For Sale By Owner

In North America, a new trend is observed amongst retired people. It is seen that several retired people in the county are settling abroad due to which real estate properties in countries such as Panama, are in huge demand. Speaking about Panama it is seen that real estate market in the country is in a boom. Several housing units comprising of are being constructed in Panama. In fact, during the third week of July 2007, 380 tower projects were under way or announced, thus representing more than 40,000 condos and apartments.

It is observed that several American have shown interest in these properties. Thus the question remains why retired American’s got attracted towards Panama. There are various reasons for this. First of all these properties were sold at a considerably cheaper rate. In fact builder Roger Khafif says that the basis of Panama’s real estate boom was by targeting buyers. Several properties in the country were made available at a lower price. Moreover good climatic condition, common local currency, and less expensive health care as compared to North America attracted several retired people to Panama.

However, the real estate boom in Panama seems to be affected due to rising prices. In order to attract buyers, properties especially condos were sold at a much cheaper rate. However, a builder needs to sell condos during the construction phase at prices high enough to cover inflation in materials and other construction costs. The rising prices of cement, glass, bricks, steel etc has eventually led to an increase in the price of condos. In fact, condos are selling at a much higher value that single family homes. In fact the a luxury condo which was sold at $ 120 per square foot a couple of years ago is now sold at around $250-$300 per square foot.

The mounting prices of condos in Panama will not only lead to a decline in demand for properties by retired Americans but will also led to a significant loss on the part of those who have invested huge sum of money in the construction of these properties.

The US housing market is in turmoil. Risky loans, rampant buildings, increasing prices along with several other factors have changed the scenario in the housing market. The housing market is the county is facing a downfall. Evaluating reasons for this trend, a report by Harvard University‘s Joint Center for Housing Studies revealed an over supply of new homes, a significant rise in risky loans, and the false belief of several speculative home-buyers regarding price appreciation were primarily responsible for the downfall in the housing market

This trend of slow down in the housing market has been witnessed in several parts of the county. However, in Lafayette the picture seems to be different. Here the economy is booming, and housing prices and sales are high. However, experts are of the opinion that in near future Lafayette is surely to get affected by the wave of downfall in the housing market

There are several indications that the housing market in Lafayette is experiencing a decline in its demand. According to Realtor Association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Service, during the second quarter of 2007, the number of home sale declined by one percent as compared to the same time period last year, there by indicating a decline in its demand. The decline in its demand could also be due to rising housing prices in Lafayette. This is revealed from the fact that the median sale price for an existing home showed an increase of 8.5% in June 2007 as compared to June 2006, while the newly constructed home showed an increase of around 3%.

In this context experts are of the opinion that a rise in home prices will surely affect the ratio of homes coming on the market to homes sold each year, as several households will no longer be able to purchase a home. In this respect the National Association of Home Builders conducted a study in 357 metro areas including Lafayette, where rising home prices is a problem. The results showed that in context of Lafayette, a $7,600 increase in the median sale prices could result in 2,180 households not being able to afford homes.

The report from California Association of Realtors on Wednesday was that in the Central Valley prices and sale of property was low. The number of sales went down by more than a third (34.3%) in comparison to June last year. The price also slipped down 9.1%. It was a crash to $329,960 from $362.960 within a year. California seems to have the dubious distinction of improving upon the national disaster figure of a drop of 24.7%. The consolation was that the average prices of houses rose by 3.2% because of an upswing in the coastal regions of the Bay Area, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles.

Real estate agent Mike Collins of Collins Realty Inc thinks that the closure of housing has reached its nadir. The logic is that what goes down must come down. Slowly inquiries and number of sales are picking up. Association officials however opine that a miracle cannot happen overnight.

The vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton Young says in the market there is just about a 10-month stock of houses up for sale. In June 2007 it took about 51.7 days to sell a single-family unit but during the same time in the previous year it took 45.3 days. The situation will improve further with prices melting down further. She explained that this situation is not the same as that during the first half of 1990. At that point the sales decline was triggered by weak economic climate. But at the present the economy is upbeat both in California and in the national level. It is the news mongering about rising foreclosures, defaults, shaky prime-loans, affordability and costly credit that is causing the damage.

