The roads are busier for a reason. It's season, and tourism is on the rise in Southwest Florida.
Hotels, restaurants and shops are doing more business than they were a year ago. More tourists are in town and they're spending more money.
In December, 122,000 visitors stayed in hotels and other vacation rentals in Collier County – up more than 15 percent from the same month a year ago. At the same time, visitor spending rose nearly 20 percent to $117.9 million in December, according to a report by Research Data Services Inc., a county consultant.
"People have more confidence in the economy. They seem to be spending money a little better. We are seeing that in the restaurants. We are seeing that really all over town. So I think that's a good sign," said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Last month, hotel occupancy increased 11 percent and the average daily rate rose more than 8 percent year-over-year in the county.
Visitor numbers are not yet out in Lee County for December. But hoteliers there have seen a jump in business too, especially over the past few months.
Last year, revenues rose 20 percent at the Lani Kai on Fort Myers Beach, said general manager Larry Puccia.
"If the weather is good here, we are going to be busy," he said. "The Lani Kai has been here for 33 years and it's all about the weather for us."
The upward trend in tourism here is being seen elsewhere in Florida and across the country in other tourist towns.
"The economy, although not tremendously strong, has stabilized," said Hunter H. Hansen, managing director of the Waldorf Astoria Naples off Seagate Drive and the Edgewater Beach Hotel, an all-suite hotel off Gulf Shore Boulevard in Naples.
"The sentiment has improved. People are traveling again. They are getting out of their house."
He said travel is hard for people to give up.
"It provides them with memories they will have for a long time, unlike buying a car where you have the thrill of driving it off the lot and it's kind of over," he said.
Both of his hotels are seeing more visitors this winter.
"Our advanced bookings are up nicely over last year," Hansen said. "There are more first-time guests coming in from Europe and there are more first-time guests coming in from the northern United States."
Collier County hadn't seen such a strong December for visitors since 2008. In part, Wert attributes the uptick to a fall marketing campaign that targeted other parts of Florida, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, as well as northern markets, such as New York.
"That's the first time we've really been able to do that," he said.
With a limited marketing budget, the county usually doesn't do a fall campaign and the winter campaign doesn't start until January. A surplus of marketing dollars left over from last fiscal year enabled the bureau to start its advertising earlier this year.
Last year, the county's tourism department had lower-than-expected expenses and revenues came in higher than projected. Visitation and tourism spending rose, generating about a 4 percent increase in tourist taxes over 2009-10.
The tourism bureau gets a share of the county's 4 percent tourist tax for marketing.
The county saw 1.490 million tourists last year, up 7.7 percent from 2010. In the fourth quarter of last year, visitation rose more than 11 percent, according to Research Data Services.
The economic impact from tourism in Collier last year grew to nearly $1.3 billion, up 10.6 percent from 2010.
Walter Klages, president of Research Data Services in Tampa, said there's no question the spike in tourism seen in Southwest Florida is the result of a recovery. However, he said, there's evidence the extra marketing done in Collier in November and December paid off, luring many first-time visitors.
In December, Collier had 49,410 visitors from other parts of Florida – up more than 17 percent from a year ago. Florida was the primary target in the fall campaign.
One of every three visitors in December came for the first time, up more than 30 percent from a year ago.
Europe continues to be a growing market for Collier, though there's no direct print or TV advertising done there. In December, the county attracted nearly 20,000 visitors from Europe, up nearly 30 percent from a year ago.
"People underestimate how powerful word-of-mouth is," Klages said. "When it comes to the European market, we just have a very positive world-of-mouth effect."
He said the increasing number of visitors from Europe shows Collier is delivering "a product that is superior."
"The European travelers are very demanding. And positive for us, of course, is they are spending more money. They are staying a longer time, but they are also fitting well into the environment," Klages said.
The "motivational package" that brings Europeans here are the beaches and the Everglades, he said.
This time of the year, most visitors are coming from the Northern, Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. to thaw out from the cold.
Two weeks ago, Collier's tourism bureau launched its winter ad campaign, targeting New York and Chicago. It includes digital billboards throughout the Chicago area, showing the temperature in the Naples area. In New York, subway commuters will see ads showing the area's sunny, white sand beaches, in contrast to their gloomy weather outside.Sue Soldan, general manager of The Inn of Naples on the west side of U.S. 41 in Park Shore, said she's noticed more northerners this year and that bookings for January are up substantially. She expects a stronger season.
