Autumn Advantage: 4 Tips for Selling Your Home in Fall

A crisp chill in the air, the turning of leaves and the scent of pumpkin spice are all hallmarks of fall.

There’s no doubt it’s a beautiful season, and if you’re planning on selling your home by the end of the year, you can capitalize on all the good work nature already provides for us.

Accentuate the Positives When Selling Your Home

You want your home to stand out when you put it on the market, so start at the curb.

To play up the fall feel outside of your home, clean up flower beds and rake any leaves off your lawn—the first thing buyers should notice is the changing colors on your trees, not the muddled dead leaves on the grass.

Add a wreath of seasonal plants on the front door for a finishing touch.

In the backyard, store away any summer items like pool floats, inflatable water slides and tiki torches. Add fall-related decor like a self-contained fire pit and warm-colored cushions on your patio furniture to create an outdoor space perfect for chilly evenings.

You can also add a pumpkin to the front stoop, but don’t carve it up because it will spoil much faster.

Remember to avoid using a pumpkin altogether if the weather is bitterly cold already, as it will rot faster—that will only attract flies.

Bring the Colors Indoors

Autumn’s natural color scheme is warm and earthy, reminiscent of cozy, fireside nights.

To bring some of that warmth inside for your open house, fill vases with red, orange and deep yellow flowers like marigolds, Mexican sunflowers or strawflowers. Place vases in the entryway, in the master bedroom and on top of mantles to add color throughout the house.

To make your home feel cozy and inviting, invest in throw blankets or pillows in the same shades as your floral arrangements. Place the pieces around your living room and bedroom to draw out the fall colors.

Add dried decorations, like dried wheat or dried cornstalks, to fill in empty wall spaces with that fall feeling.

Use Favorite Fall Foods

The pleasant scent of fresh-baked cookies or a warm apple pie wafting through the house can trigger memories of comfort and home.

To tie in with the season—and the much-beloved holiday foods—light some candles scented with apple spice, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, cranberries or ginger spice.

Add warmth and a touch of the holidays to your kitchen or dining room by creating a cornucopia centerpiece on your table or countertop. Fill the centerpiece with gourds, miniature pumpkins and maize to help potential buyers picture themselves cooking their first Thanksgiving dinner in their new home.

Don’t Overwhelm

While adding a bit of color and warmth will help buyers picture holidays ahead, keep your decorations clean and minimal.

Avoid overpowering a room with too many flowers and candles, and always remember keep personal items tucked away.

Even if the piece is holiday or fall themed, buyers like to picture their own decorations in a home.

Orlando, Tampa lead state for int’l homebuyers

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 29, 2014 – Argentine Cristina Bianchi knows that a good mother-in-law doesn't overstay her welcome, but a good grandmother is around as much as possible.

"I'm retiring from a medical practice, and I'm looking for a place here in Orlando to come and spend time with my family here," said Bianchi, 65.

She is part of a growing number of international buyers throughout Florida.

Leading the state are Orlando and Tampa, which each had an 11 percent share of the state's international buyers during a 12-month period that ended in July, according to a new report by Florida Realtors. While South American buyers have dwindled, more Chinese buyers have entered the market.

Mounting international interest has helped drive up home prices, but it also means tougher competition for homebuyers who live in the area. Buyers from other countries come flush with cash and can effectively push out domestic buyers in need of mortgages.

"For sellers, that opportunity to close in 10 days with a cash buyer sounds a lot nicer than closing in 45 days" with a buyer who needs a mortgage, said Maria Quintero, an Orlando agent with Stirling Sotheby's International Realty. "Plus, sellers don't have to deal with inspections, appraisals and approvals. Obviously it hurts the domestic buyer."

Florida has long led the nation for attracting the greatest share of homebuyers from other regions of the world. During recent years, an increased number of international buyers purchased homes in the state, and those buyers have become a larger share of the Florida real-estate market, accounting for 10 percent of residential sales in the state by July of this year.

In the Orlando area, international buyers are most likely to originate from, in order: Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, Venezuela and Argentina.

Statewide, Canadian buyers dominated this year's list of international buyers. They commanded 32 percent of the international market, up from 30 percent the previous year. But looking ahead, Canadians' interest in the Sunshine State may wane now that foreclosure bargains have started to disappear and prices have begun to stabilize.

Matthew White, broker associate Sloane Realty LLC of Lake Mary, said he has represented a number of Canadian investors and sees some of them selling properties they purchased during the downturn.

"Those buyers are looking for the kind of prices we had a year ago or two years ago. And those prices don't exist anymore," he said.

