Morrison New Build Incentives

New-home sales are slower than builders would like, but discounts and deals and heavy marketing are beginning to show results, some builders report.

Taylor Morrison, the home builder and community developer created from the merger of Morrison Homes and Taylor Woodrow, for example, reports that its Central Florida sales in October and November were stronger than expected as incentives tap into pent-up demand.

Taylor Morrison builds single-family and town homes in 15 Orlando-area communities.
The various incentive packages now include a "Home for the Holidays" bonus worth $2,500 off the price of any new Taylor Morrison built home in any of the builder's Orlando-area subdivisions.

Maitland is the company's regional headquarters. Morrison had been considering making Maitland its national headquarters, with a move from the Atlanta area, until the merger took place and Taylor gained control.

Nemours Children's Hospital Moving

Nemour Children's Hospital was to be with the cluster of hospital to make up "Medical City" in Orlando near Lake Nona, has decided to purchase 118 acre tract of land near Boggy Creek Road instead. The CEO decide that this new location will give them much more needed land, than the 37 acre land at Lake Nona.

New Developement in Minneola

Minneola, a small town located just north of Clermont, and about 45-50 minutes from downtown Orlando is getting a new 700 home community spread called Minneola Ridge, to go along with other new development of Hills of Minneola a 4,000 home community next to Sugar Loaf Mountain a 2,000 home community. Commercial growth, and schools will occur with the residential developments.

Orlando Real Estate Comparison with Florida

Orlando recorded more single-family existing-home sales during the third quarter than any of Florida's other metropolitan areas except the far-larger Tampa-St. Petersburg market, an industry report showed Wednesday.

Sales in Orlando's four-county metro area were still down 39 percent from a year ago, when the market was cooling but still far hotter than it is now, the Florida Association of Realtors reported. But the 4,005 homes sold by Realtors in Metro Orlando bested all other metro areas except Tampa-St. Petersburg, which recorded 5,913 resales of single-family homes. Click Here for full story. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-homesales2207nov22,0,3513721.story

Blue Rose Condo-Hotel

Construction was supposed to begin this year on the Blue Rose, a massive condominium hotel planned for Universal Boulevard near the Orange County Convention Center. But plans are on hold for now. The developers are no longer writing sales contracts for units, priced at $350,000 or more. Instead, they are taking reservations that can be converted into contracts in the future. The project doesn't have a date for breaking ground, either. A project sales executive acknowledges the slump in the condo-hotel market but says the delays are largely due to internal issues and changing plans. She said pre-sales activity would resume when a firmer schedule is approved. The 1,600-room, three-tower project won't open until late 2011 at the earliest -- two years later than originally announced. Orlando is noted to have the 3 largest condo-hotel market.

Star Tower Condomimum

Star Towner Condominum another completed addition to Downtown Orlando Real Estate. This 100 unit condo tower is 80% sold out and ready for closing and resident move in. This building is located at 260 Osceola Avenue, and developers believe it well positioned for success with location and amount of residential and job growth increasing.

New Movie Theater In Downtown Orlando

As part of downtown Orlando's new multibillion dollar makeover, AMC Entertainment will be opening a new 12 screen movie theater on Orange Avenue, much needed thing for downtown's growing residential population. It goes along with the redevelopment of adding a Publix grocery store, new performing arts center, and renovated Citrus Bowl will make residential living an attractive option.

October Real Estate Market Statistics

Orlando Regional Realtor Association complied the latest October 2007 statistics.

• Average mortgage rate 6.21%
• Inventory: 26,330
• New Listings: 4,958
• New Contracts: 1,304
• Under Contract: 1,923
• Back on the Market: 310 Days
• Expired: 1,969
• Withdrawn: 2,181
• Sales Closed: 1,034
• Average Days on Market: 112

For historical statistics please click here: http://www.orlrealtor.com/Pages/marketpulse/MarketPulse1107.pdf

Florida Economic Forecasts

Florida Econmist came together to discuss forecasts although no hard numbers were presented.

Econmist indicates they do not expect the housing market to further weaken, but will take time into 2009 for full recovery.

