Hello Friends: Here’s an updated on: Orlando area home inventory and prices Short sales and bank owned inventory Load modification Great Deals Orlando area home inventory and prices The greater Orlando real estate market, bottom line is not getting much better. Although, we have bidding wars going on with some of the REO properties and short sales because they are so incredibly low priced. So, in this sense, things are getting better. But, overall the market is going to stay extremely challenging for the normal re-seller. We are seeing more upscale properties going into the same financially depressed condition as are the lower priced properties. In the 5 county area, Orange, Lake, Volusia, Seminole and Osceola counties, there are 36,000 homes for sale as of July 20th, with an average of 2768 properties that are selling per month, which means we have a 13 month of unsold inventory, 5 to 6 months is considered normal. However, these numbers are very deceiving because in the higher pricing categories inventory levels are increasing dramatically to 25 months and in some instance up to 60 months or more of unsold inventory. There are thousands of homes in pre-foreclosure, which are currently held back by banks and they have not entered the sales inventory When foreclosure is too slow . But they will and it will jolt the real estate sales over the next 6 to 7 months and more as the “Alt A-Pay Option ARM’s ” are entering the default status. These are mortgages sold to buyer with “A” credit scores with an ability to buy million dollar homes with a tiny minimum monthly maintenance payment and 3 to 4 alternative options, such as interest only, interest and principal or a full payment and it negatively amortized up to 125 % of value. Of course values have dropped and everybody is under water. Home values in the next 12 months or more are going to go further in decline as the higher priced home values are taking a nose dive. Some lower-end developments may already be at the bottom where condos and some homes are selling at what I can only describe as rock bottom prices and bidding wars already exist. Short sales and bank owned inventory The bank owned homes inventory has been slowing down over the past 6 months as the government is urging the lenders to do loan modification in place of foreclosure and do anything to keep people in homes. The problem with this approach is the unemployment increase and when someone does not have an income a loan modification is impossible to do. Therefore, we are seeing a spike in foreclosure activities and inevitably a reduction in values. Short sales, a process where we are trying to get the property sold prior to a foreclosure, which actually; · reduces foreclosures over all · saves money to the banks · does less damage to the seller’s credit · keeps properties in better condition · has less of a negative effect on the property values. This process, which is making so much sense and is a much better solution to a foreclosure is still, by most lenders mishandled and takes too long to get a resolution. One of the problems is that many mortgages were securitized and the mortgage companies, in many instances, are just servicers and really do not own the mortgage any more. Therefore, the decision maker of whether to accept or not accept a short sale or not may be in India, Europe or China, who knows. The short sale process apparently was never made part of the original securitization paperwork, whereas a potential foreclosure was. Therefore, homes which could be sold for $200,000 as a short sale, they are sold as a foreclosure 8 to 9 months later with thousand of additional costs for only $150,000. While this makes no sense whatsoever, it is going on all over. There are lenders who are doing better in this short sale process such as SunTrust and Wells Fargo, but they are more the exception and not the rule. Loan Modification: This is a process where many scams are going on and the government is cracking down. Let me just say one thing, do not pay any advanced fees for a loan modification, you can do this yourself, it is pretty straight forward. Ask your lender if they can do a loan modification for your home and if they can, ask them to send you the documents. Complete them and send them back. If you have any questions please call my office at 407-330-2181. The reasons for loan modifications are: 1. Values have dropped in your home. 2. Your income has changed. Saying that you can’t pay your mortgage, but you actually can, is not a good reason for a short sale or loan modification. Please understand that before you start. Great Deals: In the next 2 weeks, I am conducting a Round Robin Short Sale auctions at 5 great properties. Here is the information: http://14664avenueoftherushes.GreatCustomHome.com http://14700avenueoftherushes.IsAvailableOnline.com http://14742avenueoftherushes.IsAvailableOnline.com Http://10353BurrisCt.com http://10351burrisct.epropertysites.com If you have any questions about your particular situation please call my office, we have completed many short sales, and we are also selling a lot of regular properties, which are not in financial distress and we would be glad to be of assistance to you. Many of our great deals can be found on www.greaterorlandohomes.com or you follow me on www.twitter.com/gittax where I send all the great deals to people who follow me. Thank you and we always appreciate your referrals. Gitta

New Smyrna Beach occupies a notable place in history as the site of the largest single attempt at colonial settlement in what is now the United States. Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish physician and entrepreneur, obtained a grant of land from the British Crown. In 1768 he established a colony of 1225 immigrants on the coastal plantations at New Smyrna, with a view toward the commercial production of such crops as corn, indigo, rice, hemp, and cotton.

For more details, click here.

The market continues to lag. 

You've heard the reasons repeated over and over again.  If you don't believe it, check out this story in Fox News.  It's definitely a unique potential solution and a shining example of desperation in the marketplace.

Fox News Article

With everything going on in the housing market, it is tempting to "over correct" in order to fix our problems.  We must be careful in finding the way out of this mess by avoiding methods of over correction.  By completely cutting out some offerings, we could only hurt ourselves worse.  Find out about the top problems we're facing, and potential solutions in this week's Orlando Weekly Market Update.

You'll also get the latest market indicators for the week, and as always, find out more about one of our great areas in which to live.  This week's community spotlight features New Smyrna Beach.

With the onslaught of external factors such as increasing property taxes, insurance and the adjustable rate mortgages, foreclosures are becoming a major problem in the state of Florida.  Many simply walk away from their investments, only to cause more foreclosure and hurt the market, as well as hurting their own credit.  You can fight foreclosure through a short sale.  We will help you at http://www.florida-foreclosuresolutions.com/ . 

Plus, go to Gitta's Blog right now to find out more about the workings of a short sale, get the latest market indicators for the week, and find out more about Davenport, Florida in our Community Spotlight.  Click here.

Normally, being in the top ten on a list is considered a distinctive honor. However, in this particular case, there's no honor at all. According to a report from http://www.consumerist.com/, we have the "honor" of being in the top ten list of worst housing markets in the U.S.

10. Miami, FL

9. Tampa, FL

8. Fort Lauderdale, FL

7. Orlando, FL

6. Phoenix, AZ

5. Sacramento, CA

4. Los Angeles, CA

3. Las Vegas, NV

2. Riverside, CA

1. Detroit, MI

Report can be found at http://consumerist.com/consumer/real-estate/top-10-worst-housing-markets-for-sellers-312295.php .

This week, we dig deeper into how the current lender bureaucracy, property insurance and property taxes have contributed to the foreclosure crisis.   Orlando places at #7 on a top 10 list.  It's not a good top 10 list.  Find out why in Gitta's Weekly Market Update for 10.19.07. 

For the full update, go to Gitta's Blog now.

We've compiled all of the necessary information about our area in this handy resource.  You'll be able to go directly to any city in Central Florida and examine the city, the type of lifestyle that's offered, and look into other stats and information that will help you in your homebuying efforts.  Find it all on my blog now.

Winter Park an old and distinguished address in Central Florida, located on the North East side of Orlando.  Minutes from downtown, it is convenient to all of downtown amenities while maintaining a peaceful atmosphere.  Winter Park offers some of the most picturesque areas and some of the best window shopping opportunities in greater Orlando.  For more information on Winter Park, click here.

General Market Indicators

While many in the press insist that the Orlando real estate market in an envious position compared to many other areas of Florida or the country, the facts indicate that we are suffering.  In fact, the market conditions are just outright terrible!   For the full report, view Gitta's Blog now.