2 Bedroom Ocean Front Condo

 

Ocean front condos are at 1990′s prices…

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 Luxury Ocean Front Homes From $255,000 CLICK HERE

 MLS Search Here Including Foreclosures and Bank Owned

 Click here to see the listings of all ocean front condos for sale

 

Kenneth Duncan

Lang mae yer lum reek

Mobile       1-772-224-6378
Fax          1-772-497-1156
Email        kenduncan@keyes.com
Skype        kjd769

“Purveyor of Luxury Homes”

Selling your condo read my guarantee http://treasurecoastfloridahomes.net/2011/02/03/if-you-want-to-sell-your-luxury-home-contact-me

 

 

Hutchinson Island Condos and Homes are selling for prices last seen in the 1990′s. If you are considering buying on the island now might be a good time to start.         Please view below for the MLS search buttons and more information

 

South Hutchinson Island, home of some of Florida’s most fantastic beaches, finest resort hotels and most interesting attractions. Go horseback riding on the beach, play golf, fabulous tennis clubs, see manatees and baby sea turtles, walk the miles of beaches, embark on an unforgettable fishing excursion and much more.

 

 

Jensen Beach   Stuart    Palm City    Eagle Marsh Golf Club    Europe    City Place Vacation Rental    The PGA Village Port St Lucie    Hammock Creek Golf Club  Harbor Ridge Golf Club   Stuart Yacht and Country Club     Willoughby Golf Club   Hobe Sound  Tradition Port St Lucie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabulous Luxury Islandia Condo

 

Search Here Including Foreclosures and Bank Owned

Click here to see the listings of all ocean front condos for sale

Lang mae yer lum reek

Office        1-772-497-9057
Mobile        1-772-224-6378
Fax           1-772-497-1156
Email         kenduncan@keyes.com
Skype Int     kjd769

 

“Purveyor of Luxury Homes”

 

Kenneth Duncan

 

Jensen Beach   Stuart    Palm City    Eagle Marsh Golf Club    Europe    City Place Vacation Rental    The PGA Village Port St Lucie    Hammock Creek Golf Club  Harbor Ridge Golf Club   Stuart Yacht and Country Club     Willoughby Golf Club   Hobe Sound  Tradition Port St Lucie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treasure Coast Florida Homes

Luxury Ocean Front Home Listings Just Click Here

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With sales of condos and luxury homes rising over the past year there has never been a better time to buy  than right now. Hutchinson Island Treasure Coast Florida has a large selection of ocean front condos and luxury homes on offer. If you are thinking of selling I would be happy to help you.

From Dune Walk right down to Islander there are 34 large ocean front condo developments on Hutchinson Island to choose from with prices ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000 or if an ocean front home is what you desire Sailfish Point and Sewalls Point may have exactly what you are looking for.

Click here to see the listings of all ocean front condos for sale

Sewalls Point and Sailfish Point - Hutchinson Island Homes - Stuart and Palm City Homes - Jensen Beach Homes

Hutchinson Island Condominiums Ocean Front – Hutchinson Island Condominiums Non Ocean Front

• Author : Meghan and Al

 ”Ken is the best and together we found exactly what we were looking for! We were referred to Ken from our friends Mike and Janet after their great experience. Shopping long distance for the perfect house was not easy but Ken had the patience and humor to make it all work. He was always available to show us whatever properties, wherever and whenever we wanted. He had a great understanding of what we wanted and wouldn’t stop until we found it. He was always quick to respond to questions and inquiries. Throughout the whole transaction, he did whatever it took to get it done! We love our new home! Thanks, Ken”

Ken Duncan Estate Agent

Lang mae yur lum reek

• Office                       1-772-497-9057
• Mobile                     1-772-224-6378
• Fax                           1-772-497-1156
• Email                       kenduncan@keyes.com
• Skype Int               kjd769

“Purveyor of Luxury Homes”

Contact me and I will start searching for your luxury ocean front condo or home.

 If you want to know more about me please click here..Comments

In reality, those real estate shows are really fake

In reality, those real estate shows are really fake

CHICAGO – Dec. 10, 2009 – Flip on your television and tune into HGTV’s “House Hunters” and you might see yet another set of Chicago homebuyers and a local real estate agent in action.

Homes for sale in Stuart, Sewall’s Point, Palm City, Hobe Sound, Hutchinson Island, Port Saint Lucie and Jensen Beach Indian River Drive and Hutchinson Island,Ken Duncan realtor and Real Estate of Florida our real estate includes condos, single-family homes, gated communities and golf and tennis country clubs. If you are looking for a permanent home, an investment property or a seasonal condo in a country club, this is the place to start.

The popular cable TV program seems to like the local real estate market; it’s certainly been featured before. And with every show, another buyer and agent learn the skinny about what’s real and unreal on reality television.

“House Hunters” is one of those programs you can stumble across and then find yourself sitting down to watch, critiquing the three different properties being shown and the buyer’s tastes, and then guessing which one they’ll pick. It also provides a sense of property values in a given locale, as in “look how much more/less house we can get if we moved somewhere else.”

So hearing the behind-the-scenes details of several episodes that have been filmed here recently is a bit like pulling back the curtain to reveal the real Wizard of Oz.

Homes for sale in Stuart, Sewall’s Point, Palm City, Hobe Sound, Hutchinson Island, Port Saint Lucie and Jensen Beach Indian River Drive and Hutchinson Island,Ken Duncan realtor and Real Estate of Florida our real estate includes condos, single-family homes, gated communities and golf and tennis country clubs. If you are looking for a permanent home, an investment property or a seasonal condo in a country club, this is the place to start.

A few months ago while they were looking for another set of homebuyers, the show’s producers stumbled across the blog of Chicago Realtor Eric Rojas (score another one for social marketing) and asked if he had a willing buyer.

He did. But Chicagoans Kurt and Kelly Schnakenberg had to be more than willing to appear on television. They had to have the financial wherewithal to actually close on a home, and they had to have the right personalities for the show, something they demonstrated in a videotape sent to the producers.

Rojas, meanwhile, had to fill out a questionnaire about how he does business.