In San Joaquin County foreclosure figures tripled compared to last year. Default notices were the highest in ten years. Actual foreclosures took a twelve-time leap to 785. According to figures released by DataQuick the average housing prices fell by 12% to $390,000in San Joaquin County. Lodi was the worst hit – down by 15.5% since June last year with prices sinking to $320,000 in June 2007.

Association President Colleen Badagliacco says that in the present climate potential buyers have taken a wait and watch attitude. On the other hand this is having a negative effect on first time buyers who are facing difficulties in meeting the required standards for availing of loans.

Real estate figures do not give the total picture – often it is patchy. In some locations the property weather is hot while in others it is cool. Pinpointing the borderline is no easy task. Who are the sparring? Is it single-family units versus apartments, rented homes against condominiums and cooperatives? Sometimes the war is between two regions like the Southeast against the Midwest. The answer is not that simple. It is not even a contest between cities and suburbs. The key to the issue is location. To find the answer – locate the location.

Trying to find some sort of guideline it may be generalized that the real estate climate is cool all along both the coastlines – from Long Island New York to Florida in the east and California and Las Vegas in the west. Here the shivering can be noticed in the single-family as well apartment units. In Florida the situation is typical and obvious. The market is fairly balanced in the heartland as well as in the traditional industrial zones of Detroit, Syracuse and Binghamton. Since there never was a bubble the question of the burst does not arise.

It is the price that determines the dividing line between the hot and cold markets. The high priced properties are on the fast move everywhere in the country – both in cities and suburbs. For instance a house in Manhattan has reached an all time peak, condos are going for $1.5 million and 4 bed-roomed apartments for $10 million in the second quarter of 2007.

It is Wall Street that is holding up the Manhattan market. Hedge fund managers, investors, bankers and those who are parked on this dreamland lined with dollars can afford to keep the prices floating high. Foreigners are cashing in on the falling dollar and pouring it into the New York real estate field with twin objectives – residence and investment. Parents of students studying here in the prestigious universities are keen to go for an ownership unit rather than pay high rent. It serves the double purpose of residence cum investment as later on it can be sold with a higher equity. Consequently the demand is so high that there is tug of war over parking lots. The right one in the right location might have a price tag of $250,000 – the amount paid for an entire house in another location!

In recent years the city of Orlando in Florida has become one of the popular places for foreign investment. The city’s real estate has become popular amongst foreign investors. Report shows that up to June 2007, around $120 million were invested in the Orlando’s real estate. This amount is way to high compared to $54 million during the same period in 2006. Since the past couple of years the city has been one amongst the largest U.S. market for foreign investors. According to reports from New York based Real Capital Analytics during the year 2004, the city of Orlando ranked 15^th in the list of largest US market amongst foreign investors, while up to June 2007, the city ranked 19^th in the list.

Till recently foreign investors used to invest heavily in real estate properties in cities of the West Coast, New York, and Chicago etc. However, in recent times, cities such as Orlando have attracted attention of several foreign investors. Foreign investors are buying various properties ranging from student housing to downtown office space in the city of Orlando. In this respect the major foreign investors in Orlando for the current year who have invested million of dollars consists of companies such as Kapital Consult; a German based company, Investcorp; a Bahrain and London based company etc.

Commenting on the increasing popularity of the city amongst foreign investors Dan Fasulo, Real Capital’s managing director said that since the city is known for its Disney Land foreign investors have got attracted towards it. Moreover diversified ranges of properties are available in areas of Central Florida, which in turn attracts the foreign investors. According to Jeff Sweeney, president of the Orlando office of Grubb and Ellis/Commercial Florida, the rising exchange rate has further boosted foreign investments in various areas of the county. Adding further Sweeney said that many of Orlando’s properties that are bought by overseas investors are in fact such properties, which were owned by American company. Foreign investors have bought these American companies that owned these properties in Orlando, as a result of which; the properties have ended up in foreign hands.

