Orlando Real Estate and News
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- Impact of Proposed Property Tax on Real Estate
Florida legislature in a ll day process of discussing proposal to revamp how property taxes and home owner tax savings. It is being proposed to move away from the homestead exemption of $25,000 per year and removing the cap Save our Home savings to an increase in overall homestead exemption by using a sliding scale. There is much controversy as we may have immediate savings but long term may not save as cuts will be made for public schools and counties and cities would have to agree to cut taxes. With a slowed market, it has put another issue in the Orlando real estate market. It is still a buyers market with lots of homes to choose from and prices are stablizing, and better negotiable terms for buyers. For full article from Orlando Sentinel, please click http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-homes1207jun12,0,316162.story?coll=orl-business-headlines
Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:22:00 +0000 - US Real Estate
A real-estate industry trade group said Wednesday it expects sales of existing homes in the U.S. to drop 4.6 percent this year to 6.2 million. Two months ago, the National Association of Realtors had predicted a 2.2 percent decline for the year. Sales of new homes are forecast to drop 18.2 percent to 860,000 compared with an earlier estimate of a 14.2 percent decline. The NAR also predicts the median price of existing homes, which make up about 85 percent of the market, will fall 1.3 percent in 2007, the first dip since the 1960s, when the group began keeping records. Next year, though, the NAR expects the market to rebound.
Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:07:00 +0000 - Private Morgtage Insurance A Tax Deduction
Starting in tax year 2007 you will now be able to deduct Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). PMI is required when you financing more than 80% of your home, or in other words put less than 20% down payment. But there is eligibility and qualification in order to take this deduction. But this year, anyway, part of the equation involves the ability to write off a portion of your mortgage-insurance premiums.
That might not be as great as it sounds, however. For one thing, it's not a dollar-for-dollar write-off. Like mortgage interest, it is a "below the line" deduction based on your tax bracket. So, if you are in the 31 percent bracket, your tax benefit is only 31 cents on every dollar of insurance premium.
For another, you can claim the write-off only if you file an itemized return. Most homeowners do, because the tax-deductible mortgage interest and property taxes they pay are usually greater than the standard write-off. But if the standard deduction is more beneficial, the MI deduction is useless.And one more thing: The deduction is limited to borrowers with adjusted gross incomes of $109,000 or less.
You will be eligible for the full deduction if you earn $100,000 or less of your AGI, which means your family's gross earnings, less certain adjustments for tax-deductible IRA contributions and interest on student loans. But for every $1,000 of income above the $100,000 threshold, your write-off for mortgage insurance will be reduced by 10 percent.
Despite this, the average annual savings for taxpayers taking the mortgage-interest write-off will be in the $300 to $350 range, according to the mortgage insurance trade group. There are a few other qualifications worth mentioning as well:
The write-off applies only to mortgages on a principal residence and one vacation property held for the personal use of the taxpayer for 14 days or 10 percent of the days it is rented, whichever is greater.
It applies to refinances up to the original loan amount. This could include first and second mortgages but not cash-out refinances. When refinancing a piggyback loan, the original loan amount is considered the sum of the first and second mortgages.
It applies to move-up borrowers, not just first-timers. But investor loans are not eligible.
There is no loan limit. The only ceiling is on the taxpayer's income.
The deduction does not apply to lender-paid mortgage insurance in which the premiums are built into the interest cost of the loan. The cost of LPMI is already deductible as interest.
Finally, if you prepay a year's worth of premiums at closing, which is a popular option, or choose to finance the entire premium by rolling it into the loan amount, only the amounts allocable to the period between the closing date and the end of the 2007 tax year will be deductible. You can't write off the whole amount in one year. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 5/31/07.
Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:04:00 +0000 - Future Predictions Orlando Real Estate
The worst of the housing slowdown is over, but the nation’s economy still faces challenges including rising unemployment and uncertainty over gas prices, University of Central Florida economics professor Sean Snaith said today.
Snaith, director of UCF’s Institute of Economic Competitiveness, said in his second quarter U.S. forecast that housing starts will decline in the third quarter and then begin a “slow upward climb through 2009.”
Mortgage rates will “creep to 6.9 percent in 2009” and excess supply of homes in many markets will continue to put downward pressure on prices through 2007 and into early 2008.
