Category: Retirement Real Estate
It's been a rough couple of days in the retirement real estate market. Fortunately, not all the news was bad, depending on your perspective. Here are few news stories crossing our desk:
- Prices are falling in many active adult communities, which is stimulating sales to at least some degree. According to a report in the Press-Enterprise, Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, a real estate research firm, prices in Del Webb's Solera Diamond Valley recently ranged from $170,000 to $291,000. Back in January 2008, similar houses were priced from $246,000 to well over $300,000.
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Published on October 12, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
August home starts were positive. Unfortunately sales of existing homes including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops declined 2.7 percent in August, breaking a four month streak of increases. That led to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.10 million units in August from a pace of 5.24 million in July.
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Published on September 24, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
The Commerce Department released August construction numbers last week to the great joy of economists and builders. Overall, construction of new homes and apartments increased 1.5%. Advanced construction permits also increased (2.7%). Construction levels are now almost 25% ahead of where they were in April. The good news in construction…
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Published on September 21, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
Some say it's a good thing: declining real estate prices are an indication that demand and supply are finally catching up with one another. Fueled by foreclosures and distress sales, at least homes are selling - even if prices aren't what sellers would like to see. Year over year price declines slowed in the 2nd quarter of 2009 - the first quarterly improvement since the current slump began. Even better, economists are pumping fists and high-fiving over the month to month price increases that showed up in many markets during July.
The Zillow Real Estate Market Report for the 2nd quarter of 2009 was just released, and it shows a 12.1% decline in prices from the comparable quarter of 2008. Predictably, the worst hit metros were those who showed the biggest price run- ups and overbuilding in 2005-2006. Florida (-23%) and California (-19%) were hit the hardest hit. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, only experienced a 3.8% decline in prices. As an example of the worst markets Fort Myers (FL) took a 29% haircut in prices, El Centro (CA) a 37% decline, and in Las Vegas prices were off 35%.
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Published on August 25, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
Along with California, Arizona, and Nevada- Florida is one of the hardest hit states in the nation when it comes to the real estate bust. In the Sunshine State these days the usual optimism is harder to find; many are starting to talk about a need for change.
The foreclosure rate in Florida is frightening; 268,064 properties were foreclosed in the first 6 months of 2009. Put in perspective, that's 3 times the number of condos and houses sold during the same period. Over the winter Lehigh Acres near Fort Myers became a household word when the collapse of its real estate market got national headlines. Although prices of homes have recently stabilized and some experts even believe prices are now at reasonable limits, there is plenty of fear and even anger.
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Published on August 15, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
If the old cocktail party conversation was about how much your house had gone up in value, the new one could be - what a great 55+ bargain you found in this distressed market. Home prices are down, big-time, in most markets. Smart buyers are out there now looking for the best deals. This article will talk about possible strategies that you might follow to buy a house at a bargain price - and without getting burned in the process. Our emphasis is on the "nearly new", homes that are 1 or more years old.
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Published on August 10, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
The consensus appears to be that we are at or past the bottom, at least for many real estate markets . Inventories have been going down a bit and prices correspondingly up in places like San Francisco and Boston, and that is definitely a good thing. NPR has both a web article and a podcast, "Housing Market Shows Some Signs of Recovery" that gives a good explanation of what is happening. It cites figures from the widely regarded Case-Shiller Home Price Index as well as anecdotal remarks from various buyers and industry figures.
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Published on August 4, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
Buying your retirement home might be a lot easier than any house you ever purchased before, thanks to an ever-expanding list of internet tools. Not only do new websites keep cropping up in familiar areas, but they are arriving with new services as well. This article will provide a quick roundup of the online services that can make purchasing your active adult or 55+ community a lot easier.
Mortgages
Type in "mortgages" into your search bar and you will find companies eager to offer you a mortgage. Given the recent publicity about mortgage predators, you should tread carefully. Get more than one opinion, shop locally, and get the opinion of your legal adviser before you act.
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Published on April 27, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
It's April so it must be Home Inspection month. If you are thinking about buying a new home for retirement this is a good time to get acquainted with the basic items to look for when buying a home. This is particularly true in this era of short sales and foreclosures, where preventative maintenance probably wasn't kept up with. Editor's note: We have to confess we felt a little superior when we saw this topic in a headline. But guess what - most of these concerns hadn't even occurred to us.
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Published on April 21, 2009
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
March 23 - Retirees either looking to sell their existing homes or see their retirement portfolios reclaim some of their losses got some good news today. Sales of existing homes in the U.S. increased 5.1% in February over January, helping give Wall Street its best day in months. Sales of single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops were off 4.6% vs. the year earlier February. Prices continued to decline in February as the median selling price of a U.S. home fell to $165,400, off 15% from the year earlier period.
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Published on March 23, 2009
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