State toursim industry indicates that tourism has been flat during 2007, and steady due to the strong value for Europeans and Canadians. High oil prices have held back domestic tourism.

Governor Charlie Crist predict the homestead portability proposal change will stimulate the housing market. Although other experts predict it to have a marginal positive impact.

Mercedes Homes Offering New Concept

Mercedes homes is building a new townhome community off Airport Blvd. in Sanford called Windsor Lakes will be opening a new swimming pool, cabana, and pushing an amenities center which will be featured in all town home communities throughout Central Florida. Windsor Lakes will be 203 townhome community.

Orlando Real Estate Doing Better than Others

Despite the slow down in real estate sales Orlando is still attactive to buyers. Based on number of sales Orlando is second best behind Tampa in September. Orlando sold twice as many homes in September than Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

40 Million American Moved in 2006

The Census Bureau is reporting 14% of the popluation or 39.8 million people moved between 2005-2006. Here are some of the results:

• 18.4 Million or nearly half moved because they wanted a bigger or smaller home
• West US had the highest moving rate at 16%, followed by South at 15%, the Midwest at 13% and Northeast at 10%
• 30% of renters moved from another rental and 7% of owner occupied moved
• 62% moved within the same county, and 20% moved to a different county, 14% moved to a different state, and 3% moved abroad

Orlando Unemployment Rate

Orlando's Unemployment Rate is 4.0 percent in September, holding steady from August at 4.0 percent. This means 373,000 more jobless out of 9,270,000 work force. The nations unemployment rate is 4.7 percent. Orlando added 22,700 jobs in the past year. Florida has one of the lowest unemployment rates.

Lake Nona Room to Grow & Growing

The Lake Nona development in southeast Orlando is on solid ground financially, owned as it is by British billionaire Joe Lewis and controlled by his Tavistock Group Inc. in Windermere.

Just as importantly, it has plenty of real ground.

"We have more land mass than Winter Park," said Robert Adams, vice president of marketing for Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. The club is the crown jewel of the 7,000-acre spread, but it's just a tiny piece in the treasure chest of Lake Nona, now 21 years old.

These are slower times for local builders and developers, so the backing of a billionaire helps ensure Lake Nona's long-term success.

Many residential developers are scrambling for customers, cutting home prices and giving away cruises to get people to tour their empty models. Lake Nona, by contrast, is preparing the ground for a medical school, a veterans hospital, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, a town center, and a 500-acre science-and-technology office park. Plus lots of homes.

There's room for about 20,000 people, in addition to the 1,000 homes already occupied, most of them since Tavistock took control in 1997.

The company-owned community has so much land, it recently donated 334 acres to Orlando for a city park.

That's eight times bigger than Lake Eola Park, at 43 acres, and 11 percent larger than the city's previous largest public playground, the 300-acre Turkey Lake Park on the southwest side of town."

All roads lead to Lake Nona," said Adams, speaking last week at the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties' monthly meeting at the Sheraton Downtown Orlando. "That's because all roads lead to the [Orlando International] Airport. And we're right next to the airport."

That doesn't hurt.

Adams said Tavistock Managing Director Rasesh Thakkar, Lewis' right-hand man in Orlando, had been scheduled to speak at the association meeting but was asked at the last minute by University of Central Florida President John Hitt to accompany him to the state capital to meet with lawmakers about UCF projects at Lake Nona. Courtesy Orlando Sentinel 10/1/07.

New Development by Mercedes Homes

In the Orlando area, Shingle Creek is known as the small, southerly stream where hotelier Harris Rosen recently opened his lavish Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. Elsewhere in Florida, Shingle Creek is recognized as part of the northernmost headwaters for rainwater flowing south from Orange and Osceola counties to the Everglades.

Now Central Florida-based Mercedes Homes has started work on a 104-home subdivision near the slow-moving creek. Shingle Creek Reserve at The Oaks is located off John Young Parkway and Pleasant Hill Road in Kissimmee.

This morning, Cristina Quintana, the recently appointed president of the Brevard County-based builder's Orlando division, said that a Jacqueline Bay model home has been built and is now open for public inspection.

