Lakeland Named One of the Most Affordable Cities in the U.S.

According to CNN.com, Lakeland, Florida is the third-most affordable city in the United States. The ranking was based on home prices (median, $85,000), median income ($54,500) and mortgae rates, which gave Lakeland an affordability score of 93.2%, placing it just behind Dayton, Ohio (93.7%) and Indianapolis, Indiana (95.8%).

Here's what the article says about Lakeland:
"Located on an interstate highway between Tampa and Orlando, Lakeland's residents are used to people just passing through. But those who decide to stay don't find it very difficult to afford a place.

While both home prices and incomes have been hit hard here over the past several years, the decline in home values has far surpassed falling wages, said Ken H. Johnson, professor of real estate at Florida International University.

Home prices have fallen 58% since the housing bubble burst, to a median of $85,000. Taxes are also low. With today's low interest rates, a family who buys a house at the median price and puts 20% down would have a monthly payment of under $400, including taxes.

Meanwhile, the jobs picture is improving. Long a pit stop for travelers, Lakeland has recently become a destination, thanks to the opening of the Legoland theme park in October.

Legoland now employs 1,000 people. And a water park just opened this month, which should create even more jobs. That should help to further improve the unemployment rate, which fell to 9.5% in March, down from 11.3% the year before."

To read about the rest of the United States' most affordable cities, click here.

Miami property prices rise significantly for fourth consecutive month

According to the Miami Association of Realtors, and an article printed by PrpoertyWire.com,for the fourth consecutive month,Miami home prices posted strong gains. In March, the median sales price of condominiums surged 46% compared to a year earlier.

The median condo price reached $141,700 in March while the median sales price of single family homes rose 13% to $180,000.

‘The fact that Miami home prices have significantly increased for four consecutive months indicates prices have bottomed and have caught up with sales levels,’ said Martha Pomares, 2012 chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors.

To read the full article click here.

What's Happening With Short Sales in Sarasota?

The hot topic of real estate these days, short sales, foreclosures and deficiency judgments were discussed by the honorable Circuit Court Judge, Lee E. Haworth who attended Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s Southwest regional sales meeting at the local Girl Scouts Center on May. Some of the great talking points Haworth noted during his educational session to the 140 sales associates who were in attendance are:

• Banks have not taken the steps to get the cases to close in the courts system
• A new foreclosure relief grant was awarded to judicial system that will kick-in July 1 of this year and cases should be pulled up and moved faster through the system
• Anyone can ask for mediation through the court system and the goal of mediation is for the communication to be open from lenders to seller
• There is 5-year statute of limitations on deficiencies
• Fannie Mae borrowers have a special program now where they can try to settle before they file for foreclosure
• He also noted that less than 1% of the state budget is spent on the entire judicial system

Coldwell Banker sales associates also received a detailed look at the evolving roles for all the key parties involved in the short sale process by Sunbelt Title who works with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate to provide their agents a Short Sale program to help expedite the process for their buyers and sellers. Tony Loretto and Joesph Amato noted that Short Trac has:

• opened over 3,500 short sales files
• secured over 3,000 lender approvals
• closed over 2,000 short sale transactions
• coordinated with over 60 lenders

Currently, Short Trac through Coldwell Banker has a 3 month rolling average success rate for short sales- 86% have gotten to approval and about 75% of them have closed

If you are thinking about a short sale, contact your local Coldwell Banker agent who can assist you with the process.

Photo: Sue Wolverton, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's Regional Senior Vice President, Southwest Florida; Honorable Circuit Court Judge, Lee E. Haworth; Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate sales associate Lynn Robbins

Fla. second-best U.S. state for business

Fla. second-best U.S. state for business

NEW YORK – May 3, 2012 – An annual survey of CEOs conducted by Chief Executive Group finds that Florida is the second-best U.S. state for businesses. The same survey in 2011 ranked Florida third.

Gov. Rick Scott cited the magazine’s results last year in his efforts to increase the number of jobs in Florida. In a letter, he jokingly told Texas Gov. Rick Perry that he was aiming for the No. 1 spot. The 2012 results still found Florida falling short of that goal, but it’s now nipping on Texas’ heels.

According to Chief Executive, the one-level boost in Florida’s ranking results from pro-business laws enacted since Scott came into office, including business tax and regulatory reforms, a 2.1 percent unemployment drop and 140,000 private sector jobs.

