Existing Home Sales are UP...

The good news is starting to surface. The credit crisis is working itself out (although we still may see some fallout at some of the big banks, like we saw at Bear Stearns a few weeks ago), the interest rates are low, loan limits are rising, buyer confidence is increasing and there are still plenty of good deals to be had in the residential real estate market.

This is a positive turn of events in what has been a steady stream of bad news report after bad news report. I think we can all agree that we won't see any sort of meteoric rise in the housing market, but that backs up the school of thought that if you are thinking of buying a home, don't wait. You won't know we hit bottom until you're looking back a few months at it and you (and all the sellers) have read articles discussing "when" the bottom was. Try negotiating with sellers then, we're already seeing them hold their ground on the asking prices.

It's still a buyer's market, Jump in! - Jeff

Existing-Home Sales Rise in February

Daily Real Estate News March 24, 2008

Sales of existing homes increased in February and remain within a fairly stable range, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units in February from a pace of 4.89 million in January, but remain 23.8 percent below the 6.60 million-unit level in February 2007. The sales pace has been in a fairly narrow range since last September.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the gain is encouraging. “We’re not expecting a notable gain in existing-home sales until the second half of this year, but the improvement is another sign that the market is stabilizing,” he says. “Buyers taking advantage of higher loan limits for both FHA and conventional mortgages will unleash some pent-up demand. As inventories are drawn down, prices in many markets should go positive later this year.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $195,900 in February, down 8.2 percent from a year earlier when the median was $213,500. Because the slowdown in sales from a year ago is greater in high-cost areas, there is a downward pull to the national median with relatively fewer sales in higher priced markets.

Source: NAR

Tax Benefits of Home Ownership

Sitting on the fence about buying a home?

Consider these tax benefits from Leonard Wiener of The Boston Globe:

Tax Benefits of Owning a Home

Before a home owner curses the troubled housing market, he or she should take solace in the U.S. tax code, which makes buying a home a good deal for almost everyone.

Here’s why:

• Mortgage interest deductions, including in some cases mortgage insurance premiums, reduce home owners’ tax liability by reducing income. The deduction includes interest paid on both a first and a second home.

• Interest on home equity loans is also deductible — whether the borrower uses the money to remodel the kitchen or to take a vacation to Disney World.

• Profits from selling a house are potentially a huge windfall. When a home owner sells a primary residence, any profit on the sale of the property is tax free up to $250,000 for single home owners and $500,000 for married home owners filing. Any profit above that is nearly always a long-term capital gain taxed at 15 percent — less if the seller’s tax rate is less than 20 percent.

• Home owners can itemize. That opens up opportunities to deduct a host of other items that wouldn’t be deductible if the taxpayer took the standard deduction.

Daily Real Estate News March 7, 2008

Source: The Boston Globe, Leonard Wiener (03/02/08)

Email Jeff or call him directly at 239-823-1783 with any questions or to discuss how to make ownership work for you!

Best of Luck, - Jeff

"Lease to Own"...Is it the right option for you?

I get a lot of questions from sellers concerning a "Lease to Own" deal on a property they are trying to sell. It is a great option for some sellers, but may not be a good idea for every property.



This article came from the Daily Real Estate News in the Orlando Sentinel, it gives you a real quick run down of how they work. Drop me an email with any questions and I'll address them here, there's a good chance somebody else is wondering the same thing.



You should discuss it with your spouse or business partner, for an investment property. Gather your questions and concerns and then consult a real estate attorney and a Realtor for their advice. You can save yourself a LOT of headaches by doing a little research upfront. Good Luck, - Jeff



Lease-to-Own Primer

Daily Real Estate News March 10, 2008





Lease-to-own agreements can help sell a hard-to-sell property during a sluggish housing market. Here’s how they work:


- A seller agrees to rent a property to an interested buyer for a set period of time, usually one to three years. At the end of the lease, the buyer has the option to purchase the home at a preset price.


- A portion of the monthly rent paid during the lease is usually counted toward the down payment. To cover that, the seller charges a rent increment or monthly premium of $200 to $300 compared to comparable rentals.


- Many owners also charge an option fee for taking the property off the market, usually 1 percent to 2 percent of the sale price. This may be applied toward the purchase.


-Sellers have no guarantee that renters will buy at the end of the term, but if they don’t, they keep the option fee and the amount of the rent that would have gone toward the down payment.



Source: Orlando Sentinel (03/09/08)

The time to buy is "Now", survey shows

This is a great article I found on the Florida Realtors Association webpage that gives great details of a recent survey of 1,000 adults nationwide that believe the time is right to buy a home. Click here for a link to the article.

The reasons include: lower prices, higher inventory levels (=more choices) and historically low mortgage rates. The good news is starting to increase and locally we've been much busier in SW Florida. That tells us that buyers are realizing that the time is right.

You'll never perfectly time "the bottom" of the market, I believe that you are better off buying now with more choice and lower interest rates than down the road when you may not get the home you want and a higher interest rate will cancel out and monthly savings you made in waiting for the price to come down a few more thousand dollars.

Read on, and then search for your next home on http://www.jeffcody.net/...


Survey: Consumers more bullish on homeownership as spring arrives

ATLANTA – March 26, 2008 – Recognizing that the current market favors buyers, 77 percent of respondents in a MarketTools survey said that the time is right to buy a home – a 20 percent increase compared to a similar January survey. Beazer Homes, USA, Inc. commissioned the survey.

