The Gary Cardillo Group

Your Punta Gorda Waterfront Specialists

You are here: Home / Archives for current market

Did you hear?

by

Did you hear PUNTA GORDA was ranked #1 as the nation’s most sought-after areas from buyers who are looking at homes in a different metro area from where they live AND we were the only city listed in top 10 in FL  #lovewherewelive  #garycardillogroup #localagents Read more below from Realtor.com….

Here Are the Most Popular Cities for Homebuyers in 2022—and the Places People Can’t Wait To Leave

By Clare Trapasso

May 3, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic shook up just about everything—especially where many people live. It caused a mass real estate migration unlike any in recent memory.

Lots of folks traded the cities for suburbs—more space! fewer people!—while others relocated to new, often cheaper, parts of the country. And with the popularity of remote work that allows buyers to live just about anywhere and the growing frustration with record-high home prices, the real estate reshuffle isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

In the first quarter of the year, more than half, 59.7%, of all of the views on the home listings on Realtor.com® came from shoppers based in other metros, according to recent Realtor.com research. That was a 4.6% bump over the same time last year.

Our economics team analyzed the search traffic on Realtor.com to figure out the areas where people wanted to move to—and where they most wanted to leave. We scrutinized the data to determine the nation’s most sought-after areas from buyers who are looking at homes in a different metro area from where they live. On the other end of the scale, the team also found the metro areas where the highest percentage of locals were looking for homes someplace else.

“The pandemic led many Americans to revisit priorities, preferences, and timelines,” says George Ratiu, manager of economic research for Realtor.com.  “Worries over health, financial pressures, lifestyle, and well-being were channeled into finding a home in a location which offered ample access to the outdoors, better quality of life, and increasingly important, affordable housing.”

As for trends, we found that the ever-elusive quest for affordability is still driving most preferences. Vacation and retirement destinations are especially popular with those browsing real estate listings from other areas. Some shoppers were looking to relocate, especially those who can work remotely. Others were hoping to purchase a second home, and then there were those who just wanted to dream.

Meanwhile, folks in the more expensive cities, colder parts of the country, and college and military towns seem to be looking for exit strategies. Folks in the chilly and pricey Northeast were the most likely to look at homes in other parts of the country. About 37.2% of them viewed properties in different regions. About 26.4% of folks from the Midwest, 25% of those in the West, and just 11.3% of people in the South also searched Realtor.com for residences located elsewhere.

To track the moves, the Realtor.com analysis covered the 300 largest metropolitan areas in the first quarter of 2022. (A metro area encompasses the main city and surrounding towns and smaller urban areas.) We limited the list to just one metro per state to ensure geographic diversity.

OK, let’s start with the most popular list—a tour of the most desired destinations for homebuyers right now!

Do you think the market is going to crash and should I wait before buying something now?

by

I get this question a lot. Unlike the real estate crash that occurred from 2007-2009, where the thriving market was built on speculation and buyers getting sub-prime mortgages, this market is much more sound from the perspective that it hasn’t been investor driven, and most buyers have either paid cash or taken out a smaller percentage of financing. As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, people found they could work remotely, and having sold homes up north at significantly higher prices, decided there was no reason to wait until their retirement years to move to Florida. However, with prices having risen due to high demand and low inventory levels it would appear more likely that the meteoric rise may become more gradual and that buyers will become more patient, waiting for there to become more of a balance in the market than the buying frenzy that has occurred the past two years. Where I do see signs that inventory levels could remain low stem from sellers who would like to take advantage of the market, but don’t want to jump into the pond of other buyers desperately looking for a home. The feeling the profits attained could be offset by the increased price they would be paying for their next home, may not be worth putting their home on the market for sale. Could that limit new listings coming on the market, resulting in fewer homes available for sale? Possibly, but natural disasters, epidemics and the loss of loved ones can put what is important in life in a different perspective. The desire to downsize, travel more, or moving back closer to family will continue to bring new inventory on the market and the willingness we are seeing from buyers looking for a better quality of life I feel bodes well for the market to remain strong this new year.

Housing Market Update: Real Estate Chess Match

by

For years now we’ve been advised by real estate attorneys to use the FAR BAR AS IS purchase contract with right to inspect. The reason for this is that while it does protect the buyer, it takes some of the ambiguity out in determining if an item in the home is functioning as intended. To give you an example of why this has been the contract of choice, several years ago we had a client looking to purchase a condominium that had been renovated due to damages stemming from Chinese drywall. During the home inspection we found the granite counter top in the kitchen had been cracked in half around the sink during installation. The seller epoxied the seams, but the buyers were not pleased, as while the seam was cleverly joined with the epoxy, the joint was still very rough to the touch. The seller said he wasn’t going to replace the counter top and the buyer didn’t want to take it “as is,” so the buyer used their right during the inspection period to cancel the contract and get a full refund of their deposit. When speaking with the law firm who suggested we use this purchase agreement, the attorney stated, “this is why we tell you to use this purchase agreement as while the buyer wasn’t pleased with the look of the repaired granite, it was still functioning as intended as it was supporting weight and wasn’t leaking, thus it was performing as designed. If your buyer hadn’t used this “AS IS” contract that we have suggested, they wouldn’t have had the ability to cancel their contract and receive a full refund of their deposit.”
However, during this market this “AS IS” contract is being used in a manner that wasn’t originally intended. Since homes have been selling at such a frantic pace, many buyers who are out of town are using this contract to purchase properties sight unseen, or only seen virtually. Then once they arrive they use their inspection period to determine if they want to continue moving forward with the purchase of the property or cancel the contract now that they are viewing the property in person. Some buyers have even submitted contracts on several properties, had them accepted, and then used their inspection period to cancel off those properties that didn’t appeal to them and keep the one that does.
To counter this approach many sellers are starting to request the contract with repair terms that can be capped be used as it takes away the buyers ability to cancel the contract in “the buyer’s sole discretion.” Since offers have accelerated at the pace they have due to low inventory levels, bidding wars are more commonplace, resulting in purchase offers where the purchase price cannot be supported by an appraisal. To avoid a contract being cancelled by the buyer due to the offer they made not being supported by an appraisal, sellers are now requesting appraisal contingencies to be removed from the contract in many cases.

About The Gary Cardillo Group

Gary Cardillo, Realtor While most people would like to talk about themselves, Gary and Gail have always put their clients first, and their diverse backgrounds have provided their clients an unparalleled level of service and knowledge throughout the past years.
  » Read More...

Read Our Blog