Open House at 945 N. Ferncreek Ave.

There is an open house at 945 N. Ferncreek Ave. Sunday, July 24 from 1-4 p.m. Come see this beautiful, move-in ready home!

Price Reduction: 945 N. Ferncreek Ave. is now $199,900!

The price on 945 N. Ferncreek Ave. has been lowered to $199,900! This townhouse is extremely well constructed, has excellent natural light, hardwood floors and an attached two-car garage. It truly is the best deal for a townhouse in Colonialtown right now. E-mail me at regis.ahern@floridamoves.com for a tour or call me at 407-446-2555.


http://www.floridamoves.com/regis.ahern

Fern Creek Elementary in The New York Times!

Our fabulous, A-rated elementary school, Fern Creek Elementary, was in The New York Times on May 1! The article highlights what a fantastic job the school is doing of educating our local youngsters, particularly children in need. We are so proud to have such a fantastic elementary school in our neighborhood.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/education/02winerip.html?ref=education

Price Reduction on 945 N. Ferncreek Ave.

There has been a significant price reduction on 945 N. Ferncreek Ave. to $219,000! The fabulous 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 1850 sf townhome is in perfect condition. Call or e-mail me to arrange a showing at 407-446-2555 or regis.ahern@floridamoves.com.

http://www.floridamoves.com/regis.ahern

Townhouse for Sale!

I have a fantastic listing at 945 N. Ferncreek Avenue! This beautiful, sunny townhome gets morning and afternoon light and is move-in ready! Featuring three bedrooms; two and a half bathrooms; huge greatroom; kitchen with stainless steel appliances, slate tile, pantry and breakfast bar; formal dining room;upstairs laundry; bonus room with surround sound and an attached two-car garage; walk-in closets; attic; alarm system; sprinkler system; metal roof. Decorative features include custom crown molding and baseboards; wainscotting; 9' ceilings; wood and slate flooring; recessed lighting and dimmers; window treatments and wooden blinds. The master suite has a private balcony, a gorgeous marble shower, and two walk-in closets. The dining room also has a balcony and large windows. This home has been meticulously maintained. Closed to downtown, Publix, the community center, schools, restaurants, and public transportation.

Interested in seeing this beautiful home? Call or e-mail me to arrange a tour at 407-446-2555 or regis.ahern@floridamoves.com.

http://www.floridamoves.com/regis.ahern

For Sale By Owner Won't Save You Money

Placing your house for sale by owner may sound like a great idea if all you are thinking about is not having to pay a commission, but most FSBOs do not consider what costs they are incurring and what important services they are forgoing. Here are some of the biggest problems with attempting a sale on your own.

1. Prospective buyers know that you are saving yourself the commission, so they automatically deduct the commission from their offer. While you may be looking for a bargain by selling on your own, the buyers expect that savings to be on their end of the deal.

2. You will have substantial out-of-pocket costs that you would not pay if you were using a Realtor, including marketing, advertising and legal fees.

Cost of Fannie Mae Loans Rising

Buyers with Fannie Mae-backed loans will face higher borrowing costs and interest rates, even if they have a perfect credit score, starting on April 1. Fannie Mae is instituting a loan-level price adjustment on several mortgages, which is a fancy way of saying they are going to charge borrowers more fees. The fees will include higher interest rates based on the down payment amount (or the amount of equity in their home if they’re refinancing) as well as the borrower's credit score.

Pending Sales Rising

For the fifth time in six months, pending home sales increased 2% to 93.7 in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index measures signed housing contracts for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops.

Bye-bye, Living Rooms

According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, 82% percent of respondents say that by 2015 living rooms will either no longer be a part of new homes or they will merge with other spaces. They also said that combined family rooms and kitchens (or so-called great rooms) will become even more popular.

But here is what I want to know: with Americans continually getting fatter, is it a good idea to continue to reinforce the idea that homes revolve around the kitchen? Americans were smaller when kitchens were utilitarian in nature. If you can see the pantry and the fridge, how much more likely are you to eat in between meals?

