Housing boom cools

Housing boom cools

No ‘gloom or doom’ expected in area [Pensacola Florida]

The national housing boom may be grinding to a halt, but a collapse in sales and prices is not a serious threat to Pensacola Bay Area market, according to some local Realtors.

In the last week, the Commerce Department reported that January sales of new single-family homes fell 5 percent — the fourth decline in seven months — and the backlog of unsold new homes hit a record. And the National Association of Realtors said used home sales slipped 2.8 percent in January, the fourth straight drop and 5 percent below January 2005.

Get the best deal on fixed-rate loans

Get the best deal on fixed-rate loan

As the real estate market slumps, sales pressure mounts for adjustable-rate mortgage borrowers to refinance into fixed-rate loans.
Plus, ads for 1% and 1 3/8% teaser rates — despite published reports of declining real estate prices — are still around.
“The bait and switch is stronger than ever,” warns Michael Moskowitz, president of Equity Now, a New York mortgage banker. “Sales people are unscrupulous.”

Introduction to 1031s

Introduction to 1031s

Dick Goble is a senior partner and real estate tax specialist with the accounting firm Kerkering, Barberio & Co. P.A.

Goble, who has been with the firm since 1978, specializes in 1031 exchanges, a subject on which he lectures nationwide. In addition, Goble also advises clients on as many as 200 1031 exchanges annually.

What is a 1031 exchange?

A: A 1031 exchange is also sometimes referred to as a like-kind exchange. A like-kind exchange is the sale of property used in a trade or business, or one that is held as an investment, in exchange for property that is used in a trade or business or one held for investment.

Ulmer’s mantra key to his rise, ruin

Ulmer’s mantra key to his rise, ruin

Playing the dual roles of preacher and friend, John Ulmer unlocked the secrets of his lucrative housing empire at a Florida real estate “boot camp.”

“It’s not voodoo,” he said.

With dozens of eager would-be developers hanging on each folksy catchphrase, the college football player, now paunchy and bald, outlined two parts of his game plan: Buy low and sell high.

Apartment-to-condo conversions move at frenzied pace

Apartment-to-condo conversions move at frenzied pace [Central Florida]

The conversions are making money for some but squeezing low-income renters.

Carlos Balzola is a condo converter. He came here in late 2004, fleeing Miami’s overheated condo-conversion market because “it was crazy.”

He scouted Naples, Tampa and Orlando before deciding that Central Florida offered him the greatest opportunity.

Empty Nesters Find 2nd Perch in New York

Empty Nesters Find 2nd Perch in New York

Once a pied-à-terre had a whiff of rarefied wealth, suggestive of an apartment kept by a well-traveled European baron, a Hollywood star or even a Greenwich, Conn., mogul who might use it to stash such amenities as a mistress.

But while second homes have always represented a sliver of the New York City real estate market, sales in this category are booming, and the surge is being driven to a surprising degree, realtors say, by a relatively new breed of buyer: hard-working, middle-aged suburbanites.