You should hear what people say behind Scott LeMarr’s back.  He’s a Muskego, Wis.-based home inspector who operates Honest Home Inspections LLC. House hunters call him in to examine a house they want to buy, and his job is to sniff out impending collapse of expensive necessities like the heating system, major appliances, the roof and so on.

Thanks to the weakened dollar, the U.S. has leapfrogged France, Britain and other European countries as a cheaper place to do business.

A new study released Thursday by the auditing and consulting firm KPMG shows that the U.S. moved up on the list of places around the world that are the most cost-efficient. Researchers compared 136 cities in 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, but did not include fast-growing China.

Listings for foreclosed homes are easy to come by these days. Real-estate agents, listing agencies and banks advertise tens of thousands of foreclosed properties in every state, and nationally an additional 1.5 million homes are expected to be foreclosed on this year, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.But for those just starting to browse, what do the different categories of listings mean?

There is an over saturation of properties on the market. This fact makes it much more difficult to sell your listings, the prices are going down quicker than they went up. Most of the sale are turning out to be Short Sales. The troubling part of all this is the techniques many Realtor's are taking that is hurting the market, other Realtors and most notably--the sellers.

One of the things that I love the most about Hollywood, Florida since relocating here from Chicago in 1990, is the abundance of year round outdoor activities.

There are events for people of all ages and interests!

Are you a car lover? The first Sunday of every month, Downtown Hollywood presents the Dream Car Classic, featuring dozens of pre ‘78 vintage cars on display along Hollywood Boulevard. This event will take place April 6th, May 4th and June 1st from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM and it's FREE!

Some experts attribute a decline in MLS home listing values to real estate professionals who do not fully understand the short sale process, in which banks accept less than the mortgage balance as an alternative to foreclosing on the home. “The prices they come in with are so artificially low,” says Johnson & Associates Inc. broker/associate Kendall Fudge.

Looking for an activity for the whole family, or maybe just a solo sojourn? The Global Groove, taking place at The Arts Park at Young Circle in Downtown Hollywood in South Florida may be just the thing for you!

Saturday, April 5th from 4 to 10 PM, this free eco-diversity event features Multi-Cultural Music and Dance and Green fun. Children’s activities include a Trash to Treasure Recycled Art Project, a Kids’ Ecology Corps activity, an IGA fishing game, surfriders longboarding, and performances by Fantasy Theatre Factory, Gold Coast Theatre Magic and wildlife from Jungle Island. For adults, there is music and dance from around the globe, native costumes, and a concert in the amphitheatre at 8 PM.

CBS 4 attended a sold-out presentation of "Short Sale Essentials" at RAMB.  Over 170 REALTORS filled RAMB's Training Center to learn more about Short Sales and how they can assist homeowners in these times of record numbers of foreclosures. Click here to view the CBS4 report.

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Mortgage system gets another $100B-plus shot in the arm

There is no place like home! Last night I had the opportunity to go with my mother, daughter and a couple of girlfriends to see an unbelievable performance of Wicked at the beautiful Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL in Southeast Broward County.

I have always loved the theater, but the Broward Center, where we are season ticket holders, is such a spectacular venue to see any show that when you see a show of Wicked’s caliber it just takes your breath away.

From the valet service in front, to the opulent venue, to the show featuring magnificent costumes, choreography, song and a wicked tale, I was enthralled for the entire event.

WASHINGTON – March 20, 2008 – Florida counties continue to grow but at a slower pace than some counties elsewhere in the nation. Flagler County continued to lead the state in the percentage of growth at 7.2 percent, though it dropped to sixth place nationwide. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a slowdown in population gains in fast-growing counties in both the South and West between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007.

The report indicates that the Sunbelt remained popular among those who relocated during this period–with Arizona, California, Nevada, and North Carolina home to the 10 counties with the biggest jumps in population.

However, the population actually fell in Broward County, Fla., by 13,000 during the period covered by the Census report. In contrast, Broward welcomed 28,000 new residents annually on average from 2000 to 2005. According to Brookings Institution demographer William Frey, “It’s a year of a migration correction, just as there was a correction in the housing market.

