By Suzanne De Vita | RISMEDIA, Saturday, January 23, 2016
Insulating a home ceiling
Favorable economic conditions have long triggered investment in home improvements—more money, more upgrades—and progress on the housing front is set to spur the next wave of homeowner spending on both necessary and discretionary projects.
How should homeowners invest their remodeling dollars this year? By and large, homeowners can expect to reap the highest returns on projects that cost relatively less, according to REMODELING magazine’s 2016 Cost vs. Value Report.
On a national scale, the top five projects with the greatest return on investment (ROI) in the report’s “midrange” cost category are:
1. Attic Insulation (Fiberglass) (116.9% ROI)
Average Cost: $1,268
Average Resale Value: $1,482
2. Manufactured Stone Veneer (92.9% ROI)
Average Cost: $7,519
Average Resale Value: $6,988
3. Garage Door Replacement (91.5% ROI)
Average Cost: $1,652
Average Resale Value: $1,512
4. Entry Door Replacement (Steel) (91.1% ROI)
Average Cost: $1,335
Average Resale Value: $1,217
5. Minor Kitchen Remodel (83.1% ROI)
Average Cost: $20,122
Average Resale Value: $16,716
On a national scale, the top five projects with the greatest ROI in the report’s “upscale” cost category are:
1. Garage Door Replacement (90.1% ROI)
Average Cost: $3,140
Average Resale Value: $2,830
2. Siding Replacement (Fiber-Cement) (78.1% ROI)
Average Cost: $14,520
Average Resale Value: $11,342
3. Window Replacement (Vinyl) (73.3% ROI)
Average Cost: $14,725
Average Resale Value: $10,794
4. Window Replacement (Wood) (72.1% ROI)
Average Cost: $18,087
Average Resale Value: $13,050
5. Grand Entrance (Fiberglass) (69.6% ROI)
Average Cost: $7,971
Average Resale Value: $5,545
On the whole, regional data mirror these national findings, but variations exist in markets abuzz with real estate activity. Homeowners in the Pacific region (California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington), for instance, can expect to see six of the 30 projects analyzed in the report recoup over 100 percent of their cost.
Read on for the 5 Home Improvements that Don’t Pay Off…
Sizzling market is about to get hotter
By June Fletcher Naples Daily News
The housing market in Southwest Florida has been red-hot for the past three years. Now it’s about to get blistering.
That’s the conclusion of a new second quarter survey by Local Market Monitor that predicts the Naples-Marco Island area will have the highest cumulative gain in one-to four family home prices — 41 percent — over the next three years of any of the 20 Florida metropolitan statistical areas it tracks.
And it’s up considerably from the 29 percent three-year projection the 25-year-old Cary, N.C.-based real estate research firm made in the second quarter of 2014.
“That’s a big increase,” said Ingo Winzer, president and founder of the firm, which tracks 315 markets nationwide. “You’re looking at a real phenomenon.”
He forecast the giant gain after looking at recent data pointing to a growth in jobs, a shortage of both new and resale homes, and the relatively small number of foreclosed homes on the market.
“There’s been a surge in demand of people who aren’t just visiting but want to live full-time in Naples,” he said. “I think it will continue.”
22-story ‘ultraluxury’ high-rise planned
By June Fletcher
One of the last two remaining developable land parcels in Pelican Bay has been sold for $80 million in cash, and will become a 22-story luxury high-rise called Mystique.
It will sit on four acres with unobstructed Gulf views on Grenadier Boulevard.
Aubrey Ferrao, founder of Naples based Gulf Bay Group of Companies, formed a joint venture with KKR, a New York based private equity group, to develop the 87-unit tower.
“It will be very upscale, ultra luxury, with very large units” Ferrao said. “There will be no competition for us.” Pricing has yet to be determined, but Ferrao said he expects many buyers will come from “vintage” high rises in Naples who want to move up to something newer, or from large homes in Port Royal looking to downsize.
Amenities will include a health club with on-call masseuses, guest suites, a billiard room, a hunt room, a bridge room and a parlor. There will be a pool on the ground floor, and also penthouse pools.
“But the greatest amenity is that you will be able to walk to the beach,” Ferrao said.
