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Monday November 2, 2009

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LOCAL AND STATE

New Chairman Installed at Board of Realtors

Kathleen Gallagher-McIver named new ORRA chairman

The Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association has inducted Kathleen Gallagher-McIver, RE/MAX Town & Country Realty, as 2009 - 2010 chairman of the 9,800-member organization. Her duties as chairman of the ORRA Board of Directors officially began on November 1, 2009. Also installed were Chairman-elect Mike McGraw, McGraw Real Estate Services, and Vice Chairman Sharon Voss, Watson Realty Corp. Gallagher-McIver steps into the position previously held by Les Simmonds, L.G. Simmonds Real Estate Corp., who remains on the board of directors as immediate past chairman. Gallagher-McIver hails from one of Orlando's most prominent real estate families; father Don Gallagher, who had the honor of formally installing his daughter, is a REALTOR® Emeritus with more than 40 years of service to the REALTOR® organization.

RUNNONA

Lake Nona will hold its second annual RUNNONA, the Lake Nona 5k and Nemours Kid's Run this Saturday, November 7. Participants will have an opportunity to see up close the latest developments taking place in Lake Nona, including the Medical City campus. Proceeds of the event will benefit the Tavistock Foundation, which serves programs and organizations in the communities where Lake Nona's parent company, Tavistock Group, has significant business interests. Click here for more details on how to enter the race.

UCF Offers New Real Estate Program Downtown

The University of Central Florida is establishing a new graduate program for Commercial Real Estate within their College of Business Administration. The University will support the local chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association by donating three educational packages for an auction fundraiser which will be held on November 11th, 2009. These packages include the tuition, fees and expenses for three master level business degrees offered through the UCF Downtown Orlando Administrative Executive Development Center, including a Professional Masters in Real Estate (PMRE). The starting bids for these packages will be set at about half of the retail cost. To learn more about UCF's latest addition to their curriculum visit the web site or call 407.823.2181.

Existing Home, Condo Sales up in September

Florida's existing home sales rose in September, which marks more than a year (13 months) that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. September's statewide sales also increased over sales activity in August in both the existing home and existing condominium markets. Existing home sales rose 34 percent last month with a total of 14,419 homes sold statewide. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.1 percent over statewide sales activity in August. Florida Realtors also reported a 77 percent increase in statewide sales of existing condos in September compared to the previous year's sales figure; statewide existing condo sales last month rose 8.9 percent over the total units sold in August.

Florida Consumer Confidence Flat in October

Floridians are more optimistic this month about their personal finances than they are about the U.S. economy as a whole, according to the latest University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research survey. Consumer confidence in the Sunshine State remained at 72, a level more in line with economists' expectations, according to the survey. "They remain bullish on buying opportunities and are likely to be even more optimistic when they see the drastically lower prices in the coming months from retailers trying to boost holiday sales among the most cautious U.S. consumers since the Great Depression," said Chris McCarty, survey director at the bureau.

NATIONAL NEWS

Recession Has Officially Ended

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports a 3.5 percent increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter. This is the best performance in two years and is far better than expectations. No one expects money will begin flowing like water again right away, but the economy is poised for an uptick. Less noticed is that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit will likely be extended through 2010 - and Congress will probably add a new $6,500 tax credit for current homeowners who have lived in their homes for at least five years.

Home Prices Continue to Improve

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price index of home prices show that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved compared to last month's reading. This marks approximately seven months of improved readings in these statistics, beginning in early 2009. As of August 2009, average home prices across the United States are at similar levels to where they were in the autumn of 2003.

New Home Sales Dip...

The Commerce Department reported last week that new home sales in September dropped 3.6 percent from August sales. New home sales, however, are up 22 percent from the bottom in January. Approximately 60 percent of the new homes sold in September were between $150,000 to $299,999, bolstered no doubt by first-time homebuyers.

...While Housing Starts Remain Steady

The Commerce Department also reported that overall housing starts posted a 0.5 percent gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units in September, returning to a production rate last seen in June. Starts of new single-family homes made up some of the ground lost in previous months with a nearly 4 percent gain, to a 501,000-unit rate. Housing starts were down across three out of four regions in September, but the South was the only region to register an increase in starts during September, with a 7.5 percent gain for the month.

...And Existing Homes Sales Rebound

E xisting-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales - including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops - jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units in September. Sales activity is at the highest level since July 2007. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable conditions matched with a tax credit are boosting home sales. "Much of the momentum is from people responding to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing many sellers to make a trade and buy another home," he said. "We are hopeful the tax credit will be extended and possibly expanded to more buyers, at least through the middle of next year... If we could continue to absorb inventory at this pace, home prices would return to normal, modest appreciation patterns next year."