Buyers from Brazil declined to about 6 percent of Florida's foreign market in mid-2014, down from 9 percent a year earlier. Florida Realtors cited an economic slowdown in Brazil as the reason. And the share of Venezuelan buyers dropped from 8 percent to 3 percent, in part due to depreciation of the Venezuelan currency, the report stated.

But the number of Chinese buyers has grown. They accounted for about 6 percent of international purchases as of July, up from less than 1 percent a few years ago. Chinese buyers are now on par with Brazilians for influencing the state's housing market.

The communities of Reunion near Kissimmee and Minto Communities' new Festival are among the developments increasingly tapping Chinese buyers for vacation rental homes.

Roger Soderstrom, broker with Sotheby's International Realty, said his brokerage is entering the China market and will open a Beijing office in October.

But Central Florida's growing population of residents from South America is to continue to draw buyers such as Bianchi. Orlando real estate is attractive as a safe haven for assets and as good market for renting vacation homes, the grandmother said.

But, she added, there's no draw like grandchildren.

Median age of a Fla. homebuyer: 55 years old

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 29, 2014 – The age of first-time homebuyers in Florida and the nation changed little over the 2003-2013 decade. In the Sunshine State, the median age for a first-time buyer was 31 years in 2003 and 34 years in 2013.

However, the median age of all buyers – and specifically repeat homebuyers – grew over the same timeframe, according to an analysis of the most recent National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers by Nadia Evangelou, an NAR research economist.

In 2003, the median Florida homebuyer was 35 years old, according to Evangelou. But by 2013, that age increased to 55 years old.

For repeat buyers, the median age was 38 years old in 2003; by 2013, it grew to 60 years old.

"In 2011, the median age of homebuyers reached it highest value" nationally, Evangelou says in an NAR blog. The age of first-time buyers differs only a little each year, but there was "an obvious increase in the median age since 2003" for all buyers – "specifically for 2006 and beyond."

Evangelou's blog has three interactive maps that display each U.S. state's median age for the three buying categories – first time buyers, repeat buyers and all buyers. A sliding scale can be adjusted to show the yearly changes from 2003 to 2013. 

Realtors remain confident in market’s future

WASHINGTON – Sept. 29, 2014 – Realtors' confidence about the single-family housing market over the next six months held mostly flat in August, but more Realtors view their local markets as "strong" rather than "weak," according to the latest Realtors Confidence Index, based on responses from about 3,300 members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Realtors mostly expect modest home price increases in the coming 12 months – a median nationwide at 3.5 percent. Overall, Realtors in North Dakota and Texas reported the greatest confidence.

However, Realtors in Florida are more optimistic about price increases, along with their cohorts in Texas and Hawaii. In those three states, Realtors expect sales prices to rise 5 or 6 percent over the next year.

Still, overall market concerns remain, according to NAR.

Realtors expressed concern about borrowers' difficulties in obtaining a mortgage, as well as a weak job market in many areas – major deterrents to home buying. About 18 percent of Realtors had clients who could not obtain financing in August.

Other hurdles to closing in August were: the buyer and seller could not agree on the price (11 percent); the buyer lost a bidding competition (8 percent); and appraisal issues (4 percent).

Realtor confidence in the townhouse/duplex and condominium market remains sluggish as well. Respondents reported that the condo market still lags because of FHA financing and occupancy regulations.

Realtors again reported challenges from a lack of for-sale inventory, though it appears to be easing in some states, including Florida. Other states where tight inventory problems eased include: Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Nevertheless, NAR says that the overall supply of homes remained tight for "lower" and "middle-priced homes," mostly attributed to the fewer number of distressed properties and the strong price appreciation since 2012 that has made homes less affordable.

Renters need insurance – but few have it

NEW YORK – Sept. 26, 2014 – The number of renters has grown dramatically, yet few renters actually purchase insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)

While 95 percent of homeowners insure their property, only 37 percent of renters have renters insurance, according to a 2014 I.I.I. poll conducted by ORC International.

"Renters insurance provides a very important financial safety net when there is a disaster," says Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president and chief communications officer for the I.I.I. "And, renters insurance is relatively inexpensive – the average cost of a renter's policy is only $187 per year, or less than four dollars per week.

"Many renters are under the misperception that their landlord's insurance policy will reimburse them if their personal property is damaged or destroyed, but that's just not the case," says Salvatore.

Policies available to renters

Renters/tenants insurance

Renters insurance provides financial protection against damage to or loss of personal possessions due to hurricanes, fire, lightning, theft, explosion and other disasters listed in the policy. There is even coverage for water damage caused by burst pipes or a neighbor who forgets to shut off the water in the tub.

Coverage is available on either an actual cash value basis (depreciated value) or replacement cost (no deduction for depreciation). Renters insurance does not cover flooding and earthquake, but separate policies can be purchased for those events.