"I don't know why they are traveling more, but they are definitely traveling more," she said, adding the good weather here may be one of the reasons.
Bruce Seigel, marketing director for The Ritz-Carlton Resorts of Naples, said both the golf and beach-front resorts off Vanderbilt Beach Road had a "phenomenal" fourth quarter and business remains strong. Occupancy is up, but so is spending.
"Signs are strong and, with the luxury market that we have here, it's a great indicator that the economy is moving forward in a positive fashion," Seigel said.
Both leisure and corporate business is up at the resorts. Meetings are booked further in advance and those reservations are strong not just for this year, but for 2013 and 2014, Seigel said.
With business up, the employee count is up. Jobs have been added in every department at the two Ritz-Carltons. The resorts now have about 1,400 employees — 10 percent more than they had at this time last year.
Events such as the Naples Winter Wine Festival over the weekend and the upcoming Ace Group Classic golf tournament help to generate more business at the area's hotels, Seigel said.
It's not just the hotels that are busier. Linda Milligan, owner of Beach and Bay Vacations in Bonita Springs, said her vacation homes booked up earlier than ever this year. She has properties from Naples to Fort Myers Beach, but most are in and around Bonita Beach.
"I mean, I have been turning people away because I have everything booked," she said. "I went out to look for more properties. It's very difficult when you are in sales and you have nothing to sell."
Luckily, she found a few more properties to rent, through her connections.
The shops and restaurants along Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South in downtown Naples are bustling.
There are more than 200 businesses on Fifth Avenue South and the first-floor retail spaces are more than 95 percent leased, reflecting more optimism on the street, said Lou Vlasho, president of the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District.
Skip Quillen, an owner of the Culinary Concepts restaurant group in Naples, which includes Chops City Grill and Pazzo!, described business as nothing short of phenomenal this season, especially at its downtown eateries.
"Fifth Avenue is definitely back," he said. "No doubt about it."
Source: Naplesnews.com
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Property information
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Property information
Buyers hunting for homes in the Naples area this season won't find as many choices.
The housing inventory has hit a five-year low, according a report released Friday by the Naples Area Board of Realtors. NABOR's reports track inventory and Realtor-assisted sales made through its multiple listing service, or MLS, in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.
There are now 7,581 homes and condos on the market. That's down by 1,564, or 17 percent, from a year ago, when there were 9,145.
Nationally, home sales in December reached their highest pace in nearly a year. The gain coincided with other signs that the troubled housing market improved at the end of last year.
Local Realtors thought they might see a jump in listings in December, ahead of the busiest months of season. But that didn't happen.
The Naples market is healing and in some neighborhoods the demand for homes outstrips the supply, said Cindy Carroll, a real estate appraiser with Carroll & Carroll in Naples, during a NABOR news conference.
Foreclosures have "absolutely disappeared" in some neighborhoods and they're close to disappearing in others.
In the under $150,000 market, the supply of homes and condos has shrunk to three months, she said.
"That's amazing," Carroll said, adding that Realtors have complained they wish there were more listings in that price range to meet the demand."We have some neighborhoods that are just on fire," said Carroll.
In particular, she said, the housing inventory is tight in the area between Goodlette-Frank Road and U.S. 41, from Pine Ridge Road to the south. In that market area — running from Sorrento Gardens on the north to Lake Park on the south – there are 47 homes on the market. That's four more than there were in September 2005, when prices and demand had reached their peak, Carroll said. There is now a seven-month supply of homes in that area and a one-year supply is considered "balanced," she said.
The neighborhoods with the shortest supply of homes should start to see prices rise noticeably, if they haven't already, Carroll said. Convincing banks of those price increases might be a challenge for area appraisers this year. "Nobody is going to believe it," Carroll said.
Last year, the inventory of homes and condos in the under $300,000 market dropped 21 percent to 3,771, down from 4,763 in 2010. That means fewer foreclosures and short sales are on the market. Investors have been "scarfing up" the most affordable homes because they're in strong demand as rentals, said Brenda Fioretti, NABOR's media relations chairwoman and a managing broker for Prudential Florida Realty in Naples.