Three of four surveyed (74 percent) agreed that the availability of homes for sale combined with special incentives make this a true “buyer’s market,” and more appeared ready for action. Sixteen percent of survey respondents report that they plan to purchase a home as their primary residence within the next 12 months – a 45 percent increase over the January survey results – and 28 percent are currently saving for a downpayment.

Nearly three-quarters of experienced buyers surveyed – those who have purchased one or more homes – urge renters to buy a home as soon as they are financially able to do so. Sixty-two percent of experienced buyers agree that current mortgage interest rates make this a “favorable time to purchase” a home compared with 44 percent of potential first-time buyers.

“Favorable mortgages are another reason for prospective buyers to take a serious look at a home purchase this spring,” says Ian McCarthy, president and CEO of Beazer Homes. “Low interest rates combined with attractive pricing means you can get a lot more home for your money.”

What homebuyers want:

When it comes to purchasing their next home, seasoned buyers are looking for a better location (28 percent), a bigger home (25 percent) and more modern features (18 percent), according to the survey results. First-time home buyers rank the need for a bigger home (28 percent), investment potential (27 percent) and the desire for a better location (23 percent) as the primary motivations for their first home purchase.

The survey of 1,006 adults nationwide, between the ages of 25 to 72 with minimum household incomes of $40,000, was conducted by MarketTools on behalf of Beazer Homes, March 10-13, 2008. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 points for all adults.

© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Link: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n2-032608.cfm

What's a "Widget"?

So, I've got a great service that allows me to design "Virtual Flyers" for my clients' homes for sale. vFlyer.com is the name of the company and I've been very happy with their Flyers. They've got an easy to use system that duplicates my efforts. Basically, after I design a flyer, like this one for my listing at 13810 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers, FL, they upload the flyer to almost a dozen other websites automatically. Sites like trulia.com, hotpads.com, google base, oodle.com, etc...and I don't have to do a thing. It literally multiplies my efforts and my listings' exposure by a factor of 10. I can even upload the code to craigslist too, not that I have a clue about "code", but they make it idiot proof...which is perfect for me. Check out this flyer for The Plantation Golf and Country Club on Craigslist.com: http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/rfs/611911848.html. You'll see what a difference it makes, try looking at a normal post now (http://www.craigslist.com/), they're horrible. I'm actually shocked that "Craig and his list" got so popular and important on the web. Make no mistake, however, it is now an internet presence, but that's another discussion...

So vFlyer has a "widget" that I can upload to my websites or blogs. I've never used it though, so I'm trying it here, bare with me. A widget is basically an embedded object that allows you look at a video or slideshow from another site, without going to that site. Let me see if I can show you...



What do you think? I like that Widget, but it doesn't fit so well in this blog, let me try this one:



So, not only do my listings go out automatically to over a dozen websites the day they hit the MLS, but with vFlyer now I can even promote them to buyers through a blog like this or on my website at http://www.jeffcody.net/.

You've gotta love technology... - Jeff

The Plantation Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers is Open!

I've got to tell you about one of the newest Golf communities in Fort Myers. The Plantation is a community that was designed by Centex and has been open now for a little more than a year. The golf course, however, just opened a few months ago. I had the priveledge of playing the course just after it opened as one of their Preferred Realtors and it was incredible!


Check out this Video:

The 18 hole track was designed by the Hurdzan/Fry team and they did a wonderful job. They kept a lot of the natural environment preserved and with over 1600 acres in the community, they had plenty of room to work with. Check out another great video for some great photos of the course.

Situated conveniently near the Daniels/Treeline intersection (I-75 exit 131 - See this map), this location is central to anything you want to do. Shop, go out to a restaurant, go to the beach, pick someone up from the airport and more...all within minutes.





You can choose from Carriage Homes, Villas and Single Family homes with prices below $200,000 to over $700,000. Be sure to call Jeff, with Amerivest Realty, for more information. As a member of The Plantation, I have the knowledge to ensure that you are well represented and get the absolute best deal possible. Call today or visit these sites for a little more information:









The Plantation: http://www.myhzm.com/7473









The Golf Course: http://www.myhzm.com/7474









The Model Homes: http://www.myhzm.com/7476









It's a Buyer's Market so don't wait too long. Call Jeff today, 239-823-1783

Town & River Home - Reduced - Open House (3/15-3/16)

I've got great news...this home on McGregor Blvd in the Town & River community of Fort Myers, FL has just been REDUCED! The price is now $299,000 and the seller is looking for offers. It is now a short sale, email me if you have any questions about how that works.

I believe this is the perfect time to buy. Who would've ever thought you could get a 2300SF pool home ON McGregor for under $300,000?!?!

Read my previous post below for more details and pictures or go here: http://www.jeffcody.net/200777506

ALSO, we are planning on holding two OPEN HOUSES this weekend. Stop by between 1-4 on Saturday and Sunday, 3/15 and 3/16. Check this out for the Flyer for details: http://jeffcody.vflyer.com/home/flyer/home/1293707.

This home even has it's own website...this is great: http://www.myhzm.com/7107.


It's a Buyer's Market, Happy Hunting!

Jeff