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Sunday, December 23, 2007
Wide sweeping fraud sting reaches Marco
A mortgage fraud case has ensnared 31 people who established a network to obtain more than $14 million in fraudulent loans from 28 homes in South Florida, including 15 on Marco Island, federal prosecutors announced in an indictment handed up this week.
Federal officials said the scheme involved homeowners, mortgage companies, appraisers, real estate agents, bankers and “straw buyers” who would artificially inflate home prices and then pocket the difference.
The indictment follows a months-long investigation that involved several law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service and the City of Marco Island Police Department.
“Mortgage fraud cannot be ignored,” U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta said in a release. “It has become a real and daily threat to the asset most important to most of us Floridians — our homes.”
The indictment centers on Juan and Rachael Torrens, a Miami couple in charge of several development, real estate and mortgage firms.
The Torrens would identify homeowners willing to overstate their home’s values and set them up with “straw buyers” who would allow their identities and credit to be used in exchange for a fee, the indictment said.
Also charged were Daniel Ramos, the owner of a Miami construction company; Alfred Muxo, owner of a Palmetto Bay real estate appraiser’s office; Katherine Harris, part owner of a Hollywood title company; and Roger Rosario, an assistant bank manager in Miami-Dade County.
The remainder of the charges were against 25 people who served as straw buyers.
Aside from the 15 homes targeted on Marco Island, the remainder were in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Marco Island Police Chief Roger Reinke said there could be more charges coming for mortgage fraud on the island.
“The investigation continues,” Reinke said. “That should speak for itself.”
Mortgage fraud inflates home prices that can have an effect on the values of neighboring properties, making it harder to buy and sell homes.
Gerry Rosenblum, a past president of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors, said fraud has had a “fairly significant” effect on Marco Island’s real estate market.
“A lot of what drove the market up was a lot of this type of mortgage fraud,” Rosenblum said. “That had a real impact on the market.”
“We’re glad it’s all getting cleaned up now,” he added.
Monday’s indictment was part of a Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Initiative announced in September by Acosta. The initiative has netted 55 charges in connection with several schemes involving loans totaling more than $75 million, a federal prosecutor’s release said.
source: naplesnews.com
Federal officials said the scheme involved homeowners, mortgage companies, appraisers, real estate agents, bankers and “straw buyers” who would artificially inflate home prices and then pocket the difference.
The indictment follows a months-long investigation that involved several law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service and the City of Marco Island Police Department.
“Mortgage fraud cannot be ignored,” U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta said in a release. “It has become a real and daily threat to the asset most important to most of us Floridians — our homes.”
The indictment centers on Juan and Rachael Torrens, a Miami couple in charge of several development, real estate and mortgage firms.
The Torrens would identify homeowners willing to overstate their home’s values and set them up with “straw buyers” who would allow their identities and credit to be used in exchange for a fee, the indictment said.
Also charged were Daniel Ramos, the owner of a Miami construction company; Alfred Muxo, owner of a Palmetto Bay real estate appraiser’s office; Katherine Harris, part owner of a Hollywood title company; and Roger Rosario, an assistant bank manager in Miami-Dade County.
The remainder of the charges were against 25 people who served as straw buyers.
Aside from the 15 homes targeted on Marco Island, the remainder were in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Marco Island Police Chief Roger Reinke said there could be more charges coming for mortgage fraud on the island.
“The investigation continues,” Reinke said. “That should speak for itself.”
Mortgage fraud inflates home prices that can have an effect on the values of neighboring properties, making it harder to buy and sell homes.
Gerry Rosenblum, a past president of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors, said fraud has had a “fairly significant” effect on Marco Island’s real estate market.
“A lot of what drove the market up was a lot of this type of mortgage fraud,” Rosenblum said. “That had a real impact on the market.”
“We’re glad it’s all getting cleaned up now,” he added.