Homes for sale in Stuart, Sewall’s Point, Palm City, Hobe Sound, Hutchinson Island, Port Saint Lucie and Jensen Beach Indian River Drive and Hutchinson Island,Ken Duncan realtor and Real Estate of Florida our real estate includes condos, single-family homes, gated communities and golf and tennis country clubs. If you are looking for a permanent home, an investment property or a seasonal condo in a country club, this is the place to start.

For the show, the couple looked at three properties in Lakeview: a $415,000 loft, a $355,000 vintage condo with a kitchen that needed work and a $400,000 loft-style town house that needed updating.

Of those three, one of them was the unit the couple did indeed purchase in March. Another one was under contract to someone else so the listing agent had no problem showing it. The third unit was for sale, but the couple had never seen it before and had pretty much already made up their mind.

The conversations aren’t the same, either. Kurt Schnakenberg said he and his wife did debate the merits of various condos but it was never so serious and “usually over a bottle of wine.”

Chicago agent Carrie Georgitsis, who showed properties to her father for a different episode, had no idea how tiring it would be until she found herself involved in 40 hours of filming for what amounts to less than 25 minutes of programming. She found herself having to say the same things over and over, while the camera crew shot her conversations with her father from different angles, and had to be careful not to tip off viewers to which property was chosen.

Why can’t it be more real than it is? Here’s three good reasons: One, it’s a TV show and it’s meant to be entertaining. If it turned out that the buyers had bad credit and couldn’t close on a home, there’d be no happy ending and no “after” shot showing the new homeowners in their abode.

Two, sellers – and homeowners associations – have to agree to the filming and some don’t want to be bothered or don’t want to deal with the legal ramifications if a crew member gets hurt during filming. And three, if the buyers and the real estate agent are totally unlikable and mumble, do you want to watch them buy a house?

Rojas doesn’t think so.

“‘House Hunters’ is house candy,” Rojas said. “It’s not realistic. It’s directed. You don’t learn anything about buying. You learn about real estate values. You learn about how houses look.”

Despite all that, agents who’ve done it say they still watch the show, and they’d go back on it again. After all, it’s great marketing exposure, particularly because programs are repeated.

Homes for sale in Stuart, Sewall’s Point, Palm City, Hobe Sound, Hutchinson Island, Port Saint Lucie and Jensen Beach Indian River Drive and Hutchinson Island,Ken Duncan realtor and Real Estate of Florida our real estate includes condos, single-family homes, gated communities and golf and tennis country clubs. If you are looking for a permanent home, an investment property or a seasonal condo in a country club, this is the place to start.

“It’s totally fake, but does anybody think reality TV is real? It’s all canned, but it’s fun to watch,” said real estate agent Karl Vogel, who also was featured in a recent episode helping a Boston native find a home in Chicago. “Who can say they don’t like to be on television, except you look fat?”

The Schnakenbergs, who’d never before seen the show, already plan to capitalize on their upcoming 30 minutes of fame when it comes time to sell their condo. “Listing it ‘as seen on HGTV’ couldn’t hurt us,” Kurt Schnakenberg said. “I’m not sure if it will get us more money, but it will help us get more showings.”

Dear Buyer

I specialize in working with serious buyers. My expertise and knowledge allows me deliver top value in an investment property or new home, advice on finance and a timely closing for my buyers. If you want a professional Realtor working for you please call me.

Ken Duncan Realtor

A link to a customer comment page. Now is the perfect time to buy your investment or vacation home in South Florida it could be the best investment you will make in your lifetime. Foreclosure homes available in Stuart,Palm City and Port St Lucie

Please contact Ken

 By phone:   305-320-6744

By Email:    kenduncanrealtor@gmail.com

Tradition Port St Lucie Florida

Tradition Port St Lucie Florida

With its seven distinctive villages just a short stroll or bike ride from a charming town square, a grocery store and a national-brand retail center, Tradition is a return to the days when your town had everything you need!

Do you need a Realtor to help you find your new home? Please call me for more information or to set up an appointment.

Experience Tradition

Looking for new homes in Tradition Port St. Lucie? Whether you desire a friendly Florida retirement community or you dream of a charming small town in which to raise a family, Tradition is truly your kind of town. With more than 400 acres of lakes and waterways, cozy neighborhood parks and playgrounds, all linked by miles of paved pathways, it’s a lifestyle that’s unmatched anywhere in America.

Green spaces abound inside Tradition. In the many neighborhood parks, children have plenty of room to play and make new friends while adults will find them to be wonderful places to meet and catch up on “what’s new.”

But you’ll also live a more relaxed life in Tradition knowing that Port St. Lucie has been at or near the top of the list of Safest Cities in Florida for the last eight consecutive years — and one of the safest cities in the entire country. That’s according to City Crime Rankings for cities of 100,000 – 499,999 population.

   Tradition offers its residents free wi-fi internet access in the community areas and an advanced fiber-optic network connected to every home, providing a multitude of advanced services (Hometown Cable Plus).

For residents who prefer a having a choice for their home appliances, you’ll be pleased to know that Tradition provides natural gas service, too.

For people who enjoy the outdoors — or for those who enjoy just getting out — Tradition is perfectly located. Here, in the heart of Florida’s Treasure Coast, you’re never far from a wealth of recreation and entertainment choices.

Golfers of any ability will appreciate the beautiful PGA Village. With three signature PGA golf courses and a state-of-the-art 35-acre Learning Center, it’s the premier “duffer destination” in the area.

Areas Attractions

Disney’s Animal Kingdom: I-4 and U.S. 192, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando). 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily (closing times vary). $47-$56.70. (407) 824-4321; disneyworld.com.

Disney-MGM Studios: I-4 and U.S. 192, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando). 9 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. (407) 824-4321; disneyworld.com.

Epcot Center: I-4 and U.S. 192, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando). 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily (closing times vary). disneyworld.com. (407) 824-4321.

Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center: Stingray, gamefish feedings; aquariums; touch tanks; trails; butterfly garden. 890 N.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sunday. $8. floridaoceanographic.org.

Historic Bok Sanctuary: National historic landmark, Olmsted-designed gardens, singing tower with 60-bell carillon. 1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. $3-$10. (863) 676-1408; boksanctuary.org.

