Is now the time to buy a $1 million home?
MIAMI – Feb. 22, 2008 – The Karsentis are jumping into South Florida real estate at a risky time: Home prices are down, foreclosures are up, and for-sale signs are as common as palm trees.
But entrepreneur Arnaud Karsenti and his wife, Rebecca, a doctor now pregnant with their first child, are confident that the $1.15 million home they have a contract to buy in the wealthy Miami suburb of Pinecrest, Fla., will prove to be a good investment.
“I see the real estate market declining, so it’s very difficult to stick a fork in the ground and take a position on something that could be overvalued six months down the road,” said Karsenti, a recent graduate of Harvard Business School. “Our decision is long term.”
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Taxes/ Insurance - Still a Work in Progress
Lawmakers confront property insurance, again, in 2008 session
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Feb. 21, 2008 – Property insurance wasn’t supposed to be the big issue in the 2008 Legislature. To the chagrin of many lawmakers, it just won’t go away.
Legislators thought they’d largely taken care of the issue last year when they passed a bill they hoped would reduce premiums. Instead, most Floridians still pay expensive rates to protect their homes and businesses, and relief remains elusive. Only 20 percent of Floridians have seen their premiums decrease following the passage of House Bill 1A in a January 2007 special session.
New tax forms give homeowners relief
NEW YORK – Feb. 21, 2008 – It’s shaping up to be a less painful year for many taxpayers who are preparing their 2007 returns.
For one thing, most filers will be getting a special payment from the government, thanks to the economic stimulus package enacted last week. Additionally, some taxpayers who may have been puzzled trying to claim certain deductions a year ago – including one for state and local sales taxes – shouldn’t have any problem this year because those deductions are clearly marked on the 2007 forms. There’s also a new deduction for mortgage insurance.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Feb. 21, 2008 – Property insurance wasn’t supposed to be the big issue in the 2008 Legislature. To the chagrin of many lawmakers, it just won’t go away.
Legislators thought they’d largely taken care of the issue last year when they passed a bill they hoped would reduce premiums. Instead, most Floridians still pay expensive rates to protect their homes and businesses, and relief remains elusive. Only 20 percent of Floridians have seen their premiums decrease following the passage of House Bill 1A in a January 2007 special session.
New tax forms give homeowners relief
NEW YORK – Feb. 21, 2008 – It’s shaping up to be a less painful year for many taxpayers who are preparing their 2007 returns.
For one thing, most filers will be getting a special payment from the government, thanks to the economic stimulus package enacted last week. Additionally, some taxpayers who may have been puzzled trying to claim certain deductions a year ago – including one for state and local sales taxes – shouldn’t have any problem this year because those deductions are clearly marked on the 2007 forms. There’s also a new deduction for mortgage insurance.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
From Out of Town
Real Estate's Eyes on the Prize
by Adam Piore 
Feb 19 2008
Bidding for the General Motors Building in Manhattan gets under way Feb 19 2008 The bidding has begun for New York City's most prized trophy office tower.
Bids for the General Motors Building, a gleaming 50-story building across the street from the Plaza Hotel and home to a number of hedge funds, were due on Friday and were evaluated over the holiday weekend. The building boasts the highest rents per square foot of any office tower in the city.
KATHY RULAND decorated her family’s new two-bedroom condo at the Plaza Hotel with care. The windows, overlooking Central Park, are draped with gold silk, and the living room showcases her beloved Indonesian painting of the Hindu goddess Sita, which was bought at a gallery near her main residence in Laguna Beach, Calif. When she wakes up to front-row views of Central Park, she says she feels like a princess.
Friday, February 15, 2008
NEW NEWS
Lawmakers will look at more property tax cuts in 2008 session
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Feb. 15, 2008 – Before voters passed Amendment 1 in January, Gov. Charlie Crist, top lawmakers and other backers promised it would be just the start of property tax relief.
Now Crist says he’s unsure what the next step should be. House Speaker Marco Rubio and other tax-cutting advocates, though, have laid out a wide range of options for the Legislature to consider during its 2008 regular session beginning March 4.
One proposal would cap taxes at a certain percent for all properties. Other proposals would repeal rules that can currently increase taxes for homeowners.
“If we don’t take that next step, then come September people throughout Florida are going to get a tax bill that looks very similar to the one they got last year,” Rubio said. “And they’ll know who to blame, and that’s us up here.”
NAR: 4Q 2007 area home prices mixed – half up and half down
WASHINGTON – Feb. 15, 2008 – Roughly half of metropolitan areas continued to show rising home prices in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
In the fourth quarter, 73 out of 150 metropolitan statistical areas show increases in median existing single-family home prices from a year earlier, including 11 areas with double-digit annual gains and another 12 metros showing increases of 6 percent or more; 77 had price declines including 16 with double-digit drops.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Feb. 15, 2008 – Before voters passed Amendment 1 in January, Gov. Charlie Crist, top lawmakers and other backers promised it would be just the start of property tax relief.
Now Crist says he’s unsure what the next step should be. House Speaker Marco Rubio and other tax-cutting advocates, though, have laid out a wide range of options for the Legislature to consider during its 2008 regular session beginning March 4.
One proposal would cap taxes at a certain percent for all properties. Other proposals would repeal rules that can currently increase taxes for homeowners.
“If we don’t take that next step, then come September people throughout Florida are going to get a tax bill that looks very similar to the one they got last year,” Rubio said. “And they’ll know who to blame, and that’s us up here.”
NAR: 4Q 2007 area home prices mixed – half up and half down
WASHINGTON – Feb. 15, 2008 – Roughly half of metropolitan areas continued to show rising home prices in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
In the fourth quarter, 73 out of 150 metropolitan statistical areas show increases in median existing single-family home prices from a year earlier, including 11 areas with double-digit annual gains and another 12 metros showing increases of 6 percent or more; 77 had price declines including 16 with double-digit drops.
High & Low | Sanibel Island and Captiva Island, Fla.
2 Ports of Stability in Florida’s Market
“It’s not Yahoo, but it is G.E.,” said Mike McMurray, an agent with VIP Realty in Sanibel, about the investment potential for property on Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Southwest Florida. “Even with general downturns in real estate, this market tends to be relatively stable,” he said.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Bernanke open to further rate cuts
By By James Politi in Washington
Published: February 14 2008 16:44 Last updated: February 14 2008 16:44
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, on Thursday signalled a willingness to continue pursuing interest rate cuts to tackle the US economic slowdown, though he envisioned an “improving picture” over the course of this year.
Speaking to the Senate banking committee, Mr Bernanke said the US central bank would “act in a timely manner as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risk.”
By By James Politi in Washington
Published: February 14 2008 16:44 Last updated: February 14 2008 16:44
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, on Thursday signalled a willingness to continue pursuing interest rate cuts to tackle the US economic slowdown, though he envisioned an “improving picture” over the course of this year.
Speaking to the Senate banking committee, Mr Bernanke said the US central bank would “act in a timely manner as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risk.”
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