Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s economics team declared that housing prices have hit bottom earlier than they expected.Today, Michelle Meyer—a senior economist and housing specialist for the team—told Bloomberg TV that while it’s “a big call for the timing, it’s not a big call for the trajectory.”

“We do think that home prices are in the process of bottoming right now, but we do think that it’s going to be a very bumpy bottoming—one that lasts through the end of next year, and then you start to see home prices turn higher in 2014.”

Ocala’s Market shows 62% of the sales are under $100,000 still with 25% of them Under $50,000.
What I am seeing is the foreclosures are coming onthe market slowly but surely. All the foreclosure banks have done 4 appraisals on the property and know the value. They put the home on the market under market value and expect multiple offers.
Short sales are still out there. They are coming onthemarket and quickly getting offers. I listed one Friday and had an offer Saturday for example. You can get some great deals on short sales. They do take time 2-3 month minimum.
Fha has changed their rules again and making it harder to get a loan. I have a great lender that has many other programs available. You can got to www.startmyloannow.com to start the approval process. Fill out the questionaire and Rick Durham will give you a call back.
As always if you have any questions regarding real estate, foreclosures, short sales, market updates, anything call Rhonda 352-266-2637 , Buckner Homes Realty 3200 se 20 Ave, Ocala, Fl 34471

“One of the most overlooked statistical trends in all of real estate is the growth in home sales, both single-family and condo, in the state of Florida,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “We’ve seen an upward trend in sales since January 2011, and September’s sales were a full 10 percent above September 2010. Even prices, which have been static over the past few months, are well above where they were in January 2011.

“One of the reasons for this is stabilization in the distressed property market. This is not a problem that’s going away, but there’s a degree of certainty that is helping the market.”

The statewide median sales price for existing homes last month was $133,900; a year ago, it was $135,000 for only a 1 percent decrease.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in August 2011 was $168,400, down 5.4 percent from a year ago, according to NAR.

“Historically low mortgage rates and stabilizing home prices all across Florida’s local housing markets continue to attract potential buyers – housing affordability conditions are very favorable right now,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “However, financially qualified buyers are still being denied home loans because of overly restrictive lending requirements, and that’s a significant obstacle to the housing recovery.”

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.11 percent in September, down from the 4.35 percent average during the same month a year earlier. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

Interested in a distressed home? Call Rhonda Buckner at 352-266-2637, a certified short sales specialist. She can walk you through the process with expert knowledge.

[1]The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the October edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard—a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest housing data offer continued mixed signals as new home sales rose compared to August, but were still slightly down from the prior year. Mortgage defaults and foreclosure sales continued a downward trend as more homeowners were able to secure mortgage relief. However, foreclosure completions ticked slightly upward in September after months of decline.

The October Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:

• The Administration’s recovery efforts continue to help millions of families deal with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. More than 5.3 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of September 2011 – including more than 1.7 million HAMP trial modification starts, more than 1,064,000 FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, and more than 2.5 million proprietary modifications under HOPE Now. Many of these modifications are a direct result of the standards and processes the Administration’s programs have established. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, the total number of agreements offered continues to more than double the number of foreclosure completions for the same period (2.3 million). More than 850,000 homeowners have received a HAMP permanent modification to date, with a median payment reduction of over $520 each month.
The full report is available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard [2].

Need information on short sales? Rhonda Buckner is a Certified Short Sales Specialist. If you are considering a short sale, please give Rhonda Buckner a call at 352-266-2637, she has expert knowledge on short sales and it would certainly be worth a call.

Distressed properties are accounting for 30 percent of existing home sales. Banks are looking at offering more incentives to short sales since their losses tend to be far less than a foreclosure. For example, foreclosure properties tend to sell for 40 percent below non-comparable non-distressed properties while short sales tend to sell for 20 percent less.

In the “Cash for Keys” program, homeowners who are facing foreclosure are typically offered $500 to $2,500 if they agree to move out within 30 days (and leave the place clean, too). The program frees
homeowners from their obligations while getting a little extra money for moving expenses and avoiding a ruined credit profile from a foreclosure.
The “Cash for Keys” program is expected to become more mainstream for handling short sales too, not just foreclosures.
Source: “Real Estate Agents Learning Fine Art of ‘Cash for Keys,’” MSNBC.com (Oct. 21, 2011)

Rhonda Buckner is a certified short sale specialist and has expert knowledge that helps handle distressed property – to aid buyers and sellers through the short sale and foreclosure process. For more information on this please give Rhonda a call at 352-266-2637.