Islands of Adventure: 1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Orlando. (I-4 exits 74-B, 75-A). 9 a.m.-10 p.m. $42.30-$53.75. (407) 363-8000.

Lion Country Safari: 500-acre drive-through wildlife park, animal exhibits, rides. 15.5 miles west of I-95 in West Palm Beach. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. $16.99-$21.99. (561) 793-1084.

McKee Botanical Garden: McKee Botanical Garden, 350 U.S. 1, Vero Beach. Return of the Dinosaurs exhibit through March 2010. (772) 794-0601; mckeegarden.org. Also: Ghosts and Goblins in the Garden, 6 p.m., Oct. 31. Annual Holiday at McKee, 6-8 p.m., Dec. 18-21.

St. Lucie County Marine Center: Ecosystems exhibit; boat tours first, third Saturday. 420 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce. (772) 462-3474. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sunday. $2-$3. Free first Tuesdays.

St. Lucie County Regional History Center: 414 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. $1.50-$4. (772) 462-1795.

Upcoming Events calendar for Tradition

Buyers Agent on the Tradition Port St Lucie Florida. I would be happy to act as your agent working with you from start to finish on the purchase of your new luxury home in Tradition.

Please contact Ken

 By phone:   305-320-6744

By Email:    kenduncanrealtor@gmail.com

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Welcome to Florida’s relaxed, laid-back destination Port St Lucie. The largest golf training facility is located in Port St Lucie, the PGA Learning Center. Plenty of golf courses , beautiful homes with golf course views, homes with waterfront views.There are some amazing deals on condos in The PGA Village, some facing the golf course. Some foreclosure homes in the PGA Villagehave sold at incredibly low prices. Foreclosure homesare now highly sought after , in some cases there can be a large number of bids on a single foreclosure home in Port St Lucie. Ocean front condos facing the warm and tropical waters of the Atlantic ocean. Hutchison island has a large selection of waterfront and ocean front condos and homes  some facing both the itra coastal waterway and the warm tropical ocean. There are 2 golf courses on Hutchinson Island. Jensen Beach is also a popular destination for holiday makers. Jensen Beach Country Club and Eagle Marsh Golf Course are located a few miles from Hutchinson Island. Eagle Marsh and Jensen Beach Country Club offer a beautiful restaurant to enjoy after your round of golf on the championship Tom Fazio designed course. There are a large selection of golf course homes available in Jensen Beach Country Club and Eagle Marsh golf Club. The home could be for sale by owner or through a realtor. For sale by owner homes are not listed on the mls or multiple listing service on The Treasure Coast. For sale by owner homes are available, if you would like to use a realtor to sell your for sale by owner home please contact me. The Treasure Coast Florida Homes offers a large selection of waterfront properties, ocean front condos, homes in Palm City or in Palm Cove Country Club. Luxury homes in Palm Cove Country Club are on offer at some very good prices. Tesoro is another magnificent place to own a golf course home. Homes in Tesoro were selling for over $2,500,000 are now on offer for under $700,000. Tesoro has 2 championship courses for you to join.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Recovery Is Starting

 Most economists see recovery starting

NEW YORK (AP) – Oct. 14, 2009 – More than 80 percent of economists believe the U.S. recession is over and an expansion has begun, but they expect the recovery will be slow as worries over unemployment and high federal debt persist.

That consensus comes from leading forecasters in a survey by the National Association for Business Economics released Monday.

“The survey found that the vast majority of business economists believe that the recession has ended but that the economic recovery is likely to be more moderate than those typically experienced following steep declines,” said NABE President-elect Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University.

FIND FORECLOSURES IN PORT ST LUCIE Port St Lucie Bank Foreclosures & Government Foreclosed Houses, Federal Homes, Distressed Properties, and Commercial Forclosures Please contact me for a list of foreclosures on the Treasure Coast Florida

The forecasters upgraded the economic outlook for the next several quarters, but cautioned that unemployment rates and the federal deficit are expected to remain high through next year. Forecasters now expect the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product, to advance at a 2.9 percent pace in the second half of the year, after falling for four straight quarters for the first time on records dating to 1947. They expect a 3 percent gain in 2010.

Still, the federal deficit has ballooned and the jobless rate is expected to lag behind, as employers remain cautious.

The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September from 9.7 percent, the Labor Department said earlier this month, the highest point in 26 years.

Forecasters expect the unemployment rate to continue to rise, to 10 percent in the first quarter of next year, before edging down to 9.5 percent by the end of 2010.

The recession, the worst since the 1930s, has eliminated a net total of 7.2 million jobs. More job cuts were announced last week. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., which makes industrial and scientific equipment, said it will close a plant in Dubuque, Iowa, next year, costing 350 jobs.

Worries about unemployment are likely to continue to constrain household spending. Personal consumption spending likely began rising in the second half of this year, but is expected to remain low in 2010. Still, Americans aren’t expected to save as much as they have in past decades. The savings rate is expected to be above the 2 percent average of the past four years, but below the 9 percent average in the 1970s and 1980s.

FIND FORECLOSURES IN PORT ST LUCIE Port St Lucie Bank Foreclosures & Government Foreclosed Houses, Federal Homes, Distressed Properties, and Commercial Forclosures Please contact me for a list of foreclosures on the Treasure Coast Florida

The housing recovery is one bright spot. Forecasters expect 2010 to be the first year since 2005 that the housing sector will contribute to overall growth. Home prices are expected to rise 2 percent in 2010, but panelists do not believe that will stifle the housing recovery.

Inflation is expected to remain low due to the weak labor market and other factors. Thus, the NABE panel — which consists of 44 economists surveyed Sept. 2 through Sept. 24 — expects the federal funds rate to remain at its current record low near zero until late next spring, before a gradual rise begins.

“The good news is that this deep and long recession appears to be over, and with improving credit markets, the U.S. economy can return to solid growth next year without worry about rising inflation,” said Reaser.

