April figures show Marco home market growing at healthy pace

April figures show

Marco home market
growing at healthy
pace

Written by

Bill Filbin

May 26, 2011|

Statistics for Marco Island-only properties
from the Marco Island Area Association of
Realtors Multiple Listing Service continue to
show high sales activity.

Pending listings, all property types, are up
in the year-to-year comparison (April
2010 to April 2011) by 22.03 percent and
up in the month-to-month comparison
(March 2011 to April 2011) by 7.46
percent.

Total all property types closed (Marco
Island only) is up by 36.25 percent in the
March-April 2011 comparison and up by
almost 2 percent in the yearly comparison.

The average sales price was up 32.47
percent in the monthly comparison and up
12.73 percent in the yearly comparison.

The median sales price was up 25.98
percent and 1.27 percent respectively in
both comparisons.

Total sold dollar volume was up 80.49
percent in the month-to-month comparison

and 14.83 percent in the yearly
comparison.

Meanwhile, inventory on Marco Island
continues to decrease.

Total active listings, all property types, are
down from last year by 7.40 percent and
down in the month-to-month comparison
by 4.96 percent.

Delinquent Homeowner dues collections procedure

In last month’s newsletter, I wrote about delinquent homeowner dues and how the boards can become more aggressive with collections.

This month I will focus on what the state of Florida has done to help Hoa /condominium boards in terms of regulations that has helped many associations recover some, if not all back dues.

Basically, the new law allows associations to collect fees directly from renters if the owner-landlords don't pay up! If a renter pays rent to an owner-landlord that is at least 90 days behind in their dues the association now has the right to grab that monthly rent check that is heading to the owner-landlord. This law has been on the books for some time but I wanted to bring it up again since there are so many boards that are not taking advantage of this law.

It amazes me how some boards are shying away from this tough stance at the expense of the others. Maybe it’s because the boards do not want to offend anyone. Maybe it’s because the boards want to live in peace and not get their car/home or any other personal item vandalized. But whatever the reason is one thing is certain, the board has a fiduciary responsibility to all homeowners. This is a tough statement but it’s true. Boards have a very tough job. They have to run the association with everyone in mind not just a few. So what is a board to do? Where should the board start?

Before any collections of rent start, my first call would be to your attorney. I always recommend asking your in-house attorney for advice in matters like this. Most firms are now experienced with this type of collections procedures and have the tools to help. For example, some law firms have specially designed forms specifically for tenant rent collection. Some attorneys have short forms some have long forms like the law firm I worked with in Orlando, Florida which had a three page notice that went to the tenant and the owner-landlord.

In any case, once the owner-landlord / tenant receive the notice be prepared because the calls will start coming in. And keep in mind most tenants haven’t heard of such a law. As far as their concerned, they have a lease with the owner-landlord not with the association.

It‘s amazing how this new law has helped so many associations recover past dues. It’s also amazing how few boards are taking advantage of it. Again, maybe the boards do not want to offend anyone. Maybe they are in fear of their personal property whatever the reason you, as a board member, should make it your priority to get the monies due your association.

So, you may ask where do you start? How can my board try and limit exposure to retaliation? The answer is simple. Hire a management company to handle the dirty work. By hiring a competent management company you help insulate yourself, somewhat, to direct retaliation. By hiring a competent management company you now have a buffer between you and the owners / renters. Let the management company take the full force of the upset homeowners /renters anger / fears. You have enough to worry about. Right? You don’t need aggravation and late night door knocking. What you need is an efficient and predictable way to handle these types of situations, especially in this very tense environment we are now living in.

So, if you need advice, feel free to contact me. I will help anyway I can. But please start a program, any program, that captures renters monies going to delinquent homeowners pockets instead of your association’s where it belongs.

I have a more detailed plan I used in the past for other associations. If you would like a FREE copy just simply call or email me your request. I will be happy to send it to you free of charge.

561-707-4900

Frank LaMorte

Lcam, Broker Associate

Schlitt Property Management

Coldwell Banker Commercial

Frank.LaMorte@ColdwellBanker.com

Housing Market Conditions

Gradual and uneven progress in the housing market continues without government support. The market has shown remarkable improvement from the initial drop after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit this past July. Although higher-than-normal distressed sales skew the overall picture of home prices downward, inventory remains at pretax credit expiration levels.

The rock-bottom interest rates of2010 are likely to trend upward. As economists anticipate rates at or above 6% by the end of 2012, buyers are moving off the sidelines and into the market.

Recent reports suggest the economy is picking up steam even though it is not yet fuly reflected in the job market. In terms of economic growth, America outpaces all the other G7 nations except Canada. However, when it comes to adding back jobs, America is the weakest. During the recession, businesses looked for ways to increase efficiency and productivity. U.S. productivity, or output per worker, doubled in both of the past two years. A ful housing recovery depends on growing employment. Without jobs, most Americans cannot buy new homes or afford their current ones. As the economy continues to pick up steam, employment wil likely folow suit as there is a limited amount of productivity workers can provide.

While the economy improves, stimulus efforts by the government and the Federal Reserve Board wil gradually wind down, which typically spurs rising interest rates. Meanwhile, buyers continue to benefit from historicaly favorable buying conditions and sellers are encouraged by increased market stability.

Home Sales

Although home sales have falen 9.6% compared to the previous month, they remain close to last year’s levels, showing only a 2.8% decline. The unseasonably cold weather across much of the country during late January and February could have kept buyers indoors more so than normal. Gradual improvement with bumps along the way has long been the anticipated road to full recovery. In fact, home sales remain 26.4% above the low last July. As Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association ofRealtors, explains “month-to-month movements can be instructive, but in this uneven recovery, it’s important to look at the long-term performance.”

Home Price

Home prices continued to soften in January with median home prices decreasing to $156,100. This is 5.2% below the year-ago level and brings the median price close to February 2002 levels. Two out of every five homes sold during February, or 40% of sales, were distressed properties. Distressed sales often sell for 10%~20% less than traditional home sales. The decline in home prices is less reflective of the value of individual homes and more reflective of the bargains that a record level of al cash buyers and investors are snapping up. Prices and mortgage rates remain favorable for buyers as the spring selling season.

For Free information on what your home could sell for simply e-mail me at:

Frank@FrankLaMorteRealty.com or call 561-707-4900