Hi Everyone!
I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to catch everyone up whats going on in our housing market. Foreclosures at every price range has become the norm. About 30% of our current listings are foreclosures. Almost every transaction we do right now has multiple offers. The people buying homes right now are getting amazing deals which are sometimes more than 50% of our markets peak prices a few years ago.
The biggest question I get is about consumers having a home to sell. What I tell them is that it is all relative. This means that sure you won't get what you would have received in 2004 for a home, but the buying opportunity right now is so good it makes sense to make your move now. Of course, you won't get what you want for your home right now, but this is probably your best chance to move up in your home and it might be the best chance of our lifetime! Houses that were selling over $1 million are now selling around $700k or so. Some are even selling at a higher discount.
I'm in CA right now for the holidays spending time playing with my Granddaughter until Jan. 2. We are coming into 2009 and between the Interest rates and low housing prices, this is the year. By the way, if you are a first time homebuyer...don't less this time pass you by. It might be more difficult to get a loan these days, but if you have good credit and have been thinking about it, take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity.
My Granddaughter is pulling at my leg right now...gotta go!
Happy New Year!
Mitch
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Something has happened since the election in Brevard County Florida!
Hi Everyone!
Wow! It's like almost as soon as the election was over, the buyers started coming out in force! That's a good thing for us in the Real Estate industry. The best part for our buyers...the prices are very low! So far this month we have 23 new contracts with 11 of them being under $100k. Personally I never thought that the prices would come down this low again. We are pretty much at 2002-2003 pricing on almost every home. Crazy!
The foreclosure market, as we have all heard, is dominating our sales. We have become quite the experts on foreclosures and short sales. I'm still not a big fan of short sales for our buyers unless you have a lot of time to kill and don't need to make any plans. They are still taking 3+ months most of the time for the banks to respond. However, foreclosures are abundant in every price range. We are even doing a Luxury Foreclosure Open House shortly (contact debbie@mitchrealty.com for dates) and featuring homes in Brevard over $500k that are in foreclosure. One interesting note on foreclosures that is different from 2001 when I sold many of these to investors. Most of these are in pretty good shape. Of course when you get down in the $50k range the choices are in usually rough shape. This past month though, we closed on a home for one of our buyers that was 2100 square feet built in 2006 for $124,000 and it was in great shape. This home in 2005 would have easily sold for $250,000.
There is a down side to foreclosures. When buying these, you are at the mercy of the bank. They dictate the rules of how the transaction is going to go. It's one of the reasons you should be using a Realtor who is experienced in how to work these deals. They can be tricky. With that said, if you are using one of my Agents at Tropical Realty, you can be sure that they are experienced with these. You can also be sure that our Agents are working full time. Unlike most Real Estate Companies, we have continued to grow even in this down time and our Agents are busy. When many Agencies are packing it in and about 25% of Realtors have left the business or taken full time jobs, our Agents continue to work hard and full time taking care of our buyers.
The one other point I want to make on the foreclosure market is that fact of multiple offers. Almost every good deal has multiple offers...just like 2004 when things were crazy. Let's face it, those who have been watching our market the past couple of years know this is about as low as we can go on some of these homes. We had a couple in today from Canada who is also a Realtor there. She was shocked when she put an offer on a home and found out it was a multiple offer situation. I talked with a foreclosure company the other day and they said that on some properties they are receiving up to 30 offers.
With that said, if you are making an offer on a foreclosed property and you really want it, don't try to bargain for it. You most likely will not win. We recommend offering full price (which is very low anyway) and if the house is excellent, you might want to go $5k above full price. To the banks, it's all about the highest offer. Even on the homes that are not so great, the banks are only coming down 5% and sometimes 10% from their listings prices. These homes are already extremely low priced and the banks have lost so much money. They are going to try to get as much as possible.
