Not Many Homes Are For Sale And Prices Are Up!
Florida remains 2 in the nation in terms of buyer re-location from other states with over 1,000 buyer per day are moving into Florida. While the increase in market values has slowed, they are still markedly higher than last year's numbers. So, what's the breakdown?
In Fort Myers:
* The inventory of homes for sale is at a 13-year record low, decreasing by as much as 30% over last year.
* Median home prices are $285,000. That is up almost 12% over last year.
* Days on market has decreased from a 59 day average down to 40.
Here are the results for year to date activity through March 31, on Fort Myers Beach:
* In 2020 average selling prices for manufactured homes on Fort Myers Beach dropped 12.3% from 2019 values due to Covid.
* Prices have recovered nicely and are now 14.1% above 2020 values at an average of $260,000
* Bay front and canal properties continue to be in demand.
In short, it remains a seller's market.
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There are two basic types of mortgage loan programs, conventional and government-backed. A conventional loan is one where the issuing lender assumes the risk of making the mortgage. Should the loan ever go into default and the lender is forced to foreclose, the lender is on the hook for the entire loss. There is in fact private mortgage insurance used for low down payment conventional loans, but the insurance policy only covers the difference between 80% of the value of the property and the actual down payment. With a 5% down payment, 15% of the loan amount will be covered.
For the past year, open houses weren’t really happening throughout most of the country because of the pandemic. Now that vaccines are available and slowly, the country is starting to return to a sense of normalcy, there may be an uptick in open houses.
It’s not uncommon to want to sell a home to a family member, but it can become a tricky situation. You have to be mindful of not only the personal elements that can come with doing this type of transaction with a relative, but the IRS may also scrutinize the transaction if you don’t avoid certain red flags.
