Newsletters Archives - Page 6 of 29 - Doiron Realty Services

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

We’ve seen the biggest three-month interest rate hike since 1994. 2022-03-24

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

March 24th, 2022

30 year Fixed Rates Heading Toward 5% at Fastest Pace in Decades

Mortgage rates have been breaking records. We’ve seen the biggest three-month interest rate hike since 1994.

And if we look a little farther back, we’ve seen interest rates increase almost two points in the last seven and a half months. If this trend continues, we could see a 5% mortgage rate before summer.

When you consider the appreciation we’ve seen in our market here in Pinellas County, the numbers are sobering.
The MEDIAN sale price of a home in Pinellas County one year ago was $342,000. You could get a mortgage for 2.75%. With 10% down, your monthly principal and interest payment was $1,257. That same house today is selling for $426,000. With 10% down and a 4.75% rate your principal and interest payment is $2,000.
When you consider standard mortgage underwriting practices, a buyer’s income would have needed to increase by $21,000 a year to qualify for the same house. Ouch!.
And by the way… 36% of home sales in Pinellas County in the last 12 months have been to cash buyers.

That is a one, two punch in the face of affordability.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

inventory levels remain near four-decade lows 2022-03-18

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

March 18th, 2022

Number of Homes for Sale Plummet

Enticed by record-low mortgage rates and employers allowing them to work from anywhere, home shoppers rushed into the housing market during the pandemic. That influx of buyers caused inventory—the number of homes for sale—to plummet.
The number of homes for sale Nationally is down 25% from February 2021, and a decrease of 48% since February 2020. It also marks the fifth consecutive month of declining inventory.

The number of homes for sale
in the Tampa Bay market is
down 20% from February of 2021.

Mortgage Rates
Exceed Four Percent

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage exceeded four percent for the first time since May of 2019. The Federal Reserve raising short-term rates and signaling further increases means mortgage rates should continue to rise over the course of the year. While home purchase demand has moderated, it remains competitive due to low existing inventory, suggesting high house price pressures will continue during the spring homebuying season.

What’s For Sale

Click to see what $1 million just bought in Pinellas County

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Number of homes in U.S. valued at $1 million or more up 41% in one year 2022-03-10

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

March 10th, 2022

What does $1 million buy?

Nationwide, a record 8.2% of U.S. homes (6 million) were valued at $1 million or more in February.

That’s up more than 41% in one year.

Home values go up over time, so it makes sense that million-dollar homes would take up an increasingly large chunk of the housing stock. But their slice of the pie has grown especially rapidly during the pandemic amid a surge in home prices and buyer competition. Prices have skyrocketed because housing demand has far outpaced supply as scores of Americans have moved to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and remote work.

Source: Redfin

Mortgage
Rates Rise

Following two weeks of declines, mortgage rates rose this week as U.S. Treasury yields increased. Over the long-term, we expect rates to continue to rise as inflation broadens and shortages increasingly impact many segments of the economy. However, uncertainty about the war in Ukraine is driving rate volatility that likely will continue in the short-term.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Florida is looking less affordable… 2022-03-04

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

March 4th, 2022

Why is everyone
moving to Florida?

People from all over the world are looking to buy a piece of property in the Sunshine State. In just the past year alone, Florida’s gained more than 200,000 residents, according to the latest census data.
Florida has always been an attractive place to live with its warm weather, gorgeous beaches, no income tax, and relatively affordable home prices. It has, of course, long been a mecca for retirees. But now, it’s becoming an increasingly popular destination for younger residents, too. More and more millennials who can work remotely are deciding to do so by the beach. Throw in some investors looking to turn single-family homes and condos into rentals, and you’ve got a perfect storm of increased demand with not enough homes to go around. In fact there are half as many homes for sale as there was the same period a year ago.

Florida is looking
less affordable

Median list price per quarter

Florida’s affordability is starting to fade. The median list price in Florida last month was about $434,000—significantly higher than the $392,000 national median list price, according to the most recent Realtor.com data. As people fled the Northeast and Midwest throughout the pandemic, many came with cash. After selling their homes in expensive markets like the New York City suburbs and Chicago, folks found their money could go much further in Florida.

Mortgage
Rates Fall

Geopolitical tensions caused U.S. Treasury yields to recede this week as investors moved to the safety of bonds, leading to a drop in mortgage rates. While inflationary pressures remain, the cascading impacts of the war in Ukraine have created market uncertainty. Consequently, rates are expected to stay low in the short-term but will likely increase in the coming months.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Gulf Front Condos 2022-02-25

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

February 25th, 2022

Gulf Front
Condominiums

The market for coastal property in Pinellas County starts right on the shores of our award winning beaches.

Here is where we’ve been in 2020 and 2021 and here is where we are so far this year.

Gulf Front Condos
median price
per sq.ft.

The lion’s share of appreciation occured between January 2021 and July 2021. That is consistent with the residential Real Estate market across the country.

After a bit of a spike in January this year we seem to be back at the quarter three 2021 levels.

We will see what the month of March brings.