One of the biggest surprises in 2011 was the jump in million-dollar home sales. In the over $2 million market, sales rose 12 percent over the previous year. There were 223 closed sales, up from 199 in 2010.
Meanwhile, the market saw 370 sales in the $1 million to $2 million market in 2011, up 9 percent from 338 in 2010. Sales in the market rose 38 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, traditionally a slower time for area Realtors. "That's where the buyers are. These people are still out there looking and they have big checkbooks," Barker said.
As an appraiser, Carroll said she noticed values increasing for waterfront homes and other high-end homes in such neighborhoods as the Moorings and Park Shore late last year. "It's just a function of supply and demand," she said.
Overall, home and condo sales rose 5 percent in 2011. There were 8,280 sales, up from 7,893 in 2010. Most of those sales were for less than $300,000.
The median home price last year was $175,000, down from $180,000 in 2010. The median is the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less.
"Buyers are getting good value at different price points," said Kathy Zorn, a broker/owner for Florida Home Realty in Naples.
Realtors are optimistic, expecting a stronger season and a stronger year of sales this year. "I think 2011 was clearly a turning point for Naples," Barker said. "Yeah, I really believe that."
For all of 2011, sales totaled only 4.26 million nationally. That's up slightly from 4.19 million in the previous year. But it's far below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy housing markets. In 2005, at the peak of the boom, 7.1 million homes were sold
Hiring has improved, which is critical to a housing rebound. Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week than at any time in nearly four years, evidence of far fewer layoffs. The unemployment rate fell in December to its lowest level in nearly three years.
Source: Naples Daily News
Leaders of some of Miami-Dade's larger realty brokerages say that based
on last year's performance and record-breaking levels of investor
interest in the area, they're feeling optimistic about the future of the
local residential market.
"I
think we are on the verge of another boom," said Patricia Delinois,
incoming president of Miami Realtor Association and president & CEO
of Century 21 Premier Elite Realty. She cited National Association of
Realtor Chief Economist Lawrence Yun's prediction of dramatic increases
in sales in 2012.
"Sales
prices per square foot are up; the luxury market is doing well;
distressed sales are down from 2010; we're seeing sharp increases in the
numbers of second-home buyers, especially in Miami Beach and South
Beach, and the numbers of first-time buyers converting from renting is
astounding," said Vanessa Grout, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman
Florida. "All of that is very positive."
"We
have been through one of the longest low cycles in South Florida's
history, and the biggest high cycle just before it," said Mike Pappas,
president and CEO of The Keyes Co., which closed on 20% more units in
2011 than in 2010.
Ron
Shuffield, president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell Realtors, said the
28,277 properties sold countywide in 2011 represents an 18% increase
over 2010 sales and is the highest number reported since records have
been kept.
The
market has still not recovered from the dramatic price hit it took in
2008, Mr. Pappas said, but "we are eating through the inventory at a lot
higher rate than anyone expected. There's a fire sale in South Florida
real estate, and the world market is coming here bringing global cash.
"I
believe the foundation has been laid for a new strong real-estate
cycle. We are budgeting a 10% increase over last year in number of units
sold."
Pricing
increases, Mr. Pappas said, will depend upon getting through whatever
inventory of distressed properties remains unreleased by lenders.
According
to the Clear Capital Home Data Index Market Report, Miami's annual
price gain of 5.6% in 2011 was the third highest in the nation, which
correlates to its position as the market with the third-strongest
decrease in REOs, or distressed properties. Clear Capital's economists
predict Miami will be among the five highest performing metro areas in
2012, with an estimated 7.4% growth.
Right
now, Mr. Shuffield said, there's a problem no one expected to see so
soon: inventory unequal to demand. When the market faltered in 2008,
there were 42,000 homes on the market locally. At the end of December
2010, there were 23,272 listings. Now, there are only 14,129.
"The challenge we're going to have this year," he said, "is getting more inventory."
"We're starting to have to push to get listings," Ms. Delinois said.
In
2011, 55% of all home sales were foreclosures or short sales, Mr.
Shuffield said, down from two-thirds of all sales in 2010. That has
resulted in some positive price adjustment, "but it's very
building-specific and area-specific. Waterfront and Brickell properties
are seeing solid increases, but outlying areas don't appeal as much to
international buyers, so they're lagging behind."
Low inventories have sparked a small flurry of new project announcements.
