Shadow Wood at the Brooks Real Estate News | December 2018

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DECEMBER 2018 MARKET UPDATE

NOVEMBER SALES HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR
“Winter visitors have arrived early and they are buying,” said Mike Hughes, General Manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. “Pending sales during the first six days of November were UP 37 percent over last November. This is even better than our pending sales in October, which increased 23 percent over last October. Overall, our year-to-date pending sales increased 20 percent compared to 2017’s activity.”

BONITA /ESTERO: STABLE MARKET
A three-year positive trend shows fair market stabilization in Bonita Springs and Estero. “If we take
a look at pending and closed sales for the month of October going back three years, those numbers show very little fluctuation, even with hurricane Irma in 2017,” stated Jerry Murphy, Broker, Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs. “This trend indicates a current fair market that sets the stage for an active upcoming winter buying season.” In comparing October 2018 with October 2017, pending sales increased by 11 percent and closed sales by 7 percent. Also, the median closed price was up 7 percent to $300,000 and the average days on market increased 9 percent to 105 days. Residential real estate prices are expected to remain steady going into the first quarter of 2019. (Waiting for price increases in 2019 before listing a property is an unrealistic sales strategy based on current market behavior.)

FLORIDA: SALES ARE UP
Florida’s housing market reported more closed sales, rising median prices and more new listings in October compared to a year ago. Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 22,272 last month, up 8.5 percent compared to October 2017. October marked 82 consecutive months (more than six and a half years) that statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties increased year-over-year. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $253,853, up 7.6 percent from the previous year, and for condo-townhouse units was $180,000, up 5.9 percent over the year-ago figure. “Closed sales of single-family homes were up 8.5 percent in October compared to last year, thanks in large part to a level of inventory that has been on the rise since July,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. (Note: Active single-family homes listings were up 9.8 percent year-over-year.)

USA: HOME SALES INCREASE
For the first time in six months, three of the four major U.S. regions saw gains in sales activity in October, but sales are still down 5.1 percent from a year ago. The median existing-home price for all housing types in October was $255,400, up 3.8 percent from October 2017 ($246,000). Total housing inventory at the end of October decreased from 1.88 million in September to 1.85 million existing homes available for sale, but that represents an increase from 1.80 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.4 last month and up from 3.9 months a year ago. Properties typically stayed on the market for 33 days in October. “As more inventory enters the market and we head into the winter season, home price growth has begun to slow more meaningfully,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist.

Sources: The Bonita Springs-Estero Assoc. of REALTORS®, Naples Area Board of REALTORS®, National Assoc. of REALTORS®, Florida REALTORS®. 

What Happens to a House After One Spouse Dies?

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nov. 29, 2018 – Question: I am concerned about what will happen to my house if my husband passes away. Will I be allowed to keep the house and make mortgage payments, or sell it if I want to? – Nancy

Answer:
In most cases, you would be allowed to either keep the house, making mortgage payments, or sell it. Many factors affect this, though – most importantly, how the home is titled.
Most married couples own their homes in a special type of ownership reserved just for spouses known as “tenants by the entirety.” To explain the significance of this type of joint ownership, however, I need to first explain the two other options that are available.

The default type is called “tenants in common,” in which each co-owner owns his or her part of the property individually. Typically, these portions are equal but, if specified on the deed, they can be different, such as 80 percent to one owner and 20 percent to another. With this type, there can be many owners, and when each owner dies, his or her portion goes to any heirs.
Another type of ownership is called “joint tenants with right of survivorship.” This is like “tenants in common” in many ways, except that when each owner passes away, the portion goes to the other owners instead of heirs.

This brings us to “tenants by the entirety,” which is similar in many ways to “joint tenants with right of survivorship,” except that it is limited to a married couple. It has been said that the marriage becomes the owner of the property with this form, automatically making the surviving spouse the owner of the property. There are other advantages to owning property this way, such as money judgments against one spouse not forming a lien against the property – unlike with other forms of ownership where judgments against one owner could attach.

The easiest way to tell whether you own your home this way is by looking at your deed. If both of your names are listed along with an indication that you are married, then you are all set.
If the property is in his name alone, the law will still provide you with certain protections. However, many factors come into play such as whether you have children, their ages, and what is set out in his will, if he has one. You should review your situation with a qualified estate planning professional now because any discrepancies are much easier and less expensive to deal with while you are both alive.

About the writer: Gary M. Singer is a Florida attorney and board-certified as an expert in real estate law by the Florida Bar. He practices real estate, business litigation and contract law from his office in Sunrise, Fla. He is the chairman of the Real Estate Section of the Broward County Bar Association and is a co-host of the weekly radio show Legal News and Review. He frequently consults on general real estate matters and trends in Florida with various companies across the nation.

© 2018 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Gary M. Singer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

We are having a very strong November for pending sales. Both Pending sales transactions and pending sales volume are above what we did all of last November. It looks like the winter visitors are arriving early and they are buying!

It looks like we will close over 3,000 transactions this year. The year has had challenges. As we started the year, we had many properties still undergoing hurricane repairs. This summer, the red tide and Lake Okeechobee water issues were a bit of a drag on our sales. Every year, there will be challenges. It is how you face those challenges that defines you. As a company, I am extremely proud of how our agents have handled the 2018 challenges.

We are heading into 2019 with a lot of momentum. We have over 1,000 listings that will help as we start working with our winter visitors. We are having a strong fourth quarter that, hopefully, is an indication of what 2019 might bring.