INVENTORIES CONTINUE DOWN; PENDINGS REMAIN THE SAME

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

RealtyTrac advises that while foreclosure activity fell for the 11th straight month on a yearly basis in August, it rose compared to July. In August the nation’s foreclosure rate was 1 in 570 housing units. The increase in foreclosure activity was driven by a 33% jump in default notices, largest monthly increase since August 2007. RealtyTrac’s CEO stated that, “The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push thru some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems.” Scheduled auctions and bank repos fell both month-to-month and year- over –year in August. In Florida 23,569 properties received a foreclosure filing in August, a 59% drop from August 2010. That accounts for 1 in 376 units.


Banks are offering incentives of $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000 to sellers who go to foreclosure to help with a new start and a new bill, Homestead Act 2, being introduced shortly, will propose offering $20,000 to foreclosure buyers for down payment assistance. A similar offer was made by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 for Union Army veterans to file an application and claim up to 160 acres of government land; the homesteader was required to improve the land building a home and growing crops. It would come in the form of a loan and be forgiven each year in the first 5 years of the homestead, by 1/5th each year.

2002 PRICES PREVAIL FOR SOME SOUTH FLORIDA HOMES

According to the Chairman of the Index Committee and S&P indices, “No cities made new lows in June 2011,” and “this month’s S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index report showed mixed signals for recovery in home prices.” Home sales, they say, are at the same levels in June as they were in 2002. Homes in the tri-county area were up .6% from May but down 5.1% from the same period in 2010. Keep in mind that “2002 prices prevail” does not refer to all sales. When homes are well located for the buyers needs and have extra features such as pools, boat docks, sizeable lots, and upgraded kitchens and baths, the seller may get a higher price than the “2002 value.” Investors looking for income earning properties, on the other hand, bid low, so those sales are at the 2002 level, and maybe lower if not in good condition.


Pending sales have declined, and until we have easier access to credit, an increase in job opportunities, and the financial markets stabilize, the housing market will continue to struggle to recover. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said, “The market can easily move into a healthy expansion if mortgage underwriting standards return to normalcy… proper comparables [must be] used in appraisal valuations” and he added that the short sale process must be streamlined. He also stated that, “investors are buying real estate as a future inflation hedge.”


Nevertheless, this remains the best time ever to buy in Florida, and discerning cash buyers are buying. Those looking at higher end houses realize that if they buy now, they can live in a beautiful home, in due time it will appreciate in value while they are enjoying the lifestyle… and real estate has ALWAYS “COME BACK”.

WHAT's UP?

Are we facing the loss of the interest deduction and would that threaten a housing market recovery?

Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, says, "the mortgage interest deduction is vital to the stability of the American housing market and economy."  He further says, "facilities home ownership by reducing the carrying costs of owning a home, and it makes a real difference to hard-working middle-class families."

With all the cuts coming up soon, would this be a positive or negative cut for the economy if it reduces the number of home buyers who counted on the interest deduction?

DON'T LIKE WAITING ON LINE?

Here is a helpful idea when you need drivers licensing services.  If you have a mobile device, you can text waitpbc to 41411, says Anne M. Gannon, Constitutional Tax Collector, and you will receive back a text message shoing the number of people currently in line for a license and the approximate wait minutes.  Appointments for drivers license services can be scheduled up to three months in advance and wait times can be viewed at www.taxcollectorpbc.com.  Payment options include cash, check or money order; credit cards cannot be processed.  For office locations go to http://www.flhsmv.gov/offices/.

 Since 2010 the Legislature transferred the job of issuing Real ID driver licenses from the DMV to local tax collectors.  One must go in person to prove their identity, according to the Federal Real ID Act.  With their service centers now in small offices, Gannon says, “We are harnessing the power of technology to put new tools directly in the customers’ hands.

Other implementations to assist those waiting on line include a mobile receptionist issuing Q-flow tickets to clients standing in line so they can circumvent the line; mobile receptionist can process simple motor vehicle transactions including license plate surrender or renewal and handicapped parking permits.  An employee checks the line in peak times so if you do not have required documentation you don’t wait needlessly.

CREST THEATRE IN DELRAY BEACH TO PRESENT INTERESTING LECTURES

Thursdays at 2 pm, “come winter,” the Robert D. Chapin 2012 Lecture Series presents the following programs and you may want to note them on your calendar now:

 January 12:  Author and Today Show correspondent JENNA BUSH HAGER may tell stories of inspirational people doing great things across America, which she contributes to the Today Show.  Jenna is the daughter of former President George and Laura Bush and granddaughter of former President George H.W. and Barbara Bush.  Jenna wrote “Ana’s Story:  A Journey of Hope”, inspired through working with UNICEF which became a New York Times Best Seller.