So, it's time to get to bed because I need to get up at 5am to get ready for my every Saturday morning golf. It's going to be a little chilly this morning...I think it's in the 40's. Yikes! However, it will be in the high 60's this afternoon and absolutely beautiful! As always, if you need anything, we are here to help. Don't hesitate to call or email us.
Have a fun weekend!
Mitch
Wow! It's like almost as soon as the election was over, the buyers started coming out in force! That's a good thing for us in the Real Estate industry. The best part for our buyers...the prices are very low! So far this month we have 23 new contracts with 11 of them being under $100k. Personally I never thought that the prices would come down this low again. We are pretty much at 2002-2003 pricing on almost every home. Crazy!
The foreclosure market, as we have all heard, is dominating our sales. We have become quite the experts on foreclosures and short sales. I'm still not a big fan of short sales for our buyers unless you have a lot of time to kill and don't need to make any plans. They are still taking 3+ months most of the time for the banks to respond. However, foreclosures are abundant in every price range. We are even doing a Luxury Foreclosure Open House shortly (contact debbie@mitchrealty.com for dates) and featuring homes in Brevard over $500k that are in foreclosure. One interesting note on foreclosures that is different from 2001 when I sold many of these to investors. Most of these are in pretty good shape. Of course when you get down in the $50k range the choices are in usually rough shape. This past month though, we closed on a home for one of our buyers that was 2100 square feet built in 2006 for $124,000 and it was in great shape. This home in 2005 would have easily sold for $250,000.
There is a down side to foreclosures. When buying these, you are at the mercy of the bank. They dictate the rules of how the transaction is going to go. It's one of the reasons you should be using a Realtor who is experienced in how to work these deals. They can be tricky. With that said, if you are using one of my Agents at Tropical Realty, you can be sure that they are experienced with these. You can also be sure that our Agents are working full time. Unlike most Real Estate Companies, we have continued to grow even in this down time and our Agents are busy. When many Agencies are packing it in and about 25% of Realtors have left the business or taken full time jobs, our Agents continue to work hard and full time taking care of our buyers.
The one other point I want to make on the foreclosure market is that fact of multiple offers. Almost every good deal has multiple offers...just like 2004 when things were crazy. Let's face it, those who have been watching our market the past couple of years know this is about as low as we can go on some of these homes. We had a couple in today from Canada who is also a Realtor there. She was shocked when she put an offer on a home and found out it was a multiple offer situation. I talked with a foreclosure company the other day and they said that on some properties they are receiving up to 30 offers.
With that said, if you are making an offer on a foreclosed property and you really want it, don't try to bargain for it. You most likely will not win. We recommend offering full price (which is very low anyway) and if the house is excellent, you might want to go $5k above full price. To the banks, it's all about the highest offer. Even on the homes that are not so great, the banks are only coming down 5% and sometimes 10% from their listings prices. These homes are already extremely low priced and the banks have lost so much money. They are going to try to get as much as possible.
So, it's time to get to bed because I need to get up at 5am to get ready for my every Saturday morning golf. It's going to be a little chilly this morning...I think it's in the 40's. Yikes! However, it will be in the high 60's this afternoon and absolutely beautiful! As always, if you need anything, we are here to help. Don't hesitate to call or email us.
Have a fun weekend!
Mitch
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Just got back from a Tony Robbins Seminar!
Hi Everyone!
So yes, when I decided to take the plunge and go to a Tony Robbins Seminar, I couldn't believe I was wasting $500 to go to a rah rah session. However, when I left the Seminar on Monday, I couldn't believe it was ONLY $500!
Not only did I learn a lot about myself and learn certain things that were holding me back, but I walked on Fire on Friday night. It was quite amazing. Here I am, along with 3,500 of my new friends, steering down a 10 foot path of 2,000 degree embers. And then, without hesitation, you just walk through it as if you were walking through the shoreline of the beach. The only damage to my feet was the black soot that I had to wash when I got home on Friday night.
