Palm Beach Real Estate and Loans

This Sunday, 5/11, I will be showcasing more prime Palm Beach Gardens real estate by having an Open House at 1007 Grand Isle Terrace, BallenIsles -

Click HERE for the full Photo set.

˜Spectacular courtyard home on nearly a half-acre of premier property is designed for dramatic lake and sunset views! Sophisticated and comfortable, this home is professionally decorated and is being offered fully furnished. Loads of custom upgrades and designer appointments. Must see to appreciate it all!

This 4 Bedroom / 5.5 Bathroom (including a 1/1 Guest / In-law suite) is listed for $1,095,000.

The list of features is extensive - call me at 561-282-7406 - better yet, come by on 5/11 - Ill be there from 2-4 PM.

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While my readers know that I typically focus on Palm Beach Gardens real estate and home loans, this morning its time to take a look at things on a national scale.  

This morning I recieved an email from Chris Griffith with a link to an article that had just come out in the Wall Street Journal.

Theres nothing like starting the day off with great news-

˜The Housing Crisis is Over by Cyril Moulle-Berteaux was a well thought-out piece that explains in great detail why the worst may be behind us.

It starts with:

˜The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market.’

While ˜bottom may sound ominous - dont forget that the decline has to stop before the recovery can begin, so the bottom is exactly what weve been looking for.

The ˜Boom that we experienced a few years ago was fantastic for those people who were skilled (or lucky) enough to buy low and quickly sell high.  But it also had the negative effect of making a home purchase way too expensive for many people.”

It was inevitable - the Boom went Bust.

˜Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s.

When you combine the fact that homes are becoming more affordable with the declining inventory of available properties, you see that the price declines are likely to turn around in the next few months.

‘In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months.’

These improvements dont just mean an improvement in the real estate situation -

‘This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.’

I suggest reading all of Mr. Moulle-Berteauxs article here.

It is very rare to read good news these days about the real estate industry.  The majority of the media seems to delight in doing their best to report - or construct - information that does nothing but help to spread the negativity.  Why? Because negativity sells - newspapers that is, not real estate.

I feel like this WSJ article will go a long way toward convincing people that things are - or are about to - improve.

Real estate is cyclic - but when things are bad it’s sometimes hard to remember that.  We cant fix what already happened, but the future is looking pretty bright.

Its unfortunate, but some real estate owners are not only facing foreclosure, they are also being preyed upon by companies offering BS ˜foreclosure rescue.

A recent update from the Florida Association of Realtors stated the following:

˜The meteoric rise in foreclosures has spawned a number of foreclosure rescue scams. So-called ˜foreclosure rescue companies charge an upfront fee, usually $1,000 or more, to solve a homeowners foreclosure problems, and then does little or nothing, pocketing the money.

This stuff never ceases to amaze me - people see a way to make a dishonest buck and they jump all over it.

A Bill (HB 643) was introduced by Representative Clay Ford (R - Pensacola) that will require:

˜foreclosure rescue companies to enter into a written contract with consumers that spells out services provided, payment terms and total charges, and provides a three-day right of cancellation period. The bill also bans foreclosure consultants from demanding payment before promised services are delivered.

(The Bill does need to be approved by Govenor Crist)

People that are facing foreclosure are already under a great deal of stress and the promise of an easy out can be tempting - which is exactly what the predators look for.

This brings me back to the old ‘If it sounds too good to be true….’

Always ake sure you know EXACTLY what is being offered and never, EVER, pre-pay for this type of service.

This is one of those things that sounds like a bad joke - until you realize that the person that you’re talking to ISN’T kidding!

Client: “I think I’ll take my home off the market for a little while.”

Me: “Why is that? Have you changed your mind about selling it?”

Client: “Oh no, not at all - I just think that taking it off the market will ________________________________ (fill in the blank with flawed logic).”

Makes absolutely no sense.  There is still quite a bit of Palm Beach Gardens real estate for sale so the only thing this temporary change does is remove ANY chance you have of getting an offer!

Some Sellers think that this is sort of a tease - as if the people that have been tracking their ‘one-in-a-million home’ will feel like they lost out and they need to spring to action!  Not at all.

If the inventory levels were low, this might not be so laughable.  But if your home falls off the list, any potential Buyer will just move on to the next AVAILABLE one.

Remember this - we are still in a Buyers Market and misguided Seller ‘tricks’ like this (and the equally poor ‘Price Increase’) only hurt your chances of selling your home.

This Sunday (5/4/08) from 2 - 4 PM I will be hosting an Open House at 205 Coconut Key in BallenIsles - one of the most sought-after areas in Palm Beach Gardens real estate.

˜Home shows like a model - tile and hardwood throughout, granite countertops, desiginer ceiling fans, the built in family room wall unit can accomodate a large screen TV and has built-in surround sound for exceptional entertainment quality.The southern-exposed pool and custom wall mirrors keep the home light and airy.  The courtyard landscaping adds to the homes privacy.  Hurricane glass and storm shutters.  At night the the ground lighting gives the home a ˜regal feel.  The recent Platinum Club survey ranked BallenIsles as one of the top residential club communities in the country. 

This property is listed for $1,299,500 and a full Golf Membership is available.

For additional information call me at 561-282-7406.