I am not going to go into a bunch of hoopla about the Florida Real Estate Market today, nor am I going to bloviate about the Florida Real Estate Market either – INSTEAD, I copied the headlines and links to articles I received TODAY – THIS MORNNG in my email.

Read about the Florida Real Estate Market yourself.

Global Technologies To Add Nearly 250 Construction-Related Jobs In Florida In 2012 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/global-technologies-to-add-nearly-250-construction-related-jobs-in-florida-in-2012-2012-02-16

 Business hiring in South Florida on the rise http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-south-florida-jobs-increase-20120214,0,7127451.story

New U.S. Housing Construction Exceeds Forecast in January http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-16/new-u-s-housing-construction-exceeds-forecast-in-january.html

The Cape is Back ….. Hard hit areas such as Cape Coral are seeing a residential building resurgence. http://www.review.net/section/detail/the-cape-is-back/

Housing Starts in U.S. Rise Above Forecasts http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-16/housing-starts-in-u-s-rise-more-than-estimated-on-warmer-january-weather.html

Home remodelers betting on a rebound http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/REAL-REMODEL_7283051/REAL-REMODEL_7283051/

Florida construction gaining momentum http://marksblythe.com/florida-construction-gaining-momentum/

Home builders sound cautious, but hopeful http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2012-02-16/Home-Builders-Sound-a-Cautious-but-Hopeful-Note

Homebuilder Confidence Returns To Pre-Recession Levels http://www.mortgagechiliblog.com/homebuilder-confidence-february-2012/

Long Story Short ….. The Florida Real Estate Market is HOT.

If you own property in Florida, Good for you – your investment is going up. (maybe you should consider picking up some more)

If you are thinking of investing in Florida Real Estate, DO IT NOW before all the good deals are gone.

Looking for a lot?

Visit http://www.CharlotteCountyLots.com  and grab one now.

National Association of Home Builders Sees Improvements in 100 Housing Markets

WASHINGTON – Feb. 6, 2012 – The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metros in February for a total of 98 entries on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).

What was Six is now Seven!

Cape Coral, Deltona, Jacksonville, North Port, Punta Gorda and Tampa were the original Six metro areas in the country showing improving results. Miami has just been added to the list so Florida Real Estate has SEVEN of the top spots on a list of improving real estate markets nationwide.

Thirty-six states have at least one metro area that’s improving.

Cape Haze, Placida, Rotonda and Englewood are “smack-dab” in the middle of Northport and Punta Gorda. The Cape Haze real estate market is moving into high-gear. The Cape Haze Real Estate Market is getting better and better by the day!

The index lists metropolitan areas that have shown improvement in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. The February index adds some metropolitan areas that have been particularly weak.

The IMI measures improvement from an economic trough, and NAHB says new notable entrants with six months of an upswing include

• Miami
• Boston
• Detroit
• Kansas City
• Mo.
• Portland
• Ore.
• Memphis
• Tenn.
• Salt Lake City.

“The number of improving housing markets has risen for six consecutive months,” says NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen. “Despite the many challenges that continue to drag on a housing recovery – including the tight lending environment for builders and buyers – improving conditions are slowly but surely spreading from one housing market to the next.”
“While many of the markets on the February IMI are far from fully recovered, the index points out where employment, home prices and housing production are no longer retreating and have held above their lowest recession troughs for six months or more,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “This is a sign that a large cross section of the country is starting to turn the corner as local economic conditions stabilize.”

This is really good news for Florida because as the rest of the country improves, people will be selling their homes in the chilly states and continue moving to Sunny Florida!

 

The IMI measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The three indicators are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. An MSA must have improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs to be included on the improving markets list.
Seven markets dropped from the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index in February as they experienced softening house prices: San Jose, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Kankakee, Ill.; New Orleans; Worcester, Mass.; Jackson, Miss.; and Sherman, Tex.

A complete list of all 98 metropolitan areas currently on the IMI, and a separate breakout of metros newly added to the list in February, is available at: www.nahb.org .

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

Reprinted with permission. Florida Realtors®. All rights reserved.

Where Is It Headed?

Read This Article and Decide For Yourself!

Much of the content of this article and pictures have originally been published on Trulia.com In it is fascinating – factual information about the US housing market. I took parts of it and made a few edits to point out pertinent information regarding the Southwest FL Real Estate market.

The original article can be read here.

More than 1 in 3 home searches cross state lines. Trulia’s Metro Movers report reveals where these house hunters are looking to move into and move out of.