Renters insurance also provides coverage for additional living expenses if unable to live in a home due to an insured disaster. It also includes liability insurance if an accidental injury occurs and the renter is sued.

Flood insurance

Flood insurance is available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and a few private insurance companies. It covers personal possessions on an actual cash value basis, generally up to about $100,000. More information is available at www.floodsmart.gov.

Earthquake coverage

While unlikely in Florida, renters can also purchase insurance for damage to their personal possessions due to earthquakes. Coverage is available either in the form of an endorsement or as a separate policy.

Umbrella liability

An umbrella liability policy can be a cost-effective option, kicking in when the limit on renters insurance has been reached. It also provides coverage for libel and slander. Umbrella policies generally cost about $150 to $300 per year and will also provide additional liability protection if you own a car, boat and even snowmobile.

Because a personal umbrella policy goes into effect after the underlying coverage is exhausted, most insurers will require specific underlying limits on policies.

Floater or endorsement for expensive items

Sometimes expensive jewelry, collectibles, musical instruments or even high-end sports equipment would be covered by a floater or endorsement to a renters policy. This provides broader coverage for risks such as "mysterious disappearance."

Housing markets need an uptick in jobs, income

MCLEAN, VA – Sept. 26, 2014 – Freddie Mac's newly updated Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) finds that the U.S. housing market struggles to keep stable momentum.

A slight decline in the national MiMi value this month appears to be broad-based, Freddie says, and not concentrated in a handful of state or metro markets.

Improving Florida markets

Florida, however, is one of the states seeing improvement month-to-month. The list, in order, is: Illinois (+0.92% MiMi), Rhode Island (+0.72%), Washington (+0.53%), Nevada (+0.38%) and Florida (+0.31%).

On a year-over-year basis, the most improving states were Nevada (+20.51%), Illinois (+12.16%), Florida (+11.75%), California (9.15%) and South Carolina (+8.01%).

One Florida city made the "most improving metro areas" list month-over-month, and two made the list in a year-to-year comparison. Month-to-month: Miami (+0.88%), Chicago (+0.64%) Las Vegas (0.62%), Providence (+0.56%) and Seattle (+0.27%).

On a year-over-year basis the most improving metro areas were Las Vegas (+23.35%), Riverside, (+14.97%), Chicago (+14.73%), Miami (+13.70%) and Orlando (+11.93%).

"We will continue to see 'two steps forward and one step backward' movement in our housing stability index until the broader economy sees better growth, labor markets tighten further and household formations pick-up to bring more first-time and move-up buyers into the market," says Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.

"The good news is overall the housing market continues to improve and is up 5 percent on a yearly basis in the latest MiMi reading," he adds.

Sales of new homes soar in August

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sept 24, 2014 – U.S. sales of new homes surged in August, led by a wave of buying in the West and Northeast.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new-home sales climbed 18 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000. The report also revised up the July sales rate to 427,000 from 412,000.

Newly constructed homes sold at the fastest clip since May 2008. It's a sign that the real estate market might improve after the rebound from the housing bust stalled during the past year because of sluggish wage growth and rising prices.

In the West, August purchases of new homes soared 50 percent compared to the prior month. Off the sharp August increase, sales in the West have nearly doubled in the past 12 months.

Between August and July, sales grew 29.2 percent in the Northeast. Buying increased 7.8 percent in the South and remained flat in the Midwest.

The housing market has sputtered for much this year. A nascent recovery in sales and prices began to struggle toward the middle of 2013. Ferocious winter weather delayed construction and limited sales at the beginning of 2014. Buying did pick up over the summer, yet the pace of sales has been depressed by sluggish wage growth and the surge in prices last year that put homes out of reach for many Americans.

There are a number of signs that another housing uptick may be in the works.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index climbed in September to 59, the highest reading since November 2005. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as improving.

That has yet to translate into more construction, however.

In August, homebuilding fell 14.4 percent compared to the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 956,000 houses and apartment complexes, according to the Commerce Department.

Much of that decrease was in the volatile apartments sector. Homebuilders started single-family houses at an annual rate of 626,000 last month, slightly below the pace of 631,000 in August 2013.

Existing home sales have also eased back compared with last year's pace.

Purchases of existing homes fell 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said this week. Sales fell from a July rate of 5.14 million, a figure that was revised slightly downward. Overall, the pace of home sales has dropped 5.3 percent year-over-year.

Celebrity Real Estate: Designing Woman: Annie Potts Lists Compound for $6.5M

Hollywood actress Annie Potts, perhaps best known as the administrative assistant in the original Ghostbusters and the quirky record store owner in Pretty In Pink, is selling her five-bedroom, six-bathroom Spanish Hacienda-style home in Tarzana, CA.