One
Sotheby's International Realty, which reported a growth of more than
250% in sales in 2011, opened new offices over the past year in Key
Biscayne, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Aventura and South
Beach-South of Fifth.
Source: MiamiTodayNews.com
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Dec. 23, 2011
David Royse, The News Service of Florida
Across the forecasting spectrum, from academics to some government watchers to industry groups, there's a cautious optimism about Florida's economy in the new year.
From a recent gathering of economists at a Realtors conference, where the consensus was that the state has already started a bit of a recovery, to employment agencies, to the governor of the state, there's a sense that finally, the state has turned the corner.
In Florida, where the economic heights of the middle of the last decade were propped up on a booming housing industry, it is in the real estate market that many economists are looking to gauge whether the crash has reached its low point.
And Florida Realtors Chief Economist John Tuccillo said at a recent real estate industry conference that indicators in that industry are good.
"Sales are trending up, listing inventories are falling we are seeing multiple offers on homes in some local markets," Tuccillo said. "Our state is in a mini-recovery."
"Buyers have stepped back into the Florida market," added Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
Those projections come as a business survey found hiring likely to increase after the first of the year, nationally. ManpowerGroup earlier this month released its Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which said that after taking out seasonal variations, employers' plans for the first quarter of next year are still to add jobs at a plus 9 percent clip, up from the fourth quarter and about the same as a year ago.
"This represents the most promising hiring outlook since 2008," ManpowerGroup said.
Despite stubbornly high unemployment 10 percent in November in Florida and months of low consumer confidence readings, retailers are predicting the largest year-over-year increase in holiday shopping since before the recession, a very welcome sign that things are on the upswing.
The National Retail Federation said sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, usually a harbinger of sales for the season, were up 6.6 percent over last year.
Yun said at the Realtors conference in Orlando that prices appear to be stabilizing in Florida, and that South Florida, in particular, is poised to see a new mini-boom.
"Don't be surprised to see a gain in home prices in the Miami and Naples markets in the next 18 months," he said in a recent statement put out by the Realtors. "From there, the recovery is likely to roll northward to Central Florida and then North Florida."
This week, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith, agreed with the optimism, though tempering it with less bullishness about the pace.
In his latest forecast from the UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness, Snaith said slow will continue to be a key word he predicts unemployment in Florida will remain above 9 percent until the end of 2014 but that some areas will see growth.
Payrolls and incomes are expected to creep up, retail sales will be much stronger, and housing starts will go up, Snaith predicts.
Still, he said, things won't look like 2006-2007 for quite some time.
"The year is shaping up to be another year of subpar growth," the institute said in its report. "Growth, to be sure, will continue and 2012 will be an improvement over a largely disappointing 2011, but economic growth for the year will (be less than) 2 percent and payrolls will expand by just 1.8 percent.
"The near term economic picture for Florida is for a modest acceleration of the pace of recovery, including the labor market over the next two quarters," the report said.
But, Snaith noted, "the damage to our economy from the recession, housing and financial crises was severe, and the process of rebuilding will take time."
State economists have come to share Snaith's caution, after getting a bit giddy earlier in the year. Revenue forecasters for the state had projected strong growth numbers that back in the spring had given lawmakers hope that there might be state budget growth this year, or at least flat tax revenue. But after a couple months of warnings that taxes weren't coming in as strong as first thought, economists in October reduced their projections fairly dramatically, slicing $1.6 billion from the state's forecasted tax revenue over the next year and a half.
Much of Florida's fate is tied to the national economy as it goes so go the local economies to a certain degree. In Florida, that link is particularly acute because of the state's reliance on people moving here, either in retirement or for new opportunities when housing was booming, there was a stream of people moving to the state to take part in that boom and people coming here on vacation.
Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, N.C., said in a recent statement that the U.S. economy, in turn, is tied in part to the financial crisis in Europe. But, he also expects a national recovery to continue next year and that, he noted, makes it easier for retirees and others in other parts of the country to sell homes and buy new ones in Florida.
It also means a recovery in tourism, which helps fuel Florida's economy.
Gov. Rick Scott made a turn-around in jobs his primary goal. It's been a mixed year; jobs have indeed been created and the unemployment rate has dropped more than in almost any other state, from around 12 percent when he was elected to 10 percent now. But the state's jobless rate remains among the highest in the nation.
