The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. It also authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified repeat home buyers.  If you purchase a home by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010, you may qualify for one of the two available tax credits. The first-time homebuyer credit is for buyers who have not owned a home during the last 3 years. The other credit is for current homeowners who have used the home they are selling or vacating for 5 consecutive years within the last 8 years. The credit is 10% of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for current homeowners.

There are two other considerations:

1. The home you purchase must be $800,000 or less.
2. If your income for a single person is up to $125,000 or $225,000 for married people filing jointly, you will qualify for the full credit.

In addition to complimentary counseling at the Davidson Realty Tax Credit Open Houses, we also offer a free Homebuying Kit that comes complete with:
    * Timeline for Buying a Home
    * Resource Contact List
    * Terminology Guide
    * Mortgage Programs
    * Sample Payment Options
    * Community Overviews

Now’s your chance.  Stop by the Davidson Realty office during our Tax Credit Open Houses any Saturday through April 17th and learn more.

It’s no surprise that Lyn Sappington was named Top Lister in February! Her professionalism and talent has continued to put her on the tops lists month after month. In February, she sold 2 listings totaling over $500,000. We have no doubt that she will continue to impress!

To see a list of the whole Davidson Realty team please visit http://www.davidsonrealtyinc.com/our-team/davidson-realty/

A task force was formed to address the crises and they identified lack of communication between the parties as the most significant issue. The Florida Supreme Court addressed this issue by requiring mediation in all foreclosure cases involving homestead property unless the parties agree otherwise or have already participated in mediation.

The mediation will be handled by a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator appointed by the Court. The costs of the mediation will be paid by the lender and the total cost may not exceed $750. The plaintiff (lender) must have a representative who has full authority to settle at the mediation but they may appear by telephone or other electronic method.

The homeowner must provide financial information to the mediator and meet with an approved foreclosure counselor prior to mediation. They may also request certain information from the Company suing them before going to mediation.

The mediation manager must schedule mediation no earlier than 60 days and no later than 120 days after the foreclosure is filed.

The program is being implemented in each Circuit Court and right now the Seventh Circuit and the Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties) have not implemented the managed mediation program. The Supreme Court just authorized the program on December 28, 2009.

Now back to the question if the program will help foreclosures in St. Augustine. I would hope that if a lender has options to foreclosure such as a loan modification, they would see the benefit of modifying the loan rather than incur the cost of mediation and the cost of foreclosure. I would also hope that short sales would become another viable option and lenders would be more cooperative in approving and closing a short sale rather than face mediation and foreclosure.

As you can see, I don’t have the answer yet. I will keep you updated as the program gets implemented in our area and we see the results.

For Renters: Protecting Yourself in the Event of a Foreclosure
March 4, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. EST
Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/780681256
Elsie Evans of Davidson Property Management, along with Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson explains the affect a foreclosure can have on tenants and how to protect yourself as a renter.

Home Appraisals in Today’s Market
 March 18, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. E.S.T.
Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/428249121
Join Todd Oakes, co-owner of Accredited Appraisal Assoc. of Northeast Florida, Inc.,
and Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson to hear the latest about
appraisals in the current real estate, including tips and advice for making sure your
home is valued fairly.
  

If you missed a previous webinar, check out our webinar library. Log on to http://www.davidsonrealtyinc.com/webinars.

My first surprise is that closed sales for January 2010 were about 40% less than December 2009. There were 1,316 closings in November, 1,365 in December and 834 in January.

This looks like very negative news, but I believe the reason for the decline in closings was mainly due to short sales. We saw lenders approving and closing short sales in December to get them closed by year end. Maybe the holidays were also a factor, but we did not see any short sales making it through the process in January.

The pending sales numbers continue to look great. There were 1,241 pending sales in November, 1,261 in December and 1,300 in January. If the sales continue, one would assume the closings will come next.

Another surprise in the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats was a drop in median and average sales prices. The median sales price dropped from $139,850 in December to $133,990 in January. The average sales price dropped from $169,377 in December to $164,616 in January. I have been saying for months that I thought prices were stabilizing.

Well in the zip code where most of our business is located prices are not dropping, which is why I was so surprised by the report. The average price in the 32092 zip code was:
October 2009  $163,883
November 2009 $172,815
December 2009 $228,546
January 2010  $229,850

I am not ready to say that our prices are increasing, but we are selling more property in slightly higher price ranges and we are not seeing prices falling. I know in the size market area that Northeast Florida Association of Realtors covers, some areas have adjusted sooner than others.

A statistic that wasn’t a surprise to me is that more than 50% of the closings in January were Short Sales or Foreclosures. There are many people in our area having trouble paying their mortgages. If you know of anyone that needs assistance with their home, please advise them to contact a Realtor that is a Certified Distressed Property Expert and get help.

I continue to see positive signs in our industry. Buyer activity is up and inventories are continuing to decline. Sales are up and closings will be back on track. Interest rates and home prices are amazingly low and many people qualify for the Homebuyer Tax Credits.