Sherry Armstrong Daytona Beach FL real estate

With foreclosures a large share of property sales in some areas, appraisers continue to factor in the sale price of foreclosed properties when setting values of regular properties. Appraisers are aware the practice isn’t ideal, but in some markets they’re left with little choice because of the large number of foreclosed properties.

Bill Geiger Jr., an appraiser in Cocoa Beach, Fla., told a local magazine that when he has to use a distressed property while doing an appraisal, he contacts the real estate practitioners involved in the sale and reviews computerized listings for the property to find out as much as he can about the condition of the home when it sold. He adjusts the appraisal value accordingly.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After declining for the first time since the end of World War II, Florida’s population grew once again last year, a hopeful yet tentative sign that the worst of the recession may have passed, according to the latest preliminary population estimates from the University of Florida (UF).

Stan Smith, director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, estimates that Florida added a modest 21,000 residents between 2009 and 2010, but that follows a population decline greater than 56,000 between 2008 and 2009.

“Even though the state turned it around, it still represents the smallest population increase since the 1940s and does not make up for last year’s loss,” Smith said. “Florida’s population growth continues to be very, very slow by historical standards.”

Florida grew by more than 125,000 residents in every year from 1950 to 2008. It’s estimated that Florida added 21,285 residents during the past year, with its total population increasing from 18,750,483 on April 1, 2009, to 18,771,768 on April 1, 2010, Smith says. The previous year it lost an estimated 56,736 residents.

“Two years ago, the economy was deteriorating rapidly, while over the past year there have been some signs that it is leveling off or even improving slightly,” he says. “I think that’s the reason we’re seeing a small increase in population. Although technically the recession has ended, the economy continues to be in bad shape, particularly in terms of its ability to create jobs. There have been some jobs added in the last few months, but unemployment is still very high and job growth is very weak.”

Slightly more counties lost rather than added population, but the split was fairly even. In percentage terms, both increases and decreases in counties’ populations were generally very small, with no dramatic changes.

“At the state level, foreign immigration continues to be relatively strong, and the state also continues to have substantially more births than deaths, which are really the drivers of Florida’s growth in the last year,” Smith says.

The largest population gains were in some of the biggest counties. Miami-Dade led by adding an estimated 8,253 residents, followed by Hillsborough, 6,353, and Broward, 5,834. “Because they’re the largest counties, they have fairly sizeable numbers of births,” Smith says. “They also receive a substantial number of foreign immigrants.”

The county with the biggest percentage increase was Lafayette, which grew by 5.2 percent, but that change was largely attributed to the addition of state prison inmates. There was no pattern to which counties lost population, which were spread throughout the state and include both large urban counties and small rural counties.

The largest population decline was in Seminole County, which lost 3,659 residents, followed by Pinellas, 3,119, and Volusia, 2,055. In percentage terms, the county with the biggest decline was Glades, followed by Jackson and Holmes.

With a quick economic turnaround unlikely at either the state or national level, Smith expects Florida’s population to continue to grow slowly during the next year or two. But within the next 10 to 20 years, the state’s annual population growth could be as high as 250,000.

“From 2003 to 2006, Florida’s population grew by more than 400,000 per year, and in the previous three decades increases averaged about 300,000 per year, although there were certainly ups and downs from year to year,” he says.

Last year’s population decline, a result of the economic slump, was the first since 1946, when military personnel left the state at the end of World War II.

“If the economy recovers sooner than people expect, we would expect faster growth,” Smith says. “If it recovers less rapidly or even slips back into recession, we would expect that growth will continue to be very slow and possibly even be negative again.”

Between 2000 and 2010, the counties that grew the most in absolute numbers were Miami-Dade, Orange and Hillsborough. Flagler had the highest growth rate, 90.4 percent, followed by Sumter, 82.6 percent, Osceola, 59.8 percent, St. Johns, 50.6 percent, and Wakulla, 41.7 percent.

The population figures are interim estimates that will be replaced by numbers from the 2010 census when they become available early next year.

Resource: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=246322 © 2010 Florida Realtors®

The Daytona Beach MSA showed a 35% rise in single family sales for the 1st quarter this year, compared to 2009. 2,607 homes sold, vs 1,924 last year. Median price was $122,500 vs $132,500 last year.