She said two more models will be opened by mid-October.Homes in the development will range from 1,978 square feet to 4,295 square feet, and will be priced from the $290,000s, which is well below the region's average sale price for production-built subdivisions last year, according to industry surveys. Merecedes Home is the nations 28th largest builder. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 9/20/07.

Brokerage Firm Auction off $100 million in Real Estate

Orlando-based brokerage IDX Realty will auction off an estimated $100 million in property early next month in one of the largest local auctions of its kind in the slumping real estate sales market.

This auction, scheduled for Oct. 6, will be conducted both in person at an Orlando hotel as well as online for potential buyers who cannot attend in person or perhaps prefer the newer technique involving a few clicks of a computer keyboard.

IDX broker Christopher Sampson said he has lined up sellers from Florida and four other states who want to unload their properties fast in a mega-sized, one-day sale.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Double Tree Suites Hotel in Orlando, and online at the same time at idxpa.com.

Sampson said there have been lots of real estate auctions in the past and more announced every day because of the anemic sales environment, "but very few, if any, to this degree and magnitude involving so many properties at one time." The properties for sale run from vacant land and commercial buildings to multimillion-dollar estate homes.

The more than 60 properties in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey are being sold by investors, builders with too much inventory, lenders with foreclosed property, Realtors and regular homeowners who need to liquidate assets.

The IDX web site lists many of the properties so buyers can perform their due diligence analysis in advance. Most properties have a video, virtual tour or a slide show, as well as satellite map imaging to show the home's exact location. All listed properties have been appraised and the various home and termite inspections have been completed.

All registered bidders will be eligible to bid during the auction. Typical auction purchase contracts limit the contingencies a seller allows a buyer, although many sellers are providing incentives such as paying closing costs. Buyers are required to pay a deposit of 10 percent of the final sale price at the end of the auction, with closings generally set 30 to 45 days after the auction. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 9/20/07.

Subrime Lenders Yank Popular Loan

Lenders have abruptly stopped offering the most popular type of subprime mortgage. Credit-challenged borrowers suddenly have fewer options.

"Many borrowers are not going to be able to refinance," says Deborah Goldstein, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending. The consumer watchdog group has criticized loose standards for subprime mortgages, which are home loans for people with problem credit -- generally, with credit scores below 620.

Over the past few years, the most common type of subprime loan has been an adjustable-rate mortgage known as the 2/28 ARM. Since mid-July, five of the six biggest subprime mortgage lenders stopped offering 2/28 ARMs. Suddenly, there's a shortage of the type of mortgage preferred by about 60 percent of subprime borrowers.

For more details and information on refinancing options for subprime loans, click http://www.bankrate.com/baw/news/mortgages/subprime_20070726_a1.asp

Builders Offering New Incentives to Buy

One of the holdups for many new-home sales these days is that the buyers may be stuck trying to sell their current homes. Now one major local builder is trying to get around that with a "no-payment-for-six-months plan."Mercedes Homes, through its mortgage subsidiary MHi Mortgage, will pay a home buyer's new mortgage for as long as six months while the buyer completes the sale of an existing property. The program differs from more limited ones in that Mercedes Homes, based in Melbourne, will pay all four parts: principal, interest, taxes and insurance.Loan amounts can range as high as $417,000, and for owner-occupied deals as much as 95 percent financing is available, along with other seller incentives, according to Sue Stewart, president of MHi Mortgage.Buyers must have a minimum credit score of 660 to be eligible. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel.

