Melbourne FL real estate listings and homes for sale, home buying, home selling information – RE/MAX Interactive

Real Estate Thoughts and News

Happy Holidays! Let’s sell or buy a house!

November 24th, 2009 10:01 AM

I hear all the time from clients that they don’t want to jump into buying or selling because it’s the holidays and no one is buying or selling real estate. If their excuse was they are busy shopping or they have family in town or they just want to relax during this time, I would understand but I disagree that there are not serious buyers and sellers this time of year.

If you’re trying to sell a home this could be one of the better times to list you’re house. First, anyone who comes to look at your property is a serious buyer. All of the fence sitters are busy with holiday preparations. Second, because there is not as many buyers in the market during this time you probably will not overwhelmed with showings so you can have family and friends over and not have to worry as much about making the home available . Third, I believe your home will show its best during the holidays. Whenever a buyer comes into a home, one of the first images they vision is how that home will look with their holiday decorations. You have an opportunity to display it for them.

I know it’s a busy time of year but if you’re in the market to buy or sell, don’t shy away from taking a few days off of eating, shopping and football and call your realtor.

Have a happy and safe holiday season!

Matt Meehan

Broker/Owner

Posted by RE/MAX Interactive on November 24th, 2009 10:01 AMPost a Comment (0)

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Tax Credit

November 24th, 2009 9:58 AM

The first time home buyer credit has been extended! This is great news if you’re still in the market to buy a property as prices are low, interest rates are low and there is still a good amount of inventory.

In addition the Federal Government is offering a $6,500 tax credit for longtime homeowners who want to move from their existing home.

You can read about the details here.

Posted by RE/MAX Interactive on November 24th, 2009 9:58 AMPost a Comment (0)

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Celebrate Independence Day!

June 25th, 2009 2:06 PM

Saturday July 4, 2009

City of Cocoa Beach has brought back this time honored tradition of fireworks on the beach! The display is launched from a barge off the shore near Sheperd Park, 211 E Cocoa Beach Cswy in Cocoa Beach. - MORE INFORMATION -

Posted by RE/MAX Interactive on June 25th, 2009 2:06 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Motivation Matters

June 3rd, 2009 10:48 AM

What’s your motivation?

Real estate is a funny business. It’s the only business that I can think of where you, the consumer, dictate the prices. If I wanted to buy a new television I know that no matter which store I walked into the price of that TV will be about the same from store to store because the manufacture dictates the price.

When I meet with someone who wants to sell their house, I do a market analysis of the neighborhood which shows all the homes that have recently sold or are under contract as well as the homes that are still active. I’ll review the report with the sellers and I will recommend a price.

In the end it’s the sellers who pick the price, not the real estate agent. It’s my experience that motivation and price go hand and hand. For example, I just recently went on an appointment to meet someone who had their house for sale but the contract went expired and they were interviewing other agents. I was prepared, came with my market analysis, previewed the home, asked some questions to understand their motivation and then recommended a price. After talking to them, they told me they wanted to price it at $50,000 more because they felt that a higher price would attract more people. They were not motivated to sell their home and I was not motivated to list their home.

If you’re selling in this market you better figure out your motivation. As a seller you are competing against short sales, bank owned properties, motivated builders who want to get rid of inventory and private sellers who have to sell their house as quickly as possible.

~Matthew Meehan

Broker/President

Posted by RE/MAX Interactive on June 3rd, 2009 10:48 AMPost a Comment (0)

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First Time Home Buyers

April 25th, 2009 1:57 PM

As a Realtor, I help people invest a lot of money. It’s a job I take very seriously and as we’ve seen over the past couple of years, bad advice can lead to bad circumstances. That’s why when I tell my clients something, I want to make sure that I believe it 100%. I don’t like creating a sense of false urgency.

With that said, if you’re a first time home buyer, the time to buy is right now. Most first time home buyers are younger, generally under the age of 35. If you’re under 35 the recession is affecting you but you also have plenty of time to build back up your wealth, while taking advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you now.

Tax Credit - Recently the government passed a first time home buyers bill in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The bill provides a $8,000 tax credit that is available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment. Most of the mechanics of the credit will be the same as under the 2008 rules: the credit will be claimed on your 2009 tax return to reduce the purchaser's income tax liability. If your tax liability is less then $8,000, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check. For example, if you owe $1,000 in taxes the government will send you a check for $7,000. The government is paying you to buy a home!

Affordability - Three years ago when the prices were going through the roof I had more people say to me “I remember when property sold for a lot less in 2000, I should have bought then”. If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me I’d be spending the winter in Colorado skiing.

Every month the National Association of Realtors releases the Housing Affordability Index. The Housing Affordability Index is a broad indicator of affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time and shows the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income. In January the index rose 13.6 percentage points to 166.8, a new record high favorable number since tracking began in 1970.

According to NAR, a median-income family earning $59,800 could afford a home costing $283,400 in January 2009, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an expense equal to 25 percent of gross income for mortgage principal and interest. A year ago, the typical family could afford a home costing only $263,300.

Low Interest Rates - Interest rates have been bouncing between 4.5% and 5%. Just a few years ago, the rates were at 6% and we thought that was a great rate. For a $200,000 loan the difference between 6% and 5% is $125 a month or $1,500 a year. It’s always difficult to gauge when rate will go up or down, but all indicators are that rates will stay this low for a while. The problem is we can’t predict when rates will change.

Financial Benefits - In addition to the current benefits of buying a home this year, there are also the traditional benefits of home ownership. First, instead of putting money into your landlord’s pocket, you’ll be building equity in your own real estate. After a couple of years, your mortgage payment will be the same or lower then the rent for a comparable space. Second, you get additional tax write offs. Your mortgage interest is tax deductible and in the early years of your loan most of your payment goes towards your interest rate. Even in the tenth year of your mortgage, your payment can still be 75% interest. Your property taxes are also deductible. When you combine the two, it usually blows the standard deduction out of the water.

If you’re a first time homebuyer, this is the year to buy. Take advantage of the prices, interest rates, tax credits and start enjoying the growth of equity that we will be experiencing in the near future. By the way, if you come to me in two or three years and tell me that you should have bought in 2009, I’m collecting a dollar – I missed my ski trip this year!

Posted by RE/MAX Interactive on April 25th, 2009 1:57 PMPost a Comment (0)

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