FAR promotes why it’s a ‘Great Time to Buy Florida’

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 28, 2008 – To help spread the word that now is the time to buy Florida real estate, the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) last week released a series of five articles focusing on the advantages the state’s residential real estate market currently offers to buyers. The releases were distributed to media outlets throughout the Sunshine State, along with national and international media as well.

What are some of the reasons why now is the time to buy? Florida Realtors know that large inventories offer buyers options; realistic pricing translates into bargains for buyers; low mortgage rates reduce loan payments; homeownership builds wealth and trumps renting in the current market; and the Sunshine State offers an appealing lifestyle plus great value.

Housing industry economists note that lower sales prices, seller incentives and affordable mortgage rates make early 2008 a buyer’s market. Research, including studies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows that homeownership is an excellent financial investment for most renters. In addition, an owned house is the single largest investment that many families ever make. As such, it is an asset that can help provide financial security. Studies show that:

• Home equity still accounts for the largest single source of household wealth, both for the individual homeowner and for homeowners as a group, despite the increase in the percent of households holding stock in recent years.

• Housing has historically provided both a reliable and a profitable return to homeowners.

• Most homebuyers use a mortgage combined with a downpayment of 20 percent or less to finance their purchase: It is this leveraging of borrowed funds that gives housing a return far in excess of the stock market’s appreciation.

• The financial return on housing also includes unique tax benefits, which apply only to housing.

In the latest housing outlook from NAR, analysts predict that the housing downturn may have hit bottom and is starting to turn around. Existing-home sales should hold fairly steady over the next few months, then rise later in the year and continue to improve in 2009, according to NAR.

“A meaningful recovery in existing-home sales could occur as early as this spring, or it may be further delayed toward late 2008,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. To put last year’s housing market in perspective, Yun points out that 2007 was the fifth highest year on record for existing-home sales.

So, what can you do, to help tell Florida’s story and continue to give people the facts about why it’s a great time to buy Florida? Check out FAR’s new “Great Time To Buy” Florida Web site at: http://buynow.floridarealtors.org. You can mine the site for content for marketing campaigns, media releases, blogs, speeches and e-mail correspondence. The site is a reservoir for Florida Realtors that can be tapped daily for success strategies and the latest good news about our state’s real estate market.

The media releases can also be found on FAR’s media Web site, http://media.floridarealtors.org.

© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

Questions, comments or suggestions on this article? Have a news tip? Send a letter to the editor to: Newseditor@floridarealtors.org.