FIND FORECLOSURES IN PORT ST LUCIE Port St Lucie Bank Foreclosures & Government Foreclosed Houses, Federal Homes, Distressed Properties, and Commercial Forclosures Please contact me for a list of foreclosures on the Treasure Coast Florida

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I  have been involved in the property and building industry for 30 years. My experience together with my personal knowledge of the market in Florida is an extremely valuable asset to have working for you in your search for a Florida vacation home or investment property.I would be happy to act as your Realtor in Stuart

Buyers Agent on the Treasure Coast. I would be happy to act as your agent working with you from start to finish on the purchase of your new luxury golf  home on the Treasure Coast

Please contact Ken

 By phone:   305-320-6744

By Email:    kenduncanrealtor@gmail.com

Please read my comments page with remarks written by a few of my many happy customers. Now is the perfect time to buy your investment or vacation home on the Treasure Coast it could be the best investment you will make in your lifetime. Serving all of Martin County and Port Saint Lucie, Choose Ken Duncan Realtor for all Your Martin County realtor and Port St. Lucie realtor needs. Another foreclosure home in Port St Lucie

Jensen Beach   Stuart    Palm City    Eagle Marsh Golf Club    Europe    City Place Vacation Rental    The PGA Village Port St Lucie    Hammock Creek Golf Club   Harbor Ridge Golf Club   Stuart Yacht and Country Club     Willoughby Golf Club   Hobe Sound

It Still Pays To Own A Home

CHICAGO (AP) – Oct. 12, 2009 – For all the doom and gloom about the housing market, it still  pays to own a home.

This Home was $828,000 on offer $299,000 with Ocean Views Hutchison Island

 That might be a tough case to make right now to the 16 million homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. But history suggests the American Dream is a pretty safe bet.

Homes have appreciated by an average of 4 percent a year since World War II. They act as hedges against inflation and bestow significant tax benefits. Real estate is a leveraged investment; a 10 percent downpayment produces a 1,000 percent return if the price of a home merely doubles.

Plus there are intangibles: Owning a home provides a sense of independence, security and community. And you get to live in your investment. You can’t do that with a stock.

Of course, historical trends don’t pay the mortgage. People who wade in and out of the housing market too often, or who buy at the wrong time or price and need to sell quickly, can get burned.

But if you own for a decade or more, price appreciation usually overcomes even bad slumps.

Tony and Liz Iacobelli, who are far under water on the home they bought in the Phoenix suburb of Buckeye three years ago, aren’t panicking. They owe about $177,000 on their mortgage on a house worth only $132,000, which is about 40 percent of what they paid.

“Houses generally go up in price, and this one will again, too,” says Tony, 51, a retired New York City policeman.

Several booms and busts have occurred in the modern era of housing, which began when 30-year loans became widely available after World War II. This bust has been severe: Nationally, home prices are down an average 30 percent from their peak in 2006.

 

Ocean View Condo on Hutchison Island in Foreclosure

 The collapse of the housing market may have put an end to the notion of using a home as a speculative investment akin to a hot stock. And that may not be a bad thing, economists say.

“People should recognize that value comes from a lot of other things besides a possible return on the investment,” says Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

Economists say home prices have risen by about half a percent a year above inflation, or roughly 4 percent, since the 1940s. That number, which is based on the median price of homes sold each year, was inflated a little by baby boomers starting families and building bigger houses. Since the National Association of Realtors began compiling statistics in 1968, the median sales price has climbed 6 percent annually, from $20,100 that year to $195,200 this past August.

In the late 1990s, home values started growing like stocks. For the next five years, they appreciated at 8 to 9 percent a year, or about 5 percentage points ahead of inflation. Foreclosures homes in Port St Lucie Florida,Foreclosures homes in Port St Lucie Fl, Real Estate Port St Lucie fl, Homes Port St Lucie fl, Port St Lucie

You won’t find many skeptics among people who bought homes in the ‘90s and still live in them. Their homes may be worth tens of thousands of dollars less than at the peak, but they’re still frequently worth twice what the buyers paid. For example, a house in Ewing, N.J., that sold for $160,000 in 1996 was worth about $410,000 three years ago. It’s still worth $375,000 today.

Beautiful Home in Tesoro in Foreclosure

Home buyer beware, however: Price declines do occur with some regularity. Besides the 30 percent price meltdown of the last three years, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 10 cities shows four declines lasting six months or more since 1990. The declines averaged 3 percent.

And whether large or small, a drop can be followed by several years of flat prices. After the 1990-1991 recession ended a housing boom, prices didn’t start increasing nationally until 1997. So homeowners who buy at the wrong time can go years without gains.

The hefty costs of homeownership also can work against people who aren’t committed to settling in for a while. Transaction costs – home inspections, sales commission, fees, transfer taxes – run thousands of dollars every time you buy or sell.

And most people overestimate the tax benefits. They don’t realize the standard deduction they would get if they didn’t itemize might be nearly as great as their housing deduction, says Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

For example, a homeowner with a $200,000 mortgage might pay $11,000 a year in interest and $2,000 in property taxes. That’s $13,000 – a healthy deduction, but just $2,100 more than the standard deduction of $10,900 for those married filing jointly.

And as a homeowner pays less each month toward interest and more toward principal, the deduction will shrink – until it falls below the standard deduction, which rises to keep up with inflation, Baker says. Foreclosures homes in Port St Lucie Florida,Foreclosures homes in Port St Lucie Fl, Real Estate Port St Lucie fl, Homes Port St Lucie fl, Port St Lucie

Of course, paying principal builds equity and is the equivalent of a forced savings plan, which can finance big expenses such as college tuition. In the long run, many people fund their retirement partly by selling a home they’ve owned for many years and moving into smaller, cheaper housing.

Another reason to buy a house is it’s a leveraged investment; you pay only a fraction of the price with your own money, which can produce an enormous return. If you make a downpayment of 10 percent on a $200,000 house and it doubles in value to $400,000, your $20,000 investment has grown to $220,000, a return of 1,000 percent. That’s like buying a $40 stock and watching it soar to $440.

But how can you tell in the short run whether it’s better to buy or rent? There’s a way to gauge how expensive homes are – the price-to-rent ratio.

The ratio is determined by dividing the price of a home by the annual rent that could be earned from it. Since 1986, the ratio has averaged 9. Anything above that suggests it may be better to rent, depending on your area.

After soaring to 15 at the end of 2005 – above 20 in some areas – the nationwide ratio has dropped back to 10, according to Economy.com data, making ownership far more attractive.

