The Gate Arty Blog - January 2009 Archive

Freddie Mac . . . your landlord?

Friday, January 30, 2009 - By Gate Arty

Freddie Mac announced today that it would permit homeowners who have lost their home to foreclosure to actually turn around and rent them back from Freddie Mac.  "Keeping foreclosed properties occupied and in better repair will support local property values and promote a faster recovery in the housing market," said Freddie Mac CEO David Moffett.  

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Housing Statistics

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - By Gate Arty

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales jumped 6.5% to 4.74 million units in December versus November's 4.45 million units.   These numbers are still 3.5% below the 4.91 million units in December 2007.   For all of 2008 there were 4,912,000 million existing home sales compared to 5,652,000 sales in 2007. This represents a decline of 13.1%.  

Housing inventory dropped 11.7 percent to 3.68 million existing homes, representing a 9.3 month supply, which is down from an 11.2 month supply in November.   The national median home price in December was 175,400, which is 15.3% lower than December 2007's $207,000.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home prices continue to drop. "It appears some buyers are taking advantage of much lower home prices," he said. "The higher monthly sales gain and falling inventory are steps in the right direction, but the market is still far from normal balanced conditions. Buyers will continue to have an edge over sellers for the foreseeable future."

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State Farm to Leave Sunshine State

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - By Gate Arty

State Farm, the largest private property insurer operating in Florida, filed plans to stop selling property insurance in Florida.

The company's departure includes coverage for home owners, renters, personal liability, boats, and business. The company does plan on continuing to write auto policies, where it is the market leader.

Governor Charlie Crist was hardly affected by the announcement of the Insurance giant. "They probably charge the highest rates in the state, anyway. Floridians will be much better off without them," he said. When asked if State Farm was "posturing," Crist said, "I don't really know, and I don't really care."

State Farm recently lost a legal to increase property insurance rates aa astounding 47 percent.

State Farm claims they have been crippled by the state-imposed policy to give hefty discounts to customers who strengthen their homes against hurricanes. It has been losing up to $25 million a month in Florida. This in spite of the fact that there have been no recent hurricanes.

To allow policy holders to find alternative coverage, State Farm plans on phaseing in the cuts over two years.

Before State Farm can proceed, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation must approve its plan within 90 days. Then, State Farm has to provide 180 days notice to customers before it lets any policies nonrenew.

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Lakeland Pig Fest 2009

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - By Gate Arty

Are you ready to eat! Well, 2009's version of the annual Pig Fest has arrived. It is an annual Florida State Barbeque Championship. Its profits go to loca charitable organizations. This event began in 1997 as a small festival & has now blossomed to an affair with over 300 BBQ "teams" and over 30,000 attendees. Since 1997, the event has generated over $100,000 for organizations within Polk County. The cooking will commence on January 25th from 5 pm to 11 pm & the 26th from 8 am to 5 pm. There will also be live music courtesy of the music group Firefall on Friday night.

Click here for directions.

Here is the link to the offical site: Pig Fest

See you there!

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Bok Tower turns 80!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - By Gate Arty

One of Polk County's great historic landmarks, Bok Tower Gardens, will celebrate its 80th birthday on January 31st. To recognize the occasion, the National Historic Landmark will offer free admission on that day.  Bok Tower was dedicated in 1929 from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Edward Bok. The theme of this event is “Sharing the Gift.” One of the Gardens’ most popular events, Crossing the Moat, allows visitors to walk across the moat that surrounds the tower. There will also be live music at this event. There will be carillon concerts at 1 & 3 pm and Japanese drummers will perform at 10:30 am. Other activities include: free tours of Pinewood Estate, greenhouse & nursery, family tree planting event, & a hot air balloon ride from the folks at Fantasy of Flight.

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December Real Estate Sales

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - By Gate Arty

The month of December proved to be a nice rebound month in terms of sales in Polk County. In Lakeland, 140 properties sold compared to 114 in November. The Average list price was $149,748 down from $161,976. The average sales price was $140,039, down from $149,269 last month. The average days on market fell from 114 days to 106. The months of inventory dropped to 19 from 26 the previous month. The two price ranges that saw the most activity were $140,000 - $159,999 (which accounted for nearly 19%) and $120,000 - 139,999 (14%).

In East Polk there were 130 homes closing versus the 99 closings in the prior year period as well as 103 in November 2008. The average list price dropped to $128,428 from $136,676 last month while the average sale priced dropped to $119,620 from $125,163 last month. Days on the market increased to 119 from 112 last month and the months of inventory decreased to 15.44 from 20.24 in November. For East Polk, the $120,000 to $139,999 price range represented 13.85% of sales while the price range of $140,000 - $159,999 was in second place with 11.54% of sales.

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