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Serving Sarasota and Manatee County since 2002.
(1) Not getting a mortgage pre-approval. This is step one period. (2) Shopping for a home you cannot afford. Know you budget and don’t go over it. (3) Using a shady mortgage lender. Incompetent lenders will blow up your home purchase . (4) Submitting a lowball offer. Many home seller will not even respond. (5) Buying a big ticket item prior to closing. If you can’t eat it, don’t buy it. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
Florida gained 241,256 new residents from July 2019 to July 2020 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida was second in the nation in population growth behind only Texas. COVID-19 and higher home prices in other Northern urban areas may be partly responsible for the population growth according experts. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
The average Florida homeowner gained approximately $14,000 in home appreciation year over year during the 3rd quarter of 2020. The surge in appreciation was the largest since 2014 when we were exiting the great recession. Washington State saw the largest increase nationally increased equity at $35,800. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
The real estate market is very heavily favoring home sellers at this time because of a lack of homes for sale. Homebuyers will most likely experience a multiple offer situation regarding homes they wish to purchase. Avoid these common home buyer offer mistakes: 1) The fastest way to alienate a home seller to make a “low ball” offer. 2) Too many contingencies listed in your offer is another way to get the offer rejected. 3) A very small good faith deposit may raise concerns with the home seller. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
Over 30,000 FPL customers and homeowners are months behind on their utility bills because of COVID-19. On October 1, FPL starting disconnecting service to delinquent customers. Please forward the information below to anyone you know who may need help with paying their utility bills.
FPL customers anywhere in FL can visit FPL.com/Help or call 800-226-3545. FPL Care to Share: www.fpl.com/help/partner-agencies.html Florida’s Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program (EHEAP) http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/doea/docs/eheap_providers.pdf Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Pro-gram (LIHEAP) www.stepupsuncoast.org/programs/energy-assistance-liheap Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
There are approximately 1.4 million Florida homeowners who would benefit from refinancing their homes because of lower mortgage rates according to a national research. firm. These homeowners are high quality refinancing candidates because they have at least 20% equity in their homes and a credit score over 720. Florida is second in the nation in homeowners who would qualify for refinancing savings. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
Nationally, October saw a large increase in foreclosure filings from the previous month. Miami was in the top 5 cities nationally. Some homeowners may be unaware that mortgage lenders have instituted forbearance programs and loss mitigation departments to help struggling homeowners due to COVID-19. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
Forbearance, (when mortgage lenders allow you to delay payments for a specified time) rates are at a 7 month low. Many homeowners took advantage of forbearance plans in the early Spring due to COVID-19. Mortgage forbearance plans make up almost 6% of all mortgages which is the lowest rate since April when it was 3.74%. That percentage rate translates to almost 3 million homeowners. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
This year mortgage rates reached an all time low for home buyers. After the 2016 election rates jumped from 3.74% to 4.24%. Many economists agree that mortgage rates will hover around 3%. The Federal Reserve has been keeping the Federal Funds Rate near zero which indirectly helps mortgage rates stay low. Additionally, there is still some uncertainty regarding the economy and COVID-19. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
Almost 50% of builders reported supply disruptions in a recent national survey. Shortages were reported in: lumber, appliances, flooring and hardware. Some builders are reducing home buyer product choices to more readily available inventory. Additionally, some builders are using escalation clauses. If the home building material costs increases over a certain amount, the home buyer will pay more for the home. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of selling or purchasing a home.
A large number of FHA mortgage delinquencies have placed Orlando (9) and Tampa (10) in the top ten cities in the nation. This could become a serious situation as COVID-19 unemployment benefits expire and unemployment remains high. Nationally, in September over 3.5 million FHA mortgages were enrolled in a forbearance plan. Ed Curry has earned the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR®) certification. This allows him to help buyers and sellers of distressed properties.
Lower mortgage rates have increased the purchasing power of buyers by an average of more than $33,000 from one year ago. That is almost a 7% increase from last year. Increased home prices, however, are negating that increase in purchasing power. Home prices have seen average increases nationally of over 8%. Please contact Ed Curry at 941-799-9440 if you are thinking of purchasing or selling a home.
20 and 30-year-old home buyers are helping to keep the home sale market strong. More than half of new mortgages were made to this demographic according to Realtor.com. Millennials have now surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest adult group in America.
A recent survey of 5,000 Americans indicated that people are saving more than before the COVID-19 outbreak. Almost half of those surveyed said their spending has decreased. People working from home are saving on commuting costs and that may be one of the reasons. Additionally, with millions of unemployed, people are feeling a need to increase their reserves.
New single family home sales are up nationally almost 14% from June to July. There is a real shortage of existing home inventory for buyers to choose from. Many buyers are looking to new home builders to fill their needs. In the Sarasota/Manatee County area our inventory of homes for sale in slightly over a 2 month supply. Normal supply is 6-7 months of homes for sale, making this truly a seller’s market.
