February 06, 2011 / Avondale, Murray Hill, Ortega, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Riverside, San Marco / Author: beth / Comments: (0)
A fourth quarter UF Survey of Emerging Market Conditions found increased optimism for sales of new single family homes, condominiums and capital avalibility The defeat of Amendment 4, the amendment calling for a referendum for any change to local government land use plans, help to spur the growth of optimism. Another factor influencing the growth was the election of a new governor and his goals to push for more business friendly state policies. Respondents predicted rent increases and a raise in the occupancy rates in both residential and commercial properties. What does this mean for homes and condos for rent and sale in Jacksonville, Florida? Read more below.
UF survey: Florida’s real estate outlook perks up in several areas
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 2, 2011 – Optimism has increased slowly but steadily in Florida real estate markets through the fourth quarter of 2010, a new University of Florida survey finds.
The fourth quarter Survey of Emerging Market Conditions found improvement in several key categories, including the outlook for sales in new single-family homes and condominiums, office occupancy, retail occupancy, land investment and capital availability.
Much of the optimism derives from politics with the defeat last fall of Amendment 4, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required a referendum for all changes to local government comprehensive land-use plans, said Timothy Becker, director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies. The conclusion of mid-term elections also eased respondents’ uncertainty as it provided a clearer picture of the future.
“The state welcomed a new governor who has promised to make Florida a more business-friendly state,” Becker said. “If he can succeed on his goals, respondents believe it will have a positive impact on the real estate market. Any help in attracting new business to move or form in the state will no doubt have a positive impact on job growth.”
Survey respondents’ expectations for occupancy and rent increased across every property type. The investment outlook rose in a majority of the property types, and the statewide outlook was the highest since the survey’s inception in 2006. Additionally, private capital is abundant as investors seek the few good products on the market. Overall, the market appears to be improving and will continue to improve at a slow pace over the next year.
Despite the positive outlooks in many asset classes, respondents’ optimism is tempered by troublesome economic factors, most notably Florida’s high unemployment rate of 12 percent. Respondents also relayed fears over federal, state and local budget issues.
“Local revenues continue to decline as property values decline, placing a tremendous burden on local budgets,” Becker said. “This will require tough decisions by local officials.”
The outlook for single-family and condominium sales increased slightly in the fourth quarter, but Becker said home builders continue to have a negative outlook because financing is difficult to obtain and lower prices in the foreclosure and short-sale market take potential customers away from the new housing market. Unexpectedly, however, respondents’ outlook for investment in residential development increased for both single-family homes and condominiums. Becker said the low cost of fully developed lots provides incentive for investors and developers.
Expectations for office and retail occupancy continued to improve. Occupancy expectations in the office sector increased, and the outlook for rental rates increased slightly but is expected to continue lagging inflation. In the retail sector, occupancy expectations improved for all property types.
Becker said respondents believe occupancy will increase in neighborhood centers and large retail centers. Accordingly, the investment outlook in retail increased for neighborhood centers while declining for the remaining property types.
Land investment and capital availability also rose this quarter. More respondents believe land is beginning to be priced at levels that support longer-term investment, despite the fact that lack of financing for land purchases continues to be a concern. The optimistic outlook for capital is due in large part to respondents’ belief that future availability will increase.
“Respondents believe there is a need to add additional apartment units based on the fundamentals and expect development financing to be available for that sector,” Becker said. “Private equity continues to be plentiful for quality core assets and valued-add assets.”
Expectations for apartment occupancy and the industrial sector were mostly stable.
© 2011 Florida Realtors®
January 25, 2011 / Avondale, Featured Properties, Murray Hill, Ortega, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Riverside, San Marco / Author: beth / Comments: (0)
With the Consumer Confidence Index rising, the future business conditions of the nation are far from the level that signals a well balanced attitude from it’s citizens. The good news is that it is at it’s highest in 8 months, 60.6. With unemployment being one of the leading factors, many economists expect the nation will create twice as many jobs this year as it did last year. People who still have jobs are not as worried about their future employment as they might have been a year ago, and they are showing that confidence at the cash registers. How will this effect real estate in Jacksonville Fl. and real estate in general? If the trend continues, it will lead to greater spending and deceasing the number of homes for sale in Jacksonville Fl.
Read more below
Consumer Confidence Index hits 8-month high
WASHINGTON (AP) – Jan. 25, 2011 – The Consumer Confidence Index rose in January to its highest level in eight months with Americans growing a little more confident about the job market and business conditions.