To read the rest of the release, click here.

70% of Renters Think Owning Makes More Sense

WASHINGTON – March 27, 2012 – Fannie Mae’s latest quarterly National Housing Survey focuses on the homeownership aspirations of Americans. Despite the recent housing crisis, most Americans continue to believe that homeownership is better than renting.

And while Fannie Mae’s data finds that financial constraints and employment concerns may be keeping potential homebuyers on the sidelines, that could change. As employment picks up and the economy grows stronger, stabilizing home prices may entice Americans to buy a home in coming years.

Findings

• Across all education levels, Americans say owning makes more sense than renting. This belief is held consistently across all demographic groups.

• Nearly two-thirds of current renters say that they will buy a house at some point in the future.

• Non-financial factors, such as safety and quality of local schools, continue to be the top reasons for buying a home across all income groups.

To read the more findings and the rest of the article, click here.

Real Estate On Cloud Nine....For Good!

Contributed by Carlos Lobato of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's Miami Lakes office.

Change is hard. Change can be complicated. Human nature resists change. Yet change is the only constant in our lives, and it's inevitable. One such change is the shift to cloud computing. "The Cloud" as it's often referred to is the process of using remote servers to store, manage, process, and share data. And The Cloud is changing the real estate transaction like nothing else before it. In a typical real estate transaction we have multiple parties (buyers, sellers, lenders, title companies, lawyers, appraisers, etc.) that need access to the paperwork therein. And what we normally do is either fax (sooo 1995!) or email the documents as large attachments that clog up people's hard drive space and slow down the Internet for everybody.

The Cloud is a clever solution to what most in my industry have yet to realize is a problem. It's clever because it's efficient. What if instead of sending 6 parties attachment laden emails or illegible faxes I gave everyone access to the documents on a secure server? EUREKA! I can now almost run my business from anywhere via my smart phone.

Thankfully, cloud computing is now available to the masses from services like Dropbox, Google, or if you're buying or selling a home with Coldwell Banker we use Homebase. More often than not, taking your business to the clouds is a time saver, a business enhancer, and a customer service home run.

To read more of Carlos' thoughts and feelings on real estate, from market trends to practical advice for buyers and sellers, as well as personal experiences out in the field, go to his "Bits About Real Estate" blog.

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s “The Jills®” Make ‘Headlines’ With The Sale of Drake’s Listings

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s #1 Real Estate Team in North America, The Jills®, Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg, along with sales associates and members of The Jills® team, Danny Hertzberg and Kriszti Panyi, are proud to announce the sale of two listings in the Marquis Residences, Unit 4906 and Unit 4905, at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard, formerly owned by platinum recording star Drake (represented by Jill Eber, Jill Hertzberg, Danny Hertzberg) are now property of Team Rio, LLC. (represented by Kriszti Panyi).

“It was a pleasure working with Drake’s team and we were thrilled that we were able to use our extensive buyer base to procure a buyer for his one-of-a-kind property in less than 24 hours of getting the listing,” said Jill Hertzberg. “We immediately contacted all of our team members and Kriszti Panyi knew she had a buyer whose needs would be satisfied with this property.”

The Grammy-nominated artist listed his neighboring condominium units, that can be combined to create 5,475 square-feet of space, five bedrooms, four-full and two-half baths, with The Jills® and Danny Hertzberg on January 19th, 2012, and within 24 hours, Panyi was able to locate the interested buyer.

“The opportunity to work with Drake and his team was fantastic,” added Danny Hertzberg. “This is a spectacular property in the heart of Miami. The Marquis is a truly magnificent building with modern designs with unparalleled views of Biscayne bay.”

Coral Gables Office Helps Habitat For Humanity

Recently, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's Coral Gables office had 18 of its sales associates build a house for "Habitat For Humanity." Among those on hand to help was Miami-Dade County Mayor, Carlos Jimenez (center, dark-blue shirt).

Florida leads list of 'turnaround towns'

From MSN.com

All eyes are on Florida these days, and it's not just because of Newt and Mitt.

Florida dominates Realtor.com's list of the "Top 10 Turnaround Towns," with Florida cities taking eight of the 10 spots on the list for the fourth quarter of 2011. Once again, Miami ranks first, as it did the third quarter.