If you’re up for it, the “Designing Women” star’s compound can be yours for about $6.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

And it’s seriously awesome.

There is absolutely nothing meek or timid about this place. It’s ablaze with color and character and verve.

Tucked away on one-and-a-half acres in Tarzana—a section of Los Angeles set on the site of a ranch once owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the Tarzan novels—the home was built in 1934 and is chock full of period details, rustic accents, an absolute profusion of lush landscaping, and more style than you could shake a stick at.

(As we stared, mouths agape, at the photos, we kept expecting to see Frida Kahlo, or perhaps Salvador Dali, peeking around a corner at the camera—in a word: artsy!)

There are traditional plaster walls, scads of yummy hardwoods, gorgeous archways, ceilings with glorious imposing wooden beams, scads of custom light fixtures, at least three fireplaces, and some of the most extraordinary ceramic tile you’ll ever see.

There’s also a stained glass wall (not just a window), a separate guesthouse, and five bedrooms including the master—all with en suite bathrooms.

Outside, you’ll find fountains, a covered loggia, an outdoor kitchen, as well as a pool and spa incorporated so seamlessly into the landscape that—while they’re state-of-the-art—you’d swear they were there in 1934.

But the real showstopper in this home is the kitchen.

It is bold. It is showy. It is alive.

With every high-end appliance you could ever want, this kitchen calls out to any prospective buyer: there are bright, exuberant colors, with a ceramic tile range hood and countertops, both in crisp white and cobalt blue. The backsplash is a delighful sunlit yellow.

Overall, the property is—in short—a vibrant tour de force of living space. So we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a virtual standing ovation to REALTOR® Anne Burkin while we’re here.

Annie Potts, who’s been in front of the camera on TV’s “The Fosters” for the past year, also has just completed two new films: Paging Dr. Freed and As Good As You. She was nominated for an Emmy Award in the early 1990s for her role on “Love & War”.

Investors scaling back home purchases

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Sept. 23, 2014 – Investors pulling back on home buying is one of the biggest issues facing South Florida's housing market, an analyst said Friday.

"There's still a lot of investor activity, but it is declining," said Brad O'Connor, a research economist for the Florida Realtors trade group. "As they exit the market, will demand from traditional homebuyers still push prices up?"

So far, the answer is yes, but some industry experts wonder whether that will change. They say investors have played too large of a role in the housing rebound by artificially inflating prices.

O'Connor was one of the featured speakers during a housing forum sponsored by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.

In July, 523 Broward buyers paid cash for single-family homes, down 10 percent from the prior year, according to data from the Realtor board. Cash sales countywide dropped 8 percent in June from June 2013.

Richard Barkett, chief executive of Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors, said he isn't worried about fewer investors. They've been squeezing out traditional buyers, who now will have more of an "opportunity to be active in the marketplace," he said.

Also Friday, Ned Murray, associate director of the Metropolitan Center at Florida International University, presented a report showing a lack of workforce housing in Broward.

"We need to make it a priority," he said.

© 2014 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Paul Owers. Distributed by MCT Information Services

Lending giants shy away from FHA loans

WASHINGTON – Sept. 23, 2014 – The nation's largest home lenders are curtailing their involvement in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, which have small downpayment requirements that help first-time buyers and lower-income Americans become homeowners.

These lenders say they're worried that they'll be penalized if underwriting errors occur and the loans default. As a result, they're backing away from issuing the loans.

FHA loans plummeted 19 percent in the nine months ending June 30 compared to a year earlier.

Wells Fargo, the nation's largest home lender, saw FHA originations drop 82 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same time period in 2013, according to Inside Mortgage Finance data. Bank of America saw a 72 percent drop in that time, followed by JPMorgan with a 55 percent drop.

"The real question to me is: Should we be in the FHA business at all? And we're still struggling with that," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in an earnings call with investors in July

Lenders' attitudes toward FHA loans turned sour after recent Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal regulator settlements. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and others have already paid more than $3 billion in fines for originating faulty FHA loans during the housing bubble.

"A big issue is the DOJ settlements and their impact on the lending attitudes of the banks, which is clearly the elephant in the room," says Brian Chappelle, a former FHA official and partner at Potomac Partners LLC, a consulting firm for lenders in Washington. "The government is worried about access to credit. They're looking at volume numbers, and they know it's a serious problem."

HUD and Treasury officials recently met with bank executives at the White House to talk about improving FHA processes. Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees FHA, says the agency does seek to ease credit by rewriting clear rules for lenders on when they will be forced to pay the cost from loans that go bad.

"With all our efforts, I want to send a simple message to lenders: Let's work together," Castro said in a prepared statement at the Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Summit on Sept. 16. "Many have been reluctant to lend because they fear unanticipated consequences. They need to be able to manage their risk better – and so does FHA."