So now my thoughts are, if I can walk on fire, what can't I do! I did not go alone, 5 of my Agents also went with me and had the same awesome experience. In just the last few days since we have all returned to our daily lives of work and family, the energy these Agents, and myself have, is amazing. Basically you learn to put yourself into a "Peak State" which allows you to do anything. I did have someone tell me that 2,000 degree embers are not really hot...that's why they use them they said. However, I can tell you that when you see someone in front of you throw down fresh toasty flaming embers, it's hot has heck!
It will be interesting over the next few months to see how my agents and myself utilize and gain momentum with these new tools...or will they just disipate? I'm very confident in myself but can't speak for my Agents. If you have Sammi, Julie Cambe, Melissa, Charlies or Nick as your Agent, you might just see them float on air when you are with them. They are all excited as I am too!
One thing that Tony Robbins did say though is very important for our business and just as important for you, the consumer, is that this is the time to make money in Real Estate. Any good investor will tell you that you make your money on a home when you buy it. If you have been on the fence of whether or not you should buy, then it's time to drop those fears and jump in. Let us help you find some of the best deals that we haven't seen in years!
If you would like a current list of foreclosures, please just click on here and we will gladly send you a list of all the foreclosures...there are a lot and set you up in our automated listings update system so you get first shot at the great deals! Just go to:
http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Foreclosure_Property_List
As always, we look forward to helping you!
Mitch
So yes, when I decided to take the plunge and go to a Tony Robbins Seminar, I couldn't believe I was wasting $500 to go to a rah rah session. However, when I left the Seminar on Monday, I couldn't believe it was ONLY $500!
Not only did I learn a lot about myself and learn certain things that were holding me back, but I walked on Fire on Friday night. It was quite amazing. Here I am, along with 3,500 of my new friends, steering down a 10 foot path of 2,000 degree embers. And then, without hesitation, you just walk through it as if you were walking through the shoreline of the beach. The only damage to my feet was the black soot that I had to wash when I got home on Friday night.
So now my thoughts are, if I can walk on fire, what can't I do! I did not go alone, 5 of my Agents also went with me and had the same awesome experience. In just the last few days since we have all returned to our daily lives of work and family, the energy these Agents, and myself have, is amazing. Basically you learn to put yourself into a "Peak State" which allows you to do anything. I did have someone tell me that 2,000 degree embers are not really hot...that's why they use them they said. However, I can tell you that when you see someone in front of you throw down fresh toasty flaming embers, it's hot has heck!
It will be interesting over the next few months to see how my agents and myself utilize and gain momentum with these new tools...or will they just disipate? I'm very confident in myself but can't speak for my Agents. If you have Sammi, Julie Cambe, Melissa, Charlies or Nick as your Agent, you might just see them float on air when you are with them. They are all excited as I am too!
One thing that Tony Robbins did say though is very important for our business and just as important for you, the consumer, is that this is the time to make money in Real Estate. Any good investor will tell you that you make your money on a home when you buy it. If you have been on the fence of whether or not you should buy, then it's time to drop those fears and jump in. Let us help you find some of the best deals that we haven't seen in years!
If you would like a current list of foreclosures, please just click on here and we will gladly send you a list of all the foreclosures...there are a lot and set you up in our automated listings update system so you get first shot at the great deals! Just go to:
http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Foreclosure_Property_List
As always, we look forward to helping you!
Mitch
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Brevard County Real Estate Investments and more...
Hi Everyone!
Well it was a tough week on Wall Street. For those of you who have most of your investments in stocks, you lost a large percentage of your portfolio. I'm not an expert in stocks by any means, but I would imagine, if the companies you are invested in are solid, then you should just hold on to your stocks and wait for them to come back. Unlike 2000 when the stock market crashed with the Internet Bubble Burst (I was a victim both in my stock portfolio and in my Internet company) the stock market is still built on a lot of solid companies. In fact, it would make sense that after a week like last week, this might be a good time to buy up stocks. You know when a stock like GM is down to the lowest it has been since 1949, then it probably is a safe buy. However, like I said, I'm not an expert in stocks by any means so don't take my advice unless you talk to a professional.
