The late Grammy Award-winning singer Whitney Houston still has a home in New Jersey on the market, and it is currently being offered in a private listing. The asking price is $1.75 million.

The home was the setting of the BRAVO television show, ‘Being Bobby Brown,’ which featured Houston and her then-husband, singer Bobby Brown.

On the market since 2009, the home in New Jersey, originally listed at $2.5 million, features 12,600 square feet, 5 bedrooms, and 5 bathrooms. The home is currently being shown to pre-selected applicants who have $1.5 million in equity. If you fancy this as your new home - call us on 407-290-3408.

In addition to the 18.16 percent increase in existing single-family home sales, Orlando’s overall home sales (homes, condos and townhomes) for October have increased by 5.89 percent.

“October marks the first time since March that overall sales have indicated a month-over-month improvement,” says ORRA Chairman Mike McGraw, McGraw Real Estate Services, PL. “This additional activity can be attributed to a multitude of local factors — such as low interest rates, a higher percentage of “normal” sales, and a steady incline in median price — that are encouraging buyers to take advantage of today extraordinary market conditions.”
In addition to an increase in sales, the overall median price of all home sale types combined ($112,700) increased by 7.33 percent compared to the $105,000 median price in October 2010. Since January of this year, Orlando’s median price has increased by 18.76 percent.

The median price of “normal” sales closing in October 2011 was $153,000, and normal sales accounted for 41.30 percent of all transactions. These two steadily improving factors have been helping to keep overall median prices hovering above those recorded in 2010.

But the lower median price of foreclosures and short sales (which combined account for 58.70 percent of all sales in October) does continue to negatively influence the overall median price. The median price for bank-owned sales in October is $80,000 and the median price for short sales is $95,000.

Sales of foreclosed homes declined 38.50 percent in October of this year compared to last, while short sales and “normal” sales both increased (by 40.83 percent and 34.91 percent, respectively).

Buyers who purchased an Orlando area home in October paid average interest rate of 4.21 percent, which is slightly above the 4.19 percent average interest rate recorded for September. That rate was the lowest since the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association began tracking the statistic in January of 1995.

Homes of all types spent an average of 106 days on the market before coming under contract in October 2011, and the average home sold for 94.66 percent of its listing price. In October 2010 those numbers were 91 days and 94.67 percent, respectively.

At the current pace of sales, there is a 4.82-month supply of homes in Orlando’s inventory. The number of homes available for purchase in the Orlando area increased in October by 42 homes and now rests at 9,973. Overall inventory is down 35.41 percent from October of last year; single family home inventory is down 33.52 percent while condo inventory is down 38.69 percent.

Pending sales - those under contract and awaiting closing - are currently at 8,937. The number of pending sales in October 2011 is 1.36 percent greater than in October 2010.

Affordability

The Orlando affordability index decreased to 254.94 percent in October. (An affordability index of 99 percent means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1 percent short of the income necessary to purchase a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index that is over 100 means that median-income earners make more than is necessary to qualify for a median-priced home.)

Buyers who earn the reported median income of $54,017 can qualify to purchase one of 5,605 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $287,314 or less.

First-time homebuyer affordability in October decreased a bit to 181.29 percent from last month’s 181.81 percent. First-time buyers who earn the reported median income of $36,732 can qualify to purchase one of the 3,984 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $173,665 or less.

Condos and Town Homes/Duplexes/Villas

The sales of condos in the Orlando area (332) decreased by 26.55 percent in October when compared to October of 2010 (452).

The most (151) condos in a single price category that changed hands in October were yet again in the $1 - $50,000 price range and account for 45.48 percent of all condo sales. Low-priced units have overwhelmingly dominated condo sales since March of 2009; this year alone, low-priced sales have made up 48.37 percent of all sales.

Orlando homebuyers purchased 207 duplexes, town homes, and villas in October 2011, which exactly the same number that was purchased in October 2010. There was a tie for the price category with the most (26) sales: under $50,000 and $120,000 - $140,000.

The number of repossessed and discounted houses makes America a far more affordable place to invest than other countries. Even real estate in Manhattan, the most expensive US city at $1,068 per square foot, is three times cheaper than Paris, where property is priced at $3,287 per square foot.

It turns out that Paris, the French capital is the most expensive in the world, while London ranks between Paris and New York at $1,590 per square foot, just above the real estate value in Dubai. Out of the 34 cities analysed (using data between 2011 and 2009), the median market is, perhaps surprisingly, Athens, where Greek property has a cost of $890 per square foot. At the other end of the international scale, Chile boasts property at the lowest global cost of $160 per square foot in Santiago - still over triple that of Houston’s mere $54.

Inventory in Orlando is dropping radpidly however as the influx of overseas investors is mopping up the extra real estate as it comes out of the banks, turning the buyers market into a seller’s market in the under $100K price range. It’s not unusual to see a dozen or more contracts these days for each bank owned condo foreclosure that pops up on the MLS.

For more information and details on how to buy and sell Orlando real estate in this market, contact the Orlando real estate Pros at: Info@OrlandoRealEstatePros.com or call 407-290-3408. For MetroWest, see http://MyMetroWestRealty.com and for downtown Orlando condos see: http://OrlandoCondosDowntown.com

So on Friday, their attorney showed up at a branch office in Naples with a moving truck and sheriff’s deputies who had a judge’s permission to seize the furniture if necessary. An hour later, the bank had written a check for $5,772.88.

“The branch manager was visibly shaken,” attorney Todd Allen said Monday, recalling the visit to the bank last week. “At that point I was willing to take the desk and the chair he was sitting in.”

Of those hundred, the vast majority are “short” sales (which will probably never happen) but about 20 of them are genuine bank owned foreclosures which can sell and close in about 30 days. Since they’re not condos, loans may be possible in the cases of the higher end properties.

List prices on this Orlando real estate runs from about $100K in the case of townhomes to about $600K in the case of the luxury homes behind the MetroWest golf course such as those in Palma Vista.

Competition can be stiff with foreclosures and cash is always your best bet if you have it. You will need a proof of funds and a healthy deposit in order to make your offer. Bear in mind that these homes often sell for more than their listing price, depending on how many bids they have.

Your best source for these? Head over to the new Metrowest homes for sale site at: http://MyMetroWestRealty.com

The 2010 “Rich States, Poor States” study presents state economic outlook rankings based on public policies that have a proven impact on growth, revealing which states have the best chance of experiencing economic recovery, and which need to re-examine their policies before they can expect to see improvement.

Utah, Colorado, Arizona and South Dakota ranked 1-4 in the study. The bottom five states include California, Illinois, New Jersey, Vermont and New York.

Although the Sunshine State has been devastated by an unemployment rate topping 10 percent for most of the past year and a half, its economic outlook actually improved since the study’s inaugural edition in 2008, moving from 16th that year to 11th in 2009.

Florida scored highest for its top marginal personal income tax rate, state minimum wage and its right-to-work status. Low scores included tax burden (No. 45) and tort litigation treatment/judicial impartiality (No. 42).

“Our research shows that states with responsible spending and competitive tax rates enjoy the best economic outlook,” said study co-author Jonathan Williams, director of ALEC’s tax and fiscal policy task force. “States do not enact changes in a vacuum - every time they increase the cost of doing business in their state, their state brand immediately loses value.”

The full report can be downloaded at www.alec.org.