He expects to start selling units at the end of the year. He’ll break ground when pre-sales are complete, which he anticipates will be in mid-2016.
The Mystique site is part of about a mile-and-a-half of beachfront land Ferrao bought in 1986 from Westinghouse, the original developer of Pelican Bay.
Now one of Naples’ most chic addresses, Pelican Bay is a 2,104-acre private community that contains more than 65 separate neighborhoods, private beach pavilions, four parks, tennis, a 27-hole golf course, a shopping center and Artis— Naples.
Gulf Bay Group has developed 14 projects in Pelican Bay. The company also has developed other notable properties, including the Fiddler’s Creek master- planned community, The Brittany high rise in Park Shore, and the Marco Beach Ocean Resort on Marco Island.
The company says the value of its completed and built-out residential properties exceeds $5 billion KKR has more than $99 billion in assets. The firm is making the investment primarily from its real estate fund, Real Estate Partners Americas.
“Aubrey Ferrao and the Gulf Bay Group Companies have developed high rise condominium towers along the Gulf of Mexico in Naples for 30 years and know the luxury market in Naples like few other developers,” said Roger Morales, co-head of KKR Real Estate Acquisitions in the Americas said in a statement. “We are very selective of our investments and our partners and we are pleased to partner with Mr. Ferrao on this exciting opportunity.”
Slogging through your financial records and hoping to find a few tax deductions to ease the pain? Don’t despair, here are a few potential pain relievers.
Insulating a home ceiling
If you are anticipating a rough year when it comes to filing taxes, don’t turn those forms into new year’s confetti just yet. Several key provisions for homeowners have been retroactively renewed for 2014—and they might provide you with some much-needed tax relief.
If you did any of these three things in 2014, you still have reason to celebrate (OK, maybe not really celebrate, but celebrate as much as anyone can while doing taxes).
Short sale
In the third quarter of 2014, 8.1 million homes in the United States were seriously underwater, according to the real estate research firm RealtyTrac. If you were a homeowner who decided to short-sell your home last year, it’s not all bad news: Congress once again extended the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act.
The act made it so qualifying homeowners did not have to pay tax on debt forgiven by a lender. Without the act’s tax shield, that forgiven debt—up to $2 million—is seen as taxable income by the government. For homeowners owing hundreds of thousands of dollars on a loan, that could be a crippling amount of money owed to the IRS.
The act is retroactive, so when Congress finally renewed it in late December, it covered short sales in 2014. Short-selling a home in 2015 is a gamble—if Congress doesn’t renew the act, you’ll have to pay taxes on forgiven debt.
Private mortgage insurance
For people who couldn’t provide a 20% down payment, private mortgage insurance (PMI) is a familiar expense. But if you bought your house in 2007 or afterward, you were given a break if you earned less than a certain amount of money each year. Luckily, that provision is still around. The bill was set to expire in 2014, but two weeks before the end of the year, Congress extended the provision into 2015.
So if you bought a home (including vacation homes, but not rental properties) in 2014, or any other year since 2007, you can still deduct PMI from your taxes.
However, the PMI deduction begins phasing out when the adjusted gross income (AGI) of the head of household, married filing jointly, or single earner passes $100,000. For married filing separately, the phaseout begins at $50,000 AGI.
The deduction is phased out by 10% for every $1,000 earned over the threshold. If you pass $109,000 AGI (or $54,500 for married homeowners filing separately), the deduction phases out completely.
Energy upgrades
If you waited until 2014 to make energy-efficient upgrades, you may be in luck. You can claim up to $500, cumulatively, in tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades involving the following:
- Exterior windows
- Heating and cooling systems
- Insulation
- Exterior doors
- Biomass stoves
This tax break is cumulative for previous years. If you claimed $400 worth of equipment in 2013, you still have only $100 to work with.
The extension of these tax provisions will help some home buyers for 2014, but there’s no guarantee that Congress will renew them for the 2015 tax year.