This is a quick-and-dirty analysis of house hunting activity between people living in one metro area and homes located in another.

Lets take a look at parts of the study and discuss its importance to the Southwest FL Real Estate Market

By specifically looking at the study and home searches, we can get a real good idea on where today’s house hunters are headed tomorrow.

The study found that more than 1 in 3 home searches on Trulia.com cross state lines. So if that tells you anything, there’s a notable chunk of people looking to move really far away. Meanwhile, everyone else wants to stay somewhat close to where they live now.

Look at the amount of home searches heading to Florida!

To illustrate what the study means, they built a really cool map that shows you from where people are looking to move in and move out. Using San Francisco as an example, here’s how this maps works.

As you can see from the map pasted below, San Francisco is quite a draw to a whole slew of house hunters across America, namely from Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC,Chicago, Phoenix and Houston.

Meanwhile, if you were to click on New York and on the “Outbound Search” button at the top, you’ll see that New Yorkers looking to get out of New York and its surrounding suburbs prefer to head to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami or West Palm Beach.

There sure has been a lot of buzz about the Sunshine state and housing.

We have been experiencing a huge increase in the Southwest FL Real Estate business. House hunters have a quite the love affair with the bargain bin homes for sale throughout the state — especially if they live in the Midwest and Northeast.

 Interesting factoid.

Of the top 10 metro areas where there are more homes searches by out-of-towners looking to move in than home searches by locals looking to get out of dodge, 7 are in Florida. That’s right, there are more people looking to move to America’s retirement capital than leave. 

What does this mean to you?

Florida is under acquisition - people are moving here now, and others are considering to move shortly.

There are only TWO types of transactions.

1. Event purchase
2. Process Purchases

Let me explain the difference -

• An Event purchase is similar to buying a pair of shoes or going out to dinner. It takes about a microsecond to make the decision and take action.
• A Process Purchase is what happens with big purchases such as an automobile or Real Estate. You begin looking, searching, researching and digesting the information. If you are interested in something, you do more research (like what we just discovered in this article) After a while, you make the decision to create the event and make the purchase.

Southwest FL Real Estate is “smack-dab-in-the-middle” of the Process.

Prices have already begun to increase. If are even remotely considering investing in Southwest FL Real Estate, do it now.

Visit http://CharlotteCountyLots.com right now and begin the process.

If you are simply considering the process, want more information and prefer to remain completely anonymous, go to here and sign in – you can research the Real Estate Market like a Real Estate Agent – from the privacy of your own home. Go here now and begin your search!

Take a look at the Lee County- Cape Coral “Getchia’s” with Water and Utility Charges.

The following is copy of a brief discussion between a few well known and knowledgeable real estate professionals in Cape Coral:

Q: If the City of Cape Coral goes forward (and it looks as if it will) how will that affect the value of the effected lots if a new assessment of $20,000 is levied?

Also, how will that effect values of lots and homes in the Cape where the assessments are paid off.

I know what happened in the past, however I was just looking for input for the membership.

A: There will be an initial group that will panic and dump their lots for nothing. Others will just hold on and pay the extra $100 per month until they get tired. This will bring prices down for sure.

The difference is this time what about the guy who paid $30,000, $40,000 or even $60,000 cash??He is unlikely to dump for 2k.  As for homes, some people want the utilities but most cannot afford to pay. What choice do they have?

Other areas with water and sewer will be in demand.

Last time several builders gobbled up these cheap lots. This time there may not be as much demand from the builders because the existing home prices are low.

I checked with the city last month. The old plan had water and sewer going south of Pine Island before they go north. I think SW 6 and SW 7 were next on the list. They used to have a map on their website but it is gone. According to my contact, even if they had a plan in place tomorrow it would take close to 2 years to start. Bottom line: It will definitely affect prices both good and bad. The UEP really is the gorilla in the room for Cape Coral.

UEP Map <http://buildingcalc.capecoral.net/map.htm>

With Neal Communities expanding further south into Lee and Collier counties, it is more proof that the Florida Real Estate market is growing.

This means Cape Haze Real Estate Prices are Poised to Go Up

What that means to lot owners and investors in the Cape Haze, Placida and Rotonda area is, lot prices will increase!

“Almost like the cream in the middle of an Oreo cookie, our real estate prices cannot help but go up because of the upward pressure being put on us from the north and the south”

This is all really good news because historically, when people move to Florida, they only stay in the area they move into for 2.5 years.

