Today is the last day of May and with the last day comes some very good news if your Naples real estate is on the market.  For a prospective buyer of a Naples home or Naples condo, you might want to consider this a forewarning.

FLORIDA HOUSING MARKET

A top Florida economist has declared the housing slump a done deal.  It will take another 18 months or so before closing volumes reach more normal levels, but the worst is behind us, says Hank Fishkind.

[Read more...]

FLORIDA CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

Florida residents aren’t feeling as optimistic these days, according to the latest survey from University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Record-high gas prices and a soft housing market caused consumer confidence in Florida to fall three points in May to 82, its lowest level since October 2005.

MORTGAGES

Bank of American’s new “no-fee mortgage†isn’t really new, industry watchers say. Instead, it’s similar to “no-cost†home loans from other residential lenders like Countrywide and E-Loan: Bank of America will pay some, but not all, of the costs involved and the borrower will pay a higher interest rate.

FLORIDA REAL ESTATE TAXES

Gov. Crist vetoed items worth about $459 million in Florida’s budget Friday, including money that would have gone toward a new hurricane house, which researches building techniques that mitigate storm damage, and a separate study of windstorm losses. But a Democratic proposal to use that money to lower property taxes was rejected by House Speaker Marco Rubio.

CONDO HOTELS

Along with the condo market, the condo-hotel sector has slowed down, too. For example, South Florida’s recently developed St. Augustine condo-hotel failed to sell at auction, forcing its lender to buy the hotel in bankruptcy proceedings last week.

Frankly, I would not invest in a condo hotel without a full understanding of the rules and regulations.

SUBPRIME MORTGAGES (LIAR’S LOANS)

Originally meant for solidly self-employed homebuyers, stated-income loans – sometimes called ‘liar’s loans’ – are ones where borrowers list income and assets without having to prove anything. The number of stated-income loans rose rapidly during the housing boom and, some critics say, contributed to the current subprime mortgage fallout.

This might not be news – but Friday, May 25th is the start of the Memorial Day Weekend Holiday.  Please remember the purpose of Memorial Day.

FLORIDA HOME SALES

Florida’s home sales remained soft in April though the inventory of homes continued to ease in many markets across the state, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. A total of 12,016 existing single-family homes sold last month for a 26 percent decrease from the April 2006 figure. The statewide existing home median price was $237,800.

These figures do not include or reflect the Naples real estate, Bonita Springs real estate, nor Estero real estate markets.

Information furnished by the Florida Association of Realtors, does include the sale of existing condominiums in the Naples, Bonita Springs or Estero areas.

FLORIDA REAL ESTATE TAXES

A Miami-based citizens’ group with some influential backers is preparing to launch a statewide petition drive for a constitutional amendment to lower property taxes.

MORTGAGE RATES

According to Freddie Mac’s weekly nationwide survey, rates on 30-year mortgages jumped to 6.37 percent – the highest level in seven months – as hopes diminished for Federal Reserve rate cuts any time soon.

FLORIDA GROWTH

If Florida continues to grow at its current pace, its population will double to about 36 million.  One third of the state’s land will be covered in roads, homes and businesses by mid-century, according to a study commissioned by University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies.

Will this current pace of growth reveal that the demand for Florida real estate, will have an affect on the price of real estate?

NATIONAL NEW HOME SALES
Sales of new homes surged in April by 16.2 percent – the biggest amount in 14 years – but the median price of a new home also dropped by the largest amount on record, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The mixed signals left no clear picture of whether the worst of the nation’s housing slowdown is over.

FLORIDA ECONOMY
Nearly 150,000 new high-tech jobs were added in the U.S. in 2006, with Florida adding 10,900 tech jobs for the second-largest gain behind California’s net job creation. The rate of job growth, at 4 percent, was highest in Florida.