The nation’s unemployment rate will end a three-year decline, the forecast predicts, and begin to rise slightly this year but will remain below 5 percent before falling back to 4.7 percent in 2009. U.S. payroll job growth also will slow to 1 percent in 2008 before recovering to 1.5 percent in 2009.
Inflation also should remain relatively tame, and even dip in 2008 and 2009, though energy prices “threaten to reignite inflation.”
Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:24:00 +0000 - Latest on Trump Tower in Tampa
There will be no Trump Tower in Tampa.
Real estate mogul Donald Trump has pulled out of the $300 million, 52-story Trump Tower condominium project in Tampa, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.Trump said in the lawsuit that developer SimDag owes him more than $1 million in unpaid licensing fees.
Trump also said SimDag failed to show it had sold enough condos, valued between $700,000 and $6.2 million, to meet contractual obligations to him. Trump was entitled to half the profits of the sale of 190 condos and a licensing fee of $2.8 million.
Trump has ordered the developers to immediately stop using his name on the project.Mirabilis Ventures Inc., an Orlando private equity firm, made an attempt to buy into the project last year, but it's unclear whether the company ever closed on the transaction.
Mirabilis is facing a host of lawsuits in a number of states for other investments. Thomas Long, a Tampa lawyer representing clients who sued SimDag and Mirabilis to try to get their Trump Tower deposits refunded, said Wednesday he's still not sure if Mirabilis completed the acquisition.
"I think they were looking to flip it, but I'm pretty sure they did not get in," Long saidOther companies have been distancing themselves from the project. Eric Fordin, a project director with the Related Group, a Miami developer that considered taking over the project, said Wednesday that "we're not involved in the deal in any way."
Fordin said he was launching a due diligence review for Related Group when "all these lawsuits started piling up" against Trump Tower and SimDag, and the Related Group never entered into any agreements for acquisition or control.
The project, billed in January 2005 as one of the tallest and grandest towers on the Gulf of Mexico, has been burdened by financial setbacks, legal troubles and the slump in the housing market. Construction stalled in November and the lot is now empty.
The phone at SimDag's Clearwater corporate office was listed as disconnected Wednesday. Phone messages left at the company's Sea Isle City, N.J., office and with a spokesman in Tampa were not returned. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel.
Thu, 31 May 2007 14:34:00 +0000 - 55 West Condos in Downtown Orlando
55 West Condomimum building is building its way into Orlando Skyline to become downtown Orlando newest icon. Residents will be able to enjoy urban style living with great views of the city and Florida sunsets.
Construction of the 55 West on the Esplanade condominium tower on West Church Street is moving ever higher.
Project director Jim Schroder said the west half of the18th floor is now complete, and stairs have been installed to the 15th floor.
The 32-story condo project is to be completed late next year, but a couple of restaurants, Gino's Pizza & Brew and Panchero's Mexican, are scheduled to open soon.
The residential tower will have 405 condos priced from $259,900 to more than $4 million each. CondoHQ has said the tower is about 75 percent sold. The developer is Euro American Advisors.
Tue, 15 May 2007 15:23:00 +0000 - Orlando Real Estate April Statistics
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Mon, 14 May 2007 19:33:00 +0000 - Orlando Sees Housing Gains
While home values dip across the nation, Orlando is seeing home value gains to 6% year over year increase, according to survey done by Zillow.com. Here are median prices of home in each county in Central Florida in the past year.
- Lake County $208,047 up 17.06%
- Osceola County $242,848 up 1.73%
- Seminole County $260,832 up 4.96%
- Orange County $244,915 up 3.62%
Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 5/3/07.
Thu, 03 May 2007 15:34:00 +0000 - 2006 Vacation Homes Sales Were Up
Vacation-home sales rose 4.7 percent last year to a record 1.07 million -- one category of the housing market that defied the 2006 downturn, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.
The median price of vacation homes slipped 2 percent to $200,000, helping to keep sales rising as buyers found more listings and discounted deals.
The Realtor trade group's national survey also showed that homes bought for investment purposes fell nearly 29 percent to 1.65 million from a record 2.32 million in 2005, while the median price of those homes plunged 18 percent to $150,000.
Investment homes accounted for 22 percent of all existing-home sales nationally last year, down from 28 percent in 2005. Vacation-home sales rose to 14 percent of the total from 12 percent.
The survey did not break out the numbers by states or metro areas, but in the Orlando area, vacation homes are typically investment homes as well, and sales in Central Florida have been held down by a number of factors, according to local agents who specialize in vacation properties.