The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index climbed to 60.6 this month, up from 53.3 in December. While that reading was better than economists had expected, confidence is still far from the 90 level that signals a healthy consumer mindset.
The January figure was the highest since last May’s 62.7. At that time, consumer attitudes were improving as economic growth seemed to be taking off. However, the economy stalled in the summer, and so did confidence.
Confidence has been depressed by unemployment that surged during the country’s worst recession since the 1930s and has stayed stubbornly high even though the downturn ended in June 2009. Confidence has not been above 90 since the recession began in December 2007.
However, moods may be lifting a bit. A new survey from the National Association for Business Economics reported Monday that the number of firms expressing positive hiring plans was at its highest level in 12 years.
In the Conference Board survey, the percentage of people surveyed who felt jobs were hard to get fell slightly to 43.4 percent from 46 percent in December. The share who expected to see more jobs six months from now rose to 16 percent from 14.2 percent.
While confidence has stayed weak since the recession ended in summer 2009, consumer spending has been picking up. During the 2010 holiday shopping season, sales increased at the fastest rate in six years.
Economists are hoping that consumer confidence will keep improving in 2011 as the economy begins to show greater signs of strength and unemployment declines.
The jobless rate fell to 9.4 percent in December from 9.8 percent in November, but the economy added only 103,000 jobs. Employers added 1.1 million jobs for all of 2010, or about 94,000 a month. The nation still has 7.2 million fewer jobs than it did in December 2007, when the recession began.
But many economists expect the nation will create twice as many jobs this year as it did last year. They note that people who still have jobs are not as worried about losing them as they might have been a year ago, and that people are spending more.
Economists expect that a tax cut which took effect in January – reducing the amount taken out of workers’ paychecks to pay for Social Security – will also lead to greater spending in the new year.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press, Martin Crutsinger, AP economics writer.
January 19, 2011 / Avondale, Murray Hill, Ortega, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Riverside, San Marco / Author: beth / Comments: (0)
An overhaul in financial regulation and a new approach to foreclosures were two measures taken by the Government in hopes of curtailing a second finiancial decline in the real estate market. Some claim the current system makes it more lucrative for a bank to foreclose on home than to find a way to modify the loan and allow borrowers to stay. Overhauling financial regulation would force banks to hold onto a portion of the loan making it difficult for banks to ignore the risks associated with lending. When a loan is modified, payments decline to the servicer. When the buyer is in default, the servicer adds fees on the account and can collect when the home is sold, this includes foreclosure sales. Read more below.
Officials looking at ways to protect housing market
WASHINGTON – Jan. 19, 2011 – Federal officials took two steps Tuesday to attempt to reduce the likelihood of a second financial crisis caused in large part by large declines in the housing market.
The first would try to tackle the problem of foreclosures. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the massive mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said it would consider a new approach to how home loans are managed by banks. Critics say the current system makes it more lucrative for a bank to foreclose than to find ways to modify loans to allow struggling borrowers to stay in their homes.
The second would try to curtail reckless mortgage lending by more tightly regulating what firms can do with the loans they make. Currently, banks can pool mortgage loans together into an investment and sell that to investors around the globe, passing on all the risk associated with the loans. But a report released by the Treasury Department, as required by the Dodd-Frank law overhauling financial regulation, endorsed the law’s prescription that banks be forced to hold on to a portion of the investment, making it difficult for a bank to ignore the risks associated with lending.
Recognizing that private firms and government programs have had difficulty carrying out a large number of modifications to mortgages to avoid foreclosures, the FHFA said it would consider several approaches to how banks should manage home loans. Studies have shown that foreclosure is often more profitable for a company, known as a mortgage servicer, that collects the monthly payments on mortgages and passes them on to investors who own the mortgages.
However, it is often not the best path for borrowers, who lose their homes, or investors, who lose money.
When a loan is modified, payments to a servicer can decline. But if the borrower is in default, the servicer adds fees on the account and can collect when the house is sold, even at foreclosure.
Among other proposals, the FHFA said that it would consider a new compensation structure for servicers whereby they would receive fees for restructuring mortgages to avoid foreclosures.
“As the recent problems in managing mortgage delinquencies suggest, the current servicing compensation model was not designed for current market conditions,” said Edward J. DeMarco, the FHFA’s acting director. “The goal of this joint initiative is to explore alternative models for single-family mortgage servicing compensation that better address the needs of borrowers, servicers, originators, investors and guarantors.”