What we have in the Cape Haze area that they don’t is BEACHES – WATER – FISHING!

Read the article below – it is very encouraging news.

Neal Communities expands south into Lee, Collier counties

By JOSH SALMAN – jsalman@bradenton.com

http://www.bradenton.com/2012/02/02/3840474/neal-communities-expands-south.html

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Neal Communities, one of the area’s largest home builders, will expand into Lee and Collier counties — the epicenter of Florida’s housing market, the company announced late Wednesday.

Neal will partner with the real estate firm Cameratta Companies to develop a project on Three Oaks Parkway in Estero slated for 120 paired villas, that will range in size from 1,400 to 1,550 square feet. A tentative opening is planned for early 2013.

Neal Communities President Pat Neal also is in negotiations to buy additional parcels of undeveloped land in the Fort Myers and Naples market this year, with hopes to develop there as well. The company declined to elaborate.

While all operations initially will continue to run through Neal Communities’ current headquarters in Lakewood Ranch, the developer is planning to open a satellite office in Lee or Collier counties within the next six months.

“We have always taken a very personal and hands-on approach to all our projects including accessibility to our homeowners,” Neal said in a statement. “Expanding outside Manatee County means we need to have a local presence and are working to get an office and team of local executives and subcontractors in place before fall.”

The Estero condos will closely mirror the company’s models at Arlington Cove, which are priced from the high $100,000s.

The project marks the first time Neal Communities will migrate out of the Manatee-Sarasota area. The builders southernmost community now is Arlington Cove, which is located in Englewood.

Neal Communities also is engaged in preliminary talks of expanding out east.

“It’s a market not too much unlike the Bradenton-Sarasota market,” said Leisa Weintraub, vice president of marketing, about the expansion. “There’s a lot of similarities.”

Neal Communities will be featured as “America’s Best Builder” in the March edition of the national industry trade publication, Builder Magazine.

With designs ranging from cottages in Forrest Creek to $1 million mansions in Lakewood Ranch Country Club, the company’s variety of homes and aggressive capital positioning has helped it better withstand the recession, a company spokeswoman said.

Along with the Lee and Collier expansion, the developer also this year plans to build a massive Grand Palm subdivision in Venice and a 140-site community on State Road 70 in Manatee dubbed Fairfield.

Neal Communities closed on 376 homes in 2011, with more than 400 gross sales. The company reported total revenue last year of $126.3 million.

To date, Neal Communities has built more than 8,600 homes across Southwest Florida. The developer also runs a title company, mortgage company, pool company and interior design service.

Josh Salman, Herald business writer, can be reached at 941-745-7095.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/02/02/3840474/neal-communities-expands-south.html#storylink=cpy

What that means to you – When the “Big-Boys” do better, they re-invest a large portion of the proceeds back into land and lots. It’s no secret they make most of their money on the increase in land values. They build homes on the lots, creating demand, which in turn increases the value of the lots they build on and the surrounding area.

Like the saying goes, ” A rising tide lifts all boats”

Read the report below about Beazer Homes.

Beazer Homes Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results

ATLANTA, Feb 02, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Beazer Homes USA, Inc. BZH +0.62% ( www.beazer.com ) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

“I am pleased with our results for the quarter,” said Allan Merrill, President and Chief Executive Officer of Beazer Homes. “In spite of still challenging market conditions, our team managed to generate a 36% improvement in year-over-year new home orders while reducing overhead costs in dollar and percentage terms. While we have a lot of work in front of us to return to sustainable profitability, we are committed to delivering higher orders and closings as well as positive EBITDA for the full fiscal year.”

Summary results of the quarter are as follows:

As of December 31, 2011

– Total cash and cash equivalents: $550 million, including unrestricted cash of approximately $273 million

– Stockholders’ equity: $200 million, not including $57.5 million of mandatory convertible subordinated notes, which automatically convert to common stock at maturity in 2013

– Total backlog from continuing operations: 1,307 homes with a sales value of $315.8 million, compared to 787 homes with a sales value of $198.0 million as of December 31, 2010

– Land and lots controlled: 25,998 lots (84% owned), a decrease of 3% from December 31, 2010

Quarter Ended December 31, 2011 — Results from Continuing Operations (unless otherwise specified)

– Total new orders: 724 homes, a 36% increase from fiscal 2011 — Cancellation rates: 35.1%, compared with 31.4% in fiscal 2011

– Total home closings: 867 homes, a 67% increase from fiscal 2011

– Revenue: $188.5 million, compared to $109.0 million in fiscal 2011 — Average sales price from closings: $215,500, compared with $209,300 in fiscal 2011

Read More: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/beazer-homes-reports-first-quarter-fiscal-2012-results-2012-02-02

Home Prices Increase in Florida and dropped in most U.S. cities

First to fall and first to go back up!

