Home sales in the Orlando market jumped nearly 48 percent, but values fell by nearly 40 percent, according to the March report from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

Association members reported 1,653 existing home sales in March, compared with 1,120 in the same month a year prior. Realtors also put 2,956 homes under contract last month, a far cry from March 2008’s 1,679.

The median price of all Orlando homes resales fell 37.7 percent from $217,000 in March 2008 to $137,000 last month. The area’s average interest rate fell to a record low 4.67 percent.

Association members also reported 4,906 pending sales — considered a leading indicator of future sales — in March, more than double March 2009’s 2,398.

March home resales in the Orlando area — Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties — jumped nearly 58 percent, from 1,354 homes last year to 2,139 homes this year.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/04/13/daily7.html

Single-family house prices in the state dropped about 17.1 percent in February compared to the same month in 2008, making it the fifth consecutive month that median prices have dropped by double-digit margins, according to the Warren Group, publisher of the Commercial Record.
“We didn’t see such a period of price slumps during Connecticut’s last housing downturn in the early 1990s,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr. in a statement. Warren is the chief executive of the Warren Group. “Prices won’t level off until sales activity picks up substantially for several months straight.”
The local results are mixed and the most promising news could be in Meriden.

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20289419&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6

There was something that always bothered Rene Galvin when she walked in the front door of her new condo - an eye-watering, rotten egg smell that clung to the four walls and everything contained within them, from the furniture to her carpet and clothes.
She could never quite put her finger on the cause of the foul odor that seemed to pervade every pore. “I’d just stand there, look around and say to myself: ‘One day, I’ll find out whatever it is that died inside these walls’,” she says.
But there were further problems to come; mirrors that corroded around the edges, drains that rusted on the baths, pitted faucets, the television, computer, dishwasher, coffee pot, telephones, and air-conditioning system that all inexplicably broke down. Even the treasured gold-dipped necklace she wore around her neck turned black. Then there were the headaches, throat and sinus troubles.
“I had no idea what was going on. I thought ‘Boy, the Florida air sure is bad’,” she says with a wry laugh.
Humour, though, is not something that comes easily these days when she talks about her $500,000 home in Bonita Springs, Florida, that now sits empty after it was found to contain contaminated drywall from China.
The discovery of sulfur-emitting compounds within the imported construction materials has sparked a national investigation, numerous lawsuits, and a scandal that is feared to have affected as many as 100,000 homes, a majority so far in Florida. Reparations could run into the billions of dollars.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0404/p99s01-usgn.html

The number of people struggling to pay their mortgage is growing by almost 740 a day, raising fears of another surge in repossessions
Another 68,000 homebuyers fell into arrears in the final three months of 2008, according to grim data from the Financial Services Authority. It took the total to almost 377,000 - a 31% leap in 12 months. The average debt has also risen almost 20% to £5,473.
Repossessions actually dipped slightly in the quarter to 13,028 as lenders bowed to Government pressure to make it the last resort. But the 46,750 total for last year - 128 a day - was still up 68% on 2007.

Adam Sampson, of housing charity Shelter, urged the FSA to force lenders to give more help to struggling families.
“With tens of thousands of families living in the shadow of repossession, the FSA must ensure that lenders treat struggling borrowers fairly,” he said. “The rise in arrears and repossessions has been fuelled by irresponsible lending.
“The FSA and Government must re-write the rule book to ensure the days of feckless lending are never repeated.”
Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said: “We are determined to do everything possible to ensure repossession is always a last resort, and have taken decisive action to help households facing difficulties right now.
“As well as agreeing a three-month minimum period before lenders seek to repossess, we have put in place more free debt and legal advice, and have increased support to help people pay their mortgage if they lose their job.”