Orlando Real Estate July Statistics

Orlando Regional Realtor Association real estate market statistics are:

• Average Mortgage Rate: 6.5%
• Inventory of Homes: 26,018
• New Listings: 5,404,
• New Contracts: 1,717
• Under Contract: 2,571
• Back on Market: 329
• Expired Listings: 1,786
• Withdrawn Listings: 2,206
• Sales Closed: 1,354
• Average Days on Market: 100

To view previous months, please click: http://www.orlrealtor.com/Pages/marketpulse/Market-Pulse-8-07.pdf

Condo Hotels

Orlando ranked the third largest in condo hotel market is fading out, after a sizzling real estate market just one year ago. Lexington at Orlando City Place in downtown Orlando just claim bankruptcy and sales are dismal for other condo hotels that have yet to break ground. Developers are wondering how long the market will adjust back to normal sales pace. Condo Hotels are units that someone owns, but operate like hotel with hotel services, the owner can opt to rent it out to other vacationers. Condo hotels have been deemed a risky product, and lenders think the same as borrowers financing requirements are much different as opposed to buying a traditional condo unit.

Orlando Median Price of Homes Up

The median price of a home purchased in the Orlando area in June increased to $253,000, up 1.61 percent from June 2006, but sales fell nearly 50 percent from the same month a year ago, the Orlando regional Realtor Association said this morning.One sign of some stability though: The inventory of homes for sale through the local Multiple Listing Service rose by only 460 homes in June, compared with the heftier 1,028 increase in May.The total inventory of 25,923 is yet another record, though, and a 40.6 percent increase over June 2006's total of 18,437 homes for sale. It would take 18.12 months to sell all those homes and condos at the current, sluggish sales pace.

Orlando's Fastest Growing Area

Just east of the airport and considered Southeast Orlando, now home to Lake Nona area, is one of the fastest growing areas of Orlando. This area soon to be the next bio tech hub of the nation and technological sector built along "innovation way". By 2020, this area is expected to house 37,000 residents, but right now there is much land and developments underway along 417 and 528 Expressway. To learn more about the business growth in this area see, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-biomed2107jun21,0,119751,print.story?coll=orl_tab03_layout. Courtesy Orlando Sentinel 6/21/07.

Florida FCAT Scores

Florida FCAT score determine school grades and what parents look for in evaluating schools and buying properties in certain school districts. These school grades will be released next week for 2008-2009 school year.

Buyers Market in Orlando

Existing-home sales in Florida and across the nation continued to fall in April, and industry analysts said the subprime-mortgage market meltdown could foreshadow further weakness.

Florida's home sales plunged 26 percent to 12,016, and the median sales price slipped 3 percent from the same time a year ago to $237,800, the Florida Association of Realtors reported Friday.

Metro Orlando sales were off 35 percent and the median price dipped 5 percent to $250,300. Condo sales for the four-county region plummeted 57 percent to 207, and the median price slipped 7 percent to $166,100.

Statewide, condo sales were off 19 percent. But the median sales price showed some firming, rising 3 percent to $215,500.Nationally, existing-home sales in April fell 2.6 percent from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million, the National Association of Realtors said in a separate report. That was a 10.7 percent drop from April 2006.

Median prices dipped 0.8 percent from the same time a year ago to $220,900, the ninth straight decline.Real estate analyst Mike Larson, with Weiss Research Inc. in Jupiter in South Florida, said the state, which saw "spectacular gains in sales and prices on the way up," is now seeing prices and sales fall faster than the nation overall.

Larson said excess supply, overextended borrowers and rising foreclosures are some of the reasons for slack demand. But Larson and National Association of Realtors Senior Economist Lawrence Yun pointed to tighter lending standards as a factor.

Mortgage lenders, prodded by federal regulators, are making it harder for borrowers with weak credit to get a home loan.Subprime loans are higher-interest loans for borrowers who cannot get the best rates for various reasons, typically younger families, first-time buyers and people with past credit problems.Many borrowers who took out those loans in recent years are now defaulting, dumping homes on the market or losing them to foreclosure.

The core Orlando area's April sales -- mainly in Orange and Seminole counties -- were reported earlier this month, and showed the median price for homes and condos falling 3.1 percent, the first year-over-year decline since February 2002. Sales were down more than 40 percent from a year earlier.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association, which for decades has tracked sales in the core market, includes condos and town homes in its figures. The three Realtor groups -- national, state and local -- all use different methods for reporting sales and median prices. Courtesy Orlando Sentinel 5/26/07.

If you are buyer it is a great time to buy with many choices and better contractual terms.