 February 2:  US Ambassador to the Manila-based Asian Development Bank, ROBERT “Skip” ORR, is former President of Boeing Japan, and former Vice President of Motorola’s European Affairs Division.  He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 1976, received his Master’s Degree from Georgetown University, and Doctorate in Political Science from Tokyo University.  

 March 15: host of The Newlywed Game and former disc jockey BOB EUBANKS will share with us untold stories and funny anecdotes about some Hollywood and Music Industry moments.  His six rules for success are motivational.  He will also review hilarious moments from The Newlywed Game.  In 2000 Bob became the only tv personality to ever host the same show format for 5 decades.

 April 5: Journalist, Producer, Author and Writer STEVEN BOGART is also the son of legendary acting greats Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.  His non-fiction “Bogart: In Search of My Father” was a bestseller.  He will share with us his personal insights and funny stories about his parents and some rarely seen home movies.

General Admission is $25 for open balcony seating; reserved seating on the main floor is $40.  Reserved tickets include a post-lecture reception.  

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WHAT IS AGING ABOUT?

MIT RESEARCH: 

Understanding how the body ages 

via an aging suit

EVENTS THIS WEEKEND AND BEYOND

Looking for TREASURES at Bargain Rates?  Be at Bruce Kodner Galleries on Sunday, July 10^th at 1 pm for all kinds of goodies to bid on from stunning jewelry to sculpture to porcelain to watches to oriental room size rugs and much, much more.  Located just below Lake Avenue in Lake Worth on east side of Dixie.

Cirque du Soleil: Alegria was an early presentation, still popular after 17 years, featuring classic baroque imagery and a timeless theme of age.  Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, an indoor arena, presents this and other shows this month. 

Mizner Park Amphitheater presents “Summer in the City,” a Neil Diamond Tribute on July 29, 2011 at 7 pm.  It is a free concert.  You can bring along a chair or blanket, relax and enjoy the best of entertainment under the stars and bring the whole family.  Lots of great eateries for dinner in Mizner Park!

Crafts fan?  Be at the South Florida Expo Center, South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd, West Palm Beach starting at 10 am July 9 to see unique one-of-a-kind items and gifts, try on custom made gold and silver jewelry, find handcrafted furniture, fudge and gourmet delights, folk art, dolls, candies, artwork, pet items, quilts, wearable art, and many other collectable items.

 =============================

NAR COMMENTS RE PENDING HOME SALES TRENDING UP

While inventories are falling, pendings have trended up in 7 of the last 11 months. 


Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist, said that the upward trending of home sale pendings bodes well for home prices. “Absorption of inventory is the key to price improvement, and this solid gain in contract signings implies that home values in many localities are or will soon be stabilizing as inventories get absorbed at a faster pace,” he said.  “Home sales still could be 15 to 20 percent higher,” Yun said.

“If banks would simply return to normal sound underwriting standards and begin lending to more creditworthy borrowers, we’d get a much faster recovery in the housing sector.”  Yun, as is the common thread, said that healthy job creation is necessary to ensure a solid recovery both in home sales and the overall economy.

A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing. 

1925 UPDATED, UPGRADED NORTHWOOD HOME NOW $99,000-SHORT SALE

Lovingly maintained, the 2-story home, new on the market, has 3 bedrooms and a den, 1 ½ baths.  No closets in 3^rd bedroom and den.  Roof and appliances are newer in this pretty home with Spanish-style architecture.

32’x16’ living room, entered into from foyer, has fireplace and crown moldings.  Pointed archway cutout leads to 20’x20’ dining room.  Wood floors are beautiful.  

19’x17’ Kitchen has wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, center island.   18’x14’ master bedroom.   Master bath has tub and shower combo.  2nd and 3^rd bedrooms are 14’x12’.  Total of 1727 living sq ft.   Washer and dryer included.  Back porch overlooks yard, is screened in.  Pets OK.  No HOA fees.

NAR reports that Foreign purchasers buy U.S. property for investment, vacation, and locational reasons.