"The rocket ran out of gas," said Steve Schaffer, a partner in Dolby Properties Inc., an Orlando real estate company that specializes in vacation-home and second-home sales.
"After Hurricane Katrina [in 2005], sales started to drop," and they continued falling throughout 2006, Schaffer said.
Many international buyers, after helping the Orlando and Walt Disney World vacation-home markets thrive in recent years, were frightened by Katrina, which struck South Florida before hammering the Gulf Coast and flooding New Orleans in August 2005.
In recent months, local vacation-homes sales have continued to suffer from the same list of issues that have depressed other Florida home sales, including a glut of new listings and higher property taxes and insurance costs.
Although the national vacation-home survey attempted to differentiate between pure investment homes and vacation homes, there is some overlap. In the Orlando area, local Realtors say, more than 90 percent of the vacation homes bought and sold are rental investments as well.
Nationally, about 18 percent of vacation-home buyers cite rental income as one of their reasons for buying.
Many of the Orlando-area vacation homes acquired in recent years were purchased with various types of adjustable-rate mortgages, and as those have adjusted upward, more vacation-rental homes have been listed for sale, adding to the area's record inventory, according to local agents.
David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the drop in investment-home sales nationally was expected because speculators left the market as home-price appreciation cooled.
The rise in vacation-home sales was based on "strong demographic and lifestyle factors," he said, as large numbers of consumers are in their prime buying ages and want recreational property for personal use, with investment potential as a secondary consideration.
Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 5/1/07.
Tue, 01 May 2007 15:43:00 +0000 - East Orlando Booming Growth Retail & Roads
East Orlando has grown by leaps and bounds with new construction of homes in the Avalon Park area. Many moving to the area due to vast amount of retailers, restuarants, and entertainment at Waterford Lakes Mall. This growth has lead the need to widened Alafaya from Curry Ford to Beachline Expressway which will occur later this year. In addition, the need and opportunity for more retail and strip centers will grow along this changing road. With the new Innovation Way which will stretch from UCF and airport the road system will even change more to accomodate growth. Please review full article for details: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-alafaya2307apr23,0,1644922.story?track=mostemailedlink
Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:42:00 +0000 - Central Florida Unemployment Rate
Metro Orlando led Florida in year-over-year employment gains last month, though the region's unemployment rate was slightly higher than it was in the same month in 2006.
The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation reports that the Orlando area unemployment rate held steady from February at 3.1 percent. The rate in March 2006 was 2.9 percent.Metro Orlando added 30,800 jobs, or 2.9 percent, from March 2006, the biggest gain for any metro area. Metro Miami followed with a 1.1 percent.
The construction industry, which is suffering from a downturn in real estate sales, lost 3,000 jobs. Statewide, non-agricultural employment rose 1.5 percent from March 2006 to 8.1 million jobs.
Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:09:00 +0000 - Orlando Real Estate Update
The median price of existing homes sold in the Orlando area in March slipped to 2006 levels, $240,000, as the inventory of homes for sale continued to swell and sales fell more than 40 percent, the Orlando Regional Realtors Association said today.
Sales of homes and condos rose to 1,665 in March from 1,541 in February in the core Orlando market as the spring selling season kicked off. But that was down 42 percent from March 2006 when home sales were still on a hot streak.
The number of homes for sale by local Realtors rose to a record 23,547 from a revised 22,055 in February, up 1,492, a 14-month supply at the recent sales pace.
The one bright spot in the report is that the $15,000 decline in the median price -- half sold for less and half for more -- improves affordability slightly. The local Realtor group's affordability index rose to 93.6 percent in March from 87.1 percent in February. But that still means that buyers earning a statewide median income of $50,762 are 6.4 percent short of income recommended to purchase a median priced home.
Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:37:00 +0000 - Orlando Job Growth # 1 in Florida
Buoyed by modest yet better-than-expected job growth in the construction industry, Metro Orlando led Florida to healthy employment gains in February, according to data released Friday by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Metro Orlando added 31,500 jobs in the 12 months that ended Feb. 28, the largest employment gain of any metro area in the state, including Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, which added 28,900 jobs during the year.Overall, Florida's work force reached 8.08 million, or 134,700 jobs more than reported in February 2006.