Inventory Up; Its a Buyers Market

The growth in the number of homes listed by Realtors in the Orlando area slowed in April, but the median price dipped from the same month a year ago.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association said the decrease put the median price of homes sold at $241,000, down 3.11 percent from April 2006 when the market was still hot. But that was up from $240,000 in March, when the median fell sharply.

For sellers, the growth in the inventory to a record 24,435 homes, up by another 888 listings in April, means more competition. But the dip in the median price and the large selection gives buyers even more bargaining power and reduces the pressure "to make quick decisions," said Randy Martin, president of the Orlando Realtor trade group.

Martin said the local housing market appears to be "seeking a middle ground" between buyers and sellers and noted that the growth in inventory slowed from March, when another 1,492 homes and condos posted for-sale signs.

The 30-year mortgage loan rate average also remained below 6 percent during the month, at 5.93 percent, another helpful factor, Martin said.

The number of homes sold in metro Orlando ? Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole ? fell 41.4 percent from April, 2006, and year-to-date sales were down 35.1 percent. Orange County sales were off 44.4 percent, Seminole's fell 36.6 percent, Lake was down 30.3 percent and Osceola fell the most, at 47 percent. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 5/10/07.

17-92 Way Down the Road to Be Wider

Preliminary studies on widening 17-92 from Lake Mary Blvd to Airport Blvd will take a long time to plan and execute. Widening is expected for 3.65 to begin 2010 and completed 2014. Initial planning will cover concerns of environmental impact, rising costs of construction materials and real estate. This highway will be more user friendly by offering better look to the area and bicycle lanes as well.

Young Home Buyer with Money

Keep an eye on the young-with-money set — 18-to-35-year-olds with household incomes of $100,000 or more. They’ll be good prospects, particularly for upscale homes, says Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics.

The demographic represents 26.6 percent (6.2 million) of the 23.2 million adults with household incomes over $100,000 in the 87 metros regularly surveyed by The Media Audit, part of International Demographics.

The number of young with money also eclipses the age 55 and over bracket. “There are more — by both percent and actual number — adults with six-figure incomes under the age of 35 than there are over the age of 54,” says Jordan.

An analysis of Federal Reserve data by the National Association of Home builders bears this out: Median income for 55-plus households is somewhat lower than it is for younger households.

Better educated women, wealthier men

Fifty-six percent of the women in the young-with-money group have one or more degrees, compared with 46 percent of the men. Although younger women tend to have more degrees, more younger men, 60.9 percent, have six-figure incomes compared with 39.1 percent of women. And men get to the $100,000 income level more quickly, with 19.4 percent of 18- to 20-year-old men at or above this income compared with 15.6 percent of women.

Still, education level is key to wealth for this group, and Jordan anticipates that young adults with money, particularly those with an education, will continue to be a growing part of the marketplace.

Homeownership trends

Younger women aren’t only more likely to buy a house, but they’re also more likely to own a larger or more expensive home compared with men in the same demographic.

• 46.5 percent of women age 18 to 35 have homes valued at $300,000 or more.
• 42.2 percent of men have homes valued at $300,000 or more.
• 80.7 percent of women in this group own their home, compared with 74.3 percent of men.

Other young-with-money stats

• 63.2 percent of the “young with money” are 25-34
• 58.3 percent are Caucasian
• 9.7 percent are African-American
• 15.3 percent are Hispanic
• 12.7 percent are Asian
Courtesy www.FloridaRealtors.org

Church Street Station Brings Out Buyers

Church Street Station an Entertainment Complex and i-con to downtown Orlando is facing bankruptcy. The anticipated auction will be held on 4/5/07 and drawing nationwide interest. For minimum bid of $34 million, comes with 64,000 sq. ft. of commercial real estate, eight buildings at intersection of Pine and Church Street, and between I-4 and CSX rail lines. Downtown Orlando is exploding with changes from new high rise condos, office space, and retail. And new stadium and entertainment complex in discussion West of I-4. Church Station is in a great area, with lots of possibilities for new owners.

