September Numbers. Confusing.

Weird data... still trying to figure this out. 

Everywhere is up for September; but I think that can be explained by the robust economy, tax refugees from the New York, and the beginning of the South Florida "season"... but even then that is confusing because Palm Beach is the only one with a "season". 

 Anyway, everywhere is up-ish, but with interest rates historically low, the number of sales closed in cash are up (with the exception of Broward). 

So I'm terribly confused. 

Anyway this was September.  Single family homes are the big winners.

Be More Productive

…oh but HOW you ask?

Well… here. Geesh. Ask nicely next time.

Rental Returns: A Quick Digression

August is in... And numbers are looking good for financing.

Okay... the data is pretty obvious. Slight downtick in sales in general but a large uptick in financed properties. Now, here is the question: Is this because rates are so low across the board OR is it because people are hoarding cash because they believe the obvious media hype about recession? I'm guessing one feeds in to the other.

Understanding Closing Costs

Alright… so it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I made a commercial. I hope you all were able to see it. I’m making a new one so I’m excited.

On to other stuff. Attached is a decent flow chart to helping understand closing costs. They aren’t cheap, and there is no way to get around them. I wish there were. I really do. But since we can’t avoid them the least we can do is understand them.

Each state has a different way of assigning closing costs to the two parties in a transaction. Sometimes it even varies according to county. In Florida, for example, the rules are the same for every county in the state EXCEPT for Miami-Dade and Broward.

I know… Florida.

Florida's Gain is New York's Loss

Capital migration trends are very interesting to follow when analyzing real estate. Florida was the largest winner gaining a net $17.2 billion; New York the biggest loser with a $8.4 billion net loss. But I'm sure it had absolutely nothing to do with tax policy and state government control. Nothing at all.

Please Stage Your Homes

Studies have shown, and I can speak from experience, staging your home will help it sell quickly.

April Market Update

Palm Beach:

People are buying slightly more SFR over condos (and financing those condo sales a bit more).  Supply increasing slightly and it’s taking slightly longer to sell, and a miniscule number are choosing financing over cash. 

Broward:

Apparently, all the cash SFR buyers are moving to Broward though it is taking much longer to sell, maybe because of more inventory so people are shopping more.

The same hold for condo sales, though more expensive, there are fewer sales, greater inventory, and more of those purchased are financed.

Miami-Dade:

More SFR sales, and those few more were financed, and they were slightly more expensive. 

So everything is really holding steady, with more buyers moving toward financing over cash.  You know what I’m going to say, right?  You know a guy… 

March South Florida Market Update

Okay... so March is in. Everywhere is looking not as good as it was a year ago with the possible exception of Miami-Dade in the condo-space, and the trend does seem to show more financed sales gaining over cash (luckily you all know a great outlet for that).
And there isn’t a drop in price or really in time to sale.

So sales are taking longer, slightly, and there are fewer of them, slightly... but you’re getting more for the sale, slightly.

Meh? Still pretty good.

Inacurate Mortgage Ads: Exhibit A.

Social media bombards us with ads.  (Spoiler Alert: That’s the entire reason socials exist… they are ad machines).  But how accurate are those ads? 

Here is a small example:  I saw this the other day and I’ve redacted all non-clip art and identifying information. 

“FHA home loans are so popular”. 

That’s True.  And yes, there is a low-down payment feature.  And here is where the problems start. 

“As long as your credit score is a minimum of 580”. 

Well, yes and no.  While the Federal Housing Authority does set their minimum credit score at 580, all lending institutions have additional criteria they all add on to the government-mandated minimum.  There might be a very few lenders that will accept a 580 credit score, but with a lower credit score there are always higher down-payment requirements.   

“…you are eligible for a 3.5% down payment…”. 

No.  Not with a 580 credit score.  Yes, the FHA minimum is 3.5%, but that is with a 620 credit score.   

“…with the possibility of reduced closing costs”.

Um… no.  Closing costs are closing costs.  Unless this is an outright fallacy, the only way this statement makes sense is if the people who wrote this ad mean the inclusion of the Mortgage Insurance Premium into the loan amount.  A buyer is still paying all costs… just over 30 years.  With interest. 

But FHA loans ARE popular.  So the ad was accurate in that.  Everything else, not so much.