Scott, too, though is optimistic that the trend is in the right direction.
"We've turned the corner," Scott said in an interview this week with The News Service of Florida. "This was a state that was losing jobs for four straight years and this year we've generated 134,800 private sector jobs. So we're heading in the right direction."
Although the northern end of Bonita Beach won’t start seeing more sand until 2013, Bonita Springs staff is exploring ways to pay for the beach renourishment.
Replacing about 150,000 cubic yards of sand that has eroded along the three-quarter-mile stretch between Access 9 and Big Hickory Pass will cost an estimated $2.6 million.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Lee County and the city are expected to each contribute about a third, or almost $900,000.
Lee County’s share comes from taxes on tourists staying in rentals, hotels and motels.
To pay for its share, the Bonita Springs City Council could decide to implement a mandatory special assessment of property owners in the affected area. The council has already budgeted $178,000 from the general fund for the project.
Assistant City Manager John Gucciardo plans to ask the council late this year or early next year to decide whether to implement an assessment.
No specifics on who would pay how much have been worked out.
The last time the beach, also known as the northern end of Little Hickory Island, was widened was 2004. The city set aside $1.7 million from its general fund for the project.
Former Councilman Bob Wagner, who lives on Little Hickory Island, said the City Council used to put $100,000 into a beach renourishment fund every year but that money was used for other projects.Wagner opposes a special assessment.
“The people that live on the beach are already paying high enough property taxes. Why should they pay even more to fund a public beach?” Wagner said. “When you have a public beach, you should use public funding. The beach is a moneymaker for all citizens and businesses in Bonita Springs.”
For the 1995 beach renourishment, when Bonita was still part of unincorporated Lee, a special assessment district was created in which the owners of 560 condos neighboring the beach each paid $5,000.
“It made a lot of sense to go back to the people who know how to do this,” said City Attorney Audrey Vance, who is working with Lee on a potential agreement under which county staff would set up the special assessment.
She said those property owners receive a special benefit with the addition of sand.
“One of the main reasons you do it is to protect the property out there,” Vance said. “It is available for everyone. That’s a recreational component. The beach also provides protection against wave damage.”
Councilman Steven Slachta, who represents the beach district, said it’s premature to say what the best approach would be.
“I don’t think we have enough information yet; what it would cost if it was just the beach folks, what it would cost if we shared it with the entire community,” he said. “I would like to see all of us participate in it. … We all share that beautiful beach.”
Winston Church, president of the Bonita Beach Improvement Association, said the board has not taken a position.
Robert Neal, a coastal engineer with Lee County Natural Resources, said the $130,000 project design has just started. He said the county is covering $72,800, or 56 percent, and the city $57,200, or 44 percent.
The design has not received any state money.
“The state ranks projects based on eligibility and need and a lot to do with that is project length. Bonita Beach is pretty small compared to other projects around the state,” Neal said.
Neal said the county and city have asked the state for reimbursement.
“We’re proceeding as if we don’t (have state money), and if we receive that funding, then that’s a benefit,” he said.
He does expect the state to contribute its third for the $2.6 million construction.
“As the project moves closer to construction, they are at a higher priority list for the state,” Neal said.
Neal said the earliest sand would start to be pumped onto the beach would be spring 2013 and the project would take about six months.
To the north on Big Hickory Island, the Pelican Landing Community Association and Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa are still waiting on a state permit to place about 75,000 cubic yards of sand at a shared cost of $3 million.
High-end real estate has taken a hit in recent years, but it hasn't suffered nearly as much as the bottom of the market. Multimillion-dollar homes continue to be built in the Naples area, especially near the waterfront.
Wealthy buyers don't have to fret as much about a bad economy and it's a better time for them to buy: they can find better deals on real estate and labor, while construction costs have fallen since the housing boom in 2004 and 2005.
- In the last year alone, many of the best available lots have sold in the well-to-do Port Royal neighborhood between Naples Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, making way for new mansions.
- In December 2010, an older house at 3940 Rum Row in Port Royal went for nearly $5.3 million. A few months later – after the house was torn down – the property resold for $6.3 million
- In July 2010, a 4,466-square-foot home at 4000 Gordon Drive built in 1962 sold for $9 million.Permits are in the works for a new beach-front mansion.