What I am though, is a professional in the Real Estate field. If you are or have taken your money out of the stock market, this is a great time to invest in Real Estate. As you probably know, the Real Estate Market has crashed for almost 3 years now. Home prices are back to 2002 and 2003 pricing which was right at the beginning of the boom. You can now buy a home and actually have a positive cash flow for your rental in most cases. Finally, the people who are either not taking advantage of this market or have lost their homes to short sales or foreclosures still need a place to live...therefore, the rental market is pretty good. Of course it is still price driven and many people, including myself, are upside down in our investments and must try to get a higher rent.
So what does this mean to you? It depends on your goals. If you have thought about investing in Real Estate, this is probably a great time to do so. Currently you can buy new construction homes for as low as $120k (1200 sq. ft.) on a lot. We haven't seen that for quite some time. You can also buy homes that are just a couple of years old and up to 2000 sq. f. for the same price. It certainly is a great time to buy. The only problem that may arise for you is the financing. Currently the loan market is totally credit driven. This means the better your credit, the better your interest rate.
If you are buying a primary home, then this might be the chance of your lifetime to grab a piece of paradise at an awesome price. The way things were going there up until 2005, I didn't think my children would ever be able to buy a home in their lifetime. However, like always, the market corrected itself and home prices are now affordable again! I don't know that I would wait to long to buy a home as prices and interest rates are bound to rise again at some point. After all, Brevard County is the least expensive Waterfront Community in Florida. Over the next 10 year period, pending they can sell their homes, the 77 Million Baby Boomers will be heading for retirement. Florida will always remain one of the top destinations for retirees. With Brevard County being so affordable, you can be sure that this market will increase in value once things normalize! Of course I have no crystal ball to tell you when that will be, but it seems to me that prices can't go much lower making Brevard County's losses, your opportunities!
If you would like to search for a home or investments in Brevard County, just go to:
http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Search_MLS
Here you will have access to every listing in Brevard County Florida. Whether you are looking for a tropical home, a waterfront home or a condo, you can find it all right here.
As aways, I look forward to helping you. Have a fun Sunday!
Mitch
Well it was a tough week on Wall Street. For those of you who have most of your investments in stocks, you lost a large percentage of your portfolio. I'm not an expert in stocks by any means, but I would imagine, if the companies you are invested in are solid, then you should just hold on to your stocks and wait for them to come back. Unlike 2000 when the stock market crashed with the Internet Bubble Burst (I was a victim both in my stock portfolio and in my Internet company) the stock market is still built on a lot of solid companies. In fact, it would make sense that after a week like last week, this might be a good time to buy up stocks. You know when a stock like GM is down to the lowest it has been since 1949, then it probably is a safe buy. However, like I said, I'm not an expert in stocks by any means so don't take my advice unless you talk to a professional.
What I am though, is a professional in the Real Estate field. If you are or have taken your money out of the stock market, this is a great time to invest in Real Estate. As you probably know, the Real Estate Market has crashed for almost 3 years now. Home prices are back to 2002 and 2003 pricing which was right at the beginning of the boom. You can now buy a home and actually have a positive cash flow for your rental in most cases. Finally, the people who are either not taking advantage of this market or have lost their homes to short sales or foreclosures still need a place to live...therefore, the rental market is pretty good. Of course it is still price driven and many people, including myself, are upside down in our investments and must try to get a higher rent.
So what does this mean to you? It depends on your goals. If you have thought about investing in Real Estate, this is probably a great time to do so. Currently you can buy new construction homes for as low as $120k (1200 sq. ft.) on a lot. We haven't seen that for quite some time. You can also buy homes that are just a couple of years old and up to 2000 sq. f. for the same price. It certainly is a great time to buy. The only problem that may arise for you is the financing. Currently the loan market is totally credit driven. This means the better your credit, the better your interest rate.