Anthony Hsieh, CEO of LoanDepot.com, the third largest FHA lender, urges government regulators to do something fast. "Access to credit is tightening across the board and the number of people who can get a home is shrinking to the point of code red," Hsieh says.

Source: "FHA Loans Plunge 19% as Lenders Haggle with Officials," Bloomberg (Sept. 19, 2014)

Jumbo mortgages are cheaper, easier to get

NEW YORK – Sept. 23, 2014 – Wealthy homebuyers now pay lower average rates on high-dollar loans (known as jumbo mortgages) and, in some cases, they don't have to worry about a large downpayment or mortgage insurance, CNNMoney reports.

For the last several months, interest rates on jumbo loans – mortgages that are $417,000 or more (or $625,000 or more in high-priced markets – have been lower than what average borrowers pay. For example, the average rate on jumbo loans last week was 4.24 percent compared to 4.36 percent for a 30-year, fixed-rate conventional mortgage, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In some cases, lenders have also reduced their downpayment requirements as well, requiring as little as 10 percent – about half the normal rate. Some lenders are waiving the private mortgage insurance requirement, too.

Many banks have lowered their credit standards for jumbo loan originations. For example, many jumbo borrowers used to need at least a 700 credit score to qualify, but now most lenders consider applicants with credit scores of 650, says John Walsh, owner of lender Total Mortgage Services.

In addition to mortgages, banks are on the hunt for jumbo customers in order to win them over as clients for other banking services too, such as retirement planning, says Malcolm Hollensteiner, head of retail lending for TD Bank. Jumbo borrowers tend to have better track records in repaying their loans and have lower default rates, so more banks are willing to take a gamble on them.

Source: "For Rich People, Mortgages Are Getting Cheaper and Easier," CNNMoney (Sept. 21, 2014)

Fla. Aug. sales up 4.2% year-to-year, prices up 3.4%

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 22, 2014 – Florida's housing market saw higher median prices and a rising inventory in August, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 21,594 last month, up 4.2 percent over the August 2013 figure.

"For several months now, stability and consistency are key trends we're seeing in Florida's housing market, as the state's jobs outlook remains steady and the economy continues to grow," says 2014 Florida Realtors President Sherri Meadows, CEO and team leader, Keller Williams, with market centers in Gainesville, Ocala and The Villages. "The statewide inventory (active listings) for single-family homes last month rose 13 percent year-over-year, while the townhouse-condo inventory of active listings rose 8.9 percent.

"And once again, statewide median sales prices rose year-over-year for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties in August – a trend we've been seeing for 33 months in a row."

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $181,000, up 3.4 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis (IDA) department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in August was $135,000, up 3.8 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the national median sales price for existing single-family homes in July 2014 was $223,900, up 5.1 percent from the previous year; the national median existing condo price was $215,700. In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in July was $464,750; in Massachusetts, it was $360,000; in Maryland, it was $278,626; and in New York, it was $239,000.

In Florida's townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 8,848 last month, down 8.8 percent compared to August 2013. The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales last month compared to the previous year: Short sales for condo-townhouse properties declined 60.4 percent.

In the single-family home market, short sales dropped 49.1 percent year-to-year. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

"In August, the annual growth rate of Florida home prices continued to converge toward a level typical of what we observed back in the housing market's stable, pre-boom days," says Florida Realtors Research Economist Dr. Brad O'Connor. "The fact that we continue to see price growth is an encouraging sign that more and more traditional owner-occupant homebuyers are emerging to keep demand strong in the face of a diminished investor presence in the market."

Inventory was at a 5.5-months' supply in August for single-family homes and at a 5.7-months' supply for townhouse-condo properties.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.12 percent in August 2014, down from the 4.46 percent average recorded during the same month a year earlier.

Celebrity Real Estate: Beyoncé and Jay-Z Lease Mansion in Ritzy Holmby Hills

What can you get for $200,000 in spare change these days?

You can get a ticket on Virgin Galactic—the world’s first commercial passenger spaceship—and do the “final frontier” thing.

You can buy 10 pounds of Sevruga caviar (although you’ll probably have to order some crackers or Bugles to go with).

You could buy a Bentley—they’re actually only about $177,000, but you must pay tax and title … and have a little left over to pick up a Happy Meal or some such fare.

Or you could lease a house—a really BIG house—in Los Angeles for a month.

According to the folks at Variety, that’s just what Beyoncé and Jay-Z have done.

(The house, if you wanted to buy it outright, is listed for sale for a mere $45 million, and it’s been on the market since May. But why not rent it for a few weeks to take it for a “test run” first, right?)

