naples

Pent Up Housing Demand in Pictures

one other note: i sold florida waterfront in Jan 2006. listed november 2005. the comments i got from neighbors:

"you will be sorry for selling"
"you can get 10% higher"

30 showings and 2 bids -- contract Jan. first buyer couldn't close as underwriters began to tighten stds. another contract in mar with second buyer but i had to pay have the title insurance. closed april.

now lists are 30% lower than where i sold. i sold at 2.5x market rent (the person who bought is paying 2.5x what she could have rented the place)

keep in mind the environment, lenders are not lending for condos that are not heavily owner occupied. they want higher equity now too. insurance and taxes are higher. this all means DON'T expect prices to run away. its got a ways to go before it approaches market rent.

Pent Up Housing Demand in Pictures

for the poster who is interested in FL waterfront condo. i am also in the mkt but how you buy is really base on market rent. the cost of owning (interest cost like mtg rate on entire purchase price even if you pay cash+ property tax+HOA+others) must be lower than mkt rent. right now FL has a ways to go. this goes for any property in FL or elsewhere. if they had use this as the underwriting criteria then there would not be any mess at all

as for the prior poster about line of thought naples, its the same old thought in FL across the board. speak no evil hear no evil but certainly keep up the line that there is demand out there and try to con your neighbors into NOT lowing the list price. dont fall for it.

hallandale beach fl oceanfront 800 sq ft sold 350K in 2005 under contract at 200K now

clearwater beach fl 1400 sq ft waterfront condo list 289K foreclosure now offered $210K ...no bidder except for me at 153K ( and i think i overbid by 30K)

use mkt rent to set your purchase price

Mortgage Bailout: Good For Investor Psychology, Not Much Else

the govt does not care about the homeowners. they care about the financial system. the plan is an attempt to smooth out the BKs over time so that the financial system can deal with the "throw up over several sittings." the home purchase prices of alot of homeowners are vastly overvalued and as such they cannot refinance or sell their homes.

now how hard is it to prevent this problem from recurring? MAYBE lenders and appraisers should be required to calculate owner's cost per month (not the mtg payment) and compare this to average market rent for that home/condo. if the buyer wants to pay more, then the buyer must come up with the additional equity. didnt market comparables stoke the tech bubble as well (hey $500 AMZN is reasonable when EBAY was at....). once again, we failed to educate people on "common sense finance." in this case, why own when you can rent cheaper? by 2009-2010, it will be ONCE AGAIN cheaper to own then to rent!