Monday’s indictment was part of a Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Initiative announced in September by Acosta. The initiative has netted 55 charges in connection with several schemes involving loans totaling more than $75 million, a federal prosecutor’s release said.
source: naplesnews.com
Fed unveils plan to curb shady lending
The Federal Reserve endorsed new rules Tuesday that would give people taking out home mortgages new protections against shady lending practices.
The proposed rules, approved in a 5-0 vote by the board, are geared to providing safeguards to the riskiest “subprime” borrowers, already painfully stung by the housing and credit debacles. The proposal is expected to apply to new loans made by all types of lenders, including banks and brokers. The plan could be finalized next year.
The Fed, which has regulatory powers over the nation’s banking system, is proposing:
-- restricting lenders from penalizing certain subprime borrowers — those with tarnished credit or low incomes — who pay off their loans early. The restriction would apply to loans that meet certain conditions, including that the penalty expire at least 60 days before any possible payment increase.
-- forcing lenders to make sure subprime borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance.
-- barring lenders from making loans when they don’t have proof of a borrower’s income.
-- prohibiting lenders from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering a borrower’s ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home’s value.
“Unfair and deceptive acts and practices hurt not just borrowers and their families, but entire communities, and indeed, the economy as a whole,” said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in prepared remarks. “They have no place in our mortgage system,” he added.
Fed policymakers also are considering requiring financial disclosures to borrowers early enough to use while shopping for a mortgage. Lenders could not charge fees — except for a fee to obtain a credit report — until after the consumer receives the disclosures. The Fed also will consider prohibiting certain types of misleading or deceptive advertising for certain loans. It also would require that all applicable rates or payments be disclosed in ads with equal prominence as advertised introductory “teaser” rates.
In addition, the Fed is expected to propose barring lenders from paying mortgage brokers a fee that exceeds the amount the would-be borrower had agreed to in advance that the broker would receive.
And, the Fed would ban certain practices, such as failing to credit a mortgage payment to a borrower’s account when the company servicing the mortgage receives it. The Fed also would prohibit a broker or other company from coercing or encouraging an appraiser to misrepresent the value of a home.
Before taking effect, the rules must be voted on again following a period of public comment and possible revisions.
The Fed’s response has taken on heightened importance given the meltdown in the housing and credit markets that has led to record numbers of home foreclosures.
The crisis has raised the odds the economy might fall into a recession, roiled Wall Street, and given Democrats and Republicans much fodder to blame each other.
The plan, if ultimately adopted, offers Bernanke, who took over the helm in February 2006, an important opportunity to put his imprint on the Fed’s regulatory powers. Some critics have complained that Bernanke’s predecessor — Alan Greenspan, who ran the Fed for 18½ years — failed to act as a forceful regulator especially during the 2001-2005 housing boom, when easy credit spurred lots of subprime home loans and many exotic types of mortgages.
When the housing market went bust, subprime loans were most heavily affected.
Of the nearly 3 million subprime adjustable-rate loans surveyed by the Mortgage Bankers Association from July through September, a record 4.72 percent entered the foreclosure process during those months. At the same time, a record 18.81 percent of the subprime adjustable-rate loans were past due.
When home values weakened, borrowers were left with loan balances that eclipsed the value of their homes. They also were clobbered when their loans reset with much-higher interest rates.
source: naplesnews.com
The proposed rules, approved in a 5-0 vote by the board, are geared to providing safeguards to the riskiest “subprime” borrowers, already painfully stung by the housing and credit debacles. The proposal is expected to apply to new loans made by all types of lenders, including banks and brokers. The plan could be finalized next year.
The Fed, which has regulatory powers over the nation’s banking system, is proposing:
-- restricting lenders from penalizing certain subprime borrowers — those with tarnished credit or low incomes — who pay off their loans early. The restriction would apply to loans that meet certain conditions, including that the penalty expire at least 60 days before any possible payment increase.
