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Palm Beach County is #8 Slowest Market in the US

Aug 29th, 2011
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According to the most recent data from Realtor.com, Palm Beach County ranks among the 10 slowest markets in the country.

County homes for sale are listed on the real estate website for a median 139 days, down 2% from a year ago. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sell quicker than 139 days and half sell slower.image001cropped3 Palm Beach County is #8 Slowest Market in the US

Palm Beach County is ranked eighth. Naples is first at 153 days. Seven of the 10 metropolitian statistical areas are in Florida — not surprising, given that this is one of the hardest hit states during the housing boom.

Broward County is tied for the nation’s 33rd slowest market for sales, at 109 days. That’s up 14% from July 2010.

Palm Beach County is #8 Slowest Market in the US

The Epitome of Luxurious Living is Found in this CORPORATE OWNED Mediterranean Estate Located in The Oaks

May 13th, 2011
by David J. Cohen.
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GSIG LLC is excited to announce the launch of our new company GSIG Premier.
GSIG Premier will be focusing on high-end luxury REO assets, such as the one below that has been listed today.

NEW LUXURY REO LISTING IN BOCA RATON
The epitome of luxurious living is found in this CORPORATE OWNED Mediterranean inspired estate in the private gated enclave of The Oaks. A spillover spa flows into the resort-style pool, while the loggia and summer kitchen provide the perfect retreat for luxurious outdoor living.

This Mediterranean-style estate spares no detail, comprising 8,020± total square feet with 6 bedrooms, 7 full and two half baths, and a 4-bay garage. Exquisite touches like Jerusalem marble floors and custom built-ins abound throughout the interior.

First Floor: Dramatic design is the hallmark of this exquisite home. Entered from the double mahogany doors and grand foyer, the formal living room is highlighted by a cast coral fireplace and a wall of windows overlooking the pool and patio beyond. Richly appointed built-in shelves and cabinets make a striking statement in the sprawling study. A generously proportioned family room flows into the breakfast area and exquisitely appointed chef’s kitchen, where custom cabinetry and granite counters are accented by professional grade appliances and center island. A double door entry introduces the beautifully scaled master suite, a private sanctuary complete with two custom-fitted walk-in closets and lavish his-and-her marble baths.

Second Floor: The sweeping marble staircase leads to the second level, where two bedroom suites are equipped with private baths and terraces. A third bedroom connects to second level family room.

Shadow Inventory Hurts Housing Rebound

Feb 17th, 2011
by David J. Cohen.
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300px I 195 Miami eastbound Shadow Inventory Hurts Housing Rebound

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According to an analysis by Standard & Poor’s, it will take an average of 49 months to clear the nation’s supply of homes that are in some stage of foreclosure.

The 49-months forecast is up 40% from a year ago. These properties are referred to as “shadow inventory” because they ultimately will go on the market even though they’re not currently listed for sale. This shadow inventory is seen as one of the larger obstacles to a rebound in home values because lenders are likely to re-sell these properties at deep discounts.

In the Miami metro area, which has $57.8 billion worth of shadow inventory, S&P estimates it will take 60 months — five years — to work through these distressed homes. On the bright side, the 60 months is unchanged from the third quarter of 2010 and a year ago.

Miami is the only one of the top 20 metro areas surveyed that didn’t see an increase compared with the third quarter and a year ago.

Shadow Inventory Hurts Housing Rebound

SOFLA Home Values Plunge 55% in 4 Years

Feb 9th, 2011
by admin.
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946v5 max 250x250 SOFLA Home Values Plunge 55% in 4 Years

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Values of South Florida single-family homes, condominiums and co-ops have plummeted roughly 55% since 2006 and now are what they were in October 2002. To add some perspective, home values have dropped 27% in the past four years.

According to Zillow.com, home values in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties fell 15.4% from a year ago to $139,100. The percentage of single-family homes with a mortgage in South Florida that are “underwater” is holding steady: 43%, compared with 44% a year ago. The percentage of homes sold at a loss rose slightly to 47% in December from 46% a year earlier.

Despite the sober stats, there is a sliver of hope for South Florida, says Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. The region’s monthly home price depreciation is getting smaller. It was at 1.1% in the fourth quarter, down from 1.8% in May 2010. Humphries also points to the continued presence of cash buyers, who “probably think that the bottom is close.”

Humphries expects a “definitive” bottom for home prices nationally by the end of this year. South Florida’s bottom will occur after that. But he can’t yet say when that will be. He concludes: “We’re not months away. It’s going to take a while.”