The FHFA cautioned that it would not expect any servicing model to be in place before summer 2012.
Senior Obama administration officials hailed the proposal.
“It is clear that the mortgage servicing compensation model is broken and should be fixed,” Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan said in a letter Tuesday. “That is why we support your decision today to review the structural flaws in the current mortgage servicing compensation model.”
The Securities and Financial Markets Association, a lobby representing many firms involved in the buying and trading of mortgages, said the agency was taking a balanced approach and considering the needs of all parties involved in mortgage servicing.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department released a report endorsing a proposed rule requiring that banks that pool mortgages into securities and sell them to investors retain a portion of the investment and thus share in the risk. The Dodd-Frank law required that banks retain at least 5 percent of the risk a particular investment would default.
Certain assets that meet very high standards are exempted.
During the years leading up to the financial crisis, lenders and banks pooled risky home loans into securities and sold the securities to investors, which let the lenders book a profit and release the risk.
Some banks have warned that too stringent risk-retention requirements could gum up the financial markets, making banks wary of selling securities.
The report recognized this danger, saying: “If risk retention requirements are too stringent, they could constrain lending, and consequently, the formation of credit.”
The report suggested approaches to avoid this possibility and create standards by which the risk-retention requirement could be waived if, for instance, borrowers commit a large enough down payment or have a very high credit score in combination with other factors.
“This study broadly endorses the concept of risk retention, but it also recognizes the risk of applying it to every loan,” said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with the Washington Research Group, a policy analysis firm.
Copyright © 2011 washingtonpost.com
January 19, 2011 / Avondale, Featured Properties, Murray Hill, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Riverside, San Marco, Uncategorized / Author: beth / Comments: (0)
The year’s end brings hope for a better real estate market from the construction industry. With the two worst years on record dating back to 1959 behind us, the industry hopes for a bounce back to the 1 million homes they typically build. The number of new homes for sale is predicted by the number of new building permits. That number was up almost 17% in December. Taking into account the code changes in 2011, some builders may have been trying to avoid the additional cost of complying with the new codes by filing early. Read more below.
2010 ends as 2nd worst year for home construction
WASHINGTON (AP) – Jan. 19, 2011 – Builders began work last year on the second-fewest number of homes in more than half a century, as the weak economy kept Americans from buying houses.
Builders broke ground on a total of 587,600 homes in 2010, just barely better than the 554,000 started in 2009. Those are the two worst years on records dating back to 1959.
And the pace is getting worse. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that builders started work at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 new homes and apartments last month. That’s a drop of 4.3 percent from November and the slowest pace since October 2009.
In a healthy economy, builders start about one million units a year. They built twice as many in 2005, at the height of the housing boom. Since then the market has been in decline.
One positive sign is that builders appear to be planning more projects in 2011. Building permits, considered a good barometer for future activity, rose 16.7 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000, the best pace since March.
But builders likely pulled more permits in California, New York and Pennsylvania ahead of code changes in 2011 — a factor that likely influenced the spike.
“Some builders went ahead in December with projects to beat the change,” said Jennifer Lee, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets. Lee points out that the biggest gains were in the Northeast, which was up 80.6 percent, and the West, up 43.9 percent.
People are buying fewer single-family homes, which represent nearly 80 percent of the market. Demand fell 9 percent to an annual rate of 417,000 units. Apartment building increased 17.9 percent to an annual rate of 112,000 units.
Housing construction fell in all parts of the U.S. in December except the West where activity surged 45.8 percent. Construction dropped 38.4 percent in the Midwest and was down 24.7 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the South. Severe winter weather likely affected activity in the Northeast and Midwest.
The collapse of the housing market helped push the country into a deep recession and more than a year after the recession, housing is still struggling.
Unemployment remains high. Record numbers of foreclosures have forced home prices down and tight credit has made mortgages tough to come by.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press, Martin Crutsinger, AP economics writer.
December 19, 2010 / Avondale, Featured Properties, Murray Hill, Ortega, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Riverside, San Marco / Author: beth / Comments: (0)
After falling for seven months, mortgage rates on are the rise. Last month, rates fell to a 40 year low of 4.17%. Rates reflect fear of higher inflation and subsequent raise in yields on Treasurys. Read more below.
