Lots of conflicting information/data on whether the real estate market is turning around or not in Jax… Here’s the latest.

Jacksonville area foreclosures take second large summer spike | Jacksonville.com

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Hot off the press from Freddie Mac is that rates have just gotten better. Affordability is at its best in years…

The average 30 yr fixed rate was 5.19 percent with .7 points. That’s pretty darn good!

If you’re in Jacksonville and interested in taking advantage of these historically low rates shoot me an email @ Jeff.Riber@yahoo.com or you can view properties on my website at www.JeffRiber.com

Merry Christmas!

Well it’s time to take a look at where we are and where we’re headed in the Jacksonville real estate market. Currently inventory levels aren’t looking pretty. However, Governor Crist halting foreclosures, government bail-outs, and never before seen affordability levels may make 2009 an interesting year for real estate. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This is still an excellent market for two groups of people. First-time buyers and move-up buyers. If you have questions or comments about the direction of the market I would love to hear them. Merry Christmas!

Read an interesting article recently on the gap between real estate reality and what sellers think their property is worth…  Check it out here

Wanted to discuss a recent article on the FAR website…  It’s been a while since my last posting but it’s time to get back in the swing of things!

In regards to the July $700B Economic Stimulus Package the question has oft been asked, “where is that money going?”  Well, if you’re a Floridian there is a new, state-sponsored website dedicated to answering some of these questions.  You can access the home page here: http://www.myfloridacfo.com/FloridaHousingHelp/default.htm

Would love to hear feedback from readers affected in some way, shape or form by the allocation of these funds…

Should be back before the end of the week with an update on the Jacksonville market and it’s recent activity.

Not sure where to start this post…  The Dow Jones closed down 7% for the day and both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both down right around 9%.  All of this due in large part to the negative vote the $700B emergency rescue package received today in the house.  This is the article from the Florida Realtors website regarding the matter.

Wachovia’s stock price plummeted to $1.84 (down 81.6%) to close the day after the Citigroup takeover and the news from the house.

What does this mean for the real estate market?  Jacksonville’s in particular…  Well, I had a buyer call to check rates after the news and they were actually a bit better than last week.  So far, so good.

All of those waiting on the bottom to purchase a home in Jacksonville (or anywhere for that matter).  BUY NOW!  I believe it was John D. Rockefeller who said, “The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.”  I don’t think we’ve seen financial crisis like this in quite some time (Great Depression?)

Need help identifying a good deal?  Let me know…  Give me a call or shoot me an email.  That is indeed my job!

As mentioned in previous posts, one of the key factors influencing the value of real estate is the level of inventory in a given market.  Inventory shows us how supply and demand is changing at different times and what affect that is having on values.

According to a recent article on the FAR website home values have receded to a level comparable to October 2005.   This, in my estimation, is a fairly accurate statement.

Taking a look at the Jacksonville Real Estate Market our current level of inventory is at 14.78 months (Basically, if buying activity remained as it was in August and no more houses came available for sale.  It would take 14.78 months to sell all of the homes that are currently available).  A healthy market will have inventory levels less than 9 months.  We had seen steady progression in buyer activity dating back to January ‘08.  However, there was a little slip in July and August that probably represents the normal, seasonal slow down of real estate in the fall months.

It remains to be seen how the “Bailout Bill” will affect local real estate markets, in particular Jacksonville.  Hopefully, the influx of new money to lending institutions will allow more buyers into the market and level things out a bit.

As always, comments are welcomed!

Hard to keep up with all of the news that’s been happening in finance and economics of recent.  This is the kind of stuff that will be written and talked about for years to come.  Just wanted to talk briefly about the upcoming bill that is going to be passed by President Bush and Congress to relieve some pressure from a hard-pressed American economy.

One of the fishy things about the bill that stuck out to me was this excerpt from an artice written on FloridaRealtors.org, “Differences remained with the administration on Democrats’ proposal that the government take an ownership stake in the troubled companies it bails out so that taxpayers could benefit from future profits.”  The government taking an ownership stake in troubled companies is not the type of long-term solution that I think will help resolve our current financial crunch.

The bill has certainly not been accepted by everyone in politics.  Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the top Banking Committee Republican, had some pretty passionate statements about the direction of the bill, “In my judgment, it would be foolish to waste massive sums of taxpayer funds testing an idea that has been hastily crafted and may actually cause the government to revert to an inadequate strategy of ad hoc bailouts,” Shelby said.

With estimates in around $700 Billion in taxpayer dollars, hopefully this bill will be appropriately applied to serve its purpose in helping restore confidence in the American economy…

Looking forward to comments or questions!

So I have been presented with a financial quandary of recent… I have an old 401k from a previous employer and a Roth IRA that I’ve moved to the same brokerage company. Whether or not to roll the 401k (now acting as a traditional IRA) into the Roth is the question.

I haven’t sought any official counsel on the subject yet but thought I would ask the advice and opinions of those reading first… Would love to hear from any with a similar experience,  or an accounting/investing background.

The ultimate issue is: pay the taxes now or upon withdraw which is some years away.

Thanks for your help!

Was speaking with a friend of mine who’s also a mortgage originator for Wachovia.  He had a customer who had 1 day prior been approved for a 30 year fixed rate loan @ 6.25% (give or take) and then after the Fannie/Freddie bail-out this same customer’s rate dropped over 3/8 of a point.  

Currently, this is really good news for those buyers utilizing conventional financing.  I’m sure those buyers using FHA/VA financing will now have to give Conventional a thought before signing on the dotted line…

See the article here