“There are diamonds in this current real estate market – you just have to dig for them” says Mike Pappas, President/CEO of The Keyes Company a large South Florida based full service real estate firm. 

Sales Units are up:
“Palm Beach strengthened its unit sales earlier in this cycle and Dade and Broward are gaining momentum” observed Mike Pappas. 

We have 600 homes for sale in Plantation FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $3,700,000 to $79,000.

47 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $445,000 and $70,000 when the received their offers. 42% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 23% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

27 properties were sold in Plantation. They were priced between $600,000 and $90,000. This tells us there is over a 22 month supply of homes for sale in Plantation as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 538 homes for sale in Sunrise FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $519,000 to $47,000.

59 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $299,000 and $49,900 when they received their offers. 69% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 10% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

12 properties were sold in Sunrise. They were priced between $310,000 and $60,000. This tells us there is over a 44 month supply of homes for sale in Sunrise as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 605 homes for sale in Davie FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $4,900,000 to $50,000. 

35 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $1,525,000 and $153,900 when they received their offers. 17% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 48% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

24 properties were sold in Davie. They were priced between $1,525,000 and $153,000. This tells us there is over a 25 month supply of homes for sale in Davie as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

Don’t forget about the first-time homebuyer credit when you file your taxes this year. If you bought a main home after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009 and did not own a main home during the prior 3 years, you may be able to take this credit. 

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group for your next home purchase. We use a Buyer Book, which explains every step in the process, so there are no surprises.

There have been some upgrades to the Broward County Property Appraiser’s website. Effective October 1st, the site will show:

• Building permits are online
• Click on millage to see your city rates
• Explanations on Homestead
• The ability to search on sub-division sales

Concerning sub-division sales, only arms length transactions are included here. That means foreclosures are disqualified for comparables. “D” means dis-qualified and “Q” means qualified. Another update is that a short sale is now considered a qualified (at arm’s length) transaction.

Also added were more functionality on aerial views. Click on View Map. To the right by Details, you’ll see Pictometry. Click on it and you’ll see 45 degree aerial views of the property from north, south, east and west.

  RECAP:    
The “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008,” (HR 3221) includes the following provisions and more: Homebuyer Tax Credit - a $7500 tax credit that would be would be available for any qualified purchase between April 9, 2008 and June 30, 2009. The credit is repayable over 15 years (making it, in effect, an interest free loan).

FHA Reform - including permanent FHA loan limits at the greater of $271,050 or 115% of local area median home price, capped at $625,500; streamlined processing for FHA condos; reforms to the HECM program, and reforms to the FHA manufactured housing program. The down payment requirement on FHA loans will go up to 3.5% (from 3%). The effective date for reforms is immediate upon enactment, but the loan limits will not go into effect until the expiration of the Economic Stimulus limits (December 31, 2008).

Remember “shared appreciation” Homeowners forfeit profits if they sell within a year (probably not a concern) and the forfeiture decrease 10% per year until the 5^th year where it reaches 50% of the gain.  Here’s the kicker.  It stays at 50%.  So the government is partner.  People are not going to like that and might prefer the Short sale. The homeowner can not take out a home equity line for five years from closing. There are fees involved on this loan per year for an annual insurance premium.

Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Recycling Free Drop Off

Paint, Solvents, Pesticides, Household Cleaners, Lawn & Pool Chemicals, Mercury Thermometers, Rechargeable Batteries, Fire Extinguishers, Televisions, Propane Tanks, Tires, Motor Oil, Auto Batteries, Keyboards, Printers, Monitors, Computers, and Cell Phones.

Permanent drop-off locations open every Friday & Saturday* from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Pompano Beach - 2780 N. Powerline Road (North of Copans Rd.)
West Park - 5601 W. Hallendale Beach Blvd (East of US 441)
*Davie - 5490 Reese Rd (open Saturdays only)

For more information call 954-765-4999 or go to www.Broward.Org/Waste

MTV Reality Show, The Paper, was pre-released in a sneak peak premiere on March 26th at Muvico Paradise 24 Theatre in Davie, FL.  MTV spent over 5 months filming at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida to create these 8 episodes.  The show follows editors of The Circuit, the high school paper of Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, as they produce a 32-page color issue every month, while balancing school work, family, and the typical drama of teenage life.         It is continuously FCAT rated as an “A+” school.  The Race Distribution is Asian: 4%, Black: 5%, Hispanic: 41%, Native American: 0%, and White/Other: 49%.  Cypress Bay High School is located at 18600 Vista Park Blvd, Weston, FL 33332.     

Here are a few advantages of the FHA Program:
 
  1.  FHA goes up to a 97.75% Loan To Value (LTV) with no Credit Score requirement.
  2.  FHA carries no pre-payment penalty.
  3.  FHA allows a true non occupant co-Borrower.
  4.  Mortgage Insurance rates are better with FHA than conventional, Fannie or Freddie rates.
  5.  FHA has lower Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) than a conventional loan.  MIP is like PMI - Private Mortgage in a conventional loan. 
  6.  All Borrowers funds may be from a gift.
  7.  FHA allows up to a 6% Seller Concession at the highest Loan To Value (LTV).
  8.  There is no reserve requirements (a normal reserve is at least 2 months of PITI (Principal, Interest, Tax, and Insurance).
  9.  Borrower does not have to have a credit history.
10.  Debt Ratios up to 45% are allowed. Compensating factors may be considered for a higher debt ratio.
11.  FHA will allow you to do a 95% Loan To Value (LTV) cash out refinance.

If you’d like more information on financing options, please call Courtney Silverman 954-292-0743 or click here to get started on speaking with our Mortgage Consultant, Ana Wilbanks.