-- forcing lenders to make sure subprime borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance.
-- barring lenders from making loans when they don’t have proof of a borrower’s income.
-- prohibiting lenders from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering a borrower’s ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home’s value.
“Unfair and deceptive acts and practices hurt not just borrowers and their families, but entire communities, and indeed, the economy as a whole,” said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in prepared remarks. “They have no place in our mortgage system,” he added.
Fed policymakers also are considering requiring financial disclosures to borrowers early enough to use while shopping for a mortgage. Lenders could not charge fees — except for a fee to obtain a credit report — until after the consumer receives the disclosures. The Fed also will consider prohibiting certain types of misleading or deceptive advertising for certain loans. It also would require that all applicable rates or payments be disclosed in ads with equal prominence as advertised introductory “teaser” rates.
In addition, the Fed is expected to propose barring lenders from paying mortgage brokers a fee that exceeds the amount the would-be borrower had agreed to in advance that the broker would receive.
And, the Fed would ban certain practices, such as failing to credit a mortgage payment to a borrower’s account when the company servicing the mortgage receives it. The Fed also would prohibit a broker or other company from coercing or encouraging an appraiser to misrepresent the value of a home.
Before taking effect, the rules must be voted on again following a period of public comment and possible revisions.
The Fed’s response has taken on heightened importance given the meltdown in the housing and credit markets that has led to record numbers of home foreclosures.
The crisis has raised the odds the economy might fall into a recession, roiled Wall Street, and given Democrats and Republicans much fodder to blame each other.
The plan, if ultimately adopted, offers Bernanke, who took over the helm in February 2006, an important opportunity to put his imprint on the Fed’s regulatory powers. Some critics have complained that Bernanke’s predecessor — Alan Greenspan, who ran the Fed for 18½ years — failed to act as a forceful regulator especially during the 2001-2005 housing boom, when easy credit spurred lots of subprime home loans and many exotic types of mortgages.
When the housing market went bust, subprime loans were most heavily affected.
Of the nearly 3 million subprime adjustable-rate loans surveyed by the Mortgage Bankers Association from July through September, a record 4.72 percent entered the foreclosure process during those months. At the same time, a record 18.81 percent of the subprime adjustable-rate loans were past due.
When home values weakened, borrowers were left with loan balances that eclipsed the value of their homes. They also were clobbered when their loans reset with much-higher interest rates.
source: naplesnews.com
Is WCI selling lush Tuscany Reserve community at Lee-Collier line?
Financially troubled WCI Communities Inc. may have struck a megamillion-dollar deal to sell its luxury, Italian-inspired Tuscany Reserve community off Livingston Road near the Lee-Collier line to another developer.
The possible sale has created a buzz among residents. In recent days, it has been a hot topic on the public company’s online message board, stirring speculation about the selling price and the closing date.
Some say it’s a deal that’s already done, though it hasn’t been formally announced.
The golf course community is on a list of assets cash-strapped WCI has identified for possible sale as it struggles to stay afloat in a market where sales are sluggish and would-be-buyers are walking away from contracts in droves. The list was included in a slide show presented during the company’s third quarter earnings announcement in November.
Realtors, brokers and others say they know the buyer to be Anthony Salce, with Gulf Coast Development Group LLC in Naples. He’s also developing Naples Reserve Golf Club off Collier Boulevard, which has been approved for up to 1,154 units.
Salce couldn’t be reached for comment.
One prospective buyer received an e-mail on Dec. 15 from a community sales agent saying WCI had an offer from Gulf Coast Development and that the deal could close this week.
Letters were sent to buyers whose homes have yet to be built, saying another developer is taking over, said David Auston, a Realtor with Amerivest Realty in Naples and a member of the Tuscany Reserve golf club.
“Everybody knows,” he said. “There is a lot of buzz around it.”
But WCI, headquartered in Bonita Springs, isn’t talking about the sale publicly.