The statewide unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in February compared with the national rate of 4.5 percent. Metro Orlando's preliminary unemployment rate for February was 3.1 percent, unchanged from February 2006 but slightly better than the revised January rate of 3.3 percent.
There were 5,300 more construction jobs statewide in February than a year earlier, a seemingly small increase of 0.8 percent but still a nice surprise, said Ossama Mikhail, an economist at the University of Central Florida.
While many experts last year were predicting a decline in construction jobs because of the weak housing market, "construction in hotels, shopping centers, and state and local government projects are offsetting the decline in residential construction," Mikhail noted.
As he views it, any gain in construction jobs, even a slight one, was positive news for the state as well as Central Florida.
Mikhail further credited the region's efforts to diversify beyond the leisure and hospitality industries, which has allowed Metro Orlando to take advantage of the strong statewide gains in professional-and-business services (38,700 jobs, or a 2.9 percent annual increase) and education-and-health services (26,400 jobs, or a 2.7 percent annual increase). Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:07:00 +0000 - Orlando Job Growth # 1 in Florida
Buoyed by modest yet better-than-expected job growth in the construction industry, Metro Orlando led Florida to healthy employment gains in February, according to data released Friday by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Metro Orlando added 31,500 jobs in the 12 months that ended Feb. 28, the largest employment gain of any metro area in the state, including Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, which added 28,900 jobs during the year.Overall, Florida's work force reached 8.08 million, or 134,700 jobs more than reported in February 2006.
The statewide unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in February compared with the national rate of 4.5 percent. Metro Orlando's preliminary unemployment rate for February was 3.1 percent, unchanged from February 2006 but slightly better than the revised January rate of 3.3 percent.
There were 5,300 more construction jobs statewide in February than a year earlier, a seemingly small increase of 0.8 percent but still a nice surprise, said Ossama Mikhail, an economist at the University of Central Florida.
While many experts last year were predicting a decline in construction jobs because of the weak housing market, "construction in hotels, shopping centers, and state and local government projects are offsetting the decline in residential construction," Mikhail noted.
As he views it, any gain in construction jobs, even a slight one, was positive news for the state as well as Central Florida.
Mikhail further credited the region's efforts to diversify beyond the leisure and hospitality industries, which has allowed Metro Orlando to take advantage of the strong statewide gains in professional-and-business services (38,700 jobs, or a 2.9 percent annual increase) and education-and-health services (26,400 jobs, or a 2.7 percent annual increase). Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:07:00 +0000 - Florida Growth Despite Hurricanes
Hurricanes failed to dampen Florida’s growth, as the number of year-round households in the Sunshine State grew an estimated 15 percent between 2000 and 2006 to more than 7 million residences, a new University of Florida study shows.
“At this point we haven’t seen any real drop in growth from the hurricanes – the sky hasn’t fallen,” says Scott Cody, a demographer at UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, who prepared the report with Stan Smith, an economics professor and the bureau’s director.
Florida was struck by four hurricanes in 2004 and two in 2005.
The number of housing units in Florida occupied by permanent residents increased by 952,938 in 2000 to an estimated 7,291,013 on April 1, Cody said.The 2006 household estimates were based on 2000 census data and changes in electric customer and building permit information since 2000. Households are defined as housing units occupied by permanent residents and do not include those for seasonal residents.Flagler County had the largest growth rate, experiencing a whopping 76 percent increase in its number of households over the six-year period, from 21,294 to 37,522. It was followed by Sumter, Osceola, Walton, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Lee and Lake counties."These places have cheaper land and space to grow compared to larger counties like Broward, where it’s harder to build single-family homes because they’re running out of space,” Cody says. “And as the baby boomers get older, they’re not tied as much to commuting to work in metropolitan areas and can live in communities like the Villages in Central Florida that are farther away.”In sheer numbers, Miami-Dade had the largest increase, growing by 69,844 households between 2000 and 2006. It was followed by Hillsborough, 65,800; Orange, 64,006; Palm Beach, 63,959; Lee, 61,751; and Broward, 43,694.Some of the rural counties had the smallest increases. Fewer than 300 households were added in DeSoto, Hamilton, Lafayette, Liberty and Glades counties. Hardee actually experienced a net loss, losing 82 households between 2000 and 2006.
“These smaller counties, many of them in the Panhandle, do not have as many people and typically do not experience the kind of growth that some of the counties in coastal areas do,” Cody says. Courtesy www.FloridaRealtors.org
Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:52:00 +0000