This was found: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/city-news/2009/03/18/repossession-fears-grow-as-740-more-people-a-day-can-t-pay-their-mortgages-115875-21207351/

A HOMEOWNER who is losing £12,000-a-month while trying to sell his £1million property hopes to beat the credit crunch by selling it in a RAFFLE. Brian Wilshaw, 64, is selling 46,000 tickets at £25 each for a chance to win his 11.5 acre Oldborough Retreat. The estate comes with a five-bedroom house, four two-bedroom holiday lodges, 9.5 acres of woodland and a two-acre fishing lake.

Situated in countryside near Morchard Bishop near Crediton, Devon, the estate is a former holiday complex but Brian is now retiring and wants to sell-up. Winner The dad-of-three decided to raffle the retreat because the housing market and credit crunch have seen the market stagnate. If you would like to buy a ticket please see link at the bottom.

Brian said: “This has been our dream home but now we are retiring we want to let ordinary people have the chance of a lifetime to live here. “Rising house and land prices have put property like this one way out of the reach of most people. “We put the house on the market last year but it was already becoming obvious that the market was slowing down. “We’ve had this idea for a number of years now. Everyone who came here on holiday used to say ‘If I had the money I’d buy this place’.

“I would absolutely love to see the face of the person that wins it when they walk in because it’s going to change their life.” The house has two ensuite bedrooms, one master bedroom, whirlpool bath, a double garage and a large lounge, small study, dining room and kitchen. Nearby are four holiday lodges each boasting two double bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and dining area, which can be rented out or sold off individually. All five properties are situated in woodland with a private drive, gates and a lake with carp, tench, perch, roach, rudd and eels. Heating engineer Brian and his wife Wendy, 49, bought the estate 14 years ago and ran it as a small holiday park until 2006.

Advertisement Brian said: “It’s well worth £25 a ticket. At 46,000-to-one our odds are a lot better than winning the Lottery.

For more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1349439.ece

FED-UP with forking out a small fortune for a tiny bedsit?

 Why not pay a fraction of the price and set up home in an old fire station?

In return for looking after empty premises, cash-strapped tenants — or guardians, as they are known — get loads of living space in prime locations for as little as £45 a week rent INCLUDING council tax.

Many public buildings are involved in the scheme, including old schools and town halls.

Barmaid Lyndsey Dawson, 23, is one of six tenants living in a laboratory that fell into disuse more than a decade ago.

Others who have moved in include a cabbie and a teacher.

Lyndsey pays £180 per month for the use of a vast office in the three-storey building on Bidston Hill, Merseyside, on the Wirral peninsula.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/article2266214.ece

When you are considering how to ‘Dress your House to sell’ the key to remember is that you want to sell fast and for top money.

One of the most important aspects to consider is that purchasers are buying a home not just a house.

The purchasers of your property are ultimately trying to improve their lifestyle.
They are looking to buy a new home and will be spending a relatively large amount of money on this purchase.
If you present the property attractively it is more likely that your property will stick in their minds. If they find it more striking than other properties in the same price range, then even if they don’t offer straight away they will definitely be back for a second viewing.

When you apply either of these outcomes to selling your property, your potential buyer will either buy another house, or make you an offer lower than you want to accept.

There is a saying ‘Good First Impression’. This is vital to remember when selling a property during a recession. You want to ensure that the buyer falls in love with the property the very first time they see it.

NOTE: The first time your buyer will see your home is from the outside. This might be in a newspaper advertisement, online or from just driving past the property and seeing the for sale board.

The Front Of The Property
The exterior of the property is very important and surprisingly, commonly forgotten about.

Paint the front of the property, a fresh coat of paint will really brighten up the outside of any property.

If the budget and need is there then a new front door is a good idea, however if the old door will suffice, then a fresh coat of paint would be a good idea.

Make sure the front garden is immaculate with a nice path to the front door. Replace any cracked or broken paving slabs and ensure there are no unsightly weeds.