Naples, Fla. (September 19, 2014) – A service from the Naples Area Board of REALTORS®
“We can’t sell what’s not there,” was a phrase repeated among several brokers as they analyzed a recent report tracking August home sales activity released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island). Overall inventory dropped 20 percent in the $300,000 and below price category in August 2014 compared to August 2013. The median price in this price category rose 13 percent as a result. The pending and closed sales dropped double digits in the same price segment August 2014 compared to August 2013, factors that illustrate the economic law of supply and demand.
Low inventory was also a strong factor in the decrease of pending and closed sales activity in the Naples Beach area condominium market. This much-sought after location experienced a 28 percent decrease in available inventory from 571 condominiums to 409 condominiums in August 2014 compared to August 2013. The low inventory contributed to the 31 percent decrease in pending sales and 23 percent decrease in closed sales of condominiums in this area. And, the median closed price in this area increased 7 percent from $495,000 in the 12-months ending August 2013 to $530,000 in the 12-month ending August 2014.
“I thought we had seen the top of this economic cycle a year ago,” said Cindy Carroll, SRA, with the real estate appraisal and consultancy firm Carroll & Carroll, Inc., referring to unpredictable activity in certain areas within Collier County. “Our local market is extremely diverse. For example, in Pelican Bay there is a three month inventory of single family homes for sale, but if you are looking to buy a Crayton Road area condo in the $2 to $3 million price range, you’d better be ready with a checkbook because there are only two listings.”
Brenda Fioretti, Managing Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, pointed out that the report also showed financed sales had increased 30 percent since NABOR® starting tracking overall cash versus conventional (financed) sales in January 2013. “We are starting to see an increase in the number of homes being financed by qualified buyers.”
The NABOR® August 2014 Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. The NABOR® August 2014 sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings:
- Overall pending sales decreased 11 percent from 890 homes in August 2013 to 795 homes in August 2014.
- Overall closed sales decreased 2 percent from 9,798 homes in the 12-months ending August 2013 to 9,613 homes in the 12-months ending August 2014.
- The overall median closed price increased 14 percent from $228,000 in 12-months ending August 2013 to $260,000 in the 12-months ending August 2014.
- Overall inventory decreased 8 percent from 3,875 in August 2013 to 3,579 in August 2014.
- Average days on market were 83 for August 2014.
- Inventory for single family homes increased 1 percent from 1,894 homes in August 2013 to 1,904 homes in August 2014. The largest increase was in the $300,000 – $500,000 price category, which saw a 12 percent increase.
- Closed sales for condominiums decreased 1 percent from 5,137 condominiums in August 2013 to 5,066 condominiums in August 2014.
Several brokers agreed with Phil Wood, President & CEO of John R. Wood Realtors, who said, “We’ll have to see if the low inventory will continue to be a trend in the coming months.”
The August report reflects inconsistent activity across all geographic areas making it difficult to predict whether the low inventory will continue to affect pending and closed sales moving forward. Additionally, another factor not tracked in the report but one that impacts pending homes sales is new construction, which continues to swell in the area. However, the rising inventory of newly constructed homes will not help those buyers looking for homes in the under $300,000 price category because there are few available.
“This is a very diverse market with a diminishing inventory in the reasonably priced housing sector,” said NABOR® President and Corporate Trainer at Downing-Frye Realty Pat Pitocchi. “The increase in median closed price continues to be driven by the under $300,000 market, which comprises nearly 65 percent of existing home inventory. In August, the under $300,000 price segment’s overall median closed price increased 13 percent, while all other price categories moved slightly up or down. It’s the only area of the market whose median closed price behavior is predictable.”
With the complexity of real estate transactions today, compounded by varying price pockets within the diverse Naples geographic areas and the speed at which you need to be ready to make a move, using a Naples REALTOR® to buy or sell a home is the best way to know you have a guide that understands what’s best for you. A Naples REALTOR® has the expertise and professionalism to help you make the smartest move at the right time.
The Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®) is an established organization (Chartered in 1949) whose members have a positive and progressive impact on the Naples Community. NABOR® is a local board of REALTORS® and real estate professionals with a legacy of nearly 60 years serving 4,700 plus members. NABOR® is a member of the Florida Realtors and the National Association of REALTORS®, which is the largest association in the United States with more than 1.3 million members and over 1,400 local board of REALTORS® nationwide. NABOR® is structured to provide programs and services to its membership through various committees and the NABOR® Board of Directors, all of whose members are non-paid volunteers.