• National Association of Realltor’s 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity reports that foreigners view U.S. properties as a secure investment, one that provides rental and long-term appreciation possibilities.
• Homes in this country are less expensive than comparable foreign properties.
• International purchasers buy properties for both vacation and rental purposes

FLORIDA CFO WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK ON IMPROVING THE FLORIDA HOME INSURANCE MARKET

Dear Friend,

With the 2011 hurricane season now underway, I am hopeful that we will continue the good fortune we have experienced for the past five years.

The past two legislative sessions have shown the delicate balance needed to attract the private insurance industry back to Florida while ensuring fair and equitable rates for Floridians. These legislative reforms should signal to the insurance industry that Florida is open, competitive and ready for their business.

Attached are two recent articles regarding the need for further discussion and reforms surrounding the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Property Insurance Company. I found them to be thought-provoking and worthy of discussion.

I look forward to your feedback on these articles and any other insurance-related topics. It is an honor to serve as your Chief Financial Officer.

Sincerely,

Jeff Atwater
Florida's Chief Financial Officer

Jeff.Atwater@myfloridacfo.com 

 

Attachments:
Wall Street Journal Editorial on 5-21-2011
Guest Column by Don Brown in Tallahassee Democrat

ACTIVE LISTINGS DWINDLE WHILE PENDINGS ARE UP

    ACTIVE listings are properties 
   where no current sale contract 
   exists

   PENDING sales are properties in 
   which a contract for sale has 
   been executed but not yet closed.

By Asher Price AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 5:38 a.m. Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Published: 9:57 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A demolition whiz, an expert parachutist and diver, a pilot of mini-submarines and, at one point, an aspiring journalist if Rambo were a Renaissance man, and a lot thinner and taller, he might look like Bill McRaven.

Long before he devised the strategy for how to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, McRaven began preparing for a career as a super-commando while he was an undergraduate at the University of Texas.

McRaven, 55 and now a vice admiral, had been something of a bin Laden hunter for at least a half-dozen years before successfully directing the attack Sunday as the leader of the Joint Special Operations Command.

McRaven, who hails from San Antonio, began preparing for his storied career with the Navy SEALs, the elite special operations forces, while still a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at UT, from which he graduated in 1977 as a journalism major.

"He had drive," said James Gruetzner, who was in the same Navy ROTC battalion as McRaven. "He went on extraordinarily long runs to stay in shape. He was very dedicated."

McRaven grew up in a military family — his father, a former football player, had served as a pilot in World War II — and early outings as a 10-year-old to scuba dive at the YMCA put him on the Navy path, said his sister Nan McRaven, an Austin public affairs consultant who serves on the board of Austin Community College.

"He became very focused on SEAL training," said Curtis Raetz, who also was in the ROTC battalion. "He was able to lap us all no matter how hard we tried."

Students aiming to become SEALs were "fanatical" about physical training, said Greg Colchin, another member of the battalion.

"People think of it as a physical thing, but it's also a mental thing," said Nan McRaven, who said her brother has loved to read ever since their mother compelled him to recite poetry as a boy. "He's focused, and he has the humility for real leadership."

Eventually he would become a qualified diver, parachutist, demolition expert and submersible pilot. He also had smarts. He earned a master's degree in national security affairs, and in 1995, he wrote "Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare Theory and Practice," in which he developed his own definition of a special operation as one "conducted by forces specially trained, equipped, and supported for a specific target whose destruction, elimination, or rescue (in the case of hostages), is a political or military imperative."

Nominating McRaven for a fourth star this year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Joint Special Operations Command "ruthlessly and effectively (took) the fight to American's most dangerous and vicious enemies."

At its head was McRaven, who "is reputed to be the smartest SEAL that ever lived. He is physically tough, compassionate and can drive a knife through your ribs in a nanosecond," a former commander told Newsweek in 2004.

He also has shown a capacity for contrition. In April 2010, a couple of months after a special forces team mistakenly killed an Afghan police chief, a prosecutor and three unarmed women, McRaven pleaded for forgiveness from a local patriarch, bringing with him an offering of two sheep as part of a custom to make amends.

That followed McRaven's decision to tamp down commando raids in Afghanistan to avoid civilian deaths.

Whatever successes he achieved remained outstripped by the specter of bin Laden, whose elimination, to use McRaven's own word, remained an "imperative."

As long ago as 2004, having already commanded the team that helped capture Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein — soldiers based at Fort Hood also were involved — he turned his attention to capturing Public Enemy No. 1.

But he was stymied until this spring, when intelligence officers determined that bin Laden was in hiding in Pakistan.