Second on the list is Phoenix, which — like Miami — saw property values experience a sharp runup and then a deep plunge. Foreclosures are high in Phoenix, but so is investor interest. The only other non-Florida city on the list is Boise, Idaho.

To see the complete list of Florida cities, click here.

The 25 billion dollar drop in the bucket

Contributed by Carlos Lobato of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's Miami Lakes office.

Last week the president announced the long awaited 'mortgage settlement' in which 49 states (minus Oklahoma) will be participating in. Essentially 5 of the major banks will be given cold hard cash to help them "make amends" for their past misgivings and trespasses. For starters, the program will provide up to $2000.00 for homeowners that were expeditiously foreclosed on using so called robosigning techniques and practices. Really? A whole two grand? What consolation is this when you've lost your home?

In addition to this a good chunk of the settlement will be used for a combination of modifications, rate reductions, and principle reductions. While for the fortunate homeowner that happens to qualify for any of these remediation, this could be the saving grace that saves their home, their finances or even their family; the fact of the matter is that when all is said and done only 1 in 10 will be helped. And while any assistance to responsible homeowners and/or victims of questionable foreclosure practices in certainly welcome, we must realize that a healthy housing market is an absolutely essential component of our broader economic recovery. In this age of austerity, spending freezes, and well-justified concerns over trillion dollar deficits I can certainly understand the hesitation to "go big". Yet going big is just what the severity of our circumstances requires at this time. If only our politicians would get out of the way...

To read more of Carlos' thoughts and feelings on real estate, from market trends to practical advice for buyers and sellers, as well as personal experiences out in the field, go to his "Bits About Real Estate" blog.

Bordering Key Biscayne!

By guest contributor Susie Abell, Branch Manager of the Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Key Biscayne office.

Just 15 minutes from downtown Miami and bordering the southern end of the Village of Key Biscayne is Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park which has the distinction of being voted “one of the 10 Best Beaches in the U.S.” With more than 1.2 miles of Atlantic shoreline and 1.4 miles fronting Biscayne Bay, it is one of the most popular parks in Florida.

Ponce de Leon saw the magic of this place when he led the first Spanish expedition to Florida in 1513 and named it Cape of Florida. The famed lighthouse was finished in 1825; however, it was damaged in the Second Seminole War and was rebuilt in 1846. It’s the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County. After extensive damage from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to the non-native Australian pine trees that dominated the landscape, the park now is home to a variety of native plants. Depending on when you visit, you can see more than 50 butterfly species and 170 bird species. You also might spot a peregrine falcon, piping plover or an American crocodile. Loggerhead sea turtles next along the beach each summer.

You can take a tour of the lighthouse, go swimming, fishing, biking and hiking or just relax with a picnic. For more information call 305.361.5811 or visit www.floridastateparks.org/capeflorida.

If you would like Cape Florida your neighbor and live on Key Biscayne, here are a few properties that are currently for sale.

Information courtesy of the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce.

Trulia: 1 in 3 home searches cross state lines

SAN FRANCISCO, February 2, 2012 – According to real estate search engine Trulia, “House hunters near and far eye Florida real estate.” Seven of the top 10 metros with high demand from out-of-state residents are in Florida. Even with a backlog of homes unable to complete the foreclosure process, big price declines mean more people want to move to Florida than leave. In fact, one-third of all Miami home searches were done by people living more than 500 miles away.

Trulia’s Metro Movers Report looks at where homeowners are today and, by analyzing where they search for a new home, provides a look at where they want to live tomorrow. The Winter 2012 report examines all property searches on Trulia.com among all U.S. metropolitan areas between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011.

“Today’s house hunters are deal seekers,” says Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist. “Although locals in Florida, inland California and the Southwest are suffering from high foreclosure rates and lost equity, huge prices declines … have drawn house hunters from across the country. As America’s retirement capital, Florida has received the most attention from prospective homebuyers and renters from the Northeast and Midwest. Baby-boomers who had planned to retire to cheaper places during the boom years can once again buy in Florida.”

To read the entire article click here.

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate CARES Donates $46,000 To Local Non-Profit Organizations

Miami, FL (February 8, 2012) –Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate CARES, the charitable arm of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate distributed $46,000 to 17-different non-profit charities in the Miami-Dade area. The funds were raised through Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s Miami-Dade office’s first golf tournament, local office fundraising and agents direct funding through closings.