“I know there a lot of rumors, but I can’t confirm or deny that it might be sold,” said Jim Dietz, who recently announced his resignation as WCI’s chief financial officer. “The answer is it might be sold, or it might not be. We might own it forever.”
On the company’s online message board, one observer said he thought the selling price was about $50 million. Auston believes it’s higher than that.
Deborah Lamb, a Realtor with Sun Realty in Naples, said sales at the community have virtually come to a halt as word has spread that it’s under contract.
“Everybody has just shied so far away from Tuscany Reserve,” she said. “I don’t know anyone that is willing to show their clients there. I think we’ve all stopped paying attention to that community.”
WCI designed the community as its most exclusive golf course haven to date and expected to sell a limited number of homes for $2 million to $5 million, with golf membership in the range of $200,000.
But as the real estate market slowed across the region and state, the community never really took off.
Earlier this year, WCI announced a repositioning to offer more homes at a lower price. In the fourth quarter of last year, WCI had an $84.9 million write-down for the community, reflecting a market loss in value.
“The community never really gained traction,” CEO Jerry Starkey said at the time.
Starkey couldn’t be reached this week for comment on the possible sale.
Originally, the 480-acre community was to have 310 homes. Under a new plan, it could have more than 500. No change in zoning is required.
Now there are opportunities for homebuyers to get into the community for less than $1 million.
WCI has offered carriage homes from just under $500,000 to $800,000 in an enclave called Arezzo. It also has made smaller single-family homes available, with prices starting at less than $800,000.
Auston said he sold a few houses in Tuscany Reserve earlier this year and that he targeted the community for good deals because WCI has been so negotiable.
He said his clients have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars off the original price.
“One of my clients got $600,000 off and one got $400,000 off this year,” Auston said.
“Now there isn’t really anything left to buy in there,” he said. “There are only a couple of homes left. Everything else is going to be brand new construction.”
While some think the deal has already been signed, Auston said he believes the closing is set for Monday.
He doesn’t know what Salce plans _ if he is in fact the buyer.
“He’s been in the community and has been talking with everybody,” he said.
“There is a good amount to be developed, I would say over 80 percent left to still be developed,” Auston said.
Part-time resident Bill Adams, who purchased a home in Tuscany Reserve in October, said he heard the deal was finalized Thursday. He’s happy about it and about his move to the community.
“It’s second to none,” he said, adding that he shopped around in Naples for about a year before choosing to live in the community.
While many residents are anxious about the sale, most see it as a positive change, Auston said.
“It is a high-end luxury golf course community and one of the biggest drawbacks is that they haven’t finished the clubhouse. When that clubhouse is finished and people can actually have the full golf and country club experience, it’s going to be a completely different community,” Auston said.
WCI invested hundreds of millions in the community to create an authentic Tuscan village with arched stone bridges, towering fountains, pavers and lush landscaping, including an impressive barrier berm of bushes and trees facing Interstate 75.
Its 18-hole golf course was co-designed by Greg Norman and Pete Dye.
But some have questioned the community’s location because it backs up to the expressway and there are power lines running through it. Others have criticized the development as over the top.
Charles Richardson, regional senior vice president for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC, said the possible sale should come as no surprise now that billionaire investor Carl Icahn is calling the shots as WCI’s board chairman.
Icahn is known for buying up companies and then forcing them to sell off underperforming assets.
Icahn won a seat on WCI’s board after a failed takeover attempt earlier this year. He offered $22 a share for the company, whose stock is now trading at less than $5.
“He’s got to raise that stock price,” Richardson said. “The shareholders are very uneasy about the fact that shares have dropped as far as they have.”
Richardson expects to see more asset sales.
WCI’s list of asset “opportunities” includes more residential and commercial developments in Southwest Florida, and others on the east coast of Florida, in Connecticut and in New Jersey.