For their $200,000—we wonder what the security deposit is on this lease—Jay-Z and Beyoncé get 6,500 square feet of living space and seven bedroom suites.

The master complex—because this isn’t just a simple suite, it’s a complex—has a cavernous bedroom, two offices, a bathroom and a half bath, three walk-in closets, and your own veranda … terrace … lanai … balcony.

You get the point.

The ultra-modern manse, located in Holmby Hills, is a cantilevered behemoth of a place with multiple-tiered patios and terraces, an infinity-edge pool with an integrated spa, a grass tennis court, a fully tricked-out fitness room, a high-end home theater (bring your own popcorn and Junior Mints), and a wine cellar.

After Beyoncé and Jay-Z have completed their rental agreement, you can take up residence for a few weeks or more by asking the fine people at The Agency—they’re the brokers of record on the home and are the people in the know.

As for the most powerful of entertainment-industry power couples, rumor has it they’re working on a joint album, following the raging success of their hit “Drunk In Love”. The two lovebirds, while vacationing in France last month, also renewed their wedding vows.

Ain’t love grand? Or in this case … two-hundred grand?

Mortgage approval should get easier, lenders say

WASHINGTON – Sept. 19, 2014 – Large lenders expect underwriting standards to ease over the next three months, because they also expect a drop in demand from single-family purchase mortgages, according to Fannie Mae's third-quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.

The share of lenders who expect purchase mortgage demand to go up over the next three months decreased significantly – between 26 to 33 percentage points depending on loan type. Among those surveyed, larger lenders seem more likely than smaller lenders to ease their credit standards this year, perhaps in an effort to boost purchase mortgage activity before the year comes to a close.

"Historically, as lenders face a more competitive market for loan volume, it's not uncommon to see some loosening in the lending standards; however, this time, the easing will likely be around the edges," says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae.

Mortgage lender sentiment survey highlights

Compared to general consumers, senior mortgage executives continue to be more optimistic about the overall economy and more pessimistic about consumers' ability to get a mortgage today.

The share of lenders that expect increased demand for the next three months declined significantly from Q2 to Q3.

Most lenders reported no major changes in their credit standards for the prior three months, and they general don't expect major changes for the next three months. However, the larger lenders were more likely to say their credit standards eased over the prior three months, and that they expect their standards to ease during the next three months.

Most lenders expect to keep their Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSR) strategies for the next three months.

U.S. May Not Be Able to House Booming Senior Population

As the largest generation in U.S. history approaches senior adulthood, the country is ill-prepared to meet the senior population’s needs, according to a new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The report, which was released in Washington, D.C., this week, cited “immense” challenges facing the nation and individual adults in the senior population.

The 50-plus age group is already huge, making up over a third of the U.S. population, and it varies immensely in wealth and income, health circumstances, family and social networks, and housing preferences.

Yet as people age, these differences diminish, the report noted.

Difficulties with health, mobility and finances will challenge almost every adult in relation to their housing situation, the housing study stated. Maintaining quality of life for the senior population by creating safe, accessible and affordable housing will require investment and foresight.

“Longer life expectancies and the aging of the Baby Boomer generation are combining to create new challenges for housing just as the industry is starting to recover,” said realtor.com® Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke.

“Ironically, the recovery itself creates additional problems, most notably declining affordability and the burden that rising rents and home prices place on seniors with limited and declining incomes,” he added.

These were the key points of the Harvard report:

High housing costs force growing numbers of low-income older adults to reduce their spending on critical necessities such as food and health care.

Much of the current housing stock lacks the basic accessibility features that can make the difference between independent and institutional living for individuals with disabilities.

The country’s transportation and pedestrian infrastructure is generally unsuited to those who cannot or choose not to drive, leaving many older adults at risk of isolation.

Disconnects between housing and the health care system make it difficult for those with disabilities or long-term care needs to remain in their homes.

“The sheer numbers are daunting,” Smoke noted. “One of the most challenging and complex issues to address will be tackling affordability and the burdens seniors face to pay for adequate housing.”

But a crisis can be avoided, he added, by creating new models for housing, services, construction and technologies. Such innovations will create long-term benefits for the economy.

“With the right innovation and policy attention, this transition can be beneficial for the long-term health of the housing market,” Smoke said. “Addressing the challenges should result in investments in new construction, renovations to existing housing, increased housing turnover, provision of more affordable housing alternatives, and improvements in the infrastructure that will benefit all ages.”

This story originally appeared on SeniorHousingNet.com.

Foreign buyers taking over — this time it’s Canadians in Florida

Lured mostly by cheap prices, Canadians spent $2.2-billion on Florida real estate last year, easily making them the Sunshine State’s No. 1 international buyer of real estate.