While the real estate home prices are witnessing a downfall in almost all areas of the country, the state of Connecticut seems to have been the least affected due to this. The state’s positive outlook gets reflected from the rising median sales price for single-family homes and condos. The median sale price of single family homes increased from $275,000 last year to $ 288,000 for the current year, while those of condos showed an increase of 3.2% in 2007, compared to last year.

Various counties in the state such as Fairfield, New London, etc have shown a significant rise in particularly in its median sale prices for single-family homes. While the Fairfield County showed a 10 % increase in its median sale, in New London, the median price for single-family showed an increase of around 5%, which increased from $ 252,000 in the year 2006 to 264,500 in May 2007. Within the New London County, there were several towns, which also showed a positive trend in their median sale price for single-family homes. Towns such as Waterford and Ledyard Old Lyme showed a significant jump in their sale prices. In fact the state of Old Lyme showed an 18% increase in its median home prices during the current year.

The situation of rising real estate home prices in Connecticut is completely contradictory to what is seen in its near by states such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts who are witnessing a significant decline in their real estate prices. Commenting on this trend, Terry Egan, editor in chief of publications at The Warren Group, publisher of Connecticut‘s weekly business newspaper, The Commercial Record, said that the law of demand and supply seems to put an upward pressure on home prices as against the downward pressure on prices which is being experienced by several neighboring areas.

He however, also warned that the situation in the state may not remain the same for long and the future can be dicey. The rising interest rates and comparatively low number of qualified borrowers is likely to lower down home sales in the state of Connecticut.

Want to see the real bucks pouring into your pocket from real estate investment? You should be wise and assertive before selecting the right choice.

Real estate investment can be made directly by you through buying the right property at the right place and at the right time. For this you should be shrewd enough to foresee, calculate and act fast.  The data to be collected are so many and mind boggling.  This is hurdle no.1.The second obstacle is even if you buy a beautiful property in a prime location and at a price competitively low, if you want to earn and pay back the mortgage loan (if you had taken one) or derive the appropriate interest on your principal, you should have a honest tenant paying you every month without default.  The third one is maintaining the property well and at proper intervals for a reasonable re-sale value.  The fourth one is taking repossession of the property, of course by evicting the tenant, by undergoing the procedural wrangles and realizing your investment safely back by foreclosure in the event of default.

If you are capable enough of crossing all the factual hurdles described above, then investing in a condo or triplex apartment and seeing your mortgage paid by the tenant regularly, sitting back at your home, is very lucrative proposition for you. Over the years you can be richer by sizeable return through value appreciation of the property.

For those who don’t want to indulge in these risky exercises, there is the ideal option of putting your money into real estate mutual funds or exchange-traded funds on long term basis. While you simply watch from outside, your money is spread across multiple properties, regions and even currencies by expert guidance on the field, on your behalf.  For your information these funds are being handled deftly by people in the know – where, how and when to invest in real estate – with the responsibility of answering their investors hanging over their neck.

Financial experts view a well balanced and diversified portfolio management in real estate business is sure to produce results to the merriment of every one, when compared to that of stocks and bonds. There are a number of such well managed funds available, who are expanding their activities even outside the nation, to show growth and acceptable and assured returns to the investors with tax benefits.  As is prevalent in other fields there is risk in making investments in these funds also, like fall in real estate prices and implication of weak economy etc. but they are comparatively affordable. After making a prudent investment in the best of such mutual funds, all you have to do is sit back and receive fund distribution checks.

The new homes listed in MLS or Multiple Listing Service is showing a fall in their median prices. After December 2004, the lowest median price recorded was, in June in the current year. $329,825 was the recorded price whereas in December it was $324,900. This shows that the homeowners of Las Vegas are keen to cut the prices of their property in order to sell it fast.

The median price has dropped by 5.5 percent in the last five months! In spite of the obstinate behavior of some homeowners to lower the prices of the homes owned by them, the fall in the prices of the homes have been inevitable.

Survey carried out on luxury homes report that the homeowners of luxury homes still are optimistic about the market in spite of the decline in the market prices.

56 percent of those who have homes valuing over 1 million dollars expect that the worth of their homes will boost to some amount which according to them should be around 10 percent during the next 12 months. Survey says that women were more optimistic than men.

