About Osceola County, FL

ANOTHER DISCLOSURE AFFECTING AN ALREADY DEVASTATED HOUSING MARKET IS BREWING A STORM OF CONTROVERSY IN THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE- IF SUCCESSFUL IT COULD AFFECT MILLIONS OF HOMES IN THE WIND BORNE DEBRIS REGION WHICH IS THE ENTIRE STATE OF FLORIDA.

Following the aftermath of Hurricanes Charlie, Jeanne, and Francis almost every home in 2005 needed a new roof or roof repair. It was an epic series of hurricanes, which battered Central Florida.

The My Safe Florida Programwas initiated and was free to Florida Home Owners. It was promoted as a way to save money on Home Owners Insurance. Homeowners who signed up and had their homes inspected were given a list of seven recommendations they could do to improvements they could make to "Harden" their homes against future wind damage. There were grants which provided matching funds which expired on June 30th, 2009. The seven suggested

improvements included:

1) Adding or Lengthen roofing nails (used for shingle roofs with plywood sheets on trusses)

2) Creating a secondary water barrier to prevent intrusion

3) Bracing gable ends in roof framing(to prevent roof from collapsing under hurricane wind loads)

4) Upgrading to thicker "huricane-resistant" roof shingles

5) Installing metal tie downs straps that attach roof rafters to wall studs

6) Upgrading hurricane rated window shutters

7) replacing a standard garage door with a hurricane-rated door

Many Floridians took advantage of the this "Free" Inspections in hopes of reducing their Home Owners Insurance. Following the Inspection, a report could be filed with home insurance carriers directly, or given to the home owner with a list of findings, and recommendations and projected cost to make the improvements. A matching funds grant was established to assist home owners in financing the cost of the recommended improvements, although many were unaware of it.

Building codes were also revised. Work done following the three major storms had to be up to the new set of Hurricane standards, and wind rating assessments. Anyone who had remodeled following the storm, would have had the County Inspectors insuring the work performed was up to the New Code Standards.

FROM FREE WIND TO GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Effective January 1, 2011 purchasers of homes in the "Windborne debris region" (WHICH IS THE ENTIRE STATE OF FLORIDA) will require sellers to provide a wind disclosure for homes in the "wind-borne region

Upto 120 MPH along the coast, and between 100-110 miles in Osceola County, specifically my market of St. Cloud, Florida.

Under the new legislature, a buyer would receive the home's hurricane Resistance rating,three separate improvement plans that homeowner may use to so called "Harden" the home and an estimate of each plan (which averaged between $3000-$7000 at the end of the My Safe Florida Home Program) and information about insurance premium discounts.

REALTORS are deeply concerned that of the new legislature is not repealed it will stigmatize properties since most homes have not been hardened. (Homes built after the storms would not be affected) They fear it will add significant costs to each transaction or reduce the offering price as is the case with unsatisfactory home repairs.

Under normal market conditions that concern may be more valid. The loop hole in this legislation however, does not provide for bank owned properties which are sold "As-Is" with repairs deleted.

In 2008 when the Florida Legislature voted to enact this new law, the foreclosure rate was minimal compared to what it has become, just two short years later. Older homes would suffer to a greater extent than newer ones. Homes which were improved or remodeled after the storms likely will meet the new code regulations and the inspections should have little impact on them as well. Older homes which have not been updated will suffer to a greater extent, and insurance carriers will likely want to see those updates performed prior to committing to a policy.

As you know following the billions of dollars in claims made after the three Hurricanes of 2005, several insurance companies left the state, failed to renew, or canceled long standing customers policies to minimize future risk of claims.

However, since 2005 Florida has not been hit by a major wind damaging storm. The weather anamoly caused by the "El Nino Effect" on wind patterns which contributed to the voltile hurricane season of 2005 has failed to repeat its performance. The construction boom of 2005-2007 all meet current wind resistance standards. The real concern is that with funding gone, homeowners who are not in foreclosure could potentially be forced to cut prices to achieve a sale much like a poor home inspection has hindered sales int he past. However, with the market sagging so severely, it is more likely that "what you see is what you get" will prevail. Leaving the purchaser with the options of making the upgrades since homes are already at rock bottom prices.

Would a Poor Wind Rating on this new proposed Disclosure discourage a purchaser from making a sale?

December numbers. Of the 530 homes sold, 137 were short sales, 135 were normal sales, and 258 were foreclosures that are Bank Owned.

January 2010 numbers. Of the 351 homes sold, 112 were short sales, 82 were normal sales, and 157 were Bank Owned Properties. That's a drop of 34%.

What does this mean? Yes, I know, it means sales were down. But, lets look deeper. The last quarter of 2009 was almost a record quarter in banks foreclosing. Currently active listings in Osceola County are 3,409. 1,514 are short sales, 1,547 are normal sales, and 346 Bank Owned Foreclosures. Bank Owned inventories are being held back. If one out of two homes sold are Bank Owned, where is the inventory? These numbers will stand true if not exceeded. The inventory is being released when inventory is sold. Hence, controlling supply and demand and sold home pricing.