Mortgage Rates
Decrease Slightly

Even with this week’s decline, mortgage rates have increased more than a full percent over the last six months. Overall economic growth remains strong, but rising inflation is already impacting consumer sentiment, which has markedly declined in recent months. As we enter the spring homebuying season with higher mortgage rates and continued low inventory, we expect home price growth to remain firm before cooling off later this year.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Second Home Mortgage Rates Going Up 2022-02-17

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

February 17th, 2022

Second Home
Mortgage Rates
Going Up

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced targeted increases to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s upfront fees for second home loans in January

The FHFA will begin to charge new fees for deliveries and acquisition starting April 1, 2022, on high-balance loans and second home mortgages. Specifically, the upfront fees will increase between 1.125% and 3.875% for second home loans. The precise amount the rate increases is tiered based on the loan-to-value ratio.
The precise amount the rate increases is tiered based on the loan-to-value ratio. Guidance from Fannie Mae says a second home mortgage with a loan-to-value ratio equal to or less than 60% will pay an additional 1.125% fee. If the loan-to-value ratio is 80% loan-to-value or greater, the fee is an extra 4.125%.
Market watchers expect the new fees to increase interest rates to over 5% for second home purchases. The FHFA announced this change on January 5, 2022. The official change date is April 1, 2022 but local lenders have already began pricing adjustments.
Our second-home markets in Pinellas are already stressed by low inventory. As vacation home buyers and real estate investors start scouring for additional properties, there could be more competition for desirable real estate in the second home market during spring 2022.

Mortgage Rates
Jump

The normalization of the economy continues as mortgage rates jumped to the highest level since the emergence of the pandemic. Rate increases are expected to continue due to a strong labor market and high inflation, which likely will have an adverse impact on homebuyer demand.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Real Estate and the DMV 2022-02-09

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

February 9th, 2022

What does the DMV
have to do with Real Estate?

People migrating to Florida is a long-standing tradition.
COVID-19 turned a years long trickle to into a deluge.

More than 547,000 people exchanged out of state driver’s licenses last year for ones with a Florida address. That’s a 40% increase from 2020 and just under 20% greater than the five-year average between 2017 and 2021. Demographers believe the relocations are no tropical dalliance because a driver’s license switch is a sign of determination to make Florida home. The beaches, sunshine and lack of a state income tax are main attractions. Many people relocating here from other states cite the spirit and attitude in Florida during COVID have been much more optimistic than other parts of the country.

Coming Soon

Gulf Front Condo

Villa Madeira

Madeira Beach

Endless Gulf of Mexico views from this upgraded “turn key”4th floor condo at Villa Madeira. This fully furnished condo is a turn key offering. Just over 1,100 square feet this unit features 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths and a generous 20 x 7 beach side balcony.

$900,000

Mortgage Rates
Unchanged from Last Week

The economy lost some momentum in January, leaving mortgage rates unchanged from last week and relatively flat for the third consecutive week. This stagnation reflects the economic impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which we believe will subside in the coming months. As economic recovery continues going into the spring and summer, mortgage rates are expected to resume their upward trajectory. In the meantime, recent data suggests that homebuyer demand continues to be elevated as supply remains low, driving higher home prices.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Mauris commodo massa tortor, u sit amet,consectetur adipisicing Nunc fermentum neque quam, sodales eleifend elit imperdiet vitae. Aliquam id euismod nulla. Suspendisse imperdiet, sem et sollicitudin egestas, urna nunc auctor massa, vulputate pharetra mi odio nec tortor. Ut ultricies massa viverra quis.

Coastal Communities in Pinellas County in High Demand 2022-02-01

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

February 1st, 2022

Coastal Communities
in Pinellas County
in High Demand

2021 was a year for historic price increases for residential Real Estate. Our coastal communities here in Pinellas proved to be no exception. I compiled some data to illustrate what happened..

The map above shows the communities highlighted in the study. It is important note that this data is a cross section of all residential properties including condos and single-family homes on and off the water, in beach communities and neighboring coastal communities. This is only to illustrate a trend of the overall coastal market in Pinellas County. Your mileage may vary depending on property type and location.

You can see a dramatic increase in the MEDIAN sale price per square foot from January to the end of the third quarter. The growth in price has been relatively flat since then. It will be interesting to see what prices will do in the next 60 days.

Mortgage Rates Stay Relatively Flat

Following a month-long rise, mortgage rates effectively stayed flat this week. Recent rate increases have yet to significantly impact purchase demand, as history demonstrates that potential homebuyers who are on the fence will often enter the market at the start of rate increase cycles. We do expect rates to continue to increase but at a more gradual pace. Therefore, a fair number of current homeowners could continue to benefit from refinancing to lower their mortgage payment.

What’s For Sale

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Tampa Bay will be 2022’s Hottest Market 2022-01-21

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

January 21st, 2022

Tampa Bay
will be 2022’s
Hottest Market
in the U.S.

An analysis of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas to determine
“the hottest” for 2022 determined that Tampa was No. 1 in the U.S.

To determine hotness, the study released by Zillow looked at home value appreciation from November 2021 to November 2022, anticipated change in home value appreciation from 2021, the flow of for-sale inventory, an estimate of the net new number of home-owning households based on current demographic trends and new jobs per new housing unit permitted.

The study finds Tampa, for example, has strong forecasted home value growth, a thriving job market, relatively scarce and fast-moving inventory, and demographics that indicate a good number of potential buyers.

Mortgage Rates Continue to Move Up

Mortgage rates moved up again as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose and financial markets adjusted to anticipated changes in monetary policy that will combat inflation. As a result of higher mortgage rates, purchase demand has modestly waned in advance of the spring homebuying season. However, supply remains near historically tight levels and home prices remain high, keeping the market competitive.

What’s For Sale