Recipients from the various organizations, along with CARES representatives, were invited to a reception on February 2 to receive the donations and to further discuss the work their charities are involved with.

“As an active member in Miami, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate and its sales associates are committed to giving back to the communities we live and work in,” said Mike Murray, Vice President, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Southeast Florida. “The money that we raise in Miami, stays in this area further strengthening our communities.”

The following local organizations were selected as recipients:

• Ronald McDonald House • Centro Hispano Catolico • Diabetes Research Institute • Educate Tomorrow • Friends Forever Rescue, Inc. • Karen Peterson and Dancers, Inc. • Liga Contra El Cancer • Miami Contemporary Dance Company • Armed Forces Service Center, Inc. • The Posse Foundation • St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church • Touching Miami with Love • University of Miami-Linda Ray Intervention Center • Cancer Support Community of Greater Miami • Lauren’s Light • Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida • Friendship Circle

CARES, the charitable arm of Coldwell Residential Real Estate, mission is to give back to the communities and neighborhoods in which its members live and serve by providing charitable contributions and volunteer support, thus strengthening and reinforcing its commitment to creating a lasting source of unity, hope and vision throughout Florida.

Mobile Technology in the Real Estate industry

By Guest Contributor Steven Bastian, Sales Associate in the Coral Springs office

Mobile Technology has caused a major shift in our real estate businesses and in many office environments. An agent who utilizes and leverages the current technology can truly be a real estate road warrior and operate without an actual office within their brokerage. Much of the in-office focus has shifted towards presentations and client meetings.

With the introductions of smartphones (i.e. iPhone & Android & Blackberry) and tablets (i.e. iPad), the shift has been towards a much more mobile real estate agent. Nowadays, the real estate agent can be more mobile and have client meetings wherever they want, a Starbucks, a Dunkin Donuts or even a Restaurant can be a great meeting place with clients and not their own office, with the introduction of the mobile hotspots.

Portability and mobile technology have changed real estate forever. We are not just talking about laptops changing real estate but the fact that everything in a real estate transaction can be done entirely outside of your office. Agents are using their mobile phones to be more efficient. Rather than taking their laptops, agents are using their tablets to have contracts signed digitally. Online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) are being used by agents that can be accessed from anywhere, which is replacing the old traditional rolodex.

If you have been hoping that technology in real estate was just a fad, you better think again. The real estate industry has shifted from brick and mortar offices to a new and far more efficient digital landscape. The technology is advancing at such a rapid pace and hardware such as the touch screen devices including iPhones and iPads are so easy to learn that you will wonder why you didn't get one sooner. Once you get bit by the technology bug and you start learning and adapting the newest technology into your day to day real estate business your personal productivity is sure to increase.

Trulia.com: House hunters still flock to Florida

Despite the threat of hurricanes and a tsunami of “underwater” mortgages, potential home buyers still view the Sunshine State as paradise.

Among the top 10 metro areas nationwide where demand among online house hunters is strongest, seven are in Florida, according to real estate website Trulia.com.

To see where online house hunters are looking click here.

Hear the Eco: Village of Pinecrest Incentives for Green Building and Remodeling

By Guest contributor, Melanie Dawn Wood, Sales Associate, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Pinecrest office

The Village of Pinecrest is dedicated to a more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable future for its residents. For instance, at the municipal level, the Village has enacted “green purchasing” and “recycling initiatives” for the municipal center and parks. In addition, the Village’s “Green Action Plan” pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 7% below the 1996 levels by 2014.

But your Village didn’t stop there. Recognizing that, as noted by the US Green Building Council, remodeling your existing home “is inherently greener than building a new one,” Village of Pinecrest also offers incentives for builders and homeowners to go green with those remodeling/retrofitting projects. Ordinance 2011-5 provides expedited permitting and rebates of permitting fees if your remodeling project meets any of the many certification requirements from the Us Green Building Council, the Florida Green Building Council, Green Globes “Green Building Initiatives” or federal Energy Star standards. Permit fee rebates range from 15% up to 30% depending on which green certification is achieved.

The incentives provided by the Village of Pinecrest are in addition to the many tax credits, rebates and other incentives available to homeowners at the state and federal levels, including the 30% federal tax credit on your personal tax return for qualifying green remodeling projects.