Florida Existing Home and Condo Sales Increase in December

There was an increase in the number of existing homes and condos (as opposed to new construction) sold in Florida in December 2010 over December 2009. An impressive 15,550 single-family homes sold in December, an increase of 4% from December 2009, which saw 14,923 home sales. The median sales price was $133,100; in December 2009 it was $139,800. However, the median sales price in November 2010 was $132,700, indicating the prices are beginning to stabilize. In December, 12 of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales and 14 MSAs reported higher existing condos sales.

A total of 6,673 condominium sold in December, up 12% from the 5,955 condos sold in December 2009. The statewide existing condo median sales price in December was $88,100; in December 2009 it was $106,700- giving us a 17% decrease in price.

Florida’s existing home sales increased 5% for 2010, with a total of 170,848 homes sold compared to 162,873 homes sold in 2009. The statewide single-family home median price for 2010 fell 4% to $136,500; in 2009 it was $142,500. Statewide existing home sales activity in 2010 also was 37.5% higher than 2008 statewide sales.

No More Running Red Lights in Winter Park

This may be Colonialtown's real estate blog, but as a service to all residents, I want to share the news that the city of Winter Park is activating its newly installed red light cameras beginning this Saturday. The first two cameras that are being activated are at the intersections of Temple Dr. and Howell Branch Rd. and Temple Trl. and Howell Branch Rd. Cameras will soon be activated at the intersections of Lakemont Ave. and Aloma Ave., Orlando Ave. and Lee Rd., Orlando Ave. and Fairbanks Ave., and Orlando Ave. and Orange Ave. The fine is $158 per violation.

Home Values in Colonialtown

In response to a request from a reader named Kevin, I am going to address the issue of home values in Colonialtown. In zip code 32803 from November 2010 to December 2010 there was over a 25% increase in the price per square foot of sold homes, rising from $105/psf to $120/psf. This uptick indicates that home prices are beginning to stabilize, meaning we should not see further significant declines. This isn't to say that there won't be some fluctuation, but it seems that 2011 is going to be the bottom of the market.

However, buying power is not simply limited to housing prices. One must also consider interest rates, which are currently at historical lows in the 5s (and I want to give a shout out to all of my readers who were smart enough to buy when the rates were in the 4s. When combining prices with interest rates, you probably got the best buys of anyone!). When considering the best time to buy, it is important not to base it all on price, because your interest rate is what is really going to determine the final price you will ultimately have paid for your home once you have paid off your mortgage.

For buyers, your buying power is at its highest while prices are hitting their bottom and interest rates are low, and that time is now. For sellers, you can rest easy knowing that your home should not continue to lose much more value.

Thanks, Kevin, for your question. Please keep the questions coming!

Are You Getting What You Want From Colonialtown Real Estate?

I would love to get feedback from all of my readers about whether http://colonialtownrealestate.blogspot.com is giving you what you need. Do you want more market information about Orlando? More market information about surrounding neighborhoods? More Colonialtown neighborhood information? My blog has a local focus, but my goal is to keep local buyers and sellers informed of what they need to know to make educated real estate decisions. Please let me know what you need! You can leave your comments below or e-mail them to me at regis.ahern@floridamoves.com.

Colonialtown and 32803 Real Estate By the Numbers

Below are the market statistics for Colonialtown and all of the 32803 zip code from July 2010-December 2010, according to Coldwell Banker's data.

Average Asking Price: $273,000
Average Sold Price: $146,000
Average Square Foot Price: $106
Average Days on Market: 143 (note that Coldwell Banker's average days on market is 130!)

Owning vs. Renting

Have you ever debated the merits of owning versus renting? Instead of just guessing about when the real estate market will shift enough to make owning the most financially rewarding move, there is actually a calculation that can be done. The price-rent ratio = price of house/annual rent. It measures how much the buyer is paying for each dollar of rental income received (or dollar saved from rent spending). In other words, if you get a price-rent ratio of 15, that means that the house is 15 times more expensive to buy than the annual rent that will be received from it.

