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HOW LONG
WILL THE STAND OFF LAST? |
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::: REAL ESTATE NEWS
:::
Florida existing home sales: down
33%
versus July '05
Florida existing condo sales:
down 37%
versus July '05
Florida consumer confidence: 83
down 4 versus July '05
30-year fixed rate mortgage: 6.52%
up 0.72% vs. July '05
Source: Florida
Association of Realtors
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The Buyer's market has officially entered South
Florida with it's fourth quarter of Sellers unwilling to adjust
their prices and Buyers unwilling to pay the current high prices.
Inventory is reaching record levels and continues to grow.
The current amount of Homes and
Condos for sale through professional realtors in Miami Dade County
has more than tripled in a year and surpassed 27,000 units in July of 2006. Actual Sales have
dropped to less than 2,000 a month. In other words; Without any new
homes being listed from today on, we would have more than a year
supply of homes to be sold.
Both clients and real estate professionals are asking themselves for
how long this will continue?
Like the rest of the economy the
Real Estate market is simply entering its next cycle. In the past
similar scenarios of increasing inventory have continued to grow for
6 consecutive quarters until prices started to fall significantly.
So when is this stand off expected to end? Last quarter of 2006
beginning of 2007 would be a turning point according to analysts.
Accurate
pricing and staging of your home
is becoming increasingly important should you decide to sell now.
Overpricing will keep a home much longer on the market, add more
carrying costs and will ultimately force the seller to sell at a
much lower price in the future.
Izzy Buholzer, Realtor
izzy@ibmiami.com |
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Transferability of existing homestead exemption
There might be some good news on the horizon
for existing homeowners and residents in Florida. Many long
term residents in Florida are currently feeling trapped in
their home and hesitate to move on. A sale/purchase or
exchange into a new home would trigger a sometimes
significant property tax increase.
Also known
as "Save Our Homes," Florida residents voted for the
Constitutional Amendment in 1992 to cap the taxable value of
their homes. The amendment went into effect in 1995. The cap
limits the increase in the annual assessment of homestead
properties in Florida to 3% or to the Consumer Price Index,
whichever is less.
The recent
price boom in Florida has created huge tax differences
between homeowners in the same area. At the same time it
prevents many homeowner from selling and buying a new home
to simply keep their taxable value at a low level.
(See article by Miami Dade County)
A potential
"portability" of the Homestead exemption level would help
not only the long term homeowners but also to stimulate the
current slump in sales. We will keep you posted on this
subject.
Izzy Buholzer, Realtor
izzy@ibmiami.com
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RENTAL
PROPERTIES - HOT TUB TIP
(August, 20 1, 2006) -- This suggestion gets you into hot water: Hot
tubs make second homes more rentable. Anyone who plans to rent out a
second home to vacationers should consider adding a hot tub, says
Bill May, owner of Sunspots Ins, Resorts and Rentals, which
maintains more than 100 properties in Hawaii and other vacation
spots. May estimates that vacation rental condos with hot tubs bring
in an average of $14,000 more annually than rentals without hot
tubs.
"It's a four-season
amenity and something people really like to have available, even
though they might not use it," he says. "It would probably pay for
itself three times over in less than a year." Beyond a hot tub,
"What people want and will remember is that the home is pristinely
clean," says Penny Taylor, May's wife and business partner. "Renters
remember crisp linens and sparkling floors and are after a spot
where all they need to bring is clothes and food."
Source: Los Angeles Times, Tom Kelly
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e-2
immigration visa to the united states
If you would like to live and work in the United States, an E2
investment Visa may be the best way for you to gain entry into the
land of opportunity.
An E2 visa is a special non-immigrant visa that is available to
nationals of more than 60 countries. Many of the countries on this
list (which you can view at
http://www.ibmiami.com/e2visa.htm) are developing countries
whose nationals would otherwise find a permanent entry into the U.S.
almost impossible.
In order to get an
E2 visa you must demonstrate that you wish to enter the United
States in order to do the following activities:
1. Invest substantially in an already-established U.S. business
2. Develop and direct the operation of a business in which you have
previously invested or which you are actively in the process of
investing capital
3. Develop and direct investments coming from your country into the
United States.
For more
information visit our website at
http://www.ibmiami.com/Pressrelease_E-2Visas.htm.
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