Orlando Real Estate - CENTURY 21 Solutions Realty

Orlando Real Estate

Aug. 4, 2009 – Pending home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six years for such a streak, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6 percent to 94.6 from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May; and it’s 6.7 percent above June 2008 when it was 88.7. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was July 2003.

“Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who’ve been on the sidelines,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower priced homes. Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract, first-time buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit because they must close on the sale by Nov. 30.”

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index remains very favorable. The affordability index stood at 159.2 in July, down from record peaks in recent months but it remains 36.6 percentage points above a year ago. Under these conditions, the typical family would devote 15.7 percent of gross income to mortgage principal and interest, well below the standard allowance of 25 percent.

The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income.

“A monthly rise in home prices and somewhat higher mortgage interest rates led to a modest decline in affordability in June, but it was still the sixth highest index on record dating back to 1970,” Yun said. “Because housing is so affordable in today’s market, job security and the first-time buyer tax credit are bigger factors in influencing home sales.”

A median-income family earning $60,700 could afford a home costing $289,100 in June with a 20 percent downpayment, assuming 25 percent of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest. Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small downpayments are roughly 80 percent of what a median-income family can afford. The affordable price was much higher than the median existing single-family home price in June, which was $181,600.

Yun expects existing-home sales to gradually rise over the balance of the year, with conditions varying around the country. “It appears home sales are on a sounder footing and inventory is gradually being absorbed.”

© 2009 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Orlando Real Estate – Foreclosure list.

Our latest list of available foreclosure properties for the orlando real estate market is now available.

Foreclosure list 8-5-2009

Orlando Real Estate – Foreclosure list

Foreclosure List 7-29-2009

Orlando Real Estate – Foreclsoures – CENTURY 21 Solutions Realty

Orlando Foreclosure List

Here is the latest list of bank owned properties for the central florida market.

Orlando Foreclosure List

Orlando Real Estate Blog

Every consumer is entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the 3 credit reporting agencies. To order your free credit reports visit http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

The 7 most common credit report errors:

1. Late payments. There should be no late payments over seven years old on the report. This is important, as approximately 35 percent of a credit score is based on timely payments.
2. Collections. The report shouldn’t show any collections or charge-offs more than seven years old. Consumers should save copies of their credit report for seven years so they have proof of when an item was added. 
3. Payment records. All paid-in-full installment loans and all collections that have been paid in full or settled for less than the amount due should show a zero balance. 
4. Mysterious accounts. Consumers should be able to recognize all accounts listed on the report. Incorrect accounts do sometimes appear, either by mistaken identity or by identity theft. Consumers should contact the creditor immediately to compare their name and Social Security number with the one shown for the incorrect amount. In the case of an incorrect collection, consumers may have to request a “validation of debt,” or what is sometimes called a “media packet,” which provides details on the account holder. If the account is a case of identity theft, the consumer should request a fraud affidavit from the creditor. It’s also a smart idea to file a police report. 
5. Original dates. Length of credit history is 15 percent of a credit score, so consumers should be sure the original dates they opened their accounts are accurate. Original account dates could be reported inaccurately if a credit card company is acquired or merged, or if a credit card is reported lost or stolen. 
6. Available credit. Credit limits on the credit report should match up with credit card statements. It’s best to keep balances under 50 percent of the available limit; less than 30 percent is even better. Debt accounts for 30 percent of your score. 
7. Types of accounts. Sometimes accounts are not categorized correctly. A home equity line of credit should be listed as a second mortgage, not just a line of credit. If the account type is not reflected properly, consumers should contact the creditor.

These errors can be corrected online by visiting each of the 3 credit agencies websites:

www.equifax.com

www.experian.com

www.transunion.com

This year, our marketing programs are designed to capture more qualified consumer leads for you than ever before. We are focused and passionate about capturing more leads so that you can close more sides of business, earn more revenue and increase market share.

The steps on our golden path involve an increased investment and a stronger focus on our online advertising efforts, including:

• Best-in-breed, branded national Web site
• Online display advertising
• Search engine optimization
• Paid search marketing
• Social media
• Distributing all property listings to national Web site partners

Our online efforts begin with our branded national Web site, which is now an award-winning Web site.* It is also an important means of capturing visitors and leads. comScore, an independent third-party firm that measures the traffic of real estate franchise and real estate aggregator sites, has reported that our CENTURY 21® national Web site has been the most visited franchise real estate Web site for the past four months (Sep – Dec) of 2008! That’s right! With this trend of 4 months, we are clearly surpassing all of our major competitors – including RE/MAX! Moreover, our average visitor count for the full second half of the year is higher than RE/MAX while the number of visitors to the RE/MAX Web site has been dropping, per comScore. Now that’s a trend we want to sustain!

The combination of our Web site with our broad distribution of listings to partner aggregator sites including Trulia, Zillow and Yahoo means that your listings are being seen by more consumers who are actively in the market to buy or sell real estate. That means that we have more eyes seeing our property listings than our competitors do.

National Site Statistics – use it with your consumers to help them understand that you can help market their property as no one else can; use it with your existing agents to promote excitement in our brand; and use it with prospective agents to entice them to come to our System.

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