McRaven spent weeks working with the CIA on the commando operation, The New York Times has reported, coming up with three options: a helicopter assault using American commandos, a strike with B-2 bombers that would obliterate the compound or a joint raid with Pakistani intelligence operatives who would be told about the mission hours before the launch.

The decision, to swoop in with a crew of American commandos, was in keeping with McRaven's view of special operations.

In 2001 congressional testimony on military training, McRaven described the two primary missions of Navy SEALs: "Reconnaissance and what we call direct action: raids, ambushes, swimmer sneak attacks and optical clearance for amphibious landings," he said. "Most of these missions originate from the water and require us to work in small units, behind enemy lines at night, with little or no outside support."

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/seal-who-directed-bin-laden-effort-started-journey-1452367.html

HOW TO SAVE ON GAS

AS PRICES RISE THIS SUMMER

 

 WHERE IS THE 

LOWEST PRICED LOCAL GAS?

FLORIDA CHAMBER FOUNDATION SEEKS TO GUIDE FLORIDA TO ITS NEXT ECONOMY

The Florida Chamber Foundation will use the Six Pillars Caucus System, a qualitative research program to engage the best and brightest minds in the state, as a method of starting the first-ever statewide strategic plan to help guide Florida toward its next economy.   Their plan will include an economy that offers high-wage jobs, global competitiveness and vibrant communities by 2030.

Now in its second year, construction of a plan has already begun and deliberations will be more focused in order to finalize the first draft.

The group is seeking volunteer caucus members to engage and collaborate with others with a commitment to Florida’s future.  Find information here or contact Sara Patterson spatterson@FLFoundation.org, (850) 521-1226

STAYING IN SHAPE

YOU LOOK GREAT!  WHAT did you say your secret weapon is?  An olympic weight set?  Keep up the good work.  You say your thumb hurts?  Arthritis?  Carpel Tunnel?  A wrist brace may help!

 Heading to the club for a golf outing?  What will hold your Wilson Golf Clubs? Surely, you want to appear in your "Sunday Best"!  Remember that appearances count!

You will be amazed at the volume of items out there that will help us to be at our optimum best!

IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING… HERE IT IS ... TIGER’S NEW HOME IN JUPITER

 Tiger Woods’ new home in Jupiter has a 4-hole golf course and running track and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and the Intracoastal Waterway on the other.  Price ticket? $60MM.

 Prior to his split with now ex-wife Ellen Nordegren, they spent many months planning every detail together.  The 10,000 sq ft house is on Jupiter Island.  Meant to be a family home, now it is a state-of-the-art bachelor pad.  The huge master bedroom has “his-and-hers” bathrooms and there are three more bedroom suites.  There is a glass-fronted elevator. Other features are a basement wine cellar, and perhaps a move theatre and game room for the Woods’ children, Sam and Charlie.

 Many tall trees and high boundary walls surround the plot, giving the privacy desired, but aerial photos, which appeared on Tiger’s blog, show the compound nicely.

 Four more buildings are adjoined to the main house, including a boathouse, golf training studio, stand-alone garage and huge guesthouse.  There is a tennis court, gym, diving pool, lap lane, 100’ running track and a 3.5 acre 4-hole golf course.  The short-game area has four greens, six sand traps with different depths and kinds of sand, a video center and putting studio.  

 A pair of boat docks on the Intracoastal side of the property will hold Woods’ 155 ft yacht, named Privacy.

IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN A COMPANY? YOU BETCHA IT IS!

 I rarely put an item on my blogs with just a link, but this is a "must see", just one story about a work ethic that makes America great!  Watch the video!

http://www.blogsouthwest.com/video/luv-stories-unexpected-thank-you

EL CID HISTORIC HOME TOUR from 2-5 pm ON APRIL 3rd

 Here’s your chance to see thirteen homes in the grand West Palm Beach historic neighborhood of El Cid, an area of 285 homes of which 185 are listed as historic.  

 

The 1925 house and gardens at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach, listed on the National register of Historic places, is included and after the tour, come and enjoy the wine, hors d’oeuvres and live music there.  This is also where the tour begins.

 Homes will be examples of Mediterranean Revival and Mission Revival, built in the 1920’s, many of them renovated, some taken down to the studs and with redone foundations.  Others are mostly “original”.  West Palm Beach has 14 historic districts.

Parking is available at Unity of the Palm Beaches, 1957 S.Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach.  Trolley is available.

Advance admission is $55; $65 the day of the tour.  For information call 954-270-6081.