If you are buying a primary home, then this might be the chance of your lifetime to grab a piece of paradise at an awesome price. The way things were going there up until 2005, I didn't think my children would ever be able to buy a home in their lifetime. However, like always, the market corrected itself and home prices are now affordable again! I don't know that I would wait to long to buy a home as prices and interest rates are bound to rise again at some point. After all, Brevard County is the least expensive Waterfront Community in Florida. Over the next 10 year period, pending they can sell their homes, the 77 Million Baby Boomers will be heading for retirement. Florida will always remain one of the top destinations for retirees. With Brevard County being so affordable, you can be sure that this market will increase in value once things normalize! Of course I have no crystal ball to tell you when that will be, but it seems to me that prices can't go much lower making Brevard County's losses, your opportunities!
If you would like to search for a home or investments in Brevard County, just go to:
http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Search_MLS
Here you will have access to every listing in Brevard County Florida. Whether you are looking for a tropical home, a waterfront home or a condo, you can find it all right here.
As aways, I look forward to helping you. Have a fun Sunday!
Mitch
Monday, October 6, 2008
It's an interesting time in Real Estate right now.
So here we are, the Monday after the "big" bailout. The stock market crashed again but did make a comeback to lose only -369.88 . Some would say this is a pretty scary time! However, others are looking at this as a great opportunity. The question is how do you look at it?
The unfortunate part here, and I won't get political, is that the real problems are the Media driving this frenzy, and our government running around with their heads cut off trying to fix it. The reality is, as it always does, the market will fix itself. The market is made to have companies do bad business, go down, and have another company seizing the opportunity. Our country has done just great the past 50 years or so following our founding fathers guidance. My belief is if we took the media out of the equation then we wouldn't be even close to having this meltdown. They have been non stop being the barers of doom and gloom. I guess that's one negative to free speech. Anyone can say anything without being held accountable. It's amazing what the media will do for ratings and to get their candidate, Mr. Obama, into office. But we won't go there either!
So here I am sitting at my desk probably wondering where my future lies as most small business people are doing right about now. I know I have to go home and have dinner, but I feel the urge to sit at my desk and try to figure out the worlds problems. The good news is we are still doing fine as a company and our customers are still buying homes. They are certainly taking advantage of the buyers market right now. In the end, no matter what I do, or how much I complain about the additional $150 Billion in pork added to the useless bailout, it will be what it will be. I personally think that every congressman that asked for their portion of the pork bill should be impeached from office. As much as I don't agree with the bailout, they put their personal pet projects ahead of taking care of America. They are traitors in my book whether they are democrat or republican.
Here we are with the same question we have had for quite some time now. Is it a good time to buy? I believe it is. I believe this is just a blip on the screen and after the election the markets will mysteriously become stable again and things will be on track. If you are smart right now you will take advantage of the situation. I wish I had more cash available so I could buy property. In the end our property values will come back. Our property values will increase and things will be normal.
That's my point of view on all of this. I just want to assure you that we are here to stay and we are helping buyers and sellers every single day!
As always, if you need anything please let me know. I'm always here to help.
Mitch
The unfortunate part here, and I won't get political, is that the real problems are the Media driving this frenzy, and our government running around with their heads cut off trying to fix it. The reality is, as it always does, the market will fix itself. The market is made to have companies do bad business, go down, and have another company seizing the opportunity. Our country has done just great the past 50 years or so following our founding fathers guidance. My belief is if we took the media out of the equation then we wouldn't be even close to having this meltdown. They have been non stop being the barers of doom and gloom. I guess that's one negative to free speech. Anyone can say anything without being held accountable. It's amazing what the media will do for ratings and to get their candidate, Mr. Obama, into office. But we won't go there either!