- A "remastered" West Indies-style estate at 70 Seventh Avenue South – one house away from the beach – recently fetched more than $6.7 million.
Some of Collier County's biggest homes have been built in the past four years. The biggest – at 32,000 square feet – is at 779 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., just south of the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club. It's owned by Neil Whitesell, a successful corporate CEO. The city issued a permit in 2007 valued at $10 million, but local Realtors put the value at closer to $40 million once complete.
Ten biggest homes in Naples:
3054 Gordon Drive in Port Royal.
13323 Rosewood Lane.
3400 Gordon Drive in Port Royal.
Source: Naplesnews.com
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Property information
Gradual improvement in the housing market is expected next year, with existing-home sales edging up 4 percent to 5 percent and new home sales getting an even bigger boost off this year’s record lows, the chief economist of the nation’s largest real estate group stated recently.
“Tight mortgage credit conditions have been holding back homebuyers all year, and consumer confidence has been shaky recently,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, said. “Nonetheless, there is a sizeable pent-up demand based on population growth, employment levels and a doubling-up phenomenon that can’t continue indefinitely.”
Yun, who made his comments during the annual NAR conference for real estate agents in Anaheim, projected gross domestic product growth of 1.8 percent for 2011, rising to 2.2 percent in 2012 with the unemployment rate declining to 8.7 percent by the second half of 2012.
Mortgage interest rates, he predicted, would gradually rise from record 2011 lows to 4.5 percent by the middle of 2012.
“Very favorable affordability conditions will dominate next year as well, which will probably be the second best year on record dating back to 1970,” Yun explained. “Our hope is that credit restrictions will ease and allow more homebuyers to take advantage of current opportunities.”
Existing-home sales are forecast to edge up about 1 percent this year. Based on NAR’s current projection model, existing-home sales would total 4.96 million in 2011. NAR is revising downward existing-home sales totals in recent years although it expects little change to previously reported comparisons based on percentage change.
New-home sales for 2011 are projected at 302,000 this year, a record low, with expectations that they will rise about 23 percent to 372,000 in 2012.
Housing starts are forecast to rise about 8 percent to 630,000 from 583,000 in 2011.
With falling inventory, the median home price should rise in 2012, according to Yun. “Home prices have yet to show a definitive stabilization pattern in most areas. Still, given an over-correction in prices, there likely will be moderate appreciation in 2012,” he said.
Richard Peach, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Board of New York, said the economy continues to disappoint. “Among the significant structural impediments are the legacy of the housing boom and bust, and fiscal contrition at the state and local level,” Peach explained.
He promoted moving foreclosures by giving incentives to military service members.
“My idea is to allocate certificates to 2.5 million service members who served in Afghanistan and Iraq that could be used as a down payment on a foreclosed home in the Fannie or Freddie portfolio,” Peach said. This would help to absorb the inventory and stabilize the housing market.
A divided society: Homebuyers generally are older and richer in 2011 than in years past as the difficulty of qualifying for a loan makes it harder for younger, middle class home shoppers to buy, a new National Association of Realtors survey shows.
Another consequence of the latest housing slump difficulties: The proportion of first-time homebuyers is declining.
Among the survey’s findings:
- The median age of all homebuyers this year was 45, compared to 39 a year ago. The median age of repeat buyers was 53, up from 49.
- First-time buyers fell to 37 percent of the market, down from a record 50 percent in 2010.
- Eighty-five percent of buyers were married, also up from last year, since two-income households are more likely to have higher incomes and be more likely to afford a home.
- Gross household income for the repeat buyer this year was $96,600, up from $87,000 last year.
“We are creating a divided society,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Only the people with a very, very high credit score will be able to buy a home.”
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Source: Jeff Collins/The Orange County Register - November 12, 2011
The real estate industry has been through tough times. Short Sales and Foreclosure inventory still cast a significant shadow over the marketplace. Furthermore, the credit crunch is slowing down economic activity as lending guidelines and restrictions continue to reset to higher levels.
During the recent Economic Update conference Lawrence Yun told the audience that if lending standards simply returned to “normal,” there would be a 15%-20% increase in activity.
Strangeness can take many forms these days. Some of the stats may surprise you. Did you know that according to the Case Schiller index, housing prices have actually been stabilizing since 2009?
- New home construction is at its lowest annualized level since the second world war, yet builders across the country continue to struggle to get construction loans.