Inflation and Housing Market

A fresh batch of data Thursday signaling rising inflation, combined with ongoing concerns about the nationwide slump in home sales, has sharpened the debate over whether the weakness in housing will spill into the broader economy and spark a recession.

The U.S. Labor Department's Producer Price Index for February jumped by 1.3 percent, above the market estimate of 0.5 percent, with a big increase in energy prices and the largest rise in food costs in more than three years.

Even excluding food and energy, the core wholesale index rose 0.4 percent, double what analysts were predicting.

Worries about the ripple effect of problems in the subprime-mortgage market also are adding to fears. The subprime-lending market is the sector serving higher-risk borrowers, with higher interest rates and far higher chances of forclosures.

"Everything is kicking the housing market while it's down," said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida.

Weakness in new-home sales and the record backlog of existing homes for sale in the Orlando area and others parts of the country are problems that could now linger into 2008, Snaith said, rather than dissipate by late 2007.

But with mortgage-interest rates still low, continuing job growth, and unemployment rates that are "incredibly low," he said, "all the underpinnings for the economy are still on solid ground."
Metro Orlando also continues to look particularly healthy relative to some markets, he said.

In his latest forecast, for example, Snaith projects that employment growth in the Orlando area will slow only slightly during the third and fourth quarters, in terms of year-over-year percentage change, then begin accelerating in the first quarter of 2008 and be back to 2006 levels by the end of next year. Single-family home starts are projected to continue falling until the second quarter of 2008. Courtesy Orlando Sentinel 3/16/07.

Burnham Institute Breaks Ground Soon

The Burnham Institute plans to break ground on a state-of-the-art facility in southeast Orlando as soon as October after winning approval of the largest financial incentive package in Central Florida history Monday.The La Jolla, Calif.-based nonprofit biomedical-research institute is already recruiting scientists to work in Orlando. They will move into temporary laboratories at Florida's Blood Centers in June until a permanent facility opens in 2009.

Members of the Orlando City Council called it a historic day when they approved the city's share of the $367.2 million incentive package. Burnham agreed to bring at least 303 high-paying jobs here during the next 10 years, in exchange for incentives that amount to roughly one job for every $1.2 million.

This area will be the catalyst for other companies moving to the area, such as Neimours Childrens Hospital, UCF Medical School, and VA Hospital. Courtesy 3/6/07 Orlando Sentinel.

Maitland Condos

Maitland at 17-92 and Horatio is being revitalized with new store fronts and new downtown center look and more projects expected to start construction. Just north of this area along 17-92 will be the new condo community called The Trevi, with pricing starting at $350K for these luxury condos. And sales have begun at 711 N. Orange Ave. in Maitland for its luxury condo development at U.S. Highways 17-92 and Sybelia Parkway in Maitland. First phase will offer 59 condos. Look for future updates on this areas improvements.

Consumer Real Estate Survey

National Association of Realtor surveyed 7,500 buyers and sellers around the country and the results indicated about the home search & purchase:

• 85% of home buyers used a real estate agent during thier home search
• 64% of buyers who use a agent utilize the services of a buyers agent
• 75% of buyers viewed the internet as very useful too in their home search
• A majority of buyers searched for eight week before purchasing a home
• 1 in 5 homes purchased were newly built home
• 75% of buyers purchase a single family detached home
• Neighborhood quality was the most important factor for buyers selection a location
• The typical buyer purchased a home slightly larger than 1,800 sq. ft.

Courtesy of Orlando Realtor Publication.

Martha Stewart Home Community In Orlando

New Martha Stewart inspired community is coming to Central Florida. This community called Avellino will be located in southwest Windermere over 31 acres. The architectual style of homes will be themed after Martha Stewarts own homes.

KB homes expects homes to be sold out in 12-14 months based her reputation. These homes will be different from the first Stewart community in North Carolina, as this will have local landscape and tastes. These homes will feature front porches, rear access garages, smaller lots with community spaces and side walks to encourage people to mingle. This community will not have retail space or town center.

Stewart has 4 other communities on the horizon in Texas, California, Georgia, and another in North Carolina. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 1/5/07.