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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bozwood who wrote (14203)	10/7/2003 3:16:48 PM
From: Don Green	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

bozwood here is an article I posted here a few weeks ago, about Florida RE.. Existing-home prices through roof on Treasure Coast Homes went up $12,000 in one month By Robin Pollack staff writer September 26, 2003 Buyers of previously owned homes along the Treasure Coast last month shelled out a lot more cash — almost $12,000 — than during July in a trend that industry experts predict will persist as the demand for housing continues to soar. In August, the median existing-home price in Martin and St. Lucie counties was $158,700, compared with $147,000 the previous month, according to figures released Thursday by the Florida Association of Realtors. In addition, August's median price — the typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less — was about $27,000 more than the $131,900 that buyers paid in August 2002. That's a 20 percent increase. "I've been selling for 18 years, and I've never seen increases like that in such a short time," said Judy Burkhardt, a broker with Acclaim Real Estate in Palm City and president of the Realtors Association of Martin County. Chalk it up to supply and demand. "A lack of supply in Palm Beach County and Broward County is driving more homebuyers to the Treasure Coast," said Brad Hunter, director of American Metrostudy, a real estate research firm in Boca Raton. Bob Lowe, president of the St. Lucie County Association of Realtors, said prices also keep rising because interest rates remain low. According to Freddie Mac, the national average rate for a 30-year, conventional fixed-rate mortgage was 6.26 percent in August, up from 5.63 percent in July; it was 6.29 percent in August 2002. "People are able to buy a lot more expensive houses, without paying a lot more in their monthly mortgage," said Lowe, owner of Lowe's International Realty on Hutchinson Island. Home prices in St. Lucie County also will continue to increase, he predicted, because of a move to increase impact fees, which are tacked onto the cost of a new home to help pay for services needed to accommodate a growing population. "And, when new home prices go up, guess what prices for used homes are going to do? They're also going to go up," said Lowe. The number of existing homes sold along the Treasure Coast increased nominally in August — to 582 from 569 in July, statistics show. However, August's sales reflect a 17 percent jump from the 496 existing homes sold during August 2002. It was a similar scenario across the country. Existing-home sales rose 5.5 percent in August, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.47 million units from 6.13 million units in July. On a year-to-year basis, though, August's sales were a whopping 21.8 percent above the 5.31 million units sold during August 2002, according to figures released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. The national median existing-home price was $177,500 in August, up 9.8 percent from August 2002, when the median price was $161,700.

To: bozwood who wrote (14203)	10/7/2003 9:44:41 PM
From: Bill/WA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Bozwood, the article that Don posted is exactly what I've been hearing from my friends and relatives in FL. I left FL for good 8 yrs ago to get away from the craziness down there. 4 yrs before that I moved up the coast to Indian River County (the Treasure Coast) to get away from the insanity in Palm Beach County. I was lucky to experience the best of the FL coast by growing up there in the late '40's through the '70's. After that it started to deteriorate. JMO. Is the property overvalued? I've been out of touch for a few years now however, for the quality of life that I prefer, it was overvalued long before I left the state. Waterfront (freshwater or saltwater) is "el primo". We used to kid around and say, "If you wanted cheap FL waterfront, go out you back door and take a leak."<G>