2011 was a good year for buyers of real estate

Results are in for Broward County, Fort Lauderdale and its surrounding areas. Florida Realtors confirms that 12,817 single-family homes were sold in 2011. This is almost at the same level as in 2004 when 14,226 properties were sold that year. Remember that 2004 signaled the beginning of rising prices and the decline of inventory.

In 2011, the average selling price of these homes stood at $ 186,000, the lowest price since 2001.

On the other hand, total sales of condominiums reached 16,714 units compared to 15,049 in 2010. The average selling price of these condos is $ 78,200, down 3 percent compared to 2010 and now the lowest price since 1975.

One fact worth mentioning regards the sale of distressed properties which includes short sales, bank-owned properties, REO and foreclosures in Broward County. 2011 saw an increase of 46 percent of all sales of distressed residential properties. There were more short sales than bank-owned properties sold which seems to indicate that banks are more willing now to accept short sales from their borrowers. Remember, however, that short sales take on average 521 days to close successfully compared to less than 120 days for a regular transaction.

As for foreign buyers, they pay cash for 90 percent of cases: 81 percent of condominiums and 38 percent of single family homes. In comparison, nationally, cash sales represent 29 percent of all purchases.

The inventory of properties for sale fell by 19.899 in 2010 to 12.997 in 2011, so 35 percent from one year to another. Nationally, the inventory declined by only 9 percent in late December.

Foreign buyers paid cash in most cases: 90 per cent of the time, split at 81 percent for condos and 38 percent for single-family homes. The national average for cash purchase is 29 percent.

A 3,500 years loss

On other news this week, Florida lost its oldest tree in a fire: a 3,500 years old bald cypress. You can view pictures and article on the New York Times here.

Rise in consumer confidence

A survey by Fannie Mae shows that 71 percent of consumers believe that this is now a good time to buy a home. Mortgage rates are at record lows. Investors too are very optimistic about 2012. They feel that home building permits will rise again this year, pushing housing stocks higher. The S&P homebuilding index increased 38 percent since mid-October as reported by USA Today. All in all, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) concludes that 2012 should be a great year in real estate on all levels. Source: RealtorMag

Buy now! says J R Talbott

To better understand where the real estate market is heading, you can read what the real estate guru, John R. Talbott predicts. Talbot is the author of “How I predicted the Global Economic Crisis“  in 2003. That book was instrumental for us to get out of the real estate market just in time before the crash. We were safe. Today, though, Talbott suggests that all is ripe to get back in the real estate market and buy now. He lists in this article the reasons why. Source: Huffington Post

Have a good week. Thank you for reading and commenting on this article.

Copyright © 2011-2012, Jean ‘J’ Feuillet,
Realtor®, CIPS, SFR, CPPM