More and more people are realizing that with today’s depressed prices of Palm Beach County real estate, it might make more sense than they had originally thought for buying a second home. There are two main reasons why people buy a second home, maybe just to get away from the day-to-day stress and the investment opportunities. Whatever your priority, owning a second home may be the right choice for you and your family.

There are many tax advantages that come with owning a second home. You can write off 100% of the mortgage interest. You can write off property taxes. New IRS rules allow for a capital gain on the principal residence whenever people sell, up to $250,000 for singles, and up to $500,000 for couples. Living in your second home for two years or more entitles you for the same capitol gains break.

If the investment return on your purchase of a second home bears more than the bank interest will pay you, then you have made a smart investment. Another aspect to consider is that you have the option to rent in order to cover your second mortgage. You need to decide if you are going to declare it as a vacation home, or rental property though, because the IRS has different rules for both. Also remember that if you declare it as a rental your mortgage could be slightly higher.

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Shopping for that perfect home in the Boca Falls gated community? Realtor® Caesar Parisi is ready to help you buy your dream property.

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Economists are suggesting that the next 12 to 18 months could be the best period since the early 1990s to buy property at depressed prices. That’s because the real estate downcycle is close to running its course in many local markets, where prices today are 10 to 25 percent below their peak levels of two and three years ago.

Serious investors understand that real estate is a cyclical business. When times are tough for some owners, the opposite is true for investors with the knowledge, negotiating skills and vision to help distressed owners get out from under burdensome mortgage payments. Real estate consultant Jack McCabe of Deerfield Beach, Florida advises opportunity investors who are now buying waterfront and Boca Raton condo units and single family houses at 30 to 40 percent discounts off last year’s pricing.

The big factor today is financing. In all the earlier down cycles of the seventies, eighties and nineties, money was extremely expensive for investors. This time around, capital is relatively cheap and available, whether from regular lenders or private equity sources. That’s an important point for anyone thinking about whether, and how quickly, to get involved. (more…)

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Prices of new and pre-owned home prices have fallen steadily since July 2006. According to a report released Tuesday by S&P Case/Shiller, aggregate pricina plunged even more steeply in the third quarter of this year.

The housing market could possibly get a lot worse, according to Yale economist and index co-founder, Robert Shiller. Shiller said, “You’re talking about declines of 50 percent, in real terms. That’s not out of the question.” Referring to the latest declines, Shiller said they were notable for two reasons. “First, the third quarter decline, at 1.7%, was the largest quarterly decline in the index’s 21-year history. And, second, the year-over-year decline posted its second consecutive record low at minus 4.5%.”

Of the 20 markets covered, 15 showed negative returns and all 20 had negative returns for September, compared with a month earlier. Worst hit was Tampa, Fla., where prices fell 11.1 percent compared with a year earlier. The second biggest loss was in the Miami real estate market, where prices fell 10 percent from a year earlier. Charlotte, N.C. and Seattle showed the highest year-to-year gain of 4.7 percent each. But Charlotte declined 0.6 percent in September and Seattle prices fell 0.2 percent.

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For more information on this and other real estate matters, your first source for Palm Beach real estate should be licensed agent and long-time resident Caesar Parisi.

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Housing, real estate and mortgage lending problems may be this year’s Christmas Grinch. Many consumers accustomed to funding life’s little extras by borrowing against their home’s value may find that with excess equity exhausted, Christmas buying will be slim.

With mortgage delinquencies at record highs and mortgage-equity withdrawals well off the peak hit in the second half of 2006, the housing mess has begun to exact collateral damage on the larger consumer economy. It is one of the main reasons that holiday sales are expected to be the weakest since the recession in the early part of the decade.

In addition to the common second mortgage, or home-equity loan, a popular method has been to refinance with a larger mortgage reflecting a home’s greater market value. Borrowers then paid off their original, smaller mortgage and pocketed the remaining cash — called “cash-out refinancing.” While interest on the new loan was usually less, monthly payments increased.

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Real estate agent Caesar Parisi stands ready with effective advice on buying or selling Boca Raton FL condos.

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It takes more than the smell of fresh baked cookies to sell a home in this soft market. The MSN Real Estate message board is full of take-home tips for home sellers from the folks who replied to a request for advice on making a house stand out.

The number one suggestion having been expressed in many variations is “clean every square inch of your property and keep it clean until closing.” More than 200 respondents started at the curb and didn’t stop until the back fence as they posted suggestions to help attract buyers. “Curb appeal” literally begins and starts with the curb. Does it need to have leaves, cigarette butts or other debris cleaned up? It’s amazing at how other things in the yard start taking on a much more attractive look.

Another topic centers around making the property have as much “online appeal” as possible. The finest looking home doesn’t have a chance with poor photography A huge portion of Internet listings are the first impression of your home for many buyers. With so many listings posted in some areas, trying to make out details in dark, blurry photos when there are a lot of other listings to look at could have a very negative effect.

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Looking for a home in Gleneagles Country Club? Realtor® Caesar Parisi is ready to help you buy your dream property.

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Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Palm Beach County suffer from what some call “the problem of prosperity”. Yes, Palm Beach County is a great place to live. But the folks who do something other than clip coupons, or who are otherwise not saddled with work can no longer afford to live here. The problem is the meteoric rises in both land and home costs. There is virtually no place left for those who must actually work for a living, to live.

Teachers, fire fighters, policeman and health care workers are among many others who are finding it less attractive to live and work in Palm Beach County because of the expense. Those people are leaving the county in significant numbers. In Florida as a whole the net migration continues to be positive. About 1,900 people a day are moving in, while about 970 a day move out. And that’s through the end of 2006. Despite the devastating 2004-05 hurricane season, Florida should exhibit a similar trend in 2007.

Affordable housing of any kind is no longer merely a rhetorical question. If such housing is not provided, and provided both systematically and in large quantities in the next 20 years, then Palm Beach County is going to suffer lower and lower quality public and private services, because less and less qualified people will be willing to undergo long, daily commutes.

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Real estate agent Caesar Parisi stands ready with effective advice on buying or selling Boca Raton FL condos.

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