So here I am sitting at my desk probably wondering where my future lies as most small business people are doing right about now. I know I have to go home and have dinner, but I feel the urge to sit at my desk and try to figure out the worlds problems. The good news is we are still doing fine as a company and our customers are still buying homes. They are certainly taking advantage of the buyers market right now. In the end, no matter what I do, or how much I complain about the additional $150 Billion in pork added to the useless bailout, it will be what it will be. I personally think that every congressman that asked for their portion of the pork bill should be impeached from office. As much as I don't agree with the bailout, they put their personal pet projects ahead of taking care of America. They are traitors in my book whether they are democrat or republican.
Here we are with the same question we have had for quite some time now. Is it a good time to buy? I believe it is. I believe this is just a blip on the screen and after the election the markets will mysteriously become stable again and things will be on track. If you are smart right now you will take advantage of the situation. I wish I had more cash available so I could buy property. In the end our property values will come back. Our property values will increase and things will be normal.
That's my point of view on all of this. I just want to assure you that we are here to stay and we are helping buyers and sellers every single day!
As always, if you need anything please let me know. I'm always here to help.
Mitch
Saturday, September 20, 2008
So what does it all mean?
With the government bailing out the financial companies of our country, what does this all mean to us? Actually, I wish I had the answer. To me this is probably a mistake as we have become a reactionary counry versus a country of sound principles. I'm a big believer in less government. I believe that captialism will provide most of the answers as it usually does. I know that if my company is having financial trouble nobody is going to come and save me. I'm going to drown with all my other small business comrades!
These companies are failing because they got greedy and corrupt. Should they be saved? The problem is that they control so much of our citizens retirement accounts and that's where the issue lies. That is why the government is bailing out these companies. However, if this has to be, then the people who run these companies should be held accountable for all the bad investments they made with our money. It was these people, out of greed, that made the decisions to make these dumb investments. Are they going to be able to continue to run these companies with no consequence?
As I said, I'm not a big believer in bailing out these companies but we are in a tough place. If we don't do it, millions of people are going to be financially ruined. If we do it we are saying it's ok to take risks that are going to hurt these same millions of people.
It's the same with all these investors who decided to walk away from their obligations because of their greed...but that's another story for another day!
These companies are failing because they got greedy and corrupt. Should they be saved? The problem is that they control so much of our citizens retirement accounts and that's where the issue lies. That is why the government is bailing out these companies. However, if this has to be, then the people who run these companies should be held accountable for all the bad investments they made with our money. It was these people, out of greed, that made the decisions to make these dumb investments. Are they going to be able to continue to run these companies with no consequence?
As I said, I'm not a big believer in bailing out these companies but we are in a tough place. If we don't do it, millions of people are going to be financially ruined. If we do it we are saying it's ok to take risks that are going to hurt these same millions of people.
It's the same with all these investors who decided to walk away from their obligations because of their greed...but that's another story for another day!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Brevard County Real Estate - Finally some great news!
Well it's about time the News Media has said something positive about the Real Estate market. Home sales for July were up 2.5%! That may not be the gigantic gain, but it's on the plus side versus the negative side!
Currently we have under 6800 single family homes on the market. We are down from over 7000 homes on the market just two months ago. It's a sure sign that the market is starting to turn around.
The only thing getting in the way of a great rebound right now might be the Internet Rates. There are signs that the rates may go up after the first of the year. So, if you are on the fence about buying, this is probably one of the best times to purchase that home you have been waiting to buy.
There is one line that I love for those who are waiting for the market to reach the bottom. "You will never know when we hit bottom until the market starts to go back up."
As always, if there is anything we can do for you, that's what we are here for!
Have a fun night!
Mitch
Currently we have under 6800 single family homes on the market. We are down from over 7000 homes on the market just two months ago. It's a sure sign that the market is starting to turn around.
The only thing getting in the way of a great rebound right now might be the Internet Rates. There are signs that the rates may go up after the first of the year. So, if you are on the fence about buying, this is probably one of the best times to purchase that home you have been waiting to buy.
There is one line that I love for those who are waiting for the market to reach the bottom. "You will never know when we hit bottom until the market starts to go back up."
As always, if there is anything we can do for you, that's what we are here for!
Have a fun night!
Mitch
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