SOFLA Home Values Plunge 55% in 4 Years

Average Rate on 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Increases to 4.74%

Jan 21st, 2011
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300px Freddie Mac.svg Average Rate on 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Increases to 4.74%
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Following increases in Treasury yields, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose slightly this week.

Yesterday, Freddie Mac announced that the average rate rose to 4.74% this week from 4.71& the previous week. The average rate on the 15-year loan, a popular refinance option, slipped to 4.05% from 4.08%.

Mortgage rates have changed little in the new year after spiking more than half a percentage point in the last two months. Investors sold off Treasurys bonds during that stretch, driving yields lower. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

The 30-year loan rate reached a 40-year low of 4.17% in November, and the 15-year mortgage rate fell to 3.57%, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.

Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors said the historically low rates have done little to boost the struggling housing market. Fewer people bought previously owned homes last year than in any year since 1997. The group said sales fell 4.8% last year to 4.91 million units. That was a few thousand homes lower than sales levels in 2008, making it the worst level in 13 years.

Record high foreclosures, a weak job market and expectations that prices will fall further have convinced potential buyers to hold off on purchasing homes.

In order to calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage slipped to 3.69% from 3.72%. The five-year hit 3.25% last month, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.

The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate home loans rose to 3.25% from 3.23%.

The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1% of the total loan amount. The average fee for the 30-year and 15-year loan in Freddie Mac’s survey was 0.8 point. The average fee for the five-year ARM was 0.7 point, and the fee for the 1-year ARM was 0.6 point.

Average Rate on 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Increases to 4.74%

Broward County Braces for Fewer Vacancies & Higher Rents

Jan 12th, 2011
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250px Broward County %28Florida%29.svg Broward County Braces for Fewer Vacancies & Higher Rents
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Broward County’s apartment market will be among the nation’s best performing during 2011 –  which means, fewer places to choose from and higher rents.

This according to MPF Research who states Broward apartment vacancy will tighten by 1.6% this year, while rents will rise by about 5%. The county’s monthly apartment rent averaged $1,151 at year-end 2010.

Greg Willett, MPF’s vice president of research, stated: “Fort Lauderdale posted one of the better turnarounds in apartment occupancy seen anywhere across the country during the past year. Additional tightening seems on the way in reflection of the metro’s improving economy and minimal new supply. The upturn in occupancy should be enough to allow rents to really start to move upward.”

Palm Beach County’s rental market isn’t as strong, MPF says. Occupancy will rise 1.7 percentage points in 2011, and rents will inch up 3%.

Broward County Braces for Fewer Vacancies & Higher Rents

New Regulations For Foreclosure-Ridden Neighborhoods

Dec 17th, 2010
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300px US OfficeOfThriftSupervision Seal.svg New Regulations For Foreclosure Ridden Neighborhoods
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This past Wednesday, the federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies announced changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) parameters in support of stabilizing communities affected by high foreclosure levels.

The final rule, which was issued by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision,  encourages depository institutions to finance development activities in areas that qualify for HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

Through the agency’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program initiative, HUD has provided funds to state and local governments, as well as nonprofit organizations, to purchase and rehab abandoned and foreclosed properties.

The new rule revises the term “community development” to encourage depository institutions to make loans and investments, and provide services to support NSP activities in areas with HUD-approved plans.

Financial institutions will receive favorable consideration under CRA requirements for their participation in efforts to stabilize local communities where there are large numbers of foreclosures and vacant homes.

Federal regulatory agencies examine banking institutions for CRA compliance, and take this information into consideration when approving applications for new bank branches or for mergers or acquisitions. CRA was initially enacted by Congress in 1974 to encourage depository institutions to meet the credit needs of their local communities by lending to borrowers in all segments, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

Under the new rule, financial institutions will receive CRA credit for any NSP-eligible activities, such as loans extended to grant recipients for the purchase of foreclosed homes or for a donation of REO properties to nonprofit housing organizations.

The federal government has allocated nearly $7 billion for HUD’s NSP program to provide what the regulatory agencies described as “emergency assistance” to help alleviate problems brought on by the foreclosure crisis, such as growing inventories of vacant properties, depreciating home values, declining property tax bases and the destabilization of local communities.

