Archives for August 2014

July 2014 Single Family Home Sales on the Emerald Coast

Image via Flickr from Robert S. Donovan

Single family home sales statistics for the Emerald Coast are now available for July 2014. The real estate market around our area and in Okaloosa and Walton counties are looking solid as we head into the end of summer.

Emerald Coast

Closed sales increased 12.2%
Pending sales rose 12.4%
New listings increased 22.6%
Median prices decreased 4.8%
Inventory increased 27.8%

Okaloosa County

Closed sales increased 5.2%
Pending sales rose 11.7%
New listings increased 18.5%
Median prices decreased 7.9%
Inventory increased 28.9%

Walton County

Closed sales increased 29%
Pending sales rose 15%
New listings increased 45.2%
Median prices fell 14.6%
Inventory increased 29.7%

A few things to remember:

Pending sales do not directly correlate to the number of sales for the following month. Some sales never make it to the closing table, while others take longer than 30 days to close.

New listings contribute to the increase in overall inventory. The current inventory level is calculated using the existing inventory and the closed sales for the month. That’s why these two numbers don’t match.

Price and inventory are invariably linked. When inventory levels rise, competition increases for sellers. When buyers have more choices, prices tend to drop. Inventory levels tend to rise in the summer as this is the time of year many people choose to move.

All sales data is from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors® (ECAR) Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is compiled by Florida Realtors®, the state association for Florida. The Emerald Coast statistics cover both Okaloosa and Walton counties as well as surrounding areas based on the listings entered into the MLS by ECAR MLS participants.

Next week, we’ll look at townhouse and condo sales for the month of July. Click here to view all of the sales date for the month of Jul

Okaloosa County: Home to “A” Rated Schools!

Image via Flickr from Ryan M.

The start of a new school year has begun. Nervous and excited children and parents look forward to new experiences, new people, and a new chapter for everyone. One of the most important factors for many people who buy a new home is the quality of the local schools. Many buyers pick where to live based on the ratings, reviews, and scores of the schools.

Okaloosa has always been a very well-rated school district. In Florida, schools are given a grade each year (A through F) based on specific criteria. For elementary and middle schools, the grade is determined by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). In high school, the grade has a few additional elements. Fifty percent is based on the FCAT, and the other 50 percent is based on college-readiness, preparation, and graduation rates.

The Florida Department of Education has posted the pending 2014 grades for Okaloosa County. The high schools and some mixed schools (schools with multiple grade levels) don’t have a grade posted as of 8/18/14. Take a look at the list below for the 2014 “A” schools in Okaloosa County.

Crestview

Antioch Elementary School
Davidson Middle School
Shoal River Middle School

Destin

Destin Elementary School
Destin Middle School

Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Elementary School

Fort Walton Beach

Edwins Elementary
Kenwood Elementary
Liza Jackson Prep School
Bruner Middle School
Northwest Florida Ballet Academie
Pryor Middle School

Niceville

Bluewater Elementary
Edge Elementary
Plew Elementary
Ruckel Middle School

Shalimar

Meigs Middle School
Shalimar Elementary
Longwood Elementary

Valparaiso

Lewis School
Okaloosa STEMM Center

Along the Emerald Coast, we’re proud of many things – our white sandy beaches, our beautiful green water, the laid-back lifestyle, and our local military – to name a few. Schools in Okaloosa County give us something else to be proud of, as well.

Sources and more information:

Learn more about the Okaloosa School District and the individual schools, go to www.OkaloosaSchools.com.
View all the school grades:

◦ http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/

◦ http://www.ledgerdata.com/grade/okaloosa/

4 reasons to buy a home now!

Thinking of buying a home? Keep reading to find out why you should take action sooner rather than later.

By Danielle BlundellAugust 6, 2014 8:29 PM

If you’re thinking about purchasing a home, sooner might be better than later when it comes to favorable conditions for buyers.

Buying a home is a major financial decision that you shouldn’t rush into. But that doesn’t mean you should take your sweet time either. The real estate market is volatile, and truth be told, this year might be your last chance to affordably buy a home for awhile.

“If you qualify for a mortgage and choose not to buy now, you will be kicking yourself in 12 months,” says Anthony VanDyke, president of ALV Mortgage in Utah.

Thanks to a dearth of inventory, home prices are projected to increase by 6.3 percent nationwide from April 2014 to April 2015, according to a recent study by Corelogic, a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled services provider.

Just how much could that increase cost you? More than you might think.

“On a $300,000 house today, the same house will cost you $318,000 in one year,” says VanDyke.

The difference isn’t mere pocket change. So if you’re in the market to buy a home, read on for more reasons why this year could be a prospective homeowner’s last chance to buy an affordable home.