Look for Bank Owned inventories to increase by the beginning of Sping training, baseball brings home buyers. ( I hope you like the analigy.) All of these homes have to hit the market someday.

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Well after seeing NAR with the decrease in December, then finding out they changed the criteria, it's no longer a comparison of the same month in the previous year. I did some digging. Sales in Osceola County Florida for December of 2008 were 289 homes sold. Sales in December of 2009 were 530 homes sold. That's an 83% increase. Yet the numbers reported by NAR was a decrease in home sales by about 16.7%. That was December 2009, compared to November 2009. Yes, extend the tax credit.

Well inside the December numbers. Of the 530 homes sold, 137 were short sales, 135 were normal sales, and 258 were foreclosures that are Bank Owned. Of the 258 Foreclosure homes sold, about 68% were sold at list price or above. This is down from the high 80% to 92% at or above list price that that Bank Owned homes had been selling for in the last 6 months. This was contributed to the number of buyers decreasing and a lack of competitive bidding.

The past two months I am seeing potential home buyers waffling. Not very quick to pull the trigger. There fore, they are missing out on perpective homes because the cannot decide. Inventories have seemed to fall during the holidays. The rumors are that Banks are holding back 60% of the Foreclosed inventory.

The waffling can also be attributed to the economy still being in the pits. Osceola County is sporting 13.5% unemployment. With Capital Hill's agenda not really moving forward, I think the population is a little unsettled with what the future holds.

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The New Year 2010 has started - and how did it start in Celebration:

We barely had time to wish 2009 a farewell and to start thinking about 2010 as a wave of REO's (Bank owned properties) hit the MLS. All of a sudden, there were a few very low priced properties available to buy - without the hassle of the many Short Sales. A little Gold Rush started.

At every REO I showed since January, I had the pleasure of meeting my fellow Celebration and out of Celebration Realtors with their Clients showing the same properties. This of course showed the buyers, that time is of essence and many of the REO's had multiple offers within days.

So buyers, who would like to buy one of these homes, need to work very closely with their Realtors. The Realtor has to inform them the day the listing hits the market. They should look at the home the same day. They have to have the downpayment available to transfer immediately and if they are not cash buyers (which they should to really have a chance) a preapproval has to be in place. If the property appeals, the offer has to be written and presented immediately.

I just closed for a client on one REO without getting into a bidding war, by offering full price cash the day the listing agent dropped the price by another $100K.

Here the REO's that sold or went under contract in Celebration only in January 2010:

Of these 20 Homes, five went pending within 10 days! These were only REO's - there was a lot more selling going on in January! While I am writing this blog, we only have 219 properties for sale. That is only 5.4% of all Celebration properties. Is this still a buyers market?

So if you are ready to buy one of these Real Estate opportunities in Celebration, talk to your Realtor now! If you are not already working with a Realtor - talk to me!

See you soon!
Richard

Dipl.-Ing.
Richard A. Stephan
Licensed REALTOR®, e-PRO®, TRC
TonyDavidsHomes.com LLC
1420 Celebration Blvd. Suite 200
Celebration, Florida 34747 / USA
Mobile: +1 - 407 - 433 - 8702
Fax : +1 - 407 - 624 - 4855
My Website: www.RichardStephanRealtor.com
Office Website: http://TonyDavidsHomes.com
Mail To: blog@RichardStephanRealtor.com

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County located just 25 minutes outside of Orlando, Florida. It is most famous for being home to many hotels in the Central Florida area, most of which cater to tourists visiting the famous Walt Disney World. While Kissimmee does see a lot of year-round traffic from travelers, it is an extremely charming and lively city with much to offer to its residents.

Kissimmee, besides being the hotel haven for visiting tourists, also has many alternative attractions and entertainment options for locals and visitors alike. Notable places like Medieval Times, Capone's Dinner and Show and Old Town are fun for the whole family. In addition, there are activities such as airboat rides, mini-golf, and flea and farmers markets to enjoy every day. With so much to see and so in the city, it's no wonder people that move to Kissimmee stay there!

With a population of 61,000, Kissimmee is neither a large nor small. It is an ideal size in which to enjoy a leisurely Florida lifestyle. However, if you want to escape to the larger city life for a weekend or even just a day, cities like Orlando (which is just a short drive away), Tampa and Jacksonville are close by.

Residents of Kissimmee can enjoy recreational venues like the Osceola Center for the Performing Arts, where musicals and theater productions are put on each season, or the Osceola County Historical Society, where visitors can learn and view fascinating things about American history. There are also many beautiful nature preserves and lakes that many locals visit to relax, or go boating or fishing.

KISSIMMEE, FL MLS LISTINGS

• Location: Lake County, Florida.
• Property Type: Single Family Homes, Vacation homes, town homes, condominiums
• Amenities: Gated Communities, Vacation Communities, lakes, Theme parks
• Density: 61,000 Residents

To see all of The Kissimmee, Florida Bank Owned Homes For Sale you can visit Kissimmee Bank Owned Real Estate or visit our Bank Owned page and view all of the bank owned lisitngs by city or Community around the Central Florida area.