Port Orange, FL

I'm a few days early to be starting the first quarter real estate reports for Volusia County for 2009, but due to the improving market in most Volusia County cities, I wanted to go ahead and get started with the Port Orange real estate statistics. Being that a large portion of my real estate sales are listed and sold in Port Orange, I decided to start there, for my 1st Quarter Listings and Sales Review for 2009. And I've tried a different method of calculating the data this time. The first chart provides greater detail, and a better overview of the Port Orange real estate market.

This report is for single family houses in Port Orange, in order for interested Port Orange real estate buyers and sellers to get a true picture of this market.

The upper chart shows the details of the first quarter of 2009. (A few days short) And if you're a more visual person, I've created a pie chart which you can view below.

Compared to last years' statistics, the overall Volusia County real estate market is improving.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Port Orange, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®. Lisa Hill is a Daytona Beach native, and Port Orange home owner with experience selling all types of real estate, in ever city in Volusia County.

Real Estate Buyers, find helpful information here.

Real Estate Sellers, find helpful information here.

View video tours of Port Orange and Daytona Beach real estate here.

The Villages of Royal Palm, located in Port Orange was developed by Winston-James Development. It is not age restricted, however the maintenance-free lifestyle community is targeted towards the 55+ age group. This community features a very nice 12,000 square foot clubhouse with large banquet and social hall, Fitness center, billiard room, & meeting rooms, Full-time activities director on staff, 2 swimming pools (1 is heated) with spacious sun decks and a heated Jacuzzi, 2 tennis courts, a Putting green, horseshoes, shuffleboard, and Bocce. The clubhouse does not have a bar or restaurant, the location of the community off of Williamson Blvd is close to shopping and dinning.
There are several builder inventory homes ranging in price from $159,900 to $350,000, however the first thing they said when we walked in was "don't be afraid to make an offer".
The community has villas and single family homes, all of which are concrete block construction. The smallest homes are the 2 bedroom 2 bath villas with a 1 car garage. The largest home is the 2680 sq ft, 5 bedroom 3 bath, 2 story single family home with a 2 car garage.
The monthly maintenance fee is $288 for the villas and $318 for the single family homes. The fee includes complete lawn and shrubs maintenance, annual pressure washing of the homes, repainting the homes every 5 years, and 99 channel expanded cable TV, as well as the clubhouse, pools and tennis courts.
Right now there is a 2 bedroom villa listing on the MLS as bank owned for $55,100. I don't really believe the bank will take that little, but I think you would be able to get a great deal on this unit. There are over 20 homes on the MLS most of which are lower priced than the builder.
If you would like more information on any of these homes please contact me at 386 760 7607 or email me at Bill@SellDaytona.com.
Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/

The latest housing data indicate home prices may be stabilizing, although butterflies over the economy could keep many potential homebuyers on the sidelines.

By MarketWatch

Home prices are closer to stabilizing today than at any time in the past nine years.

Based on the latest data, median selling prices for new and existing homes combined now equal 2.9 times median household incomes, nationwide. This is exactly the ratio that prevailed during the halcyon days of the 1980s, when sales and construction of housing were booming.

Three years ago, just before the housing bubble burst, this ratio was 4.5 times incomes.

Add in the fact that interest rates are much lower today than they were two decades ago and housing is even more affordable.

True, obtaining a home mortgage is tougher these days than it was in the 1980s. But I would bet that those borrowers who are willing to conform to the standards of the 1980s would not find it much harder to secure a mortgage loan today than they did back then.

What's your home worth?

For those of you who may be too young to remember, these standards included a down payment of 20% to 25%, several years' income-tax returns to document the household's income and, of course, a realistic appraisal of the home's worth.

By the way, the median income I use in calculating this ratio is last year's income. In other words, I am taking into account that we are in a severe recession and am assuming no growth in median income this year.

I am doing this even though median incomes have risen every year since 1970 - including the severe recession year of 1982. This should assuage the concerns of those who think I am being overly optimistic.

Good news from housing market

I am also aware that supply and demand are still out of balance. At current selling rates, inventories of unsold homes are still about twice as high as normal. And foreclosures may yet bring more homes onto the market, thus depressing prices even further.

However, the government's Homeowner Affordability & Stability Plan should help somewhat by lowering interest rates even further and by making conventional mortgage loans more available. This, along with the realization that many homes are now anywhere from 25% to 50% below their peaks, should get some buyers off the sidelines.

