Orlando more than just a vacation destination.
Since the housing crash, and the ultimate economic downturn that followed, people are finding more to Orlando than just Mickey Mouse. Most importantly you will find the most affordable and biggest inventory or housing than in any other part of the nation today. From new construction, to short sales and bank owned foreclosures there is something for everyone.

Future plans for the development of a “Medical City” are already underway. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research will be located in beautiful Lake Nona, just outside of Orlando, Fl. University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Florida International are part of this massive expansion. A brand new 1.2 million square foot VA Medical Center is scheduled to be completed in 2012.
All in all it is estimated that 30,000+ jobs will be created. New roads, construction of schools, the major employment upswing, and the addition of future dining, and entertainment venues, Orlando is sure to be on top for many years to come.

Increases in the median sales price of both bank-owned homes and short-sale homes have helped Orlando’s overall median home price increase for the third consecutive month, to $115,000. The current median is 11.54 percent below the median price in April 2009, which was $130,000.

Bank owned homes and short sale homes made up 67.09 percent of all sales, with bank-owned alone accounting for 46.20 percent.

“Bank-owned homes, which encompass those in all stages of foreclosure, have been feeding into the inventory pipeline at a fairly steady pace and are being absorbed manageably,” says Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association Chairman of the Board Kathleen Gallagher McIver, RE/MAX Town and Country Realty. “In fact, foreclosures are selling quickly, especially in the lower price ranges that are attractive to first-time home buyers.”

Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association reported completed sales on 2,461 homes in April, which is a 32.74 percent increase over the April 2009 mark of 1,854.

In addition, the number of new contracts filed in April 2010 (5,221) represents a jump of 53.02 percent more than were filed in April 2009 (3,412). The area’s pending sales statistic — also an indicator of future sales activity – is likewise remaining at a record high with 86.18 percent more homes (10,832) under contract and awaiting closing in April of this year than in April of last year (5,818).

The numbers speak for themselves , this is the time to buy a foreclosure or short sale.

The US housing market will face another retreat while mortgage-backed securities and Treasurys are likely to go through a “material” correction, Meredith Whitney, CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, told CNBC Tuesday.

“The housing market surely will double dip,” Whitney told “Worldwide Exchange.”

Government programs to support housing have been “murky” and when the modifications caused by them come to an end, a lot of supply may come to the market and that’s when the real-estate market is likely to go down, she explained.

Hopes that an improvement in liquidity and continuing investment from China in US assets will prop up mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Treasurys are exaggerated, Whitney also said.

“The asset classes of MBS and Treasurys are priced for a material correction in my opinion,” she said. “The only buyers of agency MBS are the Fed and banks so you see how precarious that market is.”

“If the Fed pulls back, that’s a really big deal… because there’s no substitute buyer.”

Banks Model Is Broken

The Federal Reserve can’t make banks start lending again because the business model financial institutions used before the crisis is broken, Whitney also said.

“I don’t think there’s much the Fed can do to get banks to start lending again. That’s a structural problem the model is broken,” Whitney told “Worldwide Exchange.”

Before the financial crisis erupted in 2007 banks were able to offer customers low-priced mortgages because they were making money on securitizing these mortgages and selling them on, she explained.

But now that the securitization market is effectively closed, the prices of mortgages for consumers have not risen to compensate banks for that loss of revenue, so banks have been playing defense for the past two years, Whitney added.

The Federal Open Market Committee holds a meeting later Tuesday to decide on monetary policy. Fed officials have been saying that interest rates are likely to remain low for an “extended” period of time.

Whitney said she will be watching for anything regarding the Fed’s stance on buying mortgage-backed securities in the statement after the meeting.

“The Fed has been supporting the housing market, a third of the Fed’s balance sheet is tied to mortgages,” she said.

“The banks aren’t issuing anything (in terms of mortgages) to hold, they’re issuing everything to dump on” Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, Whitney added.

Much of the profit banks made last year was due to their performance in capital markets and this is “unreplicable” this year, Whitney also warned.

“I think that people that expect an earnings handoff to a normalized scenario are going to be disappointed,” she said.

“Normal will not be what it has been over the last 20 years and there’s disappointment baked into that.”

© 2010 CNBC.com

Orlando, Florida, May 6, 2010, 2010 –Florida licensed real estate broker, Orlando REALTORS Association member, and Short Sale Task Force Member, Albert Stimer has been awarded Equator ( formerly REOTrans.com ) Platinum REO and Short Sale Certification for the system to be used in all of Bank of America’s REO and Short Sale programs. The Bank of America program currently processes all REO and Short Sales through the online Equator System.
Bank of America borrowers that qualify for the Home Affordability Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program will be handled by the Equator platform.
Mr. Chris Saitta, CEO Equator states “If you haven’t already, it’s time to embrace Short Sales! Lenders and Homeowners search the 665,000 agents on Equator to assign REOs and Short Sale listings. They rely on Certification to know who is knowledgeable and dedicated. Certified Agents show up at the top of the search results and have their Certification icon next to their name Currently only 1% of the Agents on Equator are Certified.”
Albert Stimer is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Orlando Florida and has personally helped 100’s of homeowners avoid foreclosure and sell their property in a short sale. Albert and his team use their combined 30 years of experience in the Real Estate and Mortgage arena to expedite the once long frustrating process into a smooth and effortless transaction for all parties involved. Towns Realty also has a short sale division in house that can help other agents in the industry in the processing of their short sales which will allow for the agent to do what they do best, sell properties!
You can learn more about Albert Stimer and his Team by visiting www.townsrealty.com

KISSIMMEE is one city that was hit the hardest by foreclosures after Davenport because its proximity to Disney World, attractions and its great location was a big factor in home purchases. Most of the properties in this area are considered short term rental properties and tenant rate was high. When prices hit a high note in 2005 a lot of homeowners took out home equity lines and improved their properties. Also, Kissimmee incorporates part of the Poinciana area where new homes construction was booming between 2004-2009. A lot of high end communities were built and a lot of investors and snow birds purchased homes in Kissimmee. As we all know, Florida is considered the ultimate stop for retirees and vacation homes.

In the last year 4843 homes sold in the Kissimmee area and a whopping 57 percent of the distress sales there went in foreclosure. Only 18 percent qualified for short sales by showing evidence of hardship, such as a job loss, illness or death in the family. A meager 25 percent of the sales were regular sales but 75 percent were short sales and foreclosures.

From March of 2009 until March of 2010 there were 4843 sold properties out of which 75% were either short sales or bank owned. From September 2009 to March 2010 there were 2321 sold properties out of which 78% were either short sales or bank owned. From December 2009 to March 2010 there were 1038 sold properties out of which 79% were either shorts sales or bank owned.

In this area the rate of foreclosure stayed much higher than the rate of the short sales. A year ago there were 2754 foreclosures versus 905 short sales, 6 months ago 1246 foreclosure versus 580 short sales and 3 months 518 foreclosures versus 302 short sales. Also prices went down about 10% from a year ago.

This area had a great sale record but unfortunately a lot of them were foreclosure properties. By the numbers of foreclosure it looks like a lot of homeowners are still not aware that foreclosure is not their only option and that short sale is great option to be pursued before foreclosure. Also, a lot of investors took a big hit and lost homes to foreclosure due to the inability of keeping up with payments when values started to plunge and due to high unemployment rate it has affected people who rent their to be able to make their rent payments.

The employment market has still not seen the improvement that we all hoped for but buyers are taking advantage of the tax credits, low interest rate and low prices. Also, investors who were able to see the downturn of the real estate market and waited for better deals now are coming out and buying real bargains.