So before you start your next remodeling project, be sure to contact Village offices for details because green remodeling/retrofits save money on your utility bills, are better for your health and the environment, and will help increase your re-sale value.

In a NutShell: Spreading the Good NEWS in 40 Seconds

Contributed by Ingrid Carlos, Manager, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Hollywood office

Buffet CEO on the Real Estate Recovery Summary:

The fact is that although housing has been under a lot of stress there are emerging signs of recovery. What are the tipping points?

Rents have finally exceeded the cost of home ownership; this is going to cause people to re-think their choice of Renting vs. Buying.

Overall in the last couple of months we have begun to see an increase in home sales activity.

Inventory overall is off about one-third from its peak.

As we move more into a balanced equilibrium we may start to get price stabilization and see some positive price growth towards the second half of the year. In Miami there was 10 years of inventory about 2 years ago and now there is not enough. The inventory will come now that homeowners start to think that they can sell their home without giving up too much of a price forgiveness.

We are seeing price stabilization in markets across the country but Miami is used as an example as the most outrageous and most positive.

Coldwell Banker CARES Gives Back

By Guest Contributor Judy Campo, Manager, Coconut Grove office of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC is the largest real estate brokerage company in Florida and we believe in giving back to the local community through Coldwell Banker CARES by providing charitable contributions to a wide array of non-profit organizations in the neighborhoods we serve.

This year we are pleased to present 17 charities with checks totaling $46,000. Agents contribute their time, talent and treasures to help ensure a brighter future for underprivileged children, cancer and diabetes research, feeding the elderly and other worthy non-profit organizations. Many of our sales associates support CARES by donating a percentage from each closed sale.

February 6-18, we are volunteering our time to construct an affordable home for a deserving family who will also participate in the build through Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami where ten homes will be built in ten days at Habitat Oaks in Liberty City.

In May, we will be having our Second Annual Golf Tournament and Silent Auction, our largest fund raiser of the year! This is an exciting time for us and I wish to thank all of our managers, staff and associates who unselfishly work toward this goal!

The Jills(R), Florida's #1 residential real estate team in sales volume, recently made national news with their latest listing.

Drake, the rapper and Grammy-nominated recording artist who currently holds the spot for #1 rap album in America, put not one, but two, of his Miami apartments on the market and choose Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's top-Florida team to find a buyer. The side-by-side units, 4906 and 4905 in the Marquis Residences, both boast 20-foot-high ceilings with waterfront views, glass walls and marble staircases, and can be combined as a single apartment to create 5,475 square feet of living space. The total asking price? $2.5 million (the larger 4906 is selling for $1.9 million, while 4905 is priced at $599,000.

"Both units are just stunning," says listing agent Jill Hertzberg. "Everything is state-of-the-art, from the kitchen with oversized Viking appliances, to the two-story, soaring living rooms -- mesmerizing views."

The apartments are located in one of Miami's most "elegant" buildings on Biscayne Boulevard, featuring A-list amenities such as a spa and fitness center, an open-air sky pool deck, state of the art meeting room facilities and private elevators.

To read AOL Real Estate's article on Drake's Miami digs, click here.

Coldwell Banker Unveils Lineup for 2012 Gen Blue Experience

This year at the “Generation Blue Experience” event, Coldwell Banker professionals will converge on the New Orleans Convention Center from Feb. 29 to March 3, 2012 to exchange ideas, enjoy primetime entertainment and take time to recognize outstanding accomplishments among their colleagues. Below is one of the many attractions for this year's lineup.

Housing Town Hall

This Coldwell Banker event will feature a “Housing Town Hall,” headlined by renowned former presidential advisors Karl Rove (R) and Robert Gibbs (D), who will share their unique experiences from the White House inner circle. Rove and Gibbs will go head-to-head in a politically charged discussion on critical issues shaping the 2012 election, including housing.

“With 2012 being an election year, it is the perfect time for us to bring together two recent presidential advisers from each side of the political aisle to go head-to-head and discuss the extent to which they believe that real estate will be on the minds of the candidates and the American people,” said Budge Huskey, president and chief operating officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Our brokers and agents are in for a treat.”

To see the rest of the lineup for the 2012 Gen Blue Experience, click here