Cape Coral Florida's Real Estate Guide

To choose the best home possible for you and your family, ask questions to find out if the homes you are considering are deals or duds. Here are some questions to ask that can help you decide what home is right for you.

1. Why is the owner moving?

This can help you determine how motivated the seller is and tell you whether you are going to be able to get a good deal on the property. Answers like divorce, tight finances, or an out-of-state move are good indicators that the home owner is really ready to get their home sold.

2. How long has the home been on the market?

If a home has been on the market for a long time, bid low as you are more likely to have your offer accepted. Chances are the seller will just want to get the home sold. However, if the home has only just gone on the market, back off and keep looking. A seller of a home that just went on the market isn't going to be as motivated and you won't get the best deal possible.

3. What is the average "price per foot" of homes in the area?

Go to town assessor's office and using public records, calculate the average price per square foot of homes in the area. This serves as a great equalizer for all of the homes you are considering and gives you solid figure to shop by.

4. Is this house the most expensive house in the neighborhood?

Never buy the most expensive house in a neighborhood. They do not sell as well or appreciate like mid-range homes. Buy a home in an average price range-it will be easier to sell and fluctuations in home value will not affect your home as badly.

5. How many homes are for sale in the neighborhood?

Look for a maximum of 2 homes for sale for every 3 blocks. More than two is an indicator that home prices are still falling in that area. Take a look at the number of homes sold in past month to see what homes are selling for in the area.

For the past month, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders have been pushing a plan for a wide-scale mortgage rate reduction plan to be provided by the U.S Treasury. Sure it will mean more affordable home loans but there are many other benefits to this plan. The main goal of a mortgage rate reduction plan will be to push large amounts of people into the real estate market in order to drastically reduce the existing home inventory and spur a need for new construction. By doing so, home prices will stabilize and a very important part of the economy will be strengthened.

Additionally, other industries will benefit from a sharp increase in home sales. When people buy homes they buy new things for their homes like furniture and appliances. Those industries will be flooded with new sales, spurring the creation of new jobs in those sectors. This is not the first time a plan of this kind has been used to overcome tough economic times. Back in the 1970's, The Tandem Plan was used to get the housing market out of a slump. Plan proposals for today vary and some even have the government making money by enacting a rate reduction plan.

A rate reduction plan is very necessary to help revive our economy. It may very well provide an instant remedy for many of the issues plaguing our economy today and will allow more people in the U.S. to become homeowners. Rates are low today in the mid-fives but a more significant decrease may be the answer we have been looking for.

Last quarter, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posted multi-billion dollar losses. This scared investors and triggered them to require ultra high premium returns in exchange for buying the Fannie/Freddie debt. So what did that mean for the real estate & mortgage markets? Well, mortgage rates increased to above 6%, stifling new and existing home sales.  Luckily, the U.S. government stepped in and reassured investors that their backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is no joke, causing investors to relax and take lower premiums. Lower premiums for investors mean savings on mortgage rates for home buyers like you. Let's take a look at the current mortgage rates.

Currently, the rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is 5.47% and the rate for a 15 year fixed rate mortgage is 5.13%. Rates for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage have dropped by a full half of a percentage point! With rates in the 5% range and home prices at an all-time low, many people understand that this is the time to buy and/or invest in real estate. People have already begun to take advantage of this situation-mortgage applications are on the rise. There has been a 37% increase in conventional loan applications and a 39% increase in FHA-insured loan applications according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As I have said before, now is the time to buy real estate in Cape Coral. Now that mortgage rates are at an affordable level, there is no better time to take advantage of the current real estate market. Beautiful homes in Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, and Estero are available for a fraction of prices. Take a look at homes for sale in these areas using the FREE property search provided here or contact me for a personal consultation today!

The U.S. Treasury is constructing a plan to stimulate new and existing home sales by reducing the interest rate on home loans. The current rate will be reduced from the current 5.5% to 4.5% and this reduction would apply to new mortgages on new and existing homes. While a step in the right direction, there are many who are critical of the treasury's proposal.

Industry insiders say that the treasury's plan may hurt current mortgage investors. Others criticize the plan because the rate reduction would only apply to new mortgages and not to refinancing. Those critics say that there will be nothing to stop neighbor's from "trading homes" to get the 4.5% interest rate. Many realtors back this plan because it would mean a jump start for home sales and anything that can get homes sold will help in the current market conditions.

Although there is no date set for a decision on this plan, we can expect to hear more about this in the coming days and weeks. Check back often for more updates.

When the real estate bubble burst, Florida was one of the hardest hit states in the country.  Home values fell fast to never-before-seen lows and sales came to a grinding halt. Reports from the National Association of Realtors are bringing a ray of hope to the Florida real estate market. Overall home sales in Florida have jumped by 15% for the latest month when compared with that time last year. Sales in Fort Myers alone are up by 44% and this is a great sign for the local real estate market.

So why are sales up so sharply? Foreclosures and short sales make up most of the sales that have occurred. Home prices are much more affordable than they were a few years ago and qualified buyers are taking advantage of it. According to NAR, home prices in Florida are down by 24% from last year. In addition to the decrease in home prices, affordable mortgage money is more readily available. Rates are just above 6% for a 30yr fixed rate mortgage and are under 6% for 15yr fixed rate mortgages.

What does this mean for a home buyer or seller? Buyers are faced with many home options and can get great deals on immaculate properties. If you are in a position to buy a home, now is the time to do it. For sellers, this means that you may have a better chance of selling your home providing that you are being competitive with the pricing of your home in comparison to others in your neighborhood.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, or Estero, contact me today so that I can assist you with your real estate transaction. My experience and knowledge of the area and its current market conditions will ensure that you have a successful purchase or sale. Check back here often for more local real estate market updates.