- Rental rates have risen by almost 6% while the cost of owning a home has dropped 2.6%, yet many members of the public wonder if they should opt to rent rather than buy.
According the Yun, the End of Strangeness will come when the following things happen:
1. Prices in the marketplace are allowed to recover without obstacles.
2. There is an increase in homebuyer confidence.
3. Lending opens up.
REALTORS® have a significant part to play in getting out the message about the opportunities available in their marketplace. T
One of the signers of the Constitution, James Madison is quoted as saying…
“Property owners are the best defense against tyranny.”
In the United States, over 60% of us have an ownership interest.
Source: National Association of Realtors
Grandezza, Estero
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Announcing a price reduction
on 20231 Calice Ct, #2703, a 2,150 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm other "Single Level - Upstairs Unit". Now
MLS®
$264,000
- Panoramic Views.
Property information
With the job market still bleak, more adult children--particularly young males--are moving back in with their parents to cut housing costs.
About 19 percent of males aged 25 to 34 live with their parents--a 5 percent increase from 2005, according to new U.S. Census data. About 10 percent of women aged 25 to 34 live with their parents, an 8 percent increase since 2005.
This "cuts into the formation of new households quite a lot," Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics, told CNN Money. Indeed, Zandi estimates about 150,000 fewer households are being created per year than what’s considered healthy for the economy.
The decline in household formation can be felt in the housing market and is contributing to the drop in property values, some economists note. Even the rental market, which has been posting gains recently, could be even brighter if adult children would rent instead of “double up” with their parents, economists note.
"If more young adults were in the market for rentals, rents would rise and higher rents can tip some households [of all ages] into buying homes," Lawrence Yun, the National Association of REALTORS®’ chief economist, told CNN Money.
What’s more, with more adult children moving back with their parents, it’s also preventing parents from downsizing and moving into a new home, economists note.
Source: “‘I’m Home!’ Adult Children Move Back In,” CNNMoney (Nov. 4, 2011)
Tourists are staying here a bit longer than they did a year ago. That's juicing up spending - and the bed taxes that help promote the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel.
When the council meets next month, statistics for the county's fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 should be ready.
"I anticipate this will be the highest bed-tax collection year in the history of the (council)," said Tamara Pigott, executive director for the county Visitor & Convention Bureau.
Some of the numbers backing Pigott's bullishness include:
• Bed tax collections for October through August: Up 7.2 percent year-over-year. The visitor bureau had set a goal of a 1.7 percent increase.
• Visitor spending, January through August: Up 13.5 percent, year-over-year.
"These are very good signs for the community," Pigott said, adding the numbers don't include the trickle-down economic effect.
The extra money coming in is already spoken for.
Lee County charges a 5 percent bed tax to renters of short-term lodgings. The allocation formula county commissioners most recently approved gives:
• 53.6 percent for visitor bureau operations, advertising and marketing
• 36.4 percent for beach and shoreline improvements; and
• 20 percent for several other items, but chiefly, to support construction of the new stadium complex the Boston Red Sox will use for spring training, and for debt-service and maintenance costs related to other county-owned sports facilities.
To make more dollars available for the new stadium project, Lee County Sports Authority's operations this year are paid for with bureau marketing funds, instead of the pot of money allocated for sports expenses.
Higher-than-forecast bed-tax revenue “gives us the option to consider potentially increasing our marketing funding,” Pigott said, adding that would require action by the tourism council and county commissioners.
Not all of the tourism numbers are positive. For example, total visitation is down 4.1 percent, year-over-year, because visitors staying with friends and relatives declined 14.5 percent. Helping to smooth that decline was a 7.6 percent jump in people staying in paid accommodations such as hotels and motels.
Still, longer stays by those who do come, are helping. Visitor surveys show average trip length is up by 1.3 percent. Hotelier surveys show the average length of stay is 4.8 nights, up from 4.7 nights.
At the Pink Shell resort on Fort Myers Beach, sales chief Ellis Etter attributes longer stays in the summer months to having “a lot of Canadian and United Kingdom travelers. They tend to have more vacation days,”
Etter didn’t have numbers available, but thinks average length of stays were longer before the economic downturn. “We might be heading back to those levels,” Etter said. “That’s a good sign.”
news-press
October 14