Is now a good time to buy in Florida? (Orlando: mortgage, credit)

[cfIfan]

I have posted several comments on why now is a great time to buy a home, particularly here in Central Florida. When i had previously done so alot was made that this was nonsense etc etc. Even CNN Money has now changed their tune and is saying that indeed now is a good time to buy and that The biggest gains in affordability occurred in California, Michigan and Florida, which are areas that have also been some of the hardest hit by foreclosures. Those states registered 43 of the 50 biggest price declines.
There is also another article which i came across which gives a number of good points on the current market and what makes it a good time to buy.

I am going to post them below.

Most housing markets are less overvalued - Mar. 4, 2008

REALTOR®

[AONE]

Like you I agree it is a good time to buy, with low interest and foreclosures rather high there are many bargains out there. I have been working with many investors that seem to be coming into the market... that is usually the first group to see the opportunity. It is a great market, come on in. just be selective on place and or price. The communities with the worse trouble need to be had for the best price.

[cfIfan]

Thanks for the post AONE. Becareful though, we are in a minority and may get lynched, check out JBRAVO on a thread similar to mine which i posted on. I guess not everyone can post without being ignorant

http://www.city-data.com/forum/florida/298661-buy-keep-renting-new-post.html

[compelled to reply]

I won't lynch you, but I will respectfully disagree and say that although it might be a great time to buy compared to last year, we still have a long way to go before we hit the bottom. We are deep in the heart of the mortgage crisis, and it is only going to get worse before it gets better. Homes are only worth what people earn and even though we are returning to more sustainable lending practices, the prices are still way too high relative to what the average Floridian makes. And you can't forget that the supply is still HUGE and although you might think one thread on City-Data might bring out buyers, an educated consumer knows that inventory is still piling up, and it's not moving for reasons that should be obvious to anyone familiar with basic economics. Another key factor to watch, however, is the interest rates.

[cfIfan]

Thanks compelled. I do appreciate your comments, and this is the sort of healthy debate which i was hoping to attract. In response to your comments i totally agree that inventory is huge, however, if you take a close look, the reason for this is that alot of properties are over priced. Take my farm area for instance, alot of homes are aggressively priced and these are the ones selling, yet there are others that are horrendously over priced. Why would a buyer pay $395,000 when they can pay $285,000. I blame alot of this on realtors who really should walk away and i dont understand why they dont. I do, if its over priced, it wont sell and they have wasted money marketing that property.

I dont know if you took a look at the articles but for the first time that ive seen the surveying comanies actually took into consideration regional employment and wage medians which is something i havent seen in alot of surveys.

One thing i would say in addition is if any of you are in Orlando and wanted to get a crazy deal on properties, you should have gone to the Orange county convention Center for the foreclosure sales today. I was there this morning and i had 3 clients all pick up crazy deals on great properties, for much lower than even foreclosures are going for on the market.

I think alot of the problem is that people seem to think that properties are going to go down to prices that havent been seen since the early 90s, and whilst this may be true for properties in areas like Davenport, Kissimmee and Poinciana, which are old, the infrastructure isnt fantastic geared to long term home owners but rather short term rentals (indeed you can find homes for around $150,000), when you look at much nicer areas this simply cant see this happening. Even looking at those articles The creative financing loans are all but gone and whilst interest rates have increased slightly in the last few weeks, they are still at good rates and from one of the articles i believe at record lows for 40yrs, if have to double check.

I do agree that the higher priced have to fall but they will only fall to the prices of the aggressively priced homes which ar eselling and NAR's stats show these sales.

Just my humble opinion, but again thanks your thoughts and it does give another perspective to consider

[Magnulus]

It's not a good time to buy a house in Orlando. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either naive or involved in the real estate market. The economy hasn't even begun to contract as much as it could. The aftershocks haven't gotten through.

Most of Orlando is frankly a dump at worst and an overpriced wasteland at best, and people have ONLY survived here because of easy credit. Now that easy credit is disappearing, people will have to re-evaluate the costs and that is going to really shake things up.

[cfIfan]

Quite frankly , im glad that the days of easy credit are behind us. Buying property is a big step. Its not like buying a car or going to sears and buying a refrigerator. It is a big step, and prior to the bubbly it was much more strict to get a mortgage, and that is what it is returning to. This may sound harsh, but i blame banks and buyers. With these crazy creative financing schemes, many buyers knew they couldnt afford payments but went ahead anyway because they could get qualified. Secondly, i would suggest, that people consider the question that perhaps the govt, should not bail out these banks, because essentially it is giving both the banks and buyers(alot of whom are investors) a get out of jail free card at the tax payers expense.

Did you actually read the articles. The reason i ask is because these are the same sources people were quoting a couple of months ago not to buy and wondered what yoru thoughts were on shifting their views now?

For any people wishing to post, this is a healthy debate, please keep to the subject matter and please do not question peoples motives or occupations.

Many thanks

I am curious though magnulus, Do you actually live in Orlando, because if so why do you stay here if its so bad, Also there are good and bad in all places, but try to offer a balanced view not just a biased one

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by cfIfan

I am curious though magnulus, Do you actually live in Orlando, because if so why do you stay here if its so bad, Also there are good and bad in all places, but try to offer a balanced view not just a biased one

No money to leave, plus I've lived here so long and I moved so much as a kid I'm a bit weary of moving. I don't feel like I fit in anywhere, though. Also, to be honest most of this country sucks right now. Orlando isn't the worst, I mean you could live in Missippi or in Michigan. But it seems like an area with a bleak future unless people really screw their heads on straight and there is a big shift in the politics around here- I'm NOT banking on that.

Orlando used to be OK, for semi-rural living with a little bit of urban feel and country towns seperated by actual green space. About 10-12 years ago. Now it's just overrun and overgrown and too much crime. The traffic is horrible compared to what it used to be. It started turning ugly around 2000-2001. Way too many people, too much froth, people with BS jobs and too few good, honest people. That's why I hope this area gets hit hard, so the deadwood might clear out and just leave and maybe, just maybe people could focus on the fundamentals.

[cfIfan]

Thankyou for your thoughts Magnulus

[faithfulFrank]

cfIfan,

Interesting article. (I did read it )
As the title of your thread states, you are just asking the question.....no need for flaming or anything like that. It's a good question that invites a healthy discussion.

The answer is either YES or NO, and either answer could be right for certain people.
I personally believe that the next year or two will be good times to buy, but each area is different.
I started a similar thread,
A housing/baby-boomer opinion...comments?

That thread got some unique responses.

Your question, "Is now a good time to buy?" There will never be a time when everyone will agree and have the same answer to that question. That was true 28 years ago when I bought my first house, and it is true today.....it will be true 28 years from now also.......

Frank D.