Windows
The first thing that your buyer will see as they walk up to your front door is the windows. Ensure that if they are wooden, the timber is sound and freshly painted. If the property is suited to uPVC double glazing and the budget allows I would highly recommend you install them.However if you do nothing else to the windows accept for ensuring the glass is clean and free of smears you will certainly be heading in the right direction.

Clean windows make the rooms look lighter and brighter.

http://www.propertysecrets.net/topic/post36036.html

About 12,000 houses in a five county viewing area have a “for sale” sign in their front garden.

If you are selling your home, how do you make your home stand out from the rest? One way is to put a virtual tour of your home online.

The virtual tour offers potential buyers a sense of being inside the home, you can almost feel the warmth from the fireplace.

We’ve all been hearing that now might not be the best time to sell your home, but realtor Doug Clifton says that’s not necessarily the case for eastern North Carolina. “We hear the gloom and doom of the housing market and our area of the world isn’t really like that; it’s true that we’re slower than we normally are, but houses are still selling.”

And some are turning to even more creative ways to sell those houses by using the internet.

“Any seller that’s out there, that has a property to sell, this is the way to go because the internet, world wide web, you’re going to get world wide,” said real estate investor MariAnn Harvey.

Harvey buys and sells homes for a living, so she thought, why not market her homes on YouTube. “We’re such a community of people who want everything fast and they want it at their fingertips and of course the computer is the fastest way to do it.”

With a little help from her son, she discovered how simple it is to make a virtual home tour.

Dara Dimitri posted a home tour on YouTube. “Most other houses online just have a few pictures to look at so you don’t get a flavor of what the whole house looks like.”

So Dara Dimitri decided to put a tour of her home online, and it seems to be paying off. “We have had several extra showings that I don’t think we would have gotten otherwise. I have the house listed on Craigslist with a link to the virtual tour so several showings have come as a result of that listing.”

http://www.wwaytv3.com/node/13962

More than 60,000 homeowners are forced to sell up each year to pay for a place in a care home, according to a leading charity.
The figure has been rising fast because of the growing numbers of elderly Britons and the fact that many of those entering old age bought homes during the property booms of the past four decades.
However, an ever-increasing share of the wealth they hoped to leave to their families is being seized by the state to pay for their care in later life.
Last year half of the cost of care for the elderly - £6billion - was taken from the pockets of the middle classes who own their own homes or who have savings.
The 60,000 figure was made public yesterday by the charity Counsel and Care. It is to put forward plans for easing the plight of those who fail the state means test and so have to pay the £500-a-week plus costs of a care home place for themselves.
Counsel and Care’s estimate follows figures put forward by the House of Commons library, which suggested at the weekend that 45,000 people a year sell their homes to pay care home bills, a rise of 5,000 since 2003.
The charity’s estimate is closest to the 70,000 a year level that is widely accepted among advice and pressure groups and local authorities

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1152423/60-000-elderly-year-forced-councils-sell-homes-pay-care.html

Commercial real estate prices in the U.S. dropped by almost 15 percent in 2008, more than home prices, with fourth-quarter depreciation the greatest in the national apartment market, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report.

The price decline eliminated the gains seen in 2006 and 2007 and returned values to 2005 levels, according to the Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices. Prices fell 2.2 percent in December from November, said New York-based Moody’s.

Commercial values are now down more than 16 percent from their peak in October 2007, said Moody’s. The deepening recession is causing tenants to cut jobs and vacate space, bringing down building incomes, while the credit freeze is making it difficult to finance property purchases.

“The commercial real estate market has followed the larger economy into a downturn that is likely to last through 2009 and possibly into 2010,” Prudential Real Estate Investors said in its quarterly outlook in January. “With unemployment rising, consumer spending falling and home prices dropping, the recession will impact all sectors of the real estate market.”

Commercial real estate prices fell more than home prices last year. The median price of a U.S. home declined 12 percent to $180,100 in the fourth quarter from a year earlier and sales of properties with mortgages in default accounted for 45 percent of all transactions, according to the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors.