.
The incredible thing about MPI is that it will cost the insurer little more than the cost of TMI, and in many cases it would cost less. The assumption is that the risky loan goes into default followed by foreclosure and calculated the loss to the insurer with a TMI policy. Then using the same default/foreclosure scenario to calculate the loss on an MPI policy with the interest rate reduced to 6 percent. Since the insurer assumes all the default risk with MPI, the rate-risk premium should disappear.
Insurance companies find that the insurer’s losses were actually lower with MPI than with TMI. While the insurer made payment advances, the advances simply prepaid the amount due at foreclosure dollar for dollar. And because of the lower interest rate with MPI, the loan balance and the unpaid interest due were lower, reducing the loss. The insurer did lose the interest it could have earned on the payment advances, but this was much smaller than the reduction in the amount due.
By keeping mortgages in good standing until they are paid off, MPI would help block the erosion of investor confidence that stems from increasing numbers of nonperforming loans. This has been a central feature of the current real estate crisis. If you have any questions please contact Jim Soda or any associate of the Jim Soda Group for further explanation.
World-Class Golf in Lakewood Ranch
May 17, 2008
Legacy golf course is an upscale, 18-hole championship daily fee course, different from anything found in the region. Offering a level of service and conditions found at world-class private facilities, this award-winning Arnold Palmer-signature designed course, managed by Troon Golf, has quickly earned its reputation as one of the premier courses in Southwest Florida. The impeccable service makes it a local favorite for visitors and residents. The course features elevated multiple tees, and virtually every hole is framed with sand and water. What makes this course unique is the 360-foot wide fairways on all corridors making the look very dramatic and visually challenging while still approachable to all players. Call our Tee Time reservationist or click here now to book your round of golf and experience Legacy for yourself!
941.907.7067
8255 Legacy Boulevard
Lakewood Ranch, Florida 34202
Soda sells Sarasota: Literally and figuratively
May 14, 2008
Some people might think that being number two isn’t so bad when it means that you closed $24 million in real estate sales in one year, and received your company’s highest award for ranking in the top one-percent of 65,000 agents nationwide.
Not Jim Soda of Prudential Palms Realty.
As the old slogan says…when you’re number two you try harder.
Already boasting $9 million in sales through April 2008, almost double the year-ago period, Soda is making moves to help position the Jim Soda Group when the tallies are taken at the end of 2008.
He’s doing it just the way his tagline suggests – “Soda sells Sarasota.”
When he’s not selling it literally, showing property and closing deals, he’s selling it figuratively, participating in national and international real estate conferences, passing out literature and talking up the Sarasota-Bradenton area to anyone who will listen.
“The greater Sarasota area doesn’t sell itself enough,” he said. “We are still that hidden cultural gem. People are more are familiar with Boca, West Palm and the Jupiter area – we don’t get the acclaim that our area deserves.”
Lately, a lot of his listeners have been foreign buyers, people looking to buy investment properties or second homes, and international brokers, people looking to join Soda’s extensive referral network.
Earlier this year he participated in a real estate symposium in Paris that was attended by 8,000 – 10,000 people. The Sarasota Association of Realtors and the Miami Board of Realtors were the only two U.S. entities represented at the conference.
Soda is constantly trying to expand his referral network and garner leads that enable him to grow sales even in tough economic times.
He’s also expanded his sales team, assigning each of the three new members an administrative specialization to ensure that his “back shop” is able to provide quick response, and the type of customer service that helps keep him at the top of his game.
Members of the team also focus on becoming experts on the geographic areas they concentrate on – Lakewood Ranch; Lido, Longboat and Casey Keys; west Bradenton and along the Manatee River, downtown Sarasota and Sarasota west of the Trail.
“It takes the best people to make it all work.”
He’s beefed up his Web site, adding state-of-the art features for search engine optimization, and to make sure that the site is extra user-friendly.
He’s also very strategic in dealing with clients.
“We are boldly honest with customers and potential clients. We’d do the seller and ourselves an injustice if we told them what they wanted to hear instead of the truth.
He focuses on making each transaction “A win-win for everybody.”
Soda sees hard work, excellent customer service, expert knowledge of the market, networking and continuous expansion of his network, not auctions, as the key to continued sales growth in the current real estate market.
The Sarasota-Bradenton market is still the best place in Florida to live. Period.
“And now truly is the time to buy, we’ll never see prices this low again. There are wonderful opportunities in our market. Sellers are at the bottom of their markdowns and there is a lot of inventory on the market. That’s a positive message that we’re not hearing – now is the time to buy. If we could just get the media on board with that message,” he added.
Despite a sluggish economy, a credit squeeze and slowing fundamentals, investors this year are plowing money into funds that invest in real estate investment trusts, reversing a long trend of outflows.
A total of $1.23 billion flowed into domestic REIT funds in the first three months of the year, according to a recent research note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
The funds include REIT mutual funds, which invest in a diversified portfolio of REIT stocks; exchange-traded funds, or ETFs; and closed-end funds, which raise money once and offer a finite number of shares.
March marked the third straight month of positive inflows into these funds following a 10-month stretch of outflows that ranged between $150 million to $2.8 billion each month.
“Last year, REITs got thrown out with the financials’ bath water,” said Alexander Goldfarb, a REIT analyst at UBS AG.
Outflows from domestic REIT funds started last March and picked up steam in the summer when the credit crisis gripped the markets after an unprecedented number of homeowners defaulted on their mortgages. REIT stock prices got clobbered in 2007, losing 15.69 percent.
But, so far this year, equity REITs are outperforming the broader markets. The equity REIT index has gained 7.13 percent year-to-date, while the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen 3.4 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has dropped 4.49 percent.
The top equity performers this year are self storage owners U-Store-It Trust and Public Storage, apartment REITs Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. and Associated Estates Realty Corp. and office owners Liberty Property Trust and Corporate Office Properties Trust.
Investors now are attracted to REITs’ dividend yields of about 5 percent, which are more appealing than yields on Treasuries, said Sheila McGrath, a senior vice president at KBW. Also, investors are realizing that the sector is less risky than other financial stocks because it’s not as highly leveraged, she said.
Goldfarb also added that REITs’ longer-term leases provide a stable cash flow underpinned by hard assets.
“What people are realizing now is those cash flows don’t die overnight the way they do with homebuilders,” Goldfarb said.
The note also showed that inflows outpaced global fund flows in February and March, the first time since January 2007. Through 2007, inflows in global funds helped to keep inflows for all real estate funds in positive territory.
“When U.S. REITs ran up a lot in ‘07, they looked more expensive on a relative basis to other countries,” McGrath said. “But after their slide, across the countries’ property stocks, domestics looked more favorably priced.”