40 percent of them are planning to buy a home in the coming year for their secondary use, 38 percent are looking forward for an investment in real estate and the rest 22 percent plan to acquire a retirement property.

In some other news, there are reports saying that a joint venture between a company in Philadelphia and a company in Las Vegas, which is aimed to provide construction management services, construction and preconstruction for projects, have been publicized.

At Cheyenne Avenue in North Las Vegas, a retail store of around 4.43 acres has been sold for $16.5 million.

A land loan of $2.75 million has been bargained for the acquirement of 7.5 acres of land in the south west corner of Las Vegas where a 90-unit condominium project is believed to be developed.

Redfin Corporation, real estate online broker, announced that it had closed a $12 million series C financing led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The goal is to use the financing to keep up its programme of national expansion and highlight its own website.

The company has opened its real estate e-commerce facilities for Washington DC and Baltimore regions. The result has been an addition of about 50,000 to its property list. The latter inaugurated its East Coast headquarter at Falls Church in Virginia. Catherine Jardine will conduct the operations of the local real estate business.

It will interest the residents of Columbia, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George Counties in Maryland that the company has now extended their services to these areas also. It also covers its operations to Arlington, Fairfam Loudoun, Manassas, Prince William and Stafford Counties as well as the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia.

The strategy of Redfin is unique. It includes maps, listings, tax particulars and analytical reports being made available to customers. By using Redfin.com they can earn a refund from most of the commissions, which so far was pocketed by the broker. The clients would be helped out in the oceans of paperwork, presentation of offers, negotiation hassles and the final chapters of the deal.

The clients of particular districts can now trade in MLS listed properties at the click of the mouse. Information is gathered via the web and then the nitty-gritty can be worked out with the local Redfin agent as regards price, agreements and escrow.

The incentive is that buyers availing of Redfin get two thirds of the commission that is refunded at the time of closure. For a property worth $500 thousand the usual 3% commission is due to the agent of the buyer. The refund figure would be $10,000. In the case of a house priced at $1 million the calculated refund would be $20,000. The sellers pay a flat fee of $3,000, which leads to a neat savings of $12,000 over the usual commission of the agent of 3% on a house worth $500,000. Moreover each prospective buyer is given free afternoon web-tour of sites. Unlike any other, Redfin pays its agents extra bonus that is calculated on the satisfaction of the customer and not commissions. It offers the customer 100% satisfaction and refund of all commissions and fees if the customer is not happy.

If you are planning to sell your home yourself, Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants is here for your rescue.

Before the advent of the internet, listings in Multiple Listing Service or MLS were the only option to the homeowners to reach out to the competent buyers. However, the introduction of internet reinforced the MLS system by opening it to consumers and not just to the licensed members across Canada.

Initially, homeowners who wanted to sell their homes considered the route of FSBO or Free Sale by Owner route, private sales or Flat Fee MLS listings to be apt but Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants’ online marketing support has given a new definition to selling homes personally.

Lorraine Brownrigg who even owns the company founded Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants. The company’s base is in Ottawa.

The best part about Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants is that the homeowners can sell their property devoid of giving high real estate commissions.

The cost has even not increased for several years due to a number of cost effective measures enforced by the company.

The consumers do not even need to go round and round the public offices, because the entire business consigns in the home of the client.

The marketing manual endowed by the organization looks forward to all the queries and apprehension of the consumers. You can even avail all the information on the site 24×7, according to your convenience.

The real estate commission to enlist in Ottawa listings is 5% along with the additional 2.5% of the seller agent and the buyer agent each. There is a dissimilar marketing price for everybody but with the Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants, there are no such costs involved.

All you need to do to begin the process with Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants is register online. All the relevant information of the marketing service packages is available on the website itself.

The only difference while working with the Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants is that, the sellers have to prepare an online write up of their homes they want to sell.

Receiving more than 200,000 hits monthly, the Grape vine site has about a 68 percent success rate servicing over 1300 home marketing clients as compared to the 1,651 homes sold by the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

Does not it make sense to you to sell your home with the help of Grapevine Home Marketing Consultants is less tedious and expensive than any other measure?