Canadians — most of them paying cash — were behind 31.6% of all international transactions, according to a report Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors for Florida.

‘‘We went down there on a holiday and prices were so damn low, I said to my wife ‘let’s buy,’’’ said Jerry Jarson, a 74-year-old retiree from Shanty Bay, Ont. The former air force officer and lawyer bought a condo two years ago in Cape Coral for US$79,900. He estimates its value has risen US$39,000 in two years.

Half of all Canadian buyers spent less than US$200,000 — about half the average sale price of a home here last month, $398,618. Only 16% of Canadians paid more than $400,000 for their Florida homes.

There’s no country that even comes close to Canada when it comes to buying, with No. 2 United Kingdom accounting for 7% of all international purchases. Canada has been number one for seven straight years, cooling on Florida real estate after a 2011 peak but rebounding since.

‘‘The increase in international home buying activity was driven by the continued recovery of the world economy and the affordability of U.S.

properties,’’ according to the report.

Anthony Soulia, a realtor in Naples, said Canadians made up about 34% of buyers in his county last year, and he had wondered whether the falling Canadian dollar would affect sales. So far, it hasn’t.

‘‘The market continues to be strong down here,’’ said Mr. Soulia, who targets Canadian buyers on his web site. ‘‘They’re a very important part of our market.’’

About 89% of Canadians pay cash; U.S. financing is said to still be difficult to come by and that shows up in the statistics, with only 8% of Canadians getting mortgage financing stateside.

Mr. Jarson said he was able to use the equity in his Canadian home to buy his condo. ‘‘We never had any money but the bank has lots,’’ he said about the line of credit on his Canadian home he was able to use to finance the purchase.

The top Florida spot went to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, which was picked by 12% of Canadians for purchases last year. Naples had 11%, and Fort Lauderdale had 10%. Miami Beach might be getting too pricey: only 2% of Canadians bought there in 2014.

About half of Canadians bought condos; 38% bought a detached home. The survey found 40% of Canadians buying last year purchased in a resort with another 33% buying suburban property.

The majority of Canadians, 53%, plan to use their Florida home as a vacation property. Another 14% plan to rent it out for investment purposes while 17% will do both. Only 7% of Canadians bought a home for pure retirement purposes.

New service will rank homes by ‘livability’ score

NEW YORK – Sept. 17, 2014 – Many resources help realty professionals find granular market and neighborhood data on properties. However, the current information doesn't always deliver the full story on a listing, according to Revaluate, a website that aims to help real estate agents convey what it's really like to live in a specific home. It's currently being beta tested in New York City.

The website hopes to find success by answering a basic question asked by home buyers: What would it be like to live here?

Revaluate mines data from private and public sources and creates "livability scores" for homes. According to co-founder Chris Drayer, Revaluate reports can "make the agent appear way more informed about the livability of these properties."

Revaluate currently offers free reports for Manhattan residential properties. It generates a livability scores based on four main criteria: safety, environment, expenses and quality of life. Each report shows the data Revaluate used to generate its rating.

Under environment data, for instance, there might be public records of vermin complaints cited. Quality of life issues, meanwhile, might include noise and other nuisance complaints.

Assigning an objective score to something like a home's appeal is subjective and does have limitations, however. Max Galka, also a co-founder of Revaluate, admits that the livability rating is "not meant to capture everything." Instead, each score is meant to serve as a guideline.

Source: Inman News (09/15/14) Wiggin, Teke

Are the banks causing a housing slowdown?

NEW YORK – Sept. 10, 2014 – Some analysts are blaming the slowdown in the housing market on banks that prevent many prospective buyers from getting a mortgage.

"It is difficult for any homeowner who doesn't have pristine credit these days to get a mortgage," Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in June.

Bank giants have been confirming that in recent months. John Stumpf, CEO of Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's largest mortgage lender, said that the lender isn't willing to lend to lower-income borrowers or those with low credit scores. That won't change unless government regulators make it more difficult for investors to force banks to repurchase securitized loans.

"If you guys want to stick with this program of 'putting back' any time, any way, whatever, that's fine. We're just not going to make those loans, and there's going to be a whole bunch of Americans that are underserved in the mortgage market," Stumpf said, referring to loan-purchase demands by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and private investors.

In July, JP Morgan Chase & Co. CEO James Dimon said that the bank's volume of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration was way down for the year.

"We want to help the consumers there, but we can't do it at great risk to J.P. Morgan, so until they come up with some kind of safe harbors or something, we're going to be very, very cautious in that line of business," Dimon said.

Mortgage lending has been slowing. The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts the volume of mortgage-loan originations will fall 12 percent this year, despite interest rates being at yearly lows.