During the real estate bubble from 2005 - 2007, the price-rent ratio increased to more than 20 times in some areas. Generally, renting is preferable if the price-rent ratio is greater than 20, whereas buying is better if the ratio is less than 15.

Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi now says that owning is about to become the way to go. “By mid-2011 and certainly by end of 2011, buying will be superior to renting in most parts of the country,” Zandi says. Home prices have fallen, making homes more affordable, whereas rents are expected to continue to rise this year.

Below are the top cities where it makes more sense to buy than rent, according to the Moody's data.

• Cleveland: 11.43
• Pittsburgh, Pa.: 11.71
• Detroit: 12.32
• Phoenix: 12.35
• Atlanta: 12.82
• Tampa, Fla.: 13.08
• Orlando, Fla.: 13.1
• Cincinnati: 13.74
• Las Vegas: 13.89

Interested in Lowering Your Mortgage Payment?

Read this!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/realestate/mortgages/02Mort.html?src=me&ref=general

Sold Homes in Colonialtown

The following homes sold in Colonialtown between December 3, 2010 and January 7, 2011:

1216 Oregon St. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom. Sold in foreclosure for $73,500.
800 Altalome Ave. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. Sold for $149,900.
1317 Oregon St. 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. Sold in foreclosure for $149,900
1511 E. Ridgewood St. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. Sold as a short sale for $210,000.

Does A Sex Offender Live Near Your Home?

The state of Florida now has a program that allows people to enter an address- say your home, office, or daycare center- and monitor whether a sex offender lives or works near that address. You can also set your account up to monitor a specific offender or predator. It is important that residents take the time to become aware of who is living or working near them or their children. Note that although the system says it will send a confirmation e-mail, it actually does not- but your address will be registered and you will receive notifications.

To actively search for predators in your zip code, go to the website and click on 'Offender Search'. Once the page loads, click on 'Offender Search' again. On the right hand side choose 'Offender Search' and then choose 'Standard'. Then put in your zip code. This will bring up the offenders in your zip code. You can also search by the town you live in. This is an accurate way to see the offenders living in your area.

http://www.floridaoffenderalert.com/subscribe.php

My present and past clients can consistently rely on me to keep them updated on programs like this that will help to keep them safe. Whether it is the more pleasant task of informing my clients about the local golf clubs or the more serious job of letting them know where they can go to find out whether there is a drug lab or sex offender in their area, I am my clients' best resource for information on their neighborhood.

Bank of America Takes Long Lunch Breaks

Bank of America must let its employees take long lunches, or maybe they just come in really late and leave really early. The Treasury Department recently released a report that has taken notice that Bank of America consistently takes longer than other banks to answer calls from owners of distressed properties (properties that are behind on their mortgage payments) and they lose the highest percentage of calls. They take approximately 40 seconds or more to answer calls. In October the bank abandoned more than 3% of its calls.

Furthermore, the government has a program called Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that promotes loan modifications. Bank of America has one of the lowest rates among the 17 large loan servicers in the program for converting trial loan modifications to permanent modifications. On December 17 Arizona and Nevada attorneys general filed separate lawsuits accusing it of misleading borrowers seeking loan modifications. The Arizona complaint characterized it as ranking “last in virtually every homeowner experience metric” tracked in the Treasury’s reports.

And don't forget that in October Bank of America stopped foreclosures in all 50 states after errors were found in its foreclosure process.

Buy, Buy, Buy Before Low Rates Are Bye, Bye, Bye!

The honeymoon phase of 4% mortgage rates has ended after rates rose since early November. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has risen to 4.86% from 4.17%. Bankrate.com's weekly survey found the rate has risen to 5.02% from 4.42% in early November. Forecasts now predict rates will remain between 5% and 6% for all of 2011.

Rates are rising and the longer you wait to buy your home, the more it will cost you (in fact, if you wait too long, you won't be able to afford the same house if you need a lot of financing). Smart buyers are taking advantage of the low rates and low prices to score the best housing deal in a generation. Furthermore, if you lock in at a low rate with an assumable mortgage, selling your home in the future will be easier because it will come with an attractive interest rate.