I thought I would start doing “Debbie’s Deal of the Week”. I will pick a property that I believe is a great deal. As you know interest rates dropped again and sellers are wanting to sell. These units were selling for over $1 million!

This condo is a 2 bedroom / 2 bath, gulf front. Absolutely gorgeous views and a great rental. I just reduced the price from $699,000 to $675,000. Seller will entertain all offers.

Silver Beach Towers

Click HERE for more information about this condo.

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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According to The Associated Press, Nevada, Michigan, Florida lead ‘underwater’ list:

It is said that almost half of Nevada homeowners with a mortgage owe more to the bank than their homes are worth. Add in the homeowners in the same situation in California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Michigan, and together they account for nearly 60 percent of all homeowners who are “underwater” on their mortgages. Nationwide, it’s about 1 out of 5 homeowners who are underwater.

Some experts predict the problem will get much worse, others feel we are at the bottom. Remember real estate is localized, so some areas just might be at their bottom. In my opinion, I believe the worst is yet to come (in a majority of the states). My area “topped” in June 2005, where as NY topped around Dec. 2007. Buyers who got the adjustable mortgages (or negative amoritization loans) are seeing their payments adjust. And depending on the terms (1 year, 3 year, or 5 year adjustable), will depend on when the homeowner/investor gets into trouble with the higher payments.

According to Nouriel Roubini: Nationally, home prices are already down about 20 percent from their peak in mid-2006. By the time the housing market hits bottom, prices may be down 40 percent from the top, leaving 40 percent of homeowners underwater, according to Nouriel Roubini, economics professor at New York University.

“There is a huge incentive to walk away from your mortgage,” said Roubini, who has attracted attention for his gloomy – and accurate – predictions of the U.S. financial market meltdown. He gave no forecast for when the real estate market would bottom out.

Think of it this way…the investor can’t refinance to get a lower payment because their property won’t appraise…they owe more than it’s worth and they can’t afford to bring the difference to closing. The bank won’t work with them until they are behind, and then if they get behind, it will hit their credit, therefore not allowing them to refinance anyway! If your credit is going to be ruined, because of late payments, why not just walk away?? I’m not saying walking away is the right thing to do, but what other options does the person have? The bailout plan is not going to be able help everyone.

The problem is much worse in suburban neighborhoods where builders flooded the market with new homes and buyers put down small, or no, down payments. Look at Atlanta (I lived there for 12 years so I am very familar with that market). When I moved to Florida in 2004 there were about 3000 homes hitting some stage of Foreclosure every month. That number has skyrocketed to over 7000 per month! Back then there were not enough investors to buy the ones that actually were sold on the courthouse steps.

Looks like there will be some incredible buys for investors and even those who want to purchase a primary residence (or 2nd home in my area). My advice would be to make sure you work with a Realtor who is familiar with short sales and foreclosures.

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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Happy Halloween everyone!

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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Here is a walk thru of a gorgeous, 3-story, home, built by Noblin Builders, in Destin, Florida.

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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Real estate is local. What I mean by this is that there are some areas of our Country that have not been as effected by the down turn of the real estate market. Others have been hit extremely hard. South Florida being one of the areas hardest hit.

The Emerald Coast has taken a down turn, there’s not doubt. Prices have declined over the past couple of years. I thought prices in this area, were great last year. Prices this year are unbelievable. There is currently a gulf front condo listed for $240.88 per sq. ft!! Yes, this is gulf front! I sold a similar unit (different floor, same floor plan and square footage), last year for $465.11 per sq. ft! Check out this GULF FRONT, 2 bedroom / 2 bath, 1453 SF, listed for $350,000… Breakers East Condominium, Unit 806 This view can be yours!

Of course the question I am asked every day, is still “have we hit bottom”? That is truly the $64 million dollar question. I am hopeful we are close, if not just about there. There have been some sales and yet not as many as last year. The few buyers that are making offers are looking for a steal of a deal. They are savy investors and know what they will pay for a home or condo and not a penny more. We need these investors to help absorb some of this inventory.

Any seller that really doesn’t have to sell, we encourage to take the property off the market. They just aren’t realistic about what their property will sell for (to emotional). Sellers want to sell for at least what they owe on their mortgage, and in a lot of cases this just isn’t going to happen. Just recently, I had a seller tell me this. She owns a 2 bedroom townhome and owes more than what a 3 bedroom unit, in her community, just sold for. I’m sorry, but her 2 bedroom is just not going to sell for what she wants it to. It won’t appraise. And if it won’t appraise a buyer, who is getting financing, won’t be able to get financing for more than appraised value.