Prospective buyers can do the price-to-rent calculation themselves. For example, if you can purchase a home for $180,000 but can rent a similar one for $18,000 a year ($1,500 a month), your price-to-rent ratio would be 10, making the buying price reasonable and close to average. And you would have the tax benefits and equity that you don’t get with renting.

It would be nice to say home prices rise reliably and steadily – and a few years ago they seemed to. But that “sure thing” is no longer.

Short-term prospects are cloudy. Many economists expect home prices to keep falling through 2010 as mounting unemployment, foreclosures and a glut of unsold homes all weigh on the housing market.

Robert Shiller, a Yale University economist and co-inventor of the Case-Shiller index, says he expects home prices to be roughly flat for five years.

Yet housing has proved a good investment if you stick with it. And with prices already having fallen so far, buying now could make it an even better one.

FIND FORECLOSURES IN PORT ST LUCIE, FL

Port St Lucie Bank Foreclosures & Government Foreclosed Houses, Federal Homes, Distressed Properties, and Commercial Forclosures Please contact me for a list of foreclosures on the Treasure Coast Florida

Google Maps   Important Phone Numbers

I  have been involved in the property and building industry for 30 years. My experience together with my personal knowledge of the market in Florida is an extremely valuable asset to have working for you in your search for a Florida vacation home or investment property.I would be happy to act as your Realtor in Stuart

Buyers Agent on the Treasure Coast. I would be happy to act as your agent working with you from start to finish on the purchase of your new luxury golf  home on the Treasure Coast

Please contact Ken

 By phone:   305-320-6744

By Email:    kenduncanrealtor@gmail.com

Please read my comments page with remarks written by a few of my many happy customers. Now is the perfect time to buy your investment or vacation home on the Treasure Coast it could be the best investment you will make in your lifetime. Serving all of Martin County and Port Saint Lucie, Choose Ken Duncan Realtor for all Your Martin County realtor and Port St. Lucie realtor needs. Another foreclosure home in Port St Lucie

Jensen Beach   Stuart    Palm City    Eagle Marsh Golf Club    Europe    City Place Vacation Rental    The PGA Village Port St Lucie    Hammock Creek Golf Club   Harbor Ridge Golf Club   Stuart Yacht and Country Club     Willoughby Golf Club   Hobe Sound

 

Firms are getting billions, yet aren’t averting foreclosures

Firms are getting billions, yet aren’t averting foreclosures

WASHINGTON – Oct. 6, 2009 – The federal government is engaged in a massive mortgage modification program that’s on track to send billions in tax dollars to many of the very companies that judges or regulators have cited in recent years for abusive mortgage practices.

The firms, called mortgage servicers, have been cited for badgering, manipulating or lying to their customers, sticking them with bogus fees, or improperly foreclosing on them.

Mortgage servicers are the middlemen between homeowners and the investors that hold their mortgages, collect homeowners’ checks and disburse payments for the mortgages, property tax and insurance. They’re a necessary player for any modification.Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

The reliance on such companies points to an ironic paradox for federal regulators: Cleaning up the nation’s financial crisis often rewards the firms that helped create the mess. Those Wall Street banks and mortgage servicing companies argue that they’re best positioned to repair the damage they’ve helped cause. In the case of the mortgage program, the firms getting the taxpayers’ money are, after all, the firms that control the troubled mortgages.

To make matters worse, the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ watchdog, has said that the Treasury Department hasn’t done enough to oversee the companies participating in what’s known as the Home Affordable Modification Program, which emerged from the bank bailout bill Congress passed last fall.

The modification program has been slow to get off the ground. Since it began this spring, only 12 percent of a potential 3 million delinquent mortgages have begun the process of being reworked, or put into “a trial modification,” according to Treasury Department data through August, the most recent available.

“We’ve consistently been behind this problem,” said Mark Pearce, North Carolina’s chief deputy commissioner of banks, who works with a state-level group of attorneys general from across the country. “Two years ago, maybe some were caught by surprise. But we still haven’t gotten to a point where the servicers have demonstrated an ability to handle the problem.”

Housing advocates say homeowners still face “reluctant lenders,” said Irwin Trauss, an attorney who represents low-income homeowners for Philadelphia Legal Assistance. He recently testified at a hearing of the Congressional Oversight Panel, the watchdog that monitors the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known as TARP, or the bank bailout bill. Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

Trauss said that Bank of America, at least through July, told homeowners that they couldn’t participate in the program when they should’ve been allowed to do so, and he alleges that Saxon Mortgage forced one of his clients into bankruptcy without providing a valid reason for turning down her modification request. Trauss’ comments were echoed by other housing advocates, who’ve found mortgage servicers slow to respond and confused about modification rules.

“Servicers look for reasons to avoid making the modifications when they are most needed, rather than for opportunities to make them,” Trauss said.

Saxon Mortgage said it couldn’t comment on Trauss’ testimony because it wasn’t provided with specific details of the account in question. Bank of America said there could have been instances in which improperly trained employees were confused about the modification rules, but the vast majority of customers have been given proper information.Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

Although it’s early in the Treasury Department’s program, housing advocates say the servicer industry for years has resisted helping customers with modifications. Donna and Ronnie Fruia, of Troutman, N.C., learned firsthand how difficult it can be.

The couple was in the midst of a series of health crises, and three members of the family – the couple’s son, Donna’s mother and Ronnie – were in the hospital.

It was then that Donna got an urgent call that somebody from her mortgage company, CitiFinancial, had just showed up in her husband’s hospital room, where he was recovering from a stroke.

“They said, ‘Some guy’s in there aggravating him,’ “ she said.

“At the time, I couldn’t even really talk that good,” Ronnie said. “But he wanted me to sign a bunch of papers.”

The Fruias had been trying to get a mortgage modification from CitiFinancial. The company, however, was pushing the Fruias to accept a modification that wouldn’t have cut their interest rate, they said.

Only after the episode in the hospital room and the involvement of state regulators did CitiFinancial cut the mortgage’s interest rate from 11.5 percent to 5 percent, lowering their monthly payment from $985 to $602. The process took from the start of the year until July.