Reason to Buy Now #1: Low for-sale inventory means homes will become more expensive

A low inventory of homes for sale keeps house prices up, according to California-based mortgage banker, Michael Regan, of the Regan Team.

“It’s simple supply and demand,” says Regan. “The less you have of something, the more expensive it will become.”

Just how did we get into this increasingly low-supply, high-price environment? According to Regan, there are a few causes.

“With the limited housing inventory in many markets, and with last year’s home price increases, many people couldn’t afford to buy a home and rented instead,” he says. “Because of the Great Recession, the building of new homes and rental units was almost nonexistent for years and didn’t keep up with population growth.”

With a shortage of housing and rental units available, Regan says housing prices and rents have increased, leading to affordability issues. The good news is that this supply and demand issue will solve itself once more housing units are built to accommodate the population growth and young families looking for homes, says Regan. But the bad news is that it could take a while, and prices will climb until then. So now might be a good time to buy, before prices peak, he explains.

Reason to Buy Now #2: The Fed plans to taper off bond-buying program in October

With the economy improving and the unemployment rate dropping, the Federal Reserve tentatively plans to end their bond-buying program in October. The end of the program, which was aimed to keep interest rates low, is expected to result in higher interest rates, and any increase in interest rates could create even less favorable conditions for buyers, says Van Dyke.

According to the MBA Mortgage Finance Forecast, interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are projected to jump half a percentage point in early 2015 from the year before.

On a 30-year conventional mortgage of $300,000, an increase from 4.4 to 4.9 percent means paying an extra $90 each month or more than $30,000 in interest over the life of the loan. So that half point difference can translate into a hefty chunk of cash for any home buyer.

“Rising rates can have just as big an impact on affordability as does rising prices due to low housing inventory,” says Ellen Davis, a Maryland-based senior mortgage loan originator with Corridor Mortgage Group.

When mortgage rates increase, Davis says borrowers experience greater difficulty qualifying for a home loan.

“Higher interest rates increase a borrower’s overall debt to income ratio, and depending on their current situation, they may end up no longer qualifying based on underwriting guidelines. Even if they do qualify, they may not be comfortable with the higher monthly debt payment and may choose to reduce the amount of home they are willing to purchase or put off the purchase indefinitely,” says Davis.

So what’s the take home here?

“While you’ve missed the bottom of the market with home prices, interest rates are still very low,” according to Regan. Don’t risk rates going up, he says, which can ultimately cost you big on your home’s price tag.

Reason to Buy Now #3: The current economy’s flat wages threaten to make homes less affordable

When was the last time you heard of companies giving out big bonuses and substantial salary raises? Save a few high-growth industries, flat wages have been the rule, not the exception. If home prices continue to increase, housing could in theory become less affordable if your take-home pay doesn’t keep up with its growth.

“History has shown us that there is always the chance that home prices are pushed out of reach when wages are flat,” says Davis. “Then at some point, some sort of correction in wages or housing occurs, and the correlation between the two sectors becomes more sustainable.”

The question then becomes, when will this tipping point occur, and can you afford to wait?

According to Davis, homes will be more affordable once all areas of the market – stocks, bonds, home prices, wages, government spending and debt, etc. – are working together to create jobs. And better employment figures translate into more income, leading to wealth, economic growth, and ultimately consumer confidence, which in large part helps drive home purchases, she explains.

Sounds ideal, right? Well, don’t hold your breath. It’s impossible to predict when this synergy will take place, so now is as good a time as any to buy a home you can comfortably afford, says Davis.

Reason to Buy Now #4: Beat other home buyers to the punch before competition heats up

Maybe you’ve been renting and managed to save up a nice nest egg. Or maybe you’ve just outgrown your current space. Well, you might want to take the plunge and buy a home once you’ve found something that you can afford.

Why now? Because the housing market is about to get even more competitive. According to Davis, the pent-up demand of younger professionals, who moved back in with their parents during the recession, is about to explode. And as these young people move out and form new households of their own, they will drive up housing demand, she explains.

This eager subset of buyers will create some steep competition for homes, especially if they have been saving up to make larger down payments or high ticket offers, says Davis.

“If the current homes on the market have more potential buyers, bidding wars develop, and the purchase prices are driven up,” says Davis. While the competition helps the overall home values in the area, it also inflates prices to the point where homes are no longer affordable for a large percentage of potential home buyers, she explains.

And it’s only going to get worse as more and more young professionals feel ready to buy, so it’s a smart move to buy now and avoid the potential price gouging altogether. Once you’re officially a homeowner, you can welcome rising prices, because your home’s value will shoot up, according to Davis. “This is good for the individual homeowner as well as for the broader economy,” she says.