Average 30-year fixed mortgage rises to 4.83%
Mortgage Rate Trend Index
Almost three-quarters (73%) of the mortgage industry experts polled by Bankrate.com this week, believe mortgage rates will rise over the next week or so; 7% think rates will fall; and 20% believe rates will remain relatively unchanged.
NEW YORK (AP) – Dec. 17, 2010 – Rates on fixed mortgages surged for the fifth straight week, reflecting higher yields on long-term Treasurys.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.83 percent from 4.61 percent in the previous week. Last month, the rate hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent.
The average rate on the 15-year loan also increased to 4.17 percent from 3.96 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.
Rates are on the rise after falling for seven months.
Investors are shifting money out of Treasurys and into stocks. That’s largely on the expectation that the tax-cut plan that Congress is set to approve will spur growth and potentially higher inflation.
Yields tend to rise on fears of higher inflation. Mortgage rates track the yields on the 10-year Treasury note.
The sell-off in the 10-year Treasury note is complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to lower interest rates by buying up $600 billion in Treasurys. Some traders had hoped the central bank would boost the scale of its purchases to keep interest rates down.
The increase in rates already is chilling the housing market. Refinance activity fell last week for the fifth straight week, while the number of people applying for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 5 percent from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 3.77 percent from 3.60 percent. The five-year hit 3.25 percent last month, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.
The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate home loans edged up to 3.35 percent from 3.27 percent.
The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The average fee for all mortgages in Freddie Mac’s survey was 0.7 point.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Janna Herron, AP real estate writer.
February 06, 2010 / Avondale, Press Releases, Real Estate News, Riverside / Author: beth / Comments: (0)
Were someone to ask you to name the largest city in the US, you would be forgiven if you cited New York, Los Angeles or Houston. But the answer is Jacksonville, Florida. Of course this is a trick question – Jacksonville is the largest (in the contiguous 48 states) only in terms of land area. In terms of population it is further down the list.
The city is defined by the St Johns River, which bisects it en route to the nearby Atlantic coast. The mild climate and access to the ocean have made it an important centre for the US Navy and for commercial shipping and it has attracted the back-office operations of several national financial institutions. A logistical centre, Jacksonville is also home to CSX Corporation, the dominant rail company in the eastern US.
Many of the city’s residents live in the cookie-cutter subdivisions that seem to define much of Florida but, since the 1970s, a dedicated group of locals has fought to preserve two neighbourhoods, Riverside and Avondale. Today the result of those efforts is one of the largest collections of early to mid-20th-century residential architecture in the country, protected by national historic district status.
All told, Riverside and Avondale, which lie contiguously along the bank of the St Johns River, comprise a collection of about 5,000 buildings, of which about three-quarters are protected by historic designation. Architectural styles range from late Victorian to craftsman bungalows, colonial revival and prairie school, the design tradition of America’s pre-eminent 20th-century architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
That this collection exists is largely due to a disaster – Jacksonville’s Great Fire of 1901, which destroyed the city centre and left 10,000 homeless. The fire triggered a construction boom, with more than 13,000 new residential and commercial buildings erected in the following 11 years. Riverside, which had previously been a retreat for Jacksonville’s wealthy, filled up rapidly and developers moved on to Avondale, further down the river.
Henry John Klutho, a young architect from the Midwest, designed much of the new city centre, influenced by Wright’s horizontal motifs. One of his buildings, a department store with atrium, became City Hall and his firm picked up many residential commissions in Riverside and Avondale.
Riverside went into decline in the 1960s as more affluent residents fled the city for the suburbs. By the 1970s the housing stock was deteriorating and crime was growing but local activists launched an ultimately successful drive to secure historical recognition and created Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP), now a strong and politically active organisation of residents of the area. Many houses sport an RAP plaque and the group’s members and staff lobby city government to protect their neighbourhood. An ambitious new project undertaken by the group has been the establishment of a weekly art market that takes place under a bridge and has space for 180 vendors, with a waiting list of hundreds more.
The historic district designation in 2000 and the opening of a big supermarket in Riverside three years later spurred interest in the area, says Sally Suslak, owner of Traditions Realty, a boutique estate agency that focuses on the Riverside-Avondale market. Today buyers are seeking out the area because of its demographic diversity and its central location, she says. It is a measure of the renewed interest that she has taken on 13 agents since starting her firm in the depths of the 2008 slump. Read more…