The December sales stats were just released by the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and the median sales price in Jupiter is up 22.1% year over year.  In Palm Beach Gardens the median sales price rose 14.8%.

I was driving down the new access road to the turnpike and I saw that they have started construction on the site to the west of Jog Rd in Palm Beach Gardens.  This is the Discovery Village development

The 10-acre development is at 100 Discovery Way, between Northlake Boulevard and the Beeline Highway, west of Jog Road and the Gables/Montecito neighborhood in Palm beach Gardens.

Discovery Village, expected to be ready in early 2016, will provide 120 residences for supervised independent living, assisted living and memory care.

The 130,000-square-foot project is being developed by Discovery Senior Living, a family of companies founded by Thomas J. Harrison and Richard J. Hutchinson.

You probably already heard that FHA just cut their rate for the monthly MIP for the borrower by 50bps. This is great for consumers that need FHA financing!

With the change, I was thinking that now is a good time to review financing options for your buyers with minimal down payment.

FHA – 3.5% Down Payment

For a buyer purchasing a $250,000 home, the borrower will save about $100 per month due to reduced MIP in effect as of today!

By the way, FHA rates are also typically lower than conventional loans with 3-5% down payment.

Also, a buyer with a prior short sale can typically buy a home after 3 years using FHA Financing.

Conventional – 3% Down Payment

If at least one of the buyers is a first time homebuyer, and has a FICO as low as 620 they may be able to buy a home with only 3% down payment.

Unlike an FHA Loan, there is no Upfront Mortgage Insurance premium, and the monthly premium is not for the life of the loan.

Many times, this makes more sense than an FHA Loan.

(The definition of a First Time Homebuyer is a buyer that has not owned a home is the past 3 years, which makes this program open to most buyers.)

VA – NO Down Payment

Don’t forget to ask your buyers if they are a Veteran. If they are an eligible Veteran, they may be able to purchase a home with no down payment.

It is entirely possible to structure the deal in a way that the buyer could need very little money to become a homeowner.

What does a ‘typical’ Fla. home buyer or seller look like?

While a single description doesn’t apply to every buyer and seller, the latest Florida 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, compiled by the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) research staff and released by Florida Realtors provides some insights.

Florida 2014 highlights

Home buyer characteristics

• 24 percent of home buyers were first-time buyers in Florida, compared to a national level of 33 percent
• 14 percent of buyers purchased a multi-generational home because older children moved back, to save money or to take care of aging parents
• The typical buyer was 54-years-old; the typical first-time buyer was 33; and the typical repeat buyer was 59
• 67 percent of buyers were married

Characteristics of homes purchased

• New home purchases continue to drag at a share of 18 percent
• 81 percent of buyers purchased a detached single-family home
• 21 percent of buyers over the age of 50 bought a home in senior-related housing

The home search process

• 40 percent of home buyers nationally started their home search online; 12 percent relied on the Internet for information about the process
• 91 percent of Florida buyers used the Internet in some way during the home search process, but only 12 percent used a mobile device – noticeably less than the 50 percent nationally who used a mobile device
• 97 percent of Florida buyers view real estate agents as a source of useful information
• The typical home buyer searched for 10 weeks and viewed 10 homes
• 87 percent of Florida buyers were at least somewhat satisfied with the process

Home buying and real estate professionals

• 85 percent of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker
• 35 percent of buyers found their agent through a referral from a friend or family member; 10 percent used an agent they had used before
• 54 percent of recent Florida buyers only interviewed one agent before choosing representation
• 89 percent of buyers would use their agent again or recommend them to others

Financing the home purchase

• 77 percent of Florida buyers financed their home purchase – less than the 88 percent who did so nationally
• 25 percent of buyers said the mortgage application and approval process was somewhat more difficult than expected; 24 percent said it was much more difficult than expected
• In Florida, 82 percent of buyers believe their home is a good financial investment

Home sellers and the selling experience

• The typical seller lived in their home for 11 years
• 87 percent of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent
• In Florida, sellers typically sold their homes for 97 percent of the listing price, though 50 percent reduced their asking price at least once
• 15 percent of sellers had to delay their home sale because the value of their home was worth less than their mortgage
• 29 percent of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers – most often assistance with home warranty policies and closing costs

Home selling and real estate professionals

• 35 percent of Florida sellers using a real estate agent relied on a referral from friends or family; 21 percent used an agent they worked with previously
• 65 percent of home sellers only contacted one agent before selecting one
• 92 percent of sellers reported that their home was listed or advertised on a multiple listing (MLS) website
• Among sellers who used an agent, 81 percent said they would definitely (68 percent) or probably (13 percent) use that real estate agent again or recommend him or her to others

For-Sale-by-Owner (FSBO) sellers

• 12 percent of Florida home sellers sold their home without the assistance of a real estate agent. Of those sellers, 33 percent already knew the buyer
• 8 percent of Florida FSBO sellers who did not already know the buyer sold after the buyer contacted them
• 50 percent of Florida FSBO sellers said they went the independent route because they did not want to pay a fee or commission

There’s been allot of questions lately about the “All Aboard Florida” proposal.  Here in the Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter area the train tracks run right through the center of the developed area so every is relatively close to the tracks which will be used for this proposal.  As it stands now the tracks are used for freight traffic.  These trains are not built to be quiet and although it’s a bit of a nusance it’s really no bid deal.

The plan is  to run 32 trains daily between Miami and Orlando on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.  They won approval for a 1.75B bond and work has begun on this project for the Miami to West Palm beach leg including the construction of a new train station in downtown West Palm across from the court house.

This will be a high speed (79 mph (127 km/h) Miami – West Palm Beach; 110 mph (177 km/h) West Palm Beach – Cocoa; 125 mph (201 km/h) Cocoa – Orlando) rail with the only proposed stops being Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando.  There is a Wiki page for this project with many good details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Aboard_Florida .  The existing track from West Palm Beach to Cocoa would have to be improved to meet federal standards for an increased 110 miles per hour (177 km/h) speed limit from the current 79 mph (127 km/h) limit.  The Federal Railroad Administration performed an environmental impact study which may be read at https://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0672 .  This report indicates that at worst some areas will  have a ‘moderate noise impact’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1elgw0uE1I&feature=youtu.be

The Florida Development Finance Corp., which would act as conduit issuer for All Aboard Florida, must also clear the deal. As of Tuesday, the corporation had taken no action on the bonds nor scheduled a public hearing.  A public hearing is required by the IRS for tax-exempt bonds.

The Alton Development is under way by Kolter on what was once to be the location of Scripps on the infamous Birger tract in Palm Beach Gardens.  This 681 Acre site is bounded on the north by Donald Ross Rd, in the south by Hood Rd., the west by the Florida Turnpike and the east by the power lines which run in back of San Michele.

The Alton Site Plan was approved for:

2,600,000 s.f. of industrial research space

1,200,000 s.f. of office space

500,000 s.f. of retail space

300 hotel rooms

2700 residential units

Of these 2700 residential units the Atlantico Development will provide for 361 units currently to be market rate rental units.

Work has begun on the site clearing, road, drainage etc and they have requested site plan approval for the community club house and fitness area.