Besides being a Realtor, I am an investor, too. I can look at the situation from both a buyer and seller’s perspective. I have been there. In real estate, it’s about the facts. it’s about what the prices are for property currently for sale and what the prices are for the properties that have been sold. A buyer is not going to pay $100,000 more for the same size condo in the same building!

We are in a cycle and as history shows, the market will come back. The $128 million dollar question is, when?

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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I am so thankful to live in paradise. Until I moved to this area, I had never seen such beautiful, and unbelievable sunsets. In such stressful economic times, sometimes we just need to stop and enjoy the beauty around us.

Enjoy this very short video…

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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Here’s an announcement from yesterday:

Bank investments, FDIC changes

The federal government today outlined new initiatives to strengthen markets and the economy, including investing at least $250 billion directly into financial institutions and temporarily expanding Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) coverage on non-interest-bearing deposit accounts.

The capital purchase program will use funds from the recently passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act — legislation that empowers the Treasury to use up to $700 billion to provide greater liquidity in the markets and promote overall financial market stability. The $250 billion will be invested into some of the nation’s banks, with about half of that total going to nine major institutions, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. In return, the federal government will receive equity stakes in these companies in the form of preferred shares.

In addition, FDIC coverage will be temporarily expanded to an unlimited amount on all non-interest-bearing deposit accounts (which include all checking accounts, with the exclusion of Interest Checking, Tiered Interest Checking, Business Interest Checking and Analyzed Business Interest Checking) for the next 30 days. Banks are able to extend this expanded coverage through Dec. 31, 2009 for a fee. This action by the FDIC is expected to benefit small businesses by providing additional coverage for accounts through which they manage their day-to-day operations.

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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The only thing missing is you!

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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From the Wall St Journal

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), in an appearance on the Senate floor Saturday, said there are only a “handful of issues still lingering” for lawmakers to finalize. He said his goal was for the Congress and the Bush administration to at the very least release an outline of the bailout plan before Asian markets open Sunday evening.

Saturday evening, a Senate aide familiar with the talks said a number of specific ideas appeared to be gaining traction, most notably the concept of creating a “financial stability” fund financed by Wall Street…

Also gaining steam was a proposal to eliminate the tax deductions for companies on executive compensation for top officers that is above $400,000….

One issue still to be resolved was how the $700 billion authority to Treasury to buy up toxic assets will be meted out.

Lawmakers want Treasury to receive the authority in tranches, receiving $250 billion immediately and another $100 billion if needed as certified by the president. The remaining $350 billion would be subject to a Congressional vote, giving lawmakers the opportunity to vote to rescind the funds. But a Senate aide familiar with the discussions said Treasury was pushing for a larger initial authority, likely around $500 billion.

Lawmakers appeared to have the advantage on the issue ahead of the evening talks, the Senate aide said, though no part of the deal had been completely finalized.”

From Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. congressional leaders on Sunday said they had reached the broad outline of a deal to put in place a $700 billion bank bailout but were awaiting details on paper before declaring it final.

“We’ve made great progress,” House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after a night of marathon talks. “We have to get it committed to paper so we can formally agree.”

Are they really any further along? There is a lot of pressure, perhaps, for an announcement that they are closer. What do you think?

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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I’m sure you have heard the news…

Daily Real Estate News | September 26, 2008 WaMu’s Home Loan Biz Led to Bank’s Failure

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized Washington Mutual Inc., one of the country’s biggest banks, and then sold the Seattle-based thrift’s banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion.

Because of WaMu’s heavy mortgage-related losses and other risky debt, JPMorgan will write down the thrift’s loan portfolio by roughly $31 billion, a figure that could change if the federal bailout plan is enacted and JPMorgan opts into it.

Problems in WaMu’s home loan business became evident as far back as 2006, when the division recorded losses of $48 million versus net income of approximately $1 billion a year earlier.

Source: Associated Press; Marcy Gordon, Sarah Lepro, Madlen Read

This is incredible…just amazing how in the span of just under 3 weeks that…

• Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac were seized by the government
• Leman Brothers went into bankruptcy
• Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch before they go into bankruptcy
• The Federal Reserve gives AIG an $85 billion loan
• President Bush seeks a $700 billion Bailout
• Goldman Sachs & Morgan Stanley turn into regulated commercial banks
• Warren Buffet buys $5 billion of Goldman Sachs stock
• Washington Mutual is seized by the government & sold to JP Morgan Chase

Certainly historical times we are living in.

For more information about real estate along the Emerald Coast visit my website.

Debbie James
850.450.2000

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