“They were the perfect candidate for someone with a subprime rate getting a modification,” said Henrietta Thompson, who as housing coordinator for United Family Services, a United Way-funded organization in Charlotte, helped the Fruias. “I know if the banking commissioner hadn’t gotten involved, it wouldn’t have happened.”Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

While CitiFinancial, a unit of Citigroup Inc. – one of the largest recipients of TARP bailout funds – said it couldn’t talk about specific customers, it’s “pleased” that the case was resolved.

“We have strict guidelines concerning the behavior of our representatives, and the incident you described would not be acceptable under our policies, even if well-intentioned,” said Mark Rodgers, a spokesman.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that the mortgage service companies would have trouble executing wide-scale mortgage modifications. They generally aren’t set up for the complicated business of reworking loans.

In 2007, an assistant attorney general in Iowa, Patrick Madigan, analyzed the looming mortgage meltdown and found that mortgage service companies have a “highly automated process, spending as little time as possible on an individual loan and preferably no time actually talking to the customer.”

“Loan modifications, by contrast, are a time-intensive process that requires a great deal of individualized attention,” he wrote. “In some situations, it may be easier and cheaper for a servicer to simply foreclose on a borrower than to try to fix the underlying problem.”

Service companies had high turnover and employees who saw their jobs as akin to that of collection agents. Some were known to hang up on callers if they started to get tough questions, Madigan wrote. He urged mortgage service companies to hire far more staff and boost training. Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

That year, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller convened a group of state officials (Iowa’s Madigan helped coordinate the effort), who then contacted the nation’s 20 largest servicers of risky subprime mortgages.

By September 2008, however, as the economy went into free fall, the mortgage industry’s efforts had been “profoundly disappointing.”

“Too many homeowners face foreclosure without receiving any meaningful assistance by their mortgage servicer, a reality that is growing worse rather than better,” said a report from the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group.

By this year, more federal and private efforts were under way to modify millions of troubled mortgages, and customer service was beginning to improve. Companies, though, were still having trouble getting the job done.

“It is difficult for homeowners to initiate productive discussions with lenders because many servicers lack the capacity to deal with a large volume of modifications,” the Congressional Oversight Panel reported. “Servicers are generally understaffed for handling a large volume of consumer loan workouts.”

The panel found that it’s “unlikely” that mortgage servicers will be able to do all they’re being asked to do: “Servicers are simply in the wrong line of business for doing modifications en masse,” it said.

Madigan, the assistant Iowa attorney general, said in an interview that “the mortgage industry has responded to this crisis with a series of half steps based on a notion that a turnaround in the housing market was just around the corner.”

Under the Treasury Department’s mortgage modification program, three parties can participate: the company that owns the loan, the company that services the loan, and the homeowner. All get a portion of the more than $20 billion that the federal government currently estimates it could spend to keep homes out of foreclosure. Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

While the Treasury said it’s necessary to take in as many mortgage service companies as possible, the GAO found that the department wasn’t doing enough to monitor the process.

In a July report, the GAO said that the department had “significant gaps in its oversight structure,” and was short-staffed in the office monitoring the modification program. As of July – eight months into the program – the Treasury had filled fewer than half the positions in a key modification office. (Many of those jobs have since been filled, the department said.)

Beyond that, the government had conducted “readiness reviews” of only seven of 27 mortgage servicers the GAO examined; no more were planned. The reviews only included interviews with senior executives – and the information gathered wasn’t verified.

“Treasury cannot identify, assess and address risks associated with servicers that lack the capacity to fulfill all program requirements,” the GAO said.

Treasury said it’s beefing up its review procedures and also said it recognizes many of the problems and has been working to correct them. “Clearly, we’re not there yet,” said Seth Wheeler, one of the Treasury officials who oversees the modification effort. “Clearly there’s still inconsistent application of the program, even though we have made progress.”

Several companies in the Treasury program have been cited by judges or regulators for engaging in improper behavior with their customers. Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

They include Select Portfolio Servicing Inc., a Utah-based company formerly known as Fairbanks Capital Corp.; Countrywide Home Loan Servicing, now a unit of Bank of America Corp.; Carrington Mortgage Services LLC, based in California; Saxon Mortgage Services Inc., a unit of Morgan Stanley; EMC Mortgage Corp., now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and Green Tree Servicing, a Minnesota company.

Ocwen Financial Corp., a Florida-based company that services more than 300,000 mortgages nationwide, could receive more than $200 million in TARP payments.

“Ocwen has screwed up my finances so bad you can’t believe it,” said Brad Rhoton, whose rental properties in the Houston suburbs are part of a nationwide lawsuit against Ocwen. “It’s been the most maddening process you can imagine.”

Rhoton’s lawsuit charges that Ocwen constantly misapplied Rhoton’s mortgage payments and tacked on unnecessary fees and insurance, causing his accounts to fall behind.

So far under the Treasury’s modification program, Ocwen has started trial modifications in 8 percent of potential mortgages – below the national average and well below some other servicers.

Paul Koches, a company spokesman, said the number is misleadingly low. Ocwen, he said, has set rigorous standards in documenting its modifications and is therefore likely to have a far higher share of its modifications stick than other companies. He said that Ocwen undertook its own loan modification program in 2007 and has beefed up its staff substantially since then. Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

As for the suits against it, Koches said they represent a fraction of the firm’s customer base, and many were copycat lawsuits that tried to paint Ocwen with the same brush as other mortgage servicer firms. He said the company continues to vigorously defend itself against lawsuits.Over the years, Ocwen has lost other lawsuits and has been slapped down by a federal judge for its conduct.

In one Texas bankruptcy case, for example, a federal judge blasted Ocwen after it tried to pass the cost of a $1,000 sanction onto the customer it was cited for mistreating. When the judge found out, he said, “Ocwen’s course of conduct in this proceeding bordered on the outrageous.” He fined the company an additional $27,500.

The case was far from isolated, however. A jury in Galveston, Texas, ordered the company to pay $11.5 million, and one down the coast in Corpus Christi ordered it to pay $3 million for unfairly foreclosing on homeowners (both cases were then settled in the appeals process for undisclosed amounts).

In both cases, the plaintiffs were on the edge financially, and so when Ocwen added extra fees to their accounts, they quickly fell behind.