The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics.
View August 2014 Market Statistics
Naples Area Board of REALTORS | Naples, Fla. (July 18, 2014)
Positive activity within various pockets of Naples area real estate contributes to a stable market overall in the second quarter of 2014 as indicated in a report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).
“The statistics show key indicators of a stable real estate market in the Naples area with no real significant gains or losses overall in the Second Quarter 2014 compared to the Second Quarter 2013,” said NABOR® president and corporate trainer at Downing-Frye Realty Pat Pitocchi. Our statistics, comparing the second quarter 2013 to the second quarter 2014, show that:
- Overall Pending Sales are down 8 percent from 3,197 to 2,949;
- Overall Closed Sales are down 4 percent from 3,165 to 3,054;
- Overall Median Closed Price is up 10 percent from $249,000 to $273,000;
- Overall Inventory is down 9 percent from 4,086 to 3,723; This has been a good, strong quarter.”
Overall, the luxury segment of the market improved with 156 closed sales over $2 million in the second quarter, up 42 percent from the same time last year. Single-family homes in the $2 million and above market rose 44 percent from 68 to 98 closed sales quarter over quarter and condos in the $2 million and above market rose 38 percent from 42 to 58 closed sales, same time period. Confidence in the market combined with appealing inventory has increased the number of high-end buyers.
Another key indicator of a stable housing market is that conventional financing is making a comeback. According to the report, in June 2014, 37.5 percent of homes sales were financed with conventional mortgages vs. cash in June 2014. That’s up 10 percent compared to January 2013 when conventional financing was 27 percent of the market.
The NABOR® Second Quarter 2014 Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. The NABOR® Second Quarter 2014 sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings:
- Overall pending sales decreased 8 percent from 3,197 in the Second Quarter 2013 to 2,949 in the Second Quarter 2014. A 14 percent decrease in the $300,000 and under price category and 6 percent decrease in the $1 to $2 million price category weighted this figure.
- Pending sales for condominiums decreased 7 percent from 1,626 in Second Quarter 2013 to 1,510 in Second Quarter 2014, with reductions reported in all price categories.
- Overall closed sales increased 11 percent for homes priced above $500,000.
- Overall closed sales for homes in the $2 million and above market increased 42 percent from 110 in the Second Quarter 2013 to 156 in the Second Quarter 2014.
- Closed sales for single family homes $300,000 and under decreased 23 percent from 677 in the Second Quarter 2013 to 521 in the Second Quarter 2014.
- The overall median closed price increased 10 percent from $249,000 in Second Quarter 2013 to
$273,000 in Second Quarter 2014.
- The overall median closed price decreased 4 percent for homes $1 million to $2 million from
$1,387,000 in Second Quarter 2013 to $1,325,000 Second Quarter 2014
- The median closed price for single-family homes in the $2 million and above category decreased 15 percent from $3,225,000 in Second Quarter 2013 to $2,750,000 in Second Quarter 2014.
- Overall inventory decreased 9 percent from 4,086 homes in Second Quarter 2013 to 3,723 homes Second Quarter 2014.
- Inventory in the single family home market increased 4 percent from 1,896 in Second Quarter 2013 to 1,964 in Second Quarter 2014.
- Inventory of condominiums decreased 20 percent from 2,190 condominiums in Second Quarter 2013 to 1,759 condominiums in Second Quarter 2013.
- The overall average days on market are at 94 for Second Quarter 2014.
“There is an influx of new construction, which is adding to the inventory,” said Brenda Fioretti, Managing Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty. “It should be said, however, the Southwest Florida MLS does not report activity in the new home construction market.”
Analysts at NABOR® explain that market stabilization is further evident as reflected in the Second Quarter 2014 Market Report wherein only 9 percent of all closed sales in June 2014 were non-traditional (short sale or foreclosed). Comparatively, in July 2009, when NABOR® began collecting this data, 49 percent of sales were non traditional.
More About Buying A Home:
NABOR First Quarter Report Indicates 2014 Off to a Strong Start
The Housing Market Continues to Progress
