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Orlando, FL Real Estate News

By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Buying your first home is an exciting decision and a major milestone that has the power to change your life for the better. As a first-time homebuyer, it’s a vision you can bring to life, but, as the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shares, you’ll have to overcome some factors that have made it more challenging in recent years:   “Since 2011, the share of first-time home buyers has been under the historical norm of 40% as buyers face tight inventory, rising home prices, rising rents and high student debt loads.” That said, if you’re looking to purchase your first home, here are two things you can consider to help make your dreams a reality. Save Money with First-Time Homebuyer Programs Being able to pay for the initial costs and fees associated with homeownership can feel like a ...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Comparing real estate metrics from one year to another can be challenging in a normal housing market. That’s due to possible variability in the market making the comparison less meaningful or accurate. Unpredictable events can have a significant impact on the circumstances and outcomes being compared. Comparing this year’s numbers to the two ‘unicorn’ years we just experienced is almost worthless. By ‘unicorn,’ this is the less common definition of the word:“Something that is greatly desired but difficult or impossible to find.” The plandemic profoundly changed real estate over the last few years. The demand for a home of our own skyrocketed, and people needed a home office and big backyard.  Waves of first-time and second-home buyers entered the market. Already low mortgage rates were ...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
For many of us, visiting the same vacation spot every year is a summer tradition that’s fun, relaxing, and restful. If that sounds like you, now’s the time to think about your plans and determine if buying a vacation home this year makes more sense than renting one again. According to Forbes:  “. . . if the idea of vacationing at the same place every year makes you feel instantaneously relaxed, buying a vacation home might be a wise move.”   To help you decide if making a move like this is right for you, let’s explore why you may want to consider purchasing a vacation home today.  Benefits of Owning Your Vacation Home You don’t have to worry about finding a place to stay. It can be a challenge to find a rental where you want, when you want. Some summer vacation destinations are more po...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Some Highlights If you want to sell your house, consider doing it this summer. The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and it’s a great time for sellers. If your needs have changed, now’s the time to capitalize on the low inventory and multiple offers in today’s sellers’ market. Let’s connect today if you’re ready to sell your house and move to a home that meets your changing needs.  Contact us:PHP Houses142 W Lakeview AveUnit 1030Lake Mary, FL 32746Ph: (407) 641-1531Fax: (407) 205-1951email: info@phphouses.comLet’s Connect:FacebookLinkedinTwitterInstagramThe information contained, and the opinions expressed, in this article are not intended to be construed as investment advice. The author does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions cont...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
If you’re trying to decide if now’s the time to sell your house, here’s what you should know. The limited number of homes available right now gives you a big advantage. That’s because there are more buyers out there than there are homes for sale. And, with so few homes on the market, buyers will have fewer options, so you set yourself up to get the most eyes possible on your house. Here’s what industry experts are saying about why selling now has its benefits: Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR):   “Inventory levels are still at historic lows. Consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties.” Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at CoreLogic:   “We have not seen the traditional uptick in new listings from existing homeowners, so...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
You’re probably feeling the impact of high inflation every day as prices have gone up on groceries, gas, and more. If you’re a renter, you’re likely experiencing it a lot as your rent continues to rise. Between all of those elevated costs and uncertainty about a potential recession, you may be wondering if it still makes sense to buy a home today. The short answer is – it does. Here’s why. Homeownership actually shields you from the rising costs inflation brings.Freddie Mac explains how: “Not only will buying today help you begin to build equity, a fixed-rate mortgage can stabilize your monthly housing costs for the long-term even while other life expenses continue to rise – as has been the case the past few years.”Unlike rents, which tend to rise with time, a fixed-rate mortgage paymen...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
With the median home sales price having skyrocketed from $313,000 in Q1 2019 to $436,800 in Q1 2023, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Most Affordable Cities for Home Buyers, as well as expert commentary.In order to determine the most affordable cities for home buyers, WalletHub compared 300 U.S. cities across ten key metrics. The data set ranges from the costs of homes and their maintenance to tax rates and vacancy rates.  Most Affordable Cities Least Affordable Cities 1. Montgomery, AL 291. San Francisco, CA 2. Flint, MI 292. New York, NY 3. Toledo, OH 293. Pasadena, CA 4. Detroit, MI 294. Boulder, CO 5. Akron, OH 295. Los Angeles, CA 6. Warren, MI 296. Burbank, CA 7. Pittsburgh, PA 297. Glendale, CA 8. Yuma, AZ 298. Santa Monica, CA 9. Springf...
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By David Welch, Real Estate Optimist - #OrlandoRealEstate
(Charles Rutenberg Realty)
Orlando real estate numbers continue to be solid. Inventory remains high compared to a year ago with 5,148 homes of all types available for sale compare to just 2,670 a year ago. However, that is still less than a two month supply of homes for sale. The median price remains strong at $370,000 holding steady compared to last year. The total sales number is again way down compared to a year ago, and I have no answer for this, because the official numbers continue to run around 1,000 fewer than what I am counting on our multiple listing service.If you are actively searching the Orlando area for a home right now, you know that homes are moving quickly. Just this week, I showed two homes the day they came on the market, and they each went pending that day. One was a $400,000 fixer upper in W...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
The process of buying a home can feel a bit intimidating, even under normal circumstances. But today's market is still anything but normal. There continues to be a very limited number of homes for sale, and that’s creating bidding wars and driving home prices back up as buyers compete over the available homes. Navigating all of this can be daunting if you’re trying to do it alone. That’s why having a skilled expert to guide you through the homebuying process is essential, especially today. Bankrate shares this perspective:  "Advice and guidance from a professional real estate agent can be invaluable, particularly amid a hot or unpredictable housing market." Here are just a few of the ways a real estate expert makes a big difference:  Experience – Real estate professionals know the ins ...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Some Highlights If you’re looking to buy a home, you should know even a small change in mortgage rates has an impact on your purchasing power. These charts show how rates generally affect your monthly payment. The best way to navigate changing mortgage rates and make an informed buying decision is to rely on the expertise of a local real estate professional and mortgage lender.  Contact us:PHP Houses142 W Lakeview AveUnit 1030Lake Mary, FL 32746Ph: (407) 641-1531Fax: (407) 205-1951email: info@phphouses.comLet’s Connect:FacebookLinkedinTwitterInstagramThe information contained, and the opinions expressed, in this article are not intended to be construed as investment advice. The author does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained her...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
The spring housing market has been surprisingly active this year. Even with affordability challenges and a limited number of homes for sale, buyer demand is strong, and getting stronger.One way we know there are interested buyers right now is because showing traffic is up. Data from the latest ShowingTime Showing Index, which is a measure of buyers actively touring homes, makes it clear more people are out looking at homes than there were prior to the pandemic (see graph below):And though there’s less traffic than the buyer frenzy of the past couple of years, we’re not far off that pace. There are a lot of interested buyers checking out available homes right now.But why are buyers so active at a time when mortgage rates are higher than they were just last year?The Job Market Is Growing ...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will release its latest Existing Home Sales Report tomorrow. The information it contains on home prices may cause some confusion and could even generate some troubling headlines. This all stems from the fact that NAR will report the median sales price, while other home price indices report repeat sales prices. The vast majority of the repeat sales indices show prices are starting to appreciate again. But the median price reported on Thursday may tell a different story.  Here’s why using the median home price as a gauge of what’s happening with home values isn’t ideal right now. According to the Center for Real Estate Studies at Wichita State University: “The median sale price measures the ‘middle’ price of homes that sold, meaning that half of...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
If you’re following the news today, you may feel a bit unsure about what’s happening with home prices and fear whether or not the worst is yet to come. That’s because today’s headlines are painting an unnecessarily negative picture. Contrary to those headlines, home prices aren’t in a freefall. The latest data tells a very different and much more positive story. Local home price trends still vary by market, but here’s what the national data tells us.If we take a year-over-year view, home prices stayed positive – they just appreciated more slowly than they did at the peak of the pandemic. To get a more detailed picture of some of the trends in the market, we need to look at monthly data. The monthly graphs below use recent reports from three sources to show that the worst home price decl...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Even though home prices have moderated over the last year, many homeowners still have an incredible amount of equity. But what is equity? In the simplest terms, equity is the difference between the market value of your home and the amount you owe on your mortgage. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) explains how your equity grows over time:“Housing wealth (home equity or net worth) gains are built up through price appreciation and by paying off the mortgage.”How Your Equity Can Help You Achieve Your GoalsThe equity you build up over the years can be used to your advantage when you sell your current house and buy your next home. If you no longer have the space you need, it might be time to move into a larger home. Or it’s possible you have too much space and need something smaller...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Some Highlights While home prices vary by local area, they’ve already hit their low point nationally, and now they’re starting to rise again. Last July, prices started to decline, but around February, they began climbing back up. If you put your plans to move on hold waiting to see what would happen with home prices, let’s connect to discuss if now’s the right time to jump back in.  Contact us:PHP Houses142 W Lakeview AveUnit 1030Lake Mary, FL 32746Ph: (407) 641-1531Fax: (407) 205-1951email: info@phphouses.comLet’s Connect:FacebookLinkedinTwitterInstagramThe information contained, and the opinions expressed, in this article are not intended to be construed as investment advice. The author does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
If you’re thinking about selling your house, you should know the number of homes for sale right now is low. That’s because, this season, there are fewer sellers listing their houses for sale than the norm.Looking back at every April since 2017, the only year when fewer sellers listed their homes was in April 2020, when the pandemic hit and stalled the housing market (shown in red in the graph below). In more typical years, roughly 500,000 sellers add their homes to the market in April. This year, we saw fewer than 400,000 sellers entering the market in April (see graph below): While there are a number of factors contributing to this trend, one thing keeping inventory low right now is that some homeowners are reluctant to move when the mortgage rate they have on their current house is lo...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
If you’re reading headlines about inflation or mortgage rates, you may see something about the recent decision from the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But what does it mean for you, the housing market, and your plans to buy a home? Here’s what you need to know. Inflation and the Housing Market While the Fed’s working hard to lower inflation, the latest data shows that, while the number has improved some, the inflation rate is still higher than the target (2%). That played a role in the Fed's decision to raise the Federal Funds Rate last week. As Bankrate explains:   “Keeping its inflation-fighting streak alive, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the 10th time in 10 meetings . . . The hikes aimed to cool an economy that was on fire after rebounding from the coronavirus recess...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
There’s been some concern lately that the housing market is headed for a crash. And given some of the affordability challenges in the housing market, along with a lot of recession talk in the media, it’s easy enough to understand why that worry has come up.But the data clearly shows today’s market is very different than it was before the housing crash in 2008. Rest assured, this isn’t a repeat of what happened back then. Here’s why.It’s Harder To Get a Loan NowIt was much easier to get a home loan during the lead-up to the 2008 housing crisis than it is today. Back then, banks had different lending standards, making it easy for just about anyone to qualify for a home loan or refinance an existing one. As a result, lending institutions took on much greater risk in both the person and the...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
If you’re looking to buy a house, you may find today’s limited supply of homes available for sale challenging. When housing inventory is as low as it is right now, it can feel like a bit of an uphill battle to find the perfect home for you because there just isn’t that much to choose from. If you need to open up your pool of options, it may be time to consider a newly built home.  According to the latest data from the U.S. Census, there’s positive news when it comes to new home construction. When you look at the first three months of this year, you’ll find:   More new homes were completed and are ready to sell. This gives you more move-in-ready options for your search. Builders broke ground and started construction on more single-family homes. This means there are more homes intended f...
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By Walter DiLoreto, Real Estate Short Sale Specialist
(PHP Houses)
Some Highlights Not sure if selling your house is the right move today? You should know there are a number of reasons it still makes sense to sell now. Your house will stand out because inventory is low. That’s why the number of offers on recently sold homes is on the rise. And most homeowners have a lot of equity that can fuel a move. If you’re thinking about selling your house, let’s connect to discuss if now may be the time to move.  Contact us:PHP Houses142 W Lakeview AveUnit 1030Lake Mary, FL 32746Ph: (407) 641-1531Fax: (407) 205-1951email: info@phphouses.comLet’s Connect:FacebookLinkedinTwitterInstagramThe information contained, and the opinions expressed, in this article are not intended to be construed as investment advice. The author does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy o...
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