That was part of their strategy, plaintiffs’ attorneys said. One of the key witnesses before both juries was a former Ocwen account officer who said the company trained its sights on customers who had substantial equity in their homes. In those cases, the company had the most to gain if customers lost their homes in foreclosure.

“We didn’t treat the people very well, but the money was pretty good,” the former account officer, Ron Davis, testified during one of the trials. (Davis couldn’t be reached for further comment.)

The motive, he said, was simple: force people into foreclosure as a way to earn higher bonuses.

“We would call the customers and ask them what bridge they were going to live under,” Davis testified.

Ocwen lost that lawsuit. A Texas jury found that the company engaged in “fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading” tactics that it called “unconscionable.” The case involved an elderly Texas woman the bank tried to evict from her home even after a local judge had ordered it not to. The jury awarded her $11.5 million, which was reduced to $1.8 million, according to Ocwen’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings; the case was settled during appeals.

Outside the courts, federal regulators in 2004 approached Ocwen to request that the company enter into a formal supervisory agreement under which it promised to improve its customer service. It required, for example, that Ocwen beef up its ombudsman to take customer complaints; adopt a “borrower-oriented customer service commitment plan”; take reasonable actions to see if homeowners already have hazard insurance before adding it to customers’ accounts; and regularly report to federal regulators about outstanding customer complaints. Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

Koches of Ocwen said the agreement was merely an attempt to formalize many of the steps the company was already taking – and that the company and federal regulators wanted to avoid the kind of problems other firms had experienced.

Later that year, however, Ocwen took steps to ensure that such regulatory findings wouldn’t come again.

By successfully petitioning to have itself removed from the oversight of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the supervisory agreement hatched just months before was ended, according to Ocwen’s regulatory filings. Ocwen said it removed itself from OTS oversight for business reasons unrelated to the supervisory agreement and that it continues to follow the intent of the agreement.

 Saint Lucie, Florida foreclosure listings which can include government foreclosure listings, REO properties, bank foreclosure, HUD foreclosures and other Saint Lucie, Florida Foreclosure homes in the Foreclosure Database.

Buyers Agent on the Treasure Coast.

I would be happy to act as your agent working with you from start to finish on the purchase of your new luxury golf  home on the Treasure Coast

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Please read my comments page with remarks written by a few of my many happy customers. Now is the perfect time to buy your investment or vacation home on the Treasure Coast it could be the best investment you will make in your lifetime. Serving all of Martin County and Port Saint Lucie, Choose Ken Duncan Realtor for all Your Martin County realtor and Port St. Lucie realtor needs

Jensen Beach   Stuart    Palm City    Eagle Marsh Golf Club    Europe    City Place Vacation Rental    The PGA Village Port St Lucie    Hammock Creek Golf Club   Harbor Ridge Golf Club   Stuart Yacht and Country Club     Willoughby Golf Club   Hobe Sound

 

© 2009 McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, Chris Adams. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

Hobe Sound Florida

Centrally located between Jupiter and Stuart, Hobe Sound is home to some of the most beautiful nature spots in the state. Travelers from all around the world enjoy our pristine beaches, unspoiled parks, and championship golf courses.

From our incredible wildlife and nature trails to world class shopping and dinning there is truly something for everyone.

One of the best ways to experience our magnificent surroundings and wildlife is by taking a guided boat tour along the Intracoastal Waterway, Indian River, Loxahatchee River, or St. Lucie River. The Island Princess and Manatee Queen offer many unique sightseeing cruises also enabling travelers to experience playful porpoises and gentle manatees.

Downtown Hobe Sound offers an eclectic array of shops, boutiques and galleries. Throughout the year the downtown district hosts several community events such as the Hobe Sound Festival of the Arts, Hobe Sound Art Walk and Stroll, and Annual Christmas Parade.

Want to get away from it all? You can by visiting our crown jewel – Jonathan Dickinson State Park. With close to 11,500 acres, the park has something for everyone. Rental boats, cabins, bike trails, and tours of the Loxahatchee River aboard the 25-passenger Loxahatchee Queen II, are popular ways to enjoy the park. Wildlife found in the park includes deer, raccoons, foxes, bobcats, opossums, alligators, otters, and many more. Over 140 species of birds have been identified here, making Jonathan Dickinson an excellent birding destination.

Other popular Hobe Sound points of interest include the Hobe Sound Nature Center and Blowing Rocks Preserve.

Be sure to stop by our Chamber office for more ideas on things to see and do in the area and we hope you enjoy your visit.

Choose Ken Duncan Realtor for all your Hobe Sound realtor and Tequesta Real Estate Needs

Golf

Hobe Sound is home to 2 super public golf courses – Heritage Ridge and Lost Lake Golf Club. Bring your favorite golf clubs – it’s golfing weather nearly year-round. Below is a list of the public courses that are open year round. For a complete list and map of golf courses (public and private) in the tri-county area please stop by our office located at 11954 SE Dixie Highway, Hobe Sound.

Annual Chamber Events

All events are open to the public and are sponsored by members of the Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce. Students in need of community service hours may volunteer for any of these events.

Hobe Sound Festival of the Arts

During the first weekend of February, Dixie Highway is transformed into an outdoor fine arts gallery in preparation for the thousands of people that attend the Hobe Sound Festival of the Arts. This juried art festival also features a green market, Chamber member expo tent and children’s art exhibit. With free transportation service and admission, the Festival of the Arts benefits local scholarships and elementary art education. The Hobe Sound Chamber of Commence co-host the show with the GWFC Hobe Sound Women’s Club. For more information or to participate as an artist please visit www.artfestival.com

Scholarship Night

In April, The Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce Education Committee along with several other local organizations present scholarships to South Fork High students.

Adopt-A–Road

In keeping with a commitment to “Keep Martin Beautiful”, the Chamber has scheduled this fun, family event that is held each year. In less than two hours, a section of Gomez Avenue from Bridge Road north to Crossrip Street is picked clean.

Golf Tournament

Jupiter Island Club is the venue for this “don’t miss” May event. Beginning with complimentary breakfast and a shotgun start at 9am, this sold out tournament attracts golfers from all over. All golfers enjoy lunch during the awards ceremony presented at the end of this swinging good time.