Real Estate Boom Expected in Five Years - Miami is transitioning into a major cosmopolitan city – and the local residential real estate market is expected to thrive again within five years according to National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.  

Yun also points to wealth accumulation as a factor not considered when analyzing simple home price to income ratio in Miami. 

“There is no reliable wealth or life time savings information at the local metro level.  A financially stable retiree may have a rather low yearly income from social security checks and pension income, but that same person may have a cool million dollars or two sitting in the bank,” said Yun.  “Yet, because there is no reliable published wealth data, many analysts just use the income measure and totally ignore wealth info.  Trust me New Yorkers and other snowbirds who are moving to Florida will have a thicker bank account than others.”  Why Miami’s housing market will be so robust within five years:  

 “Miami home prices could increase 20-30 percent in five years” 

In his recent commentary titled “Miami Confidential”, National Association of Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun indicates those who buy real estate in Miami now are likely to see strong appreciation and high returns on purchase prices in just a few years despite the current oversupply of condos. 

“In five years, do not be surprised if home prices in Miami are 20 to 30 percent higher than the current levels,” said Yun.

By Harika "Anna" Barlett, NAR Research According to the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimates, 14.8 percent of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin in 2006. Among recent home buyers surveyed by NAR in 2007, six percent identified themselves as Hispanic. Among the first-time buyers, eight percent were Hispanics. While Hispanic home buyers share many characteristics with all buyers and behave similar to other buyers in some areas, there are also significant differences between this group of home buyers and recent home buyers in general. Knowing particular characteristics and requirements of Hispanic buyers and sellers can help REALTORS® develop customized services to better meet the needs of their Hispanic clients.

How To Shop For A Mortgage

Mortgage Library: How To Shop For A Mortgage

To find out more about the property tax proposal and other action, check out the Legislative News on floridarealtors.org. Just click here.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – March 18, 2008 – Florida voters will have a chance in November to approve an across-the-board property tax cut averaging 25 percent, which would dwarf two other tax relief measures enacted over the past year.

The Legislature would be required to replace an estimated $8 billion in annual revenue losses through several options, including a 1 percentage point increase in the present 6 percent statewide sales tax.

You need an RSS Reader from the program "Unleash the Power of Blogging in Your Real Estate Business".  This powerpoint refers you to http://Readers.BrokerProfitability.com where you we have a click through for 9 different FREE Readers.

by Hank Sorensen, Esq.               Because the Florida real estate market was appreciating for so long over the life of new construction contracts, little attention was ever paid to the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (“ILSA”) by builders, buyers and everyone else in the real estate industry.  However, with the downturn in the market, buyers have been remarkably successful as of late in using ILSA as a means of canceling new construction sales contracts and obtaining a refund of their entire deposits.    Because ILSA also allows for the recovery of interest on the deposit, court costs and attorney’s fees, builders have recently identified some previously-ignored provisions of their sales contracts that now have many communities and condominium towers empty, with no deposits on file for properties that were previously under contract.  The defective nature of those provisions permits buyers to rescind sales contracts entered into up to three years prior, with obvious devastating effects on the real estate project and the builder. (See St. Pete Times Article – Mistake Voids Condo Deals, January 24, 2008).               ILSA is a federal statute that was enacted in the late 1960s as Congress’ response to a real estate market offering the proverbial “swampland” to unsuspecting buyers.  The statute requires that a developer or builder offer a “Property Report” to a buyer prior to execution of any sales contract.  The Property Report contains certain information about the builder and the community, and failure to provide the Report allows for a buyer to rescind the sales contract within certain time parameters.  

John D. Rockefeller once said, “The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.”

If you listen to all the talk about the housing market being in the dumpster, the subprime/foreclosure fiasco, the R word, and the credit crunch. . . it is easy to deduct that “blood is running in the streets,” making this an excellent time to buy real estate.