Florida real estate prices plummeted and fill off the cliff back in 2007 to 2010.

“All Real Estate Is Local In Nature” and the local SW Florida Real Estate Market is on the upswing –

Below is a recent report from Standard & Poor/Case-Shiller – While their information may be accurate in the rest of the country –they are completely missing the mark on South West Florida.

• there are more real estate sales happening right now than there have been in the past few years –
• There are more people vacationing this year than there has been
• There are more people looking at and planning on investing in Florida Real estate right now.
• Prices are going up!

To prove it to you, on February 12, 2102 I will be posting some of the most “Up-To-Date” Florida real estate market information for the SW Florida real estate market.

Information like what I will be revealing you simply cannot get anywhere else.

Stay tuned – the information will knock your socks off.

Florida Real Estate Prices have gone as far as they can go down.

They cannot go any lower in Florida because the counties are beginning to take them back for lack of tax payment.

These TV commentators have a point for the rest of the country, but are Clueless when it comes to Florida.

The “Baby-Boomers” are retiring and moving to Florida – a movement that CANNOT be stopped.

The following article written by Chris Griffith of Downing-Frye Realty in Bonita Springs brings to light more truths about buying used homes, bank REO’s and Foreclosures.

She does an excellent job of explaining the “TLC” process and what it means.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/apr/27/chris-griffith-needs-little-tlc-matter-opinion/

Chris Griffith is a real estate agent at Downing-Frye Realty Inc. in Bonita Springs.

Just exactly how much “tender loving care” does a property that needs TLC really require?

Well, isn’t that a question just chock-full of possibilities? The definition of fixer-upper and “needs TLC” really is in the eye of the beholder. Any one person’s opinion of what is a fixer-upper is no different than another person’s opinion of what a nice location is. It’s all relative.

Since the Southwest Florida real estate market has been working its way through the foreclosures, the fixer-uppers and properties which “need TLC” have been around for a while. Bargain hunters have been picking up the value priced, entry-level properties and the supply has diminished considerably. What’s left bouncing around at the bottom are some of the TLC properties.

Buyers know there are deals out there and they usually say they’re willing to do some work on the properties which need TLC. In their mind, quite often, they’re thinking paint and new carpet, which should probably be what “needs TLC” should actually mean. In reality it’s a gray area and describing some conditions as “needing TLC” is really taking liberties.

The reality is that the TLC term could also mean that the home was used as a huge litter box by the prior occupants before it became the giant Petri dish that it now is. The air conditioner may or may not be on … or may or may not have been pedaled on Craigslist.

Just an FYI, its degree of TLC-ness may also render it ineligible for some financing programs.

Ever the dutiful little agent, the last Petri dish I showed (upon the buyer’s insistence) was everything I imagined it would be and so much more. The pictures really weren’t that bad. What the pictures can’t show are odors and the circumstances, both real and imagined, which caused said odors.

So for the savvy international buyers who wanted so badly to go home and show all of their friends the lovely Florida foreclosure feather in their cap, the reality of this home’s condition set in.

The buyers tried to keep their composure and act like they were expecting this and had encountered shock at this level 1,000 times before. They walked the entire structure and when they exited there was silence until I said, “Circle, circle, dot, dot you need a cootie shot.”

It was immediately announced that it was no longer necessary to see properties requiring TLC if TLC is a Gary Busey-ism for “totally layered in crap.”

There was actually a house in better condition and newer in the same price range several miles away, so off we went and that’s where they purchased. No cootie shots require.

There are no guidelines, local, state or federal, for what “needs TLC” means. Consumers are at the mercy of what another human being puts in the remarks section of the multiple-list, based on the contributor’s opinion or their own life experiences.

While it would probably be helpful, there is no rating system on a scale of one to 10, to qualify the condition of a fixer-up slash TLC property.

So go forth and get your bargain foreclosure and remember that if it only needed new carpet and paint, the remarks would probably read, “needs new carpet and paint” not “needs TLC.”

There’s encouraging news in Southwest Florida’s real estate market – once known as one of the worst in the country.

For the first time in two years, the number of standard home sales in Fort Myers surpassed the number or foreclosed homes sold.

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