In 1815 King Fernando of Spain conveyed a Royal Grant to Don Eusebio Gomez of 21,000 acres of land in south Florida. The landholding contained all of Jupiter Island and the area that became Hobe Sound.

In the 1880s the Indian River Association, Ltd. acquired the Gomez Grant and a subsidiary of the company, the Pine Apple and Coconut Grove Association, platted a large subdivision in 1893 opening a series of lots west of the Indian River and on Jupiter Island. Pineapple cultivation was the primary agricultural product of the area.

During World War II the U.S. Army built Camp Murphy, signal corps base approximately four miles south of Bridge Road and west of US-1. The camp, which opened in 1942, was home to 854 officers and 5,753 enlisted men who trained at the base during its two-year existence. In November 1944, the camp was closed but many of the buildings that were constructed there have been scattered throughout the County and are being used as boat manufacturing facilities, homes, commercial buildings and, as with the Hobe Sound Civic Center, as community centers.

Some of the vestiges of old Hobe Sound still remain today, such as the Apollo School, the Post Office, which had served as the Hobe Sound Library and is currently used as a private office, and the old train station which has also been refurbished for use as an office and relocated west of Hobe Sound.

In the year 2000, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners created the Hobe Sound Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) which helped usher in the next chapter in the history of Hobe Sound and its future. To learn more about the Hobe Sound CRA click on the links provided on the right hand column.

I have been involved in the property and building industry for 30 years. My experience together with my personal knowledge of the market in Florida is an extremely valuable asset to have working for you in your search for a luxury Florida vacation home or investment property.I would be happy to act as your Luxury Home Realtor finding you an ideal home with a foreclosure home in The PGA Village Port St Lucie. Choose Ken Duncan Realtor for all your Hobe Sound realtor and Tequesta Real Estate Needs

Buyers Agent on the Treasure Coast. I would be happy to act as your agent working with you from start to finish on the purchase of your new luxury golf  home on the Treasure Coast

Ken@yourfraction.net

305-320-6744

Serving Hobe Sound and Tequesta, Choose Ken Duncan Realtor for all your Hobe Sound realtor and Tequesta Real Estate Needs. Please read my comments page with remarks written by a few of my many happy customers. Now is the perfect time to buy your investment or vacation home in Hobe Sound it could be the best investment you will make in your lifetime.

Jensen Beach   Stuart    Palm City    Eagle Marsh Golf Club    Europe    City Place Vacation Rental    The PGA Village Port St Lucie    Hammock Creek Golf Club   Harbor Ridge Golf Club   Stuart Yacht and Country Club     Willoughby Golf Club  Hobe Sound

Florida’s consumer confidence rises as economic fears ease

Florida’s consumer confidence rises as economic fears ease

More good news for Realtors in Port St Lucie

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sept. 30, 2009 – Belief that a national economic recovery is under way boosted Florida’s consumer confidence three points to 74 in September, according to a new University of Florida survey.

“I think Florida consumers are buying into the argument that the worst of the recession is over and we have avoided a complete meltdown,” says Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “Once again, they have surprised us with a higher-than-expected index.”

This month’s three-point rise follows a four-point revised increase in August. Of the five components that make up September’s index, three rose, one declined and one was unchanged. Perceptions of personal finances now compared with a year ago remained unchanged at 44, only five points above its all-time low of 39 in December. Expectations about personal finances a year from now fell three points to 81.

In contrast, perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next year rose three points to 75, while expectations about economic conditions over the next five years rose five points to 86. Perceptions of whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, such as appliances and cars, rose nine points to 84.

“It is worth noting that the two index components that gauge perceptions of personal finances both now and in the future are flat or down,” McCarty says. “All of the increase is in perceptions of future economic conditions, and in the perception that if you have the money, it’s a good time to buy.”

There are some signs that the economy is improving, he says.

Once again, the median price of a single-family home is virtually flat compared with the previous month, and up for the year, suggesting that housing prices in many areas of Florida have bottomed out, McCarty says. Although foreclosures are still high, the rate seems to be declining.

In other good news, inflation and, in particular, gas prices remain low overall compared with a year ago, McCarty says. In the past few years, gas prices have dominated the consumer confidence index. In addition, the stock market is still up for the year and at least for now appears stable.

“On the negative side, unemployment remains at 10.7 percent for Florida,” McCarty says. “This number is not expected to improve much until next year, and it could still get worse. Florida lost population this past year and could do so again as the underlying problems that prevent people from moving are still in place.”

Tourisms both domestically and internationally also are down as consumers trim discretionary spending, McCarty said. Programs such as Cash for Clunkers at least temporarily lifted retail sales, but sales tax revenues in Florida have dropped 10 percent from a year ago.

“In the near term, we expect consumer confidence to decline at least a point or two as the holiday season nears and stimulus programs like Cash for Clunkers and rebates for first-time home buyers expire,” he says. “The discussion about health care reform will be at center stage this fall, and may affect confidence if the plans involve increased payments from the middle class.”

Also of economic concern is that, at some point, extended unemployment benefits will run out, putting more pressure on the unemployed. In the long term, consumers need to be prepared for the inevitable drawing back of stimulus money from the economy, McCarty says.

The U.S. government effectively printed money to avoid a depression, and at some point most of the money will have to be withdrawn from the economy to avoid inflation and a very weak dollar, McCarty says. When that happens, interest rates will rise dramatically.

“We also have to think about how the Florida economy will adjust moving forward,” he says. “It is likely that discussions about off-shore drilling will receive much more attention as Florida looks for industries to replace those dependent on population growth.” More good news for Realtors in Port St Lucie

The research center conducts the Florida Consumer Attitude Survey monthly. Respondents are 18 or older and live in households telephoned randomly. The preliminary index for September was conducted from 412 responses. The index is benchmarked to 1966, so a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year.

Buyers Agent on the Treasure Coast. I would be happy to act as your agent working with you from start to finish on the purchase of your new luxury golf  home on the Treasure Coast

Jensen Beach  Stuart  Palm City  Eagle Marsh Golf Club  Europe  City Place Vacation Rental The PGA Village Port St Lucie  Hammock Creek Golf Club Harbor Ridge Golf Club Stuart Yacht and Country Club

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