For condos, 536 units sold, vs 373 last year. Median price was $126,700 compared to $176,500 in 2009.

Statewide, as reported by the Florida Assn of Realtors, sales of existing single-family homes in rose 21% in second quarter 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier. A total of 51,564 existing homes sold statewide in 2Q 2010; during the same period in 2009, a total of 42,604 existing homes sold. It marks the eighth consecutive quarter that Florida has seen higher existing year-to-year home sales.

Statewide sales of existing condominiums in the second quarter rose 45% over 2009. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter for increased statewide sales in both the existing home and condo markets compared to year-ago levels.

Statewide sales activity in 2Q 2010 also increased over 1Q 2010's sales figure in both the existing home and existing condo markets. For 2Q 2010, statewide sales of existing homes rose 32.7% over the 1Q 2010 figure; statewide existing condo sales in 2Q 2010 increased 24.2% over the 1Q 2010 level.

These seem like common sense ideas, but the stress of shopping for a new home and finding something you know deep down is probably beyond what you can afford, can make the decision process very stressful. I can't emphasize enough that using a Realtor to help you through the process of buying a home in Daytona Beach will save you money and time. The buyer in Florida does not pay for the Realtor - so why should you not use a professional to represent your interests? If you commit to having a Buyer's Realtor on your side from the beginning, all of the decisions below will be much easier.

1. Looking without knowing what you can afford. Get preapproved, not prequalified. Have a good understanding with a reputable local lender about the payment you are comfortable with, and that the lender feels will be approved. Don't waste your time looking above your means. If you aren't sure, then make a budget - before you start looking.

2. Ignorance of your credit score. This goes along with #1 - know your credit score before you start looking. Down payment and credit score are the two major qualifiers for lenders today.

3. Not allowing for additional living expenses. When you make that budget with expenses for your new home, factor in everything you can think of which you may not have had before, like homeowner association fees, extra utility bills, and gas for commuting farther.

4. Not being flexible. No buyer, except perhaps the very wealthy, will get everything on her or his wish list. Know what is most important, and be ready to give on the items you can live without.

5. Not considering the future. This supports #4 - you may need to save before you can replace the tile or appliances, but if you keep other expenses in line, then you can look forward to upgrading your home in future years.

6. Don't buy the highest-priced home in the community. You want property which will appreciate and which you can upgrade, so you build the equity - not pay someone else for theirs.

7. Not hiring a home inspector. Second to using a Realtor, trying to scrimp on the home inspection process is by far the biggest mistake you can make. Find out before you buy what's wrong, not when you are the owner and faced with the bill.

8. Not considering your long-term goals. Do you want a family or a larger one? Will you need room for your parents to live with you or your kids to move back home? If these major decisions might be in the near future, look for a home which either can accommodate expansion or is already large enough. You can rent out the rooms in the interim, if needed.

9. Not considering the community. Here is another big plus for using a local Realtor. What are the future plans for the area you are considering? A major highway or shopping center? Any new schools or parks? Possible zoning changes? Strength of the condo association?

10. Not using a Realtor. Enough said above.

Call or email me with your questions about buying a home in our Daytona Beach area. You will have to make a lot of decisions, and learn as much as you can about the Daytona or Ormond Beach community you choose.

RealtyTrac, the nation's foremost statistical keeper of foreclosure data, released its Midyear 2010 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, which shows 154 of the 206 U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity even while foreclosure activity decreased in nine of the 10 metros with the highest foreclosure rates.

Four states-Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona-accounted for all top 20 metro foreclosure rates. Florida led the way, with nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, followed by California with eight, Nevada with two and Arizona with one.

James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said, "The fragile stability achieved in many local housing markets hinges on improvements in the underlying economy, specifically job growth. If unemployment remains persistently high and foreclosure prevention efforts only delay the inevitable, then we could continue to see increased foreclosure activity and a corresponding weakness in home prices in many metro areas."

Why do I blog about bad news?  Because it is a Buyer's Market here in Ormond and Daytona Beach.  Investors are finally catching on to the great bargains available in waterfront homes.  Use the RealBird widget below to check out home prices on the water - change to "canalfront" or "golf" or "condo" if you want.  You'll see great prices for all of our inventory!