"The lowest quarter of the housing market [by price] will see less demand, fewer sales, less increases in price and more decreases in price" unless banks change their mortgage-lending policies, says David Blitzer, the managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at Dow Jones S&P Indices.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors®, says that 15 percent more mortgage applications are being denied this year than in 2000 – but that's "relatively normal" for the housing market.

Still, "a robust recovery is not occurring," Yun says. "We are projecting a slow recovery in home-sales activity because of the current tight underwriting standards."

Source: "Opinion: When the Next Housing Bust Hits, Blame the Bankers," MarketWatch/The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 4, 2014)

Over half of Fla.’s June sales were all-cash

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 10, 2014 – Over half of Florida's June property sales (50.9 percent) were all-cash transactions, according to CoreLogic, an Irvine, California-based financial data company. Second-place Alabama had 48 percent all-cash sales.

In a comparison of large U.S. cities, Cape Coral-Fort Myers led the nation in all-cash sales at 61.2 percent, and four other Sunshine State cities followed it: West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach (60.6 percent), North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (59.8 percent), Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall (58.7 percent) and Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach (58.5 percent).

Other states rounding out the top spots for all cash sales are New York (44.6 percent), Kentucky (40.1 percent) and Nevada (40 percent).

Nationally, however, all-cash sales made up 33 percent of all transactions – the lowest percentage since September 2008, according to CoreLogic. The share of all-cash sales has fallen year-to-year since January 2013.

Before the housing meltdown, cash sales historically made up about 25 percent of all transactions. They reached their peak (46.2 percent) in January 2011.

The Washington, D.C. area had the lowest cash sales nationally at 15.6 percent.

© 2014 Florida Realtors®

Tubs passé as more owners opt for walk-in showers

PHILADELPHIA – Sept. 8, 2014 – More metropolitan bathrooms are being built or renovated without a tub. A survey this year of 7,645 homeowners by Houzz Inc. found that four out of 10 respondents opted to forgo bathtubs during renovations – even in the master suite.

The design trend is driven by older homeowners with mobility concerns and younger people who simply prefer showers to baths.

"We're seeing much more demand for walk-in showers," says Nick Meli Jr., owner of a contracting firm in Center City. Millennials "don't take baths; they want to shower, get in and get out. Soaking in a tub? No way, their homes are a place to sleep and then leave for work. Older people don't want tubs because they're 20 inches from the floor; they can't step over them."

While real estate insiders say removing tubs used to be taboo – especially in homes with only one bathroom – they agree this design choice no longer necessarily lowers property value.

Source: Philly.com (08/24/14) Arvedlund, Erin

25% of international investors buy a home in Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 8, 2014 – U.S. real estate appeals to foreign buyers, and a large number of them settled on property in Florida – about 25 percent of all international U.S. home purchases to foreign buyers, according to the 2014 report "Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida."

In the 12 months that ended in June 2014, the dollar value of purchases in Florida hit $7.97 billion – a 24 percent increase over the amount spent ($6.43 billion) the year before. About one in 10 property purchases (10 percent) in the state (26,500) involved a foreign buyer, an increase from 9 percent the year before.

Two major trends drove the increase in foreign buyers: A continuing recovery of the world's economy and the affordability of U.S. properties.

U.S. and Florida residential prices remain affordable to most international homebuyers, and they buy property that, overall, costs more than the mean price paid by domestic buyers. In Florida, 76 percent of all Realtors cited less expensive property as a top reason for purchase.

Countries

Canadian buyers accounted for the largest share of international clients (32 percent), followed by:

• Western Europe: 24 percent; primarily from the United Kingdom, France and Germany

• Latin America/Caribbean: 23 percent: primarily from Brazil and Venezuela

• Asia: 10 percent; primarily from China

Florida destinations

Sales to non-resident international clients as percent of international sales:

• Orlando-Kissimmee: 11 percent

• Tampa-St. Petersburg- Clearwater: 11 percent

• Miami-Miami Beach: 10 percent

• Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice: 8 percent

• Fort Lauderdale: 8 percent

Other key findings:

• 52 percent of Florida Realtors reported international clients (national average: 28 percent)

• 19 percent of Florida Realtors with international clients reported 6 or more clients (national average: 12 percent)

• 20 percent with international clients said they accounted for 26 percent or more of their transactions (national average: 15 percent)

• 29 percent reported that their percentage of international clients increased in the last five years (national average: 20 percent)

Market success

Realtors dealing with international clients say the key to success is understanding the culture, concerns and language of potential foreign clients; reaching out through personal contacts and online tools; and assisting potential foreign buyers through the regulatory and financial process, especially for agents on the buy-side of the transaction.

According to the survey, Realtors also said that relaxing current visa restrictions on a length of stay would attract additional international clients.

© 2014 Florida Realtors®