However, the number of prospective homebuyers will be limited by the concerns that people have over the state of the economy, their finances and their jobs.

That being the case, supply will continue to exceed demand and prices will continue to drop - unless Washington does one more thing: create and capitalize an agency that will offer to buy any home for sale at a price averaging no more than 2.9 times median income in each market. (Obviously, mansions will sell for more; cottages for less.)

As I first recommended a year ago and reiterated last December, this agency (call it the Home Owners Loan Corporation) would not have to actually purchase many houses; just offering to buy would set a floor under prices. Those homes that it did purchase could be rented until the market improved, and then sold for a profit.

By Irwin Kellner of MarketWatch. Kellner is chief economist for MarketWatch, and is Distinguished Scholar of Economics at Dowling College in Oakdale, N.Y.

There's been so much confusion about the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit so I thought I would copy the material I found on REALTOR.org to add some clerfication as to what the most modification means to First Time Home Buyers.

The homebuyer tax credit is one of 10 key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama into law on Feb. 17, 2009.

The bill provides for a $8,000 tax credit that would be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment. Most of the mechanics of the credit will be the same as under the 2008 rules: the credit will be claimed on a tax return to reduce the purchaser's income tax liability. If any credit amount remains unused, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser.

First-Time Home Tax Credit Explaination (PDF) (Can right click and click 'save target as' to save to your computer)

Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) (Can right click and click 'save target as' to save to your computer)

Download the IRS First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Form 5405 (PDF) (Can right click and click 'save target as' to save to your computer)

Yesterday I posted a blog about my new listing for sale in Port Orange FL. This is a brand new listing for me. But it's not the first time I've blogged about this house, or the owner. I originally met this seller back in September of 2008 when he asked me to do a Market Analysis (CMA) on his house. You see, this house is so unique that it's hard to determine an asking price So I posted a blog titled "How Would You Sell This House?". And because of some fantastic changes that had been made to this house when it was built (that were not completely in-line with the Codes for Port Orange and his neighborhood), he was not allowing his then-current REALTOR®, or any REALTOR® who got the listing, to advertise the very features that made the house worth his asking price. In that blog, many of you posted your suggestions on how you would market, and sell this house. Due to the non-conforming changes, we thought in circles without ever really reaching any definitive answers.

After posting that blog, as the home owner read all of our answers and suggestions, he decided not to give me the listing just yet. He decided to reduce his price, and leave it with his then-current listing agent. << I blogged about that too! I wish there were more real estate sellers like that! You see, this seller wasn't unhappy with his current listing agent. He just wanted to sell his house. And since he decided the best course of action was to just reduce his asking price, he really had no reason to move his listing to another brokerage at that time. (All sellers should take a lesson from this one... unless you have specific reason to believe your real estate agent is not properly marketing your real estate listing.)

And now I'll jump forward in time. This week I listed this house, and blogged about it yesterday. It turns out, that after he extended his listing with his previous REALTOR®, that REALTOR® dropped the ball and didn't call him at all for several months. So now I have the opportunity to market and sell this fantastic listing! But I wanted to remind you all about the previous blogs regarding this house. Because since last September, the seller made a few changes that were minor, but brought his house into conformity with Port Orange codes, but at the same time, maintained the integrity of the unique features that made his house worth every penny of his asking price.

So at this time, this fantastic house still has a full in-law suite/guest area that is more like an apartment, including a separate 220 line, but the 220 outlet has been capped, and the separate service panel now has a couple of dummy switches installed. So all the wiring for the extra 220 line is still in place, but not connected.

One thing I didn't know before, was that the garage wall that separates the 3rd car garage bay from the 1st and 2nd garage bays, has a door framed out in the wall. But it has been covered over with drywall. So if a buyer would like to have in-garage access to the 3rd bay, it's a simple fix to just cut along the lines, and install a new door.

So if you're a REALTOR® with a potential buyer for this unique Port Orange home, then don't hesitate! Call me today, to schedule your appointment. And if you're a buyer for a spectacular house of this nature, you too should call me right away. Because I intend to market this listing to the fullest extent possible, in order to help the seller find a buyer as quicly as possible.

View information and photos of this unique Port Orange house. <<