What Does the Zillow-Trulia Merger Mean for You?

Image via Flickr from Nguyen Hung Vu

If you’ve ever gone to Zillow to check out the Zestimate on your own home or you’ve searched for a property on Trulia, you may have heard that the two media companies announced their upcoming $3.5 billion merger on July 28, 2014. While the real estate industry decides what this means for agents and brokers, one question remains. What does this pending merger mean for you as a consumer?

According to Time Magazine and Zillow’s own press release announcement, not a lot.

The two companies will continue to run under their own brands with Trulia’s CEO reporting to the CEO of Zillow. Both, as of right now, will continue to operate as property search and information websites as they have always done.

Most of the benefits that Zillow and Trulia list as a result of this merger focus on advertisers and corporate cost-savings.

The downside for buyers and sellers is none of their plans include improving the accuracy of the information found on either website. Zestimates may still be wildly inaccurate giving buyers and sellers a false impression of the value of a property. Old listings that are no longer on the market may still show up in search results.

The companies will share their data with one another, so information that was previously available on only one of the sites will eventually become available on both.

Zillow and Trulia aren’t in the business of assisting buyers and sellers with a real estate transaction. Both are media companies who generate revenue by selling advertisements to real estate agents and brokers.

At the end of the day, whether you search for property information on Zillow, Trulia, or a real estate company website like this one, you’ll want to work with a real estate professional who can help you determine a home’s value, find an active listing, and navigate the real estate transaction from start to finish.

Emerald Coast Townhouse and Condo Sales in June

Image via Flickr from Matthew Hurst

Last week, we looked at single family home sales along the Emerald Coast and in Okaloosa and Walton counties. This week, let’s take a look at townhouse and condo sales. These types of homes tell a very different story of the market. All of the following sales information is for June 2014 and is compared to the same time last year.

Emerald Coast

Closed sales decreased 30.2%
Pending sales decreased 23.7%
New listings decreased 22.5%
Inventory increased 0.9%
Median prices increased 17.8%

Okaloosa County

Closed sales decreased 31%
Pending sales decreased 15.6%
New listings decreased 11.6%
Inventory decreased 2.1%
Median prices increased 36%

Walton County

Closed sales decreased 23.3%
Pending sales decreased 28.7%
New listings decreased 18.9%
Inventory increased 7.7%
Median prices increased 20.9%

A few things to keep in mind…

New listings decreased from last year which means inventory stayed about the same along the Emerald Coast and in Okaloosa County. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as inventory levels have hovered at about an eight to 10 month supply which is considered high.

As I mentioned last week, pending sales aren’t an exact indicator of the amount of closed sales for the following month, in this case, July. The decrease in pending sales doesn’t automatically mean that next month’s sales will be lower, but it is possible.

Median price means that half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. The decrease in overall sales and the increase in the median price for townhouses and condos is caused by buyer demand. If buyers are looking in specific price ranges or can’t find (or get financing for) what they want in other price ranges, this will affect what they buy or if they buy at all.

The numbers for the Emerald Coast include both Okaloosa and Walton counties, as well as sales from outside those areas as input by participants in the ECAR MLS.

Overall, while the numbers don’t look good for June townhouse and condo sales, inventory is available for those who can buy and for sellers, prices are going up.

Real estate sales statistics for the Emerald Coast and Okaloosa and Walton counties are available from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors® (ECAR). All statistics are compiled from the ECAR Multiple Listing Service (MLS) by the Florida Realtors®.

Choosing the Right Paint Color

The color of your walls not only impacts how you feel, but sets the overall tone of a room, according to experts at HouseBeautiful Magazine. Selecting the right paint color will help convey the mood you want in your home. So how do you choose which color is right for you? Perform your own color consultation by asking yourself these questions.

What’s my style?
The most common dilemma when deciding on a paint color is whether you want to stick to a classic look or make a bold statement. Think about how certain colors make you feel – neutrals lend themselves to a more traditional aesthetic and are usually the most calming. More saturated colors, on the other hand, tend to energize and inspire. Take time to explore your style before committing to a paint color.

Should I use more than one color?
Overall, the color scheme of your house should be limited. One or two colors throughout is perfectly acceptable; however, it is important to break up the general theme with a few accent walls in complimentary colors.

How will lighting affect my choice?
Once you’ve decided on a color, pick the right shade in that family by choosing three similar hues – one that’s exactly what you had in mind for the room, one that’s a shade lighter, and one that’s a shade darker. Test out these samples next to a window and in a darker corner, and at different times of the day and night, to determine how lighting will affect its presentation.