New Regulations For Foreclosure Ridden Neighborhoods

David J. Stern Resigns as CEO of DJSP Enterprises

Nov 22nd, 2010
by admin.
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2836822969 ba04468395 m David J. Stern Resigns as CEO of DJSP Enterprises
Image by qthrul via Flickr

Attorney David J. Stern has resigned as CEO of DJSP Enterprises less than a month after he stepped down as the company’s chairman, due to the fact that his foreclosure operation continues to be investigated by state regulators.

According to new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the move came as DJSP also let another 157 employees go. The latest staff reduction follows a massive lay-off of 70% of Stern’s work force earlier in the month after the company’s two largest clients,  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stopped using the firm and pulled its pending foreclosure cases.

Stern is the only major client of the publicly traded DJSP, one of the nation’s largest foreclosure servicers with processing and title affiliates. Based in the British Virgin Islands, it was created when Stern sold his law firm’s non-legal operations to DJSP for $58 million.

In a written statement, DJSP officials said Stern was resigning to concentrate on his law firm’s operations. He is succeeded by Stephen Bernstein, the company’s interim chairman, who will earn a $500,000 annual base salary, according to filings. He states: “I am prepared to lead the company through the fundamental changes required for it to adapt to its new operating environment.”

David J. Stern Resigns as CEO of DJSP Enterprises

1 in 4 Florida Mortgages are in Trouble

Nov 19th, 2010
by admin.
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300px US mortgage delinquencies 1 in 4 Florida Mortgages are in Trouble
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Yesterday, the Mortgage Bankers Association released a survey stating that  one of four mortgages is in trouble.

As the huge number of loans already in trouble began to decline, the rate at which home loans fell into foreclosure in Florida in the third quarter increased.

Florida has the largest percent of loans in foreclosure – 13.68% – of any state. That’s down, slightly, from 14.04% in the previous quarter.

Additionally, 11.02% of mortgages in Florida are past due, 30 days or more. That is a small increase from 10.97% in the previous quarter.

Add it all up and in the third quarter, Florida had 813,652 loans either delinquent or in foreclosure, which is down from 849,002 in the second quarter.

Although major lenders including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase began to halt foreclosures or foreclosure sales at the end of September, those announcements came at the end of the quarter and did not have a big impact on the numbers.

A most troubling point in the report was the percent of new foreclosures started, which rose both in Florida and in the nation. In Florida, that figure was 2.32% in the third quarter, up from 2.07% in the previous quarter.

1 in 4 Florida Mortgages are in Trouble

Today’s Topic: 5 Top Mistakes Investors Make When Submitting Offers on REO Properties

Nov 17th, 2010
by David J. Cohen.
1 comment
300px Assorted United States coins Todays Topic: 5 Top Mistakes Investors Make When Submitting Offers on REO Properties
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If you missed my talk today, no big deal. Here’s the gist:

  1. Purchase Price – Don’t low ball the offer, regardless of if you are an investor or not – Seller’s don’t care if you are buying multiple properties. All that matters is that you are buying THEIRS! When you run your comps and come up with a price, do not discount it dramatically and make adjustments for minor repairs due to the condition of the house. The seller knows what it’s worth and so do you!
  2. Days On Market – If you are intent on buying a property at a discount, target those properties with days on market more than 60 days. Aged properties sit on the books for the bank and they want them gone…However, it doesn’t mean they will give it for free!
  3. Price Reductions, Back On Markets, Etc (Property Statuses) – If a property’s list price was just reduced, do not go much lower than the most recent price. Banks are not willing to drop the price of a home RIGHT AFTER they just reduced it for the market. When a property comes back on the market, the banks want to test the waters again to see if anyone is willing to buy it at the current price.
  4. Proof of funds letters, Hard Money Letters – the better your documentation looks, the more legit you are! Try not to submit a standard, generic hard money letter with an electronic signature dated 2 months old. When submitting a bank statement, make sure you have a statement less than 30 days old – You’re an investor who buys houses, what’s to say you still have the money in the bank?!?!
  5. Check Requirements – Many banks have “First Look” periods, where only offers by owner occupants are accepted, do not lie and do not cheat the system, Banks have ways of searching tax records across the country and cross reference your organizations name. Sometimes fines can be as much as $5,000 that can be held against you for up to 5 years after you buy the property. Submit any and all documentation that is requested UP FRONT. Banks do not accept incomplete offers, therefore if you are missing documents your offer will NOT be presented and another investor may come in and buy the property from under you!

Todays Topic: 5 Top Mistakes Investors Make When Submitting Offers on REO Properties

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