In total, it represents 954 acres, 1,293 residential units, 592,957 square feet of commercial, 368 hotel units, 514 boat slips and 162 holes of golf.
“They’ve got assets but they don’t have a lot of sales activity,” Richardson said.
In the third quarter, WCI lost $69.7 million, or $1.66 a share, compared with profits of $10.7 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago. The company primarily blamed a higher number of cancellations.
WCI’s shares closed up 83 cents Friday at $4.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
source: naplesnews.com
The possible sale has created a buzz among residents. In recent days, it has been a hot topic on the public company’s online message board, stirring speculation about the selling price and the closing date.
Some say it’s a deal that’s already done, though it hasn’t been formally announced.
The golf course community is on a list of assets cash-strapped WCI has identified for possible sale as it struggles to stay afloat in a market where sales are sluggish and would-be-buyers are walking away from contracts in droves. The list was included in a slide show presented during the company’s third quarter earnings announcement in November.
Realtors, brokers and others say they know the buyer to be Anthony Salce, with Gulf Coast Development Group LLC in Naples. He’s also developing Naples Reserve Golf Club off Collier Boulevard, which has been approved for up to 1,154 units.
Salce couldn’t be reached for comment.
One prospective buyer received an e-mail on Dec. 15 from a community sales agent saying WCI had an offer from Gulf Coast Development and that the deal could close this week.
Letters were sent to buyers whose homes have yet to be built, saying another developer is taking over, said David Auston, a Realtor with Amerivest Realty in Naples and a member of the Tuscany Reserve golf club.
“Everybody knows,” he said. “There is a lot of buzz around it.”
But WCI, headquartered in Bonita Springs, isn’t talking about the sale publicly.
“I know there a lot of rumors, but I can’t confirm or deny that it might be sold,” said Jim Dietz, who recently announced his resignation as WCI’s chief financial officer. “The answer is it might be sold, or it might not be. We might own it forever.”
On the company’s online message board, one observer said he thought the selling price was about $50 million. Auston believes it’s higher than that.
Deborah Lamb, a Realtor with Sun Realty in Naples, said sales at the community have virtually come to a halt as word has spread that it’s under contract.
“Everybody has just shied so far away from Tuscany Reserve,” she said. “I don’t know anyone that is willing to show their clients there. I think we’ve all stopped paying attention to that community.”
WCI designed the community as its most exclusive golf course haven to date and expected to sell a limited number of homes for $2 million to $5 million, with golf membership in the range of $200,000.
But as the real estate market slowed across the region and state, the community never really took off.
Earlier this year, WCI announced a repositioning to offer more homes at a lower price. In the fourth quarter of last year, WCI had an $84.9 million write-down for the community, reflecting a market loss in value.
“The community never really gained traction,” CEO Jerry Starkey said at the time.
Starkey couldn’t be reached this week for comment on the possible sale.
Originally, the 480-acre community was to have 310 homes. Under a new plan, it could have more than 500. No change in zoning is required.
Now there are opportunities for homebuyers to get into the community for less than $1 million.
WCI has offered carriage homes from just under $500,000 to $800,000 in an enclave called Arezzo. It also has made smaller single-family homes available, with prices starting at less than $800,000.
Auston said he sold a few houses in Tuscany Reserve earlier this year and that he targeted the community for good deals because WCI has been so negotiable.
He said his clients have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars off the original price.
“One of my clients got $600,000 off and one got $400,000 off this year,” Auston said.
“Now there isn’t really anything left to buy in there,” he said. “There are only a couple of homes left. Everything else is going to be brand new construction.”
While some think the deal has already been signed, Auston said he believes the closing is set for Monday.
He doesn’t know what Salce plans _ if he is in fact the buyer.
“He’s been in the community and has been talking with everybody,” he said.
“There is a good amount to be developed, I would say over 80 percent left to still be developed,” Auston said.
Part-time resident Bill Adams, who purchased a home in Tuscany Reserve in October, said he heard the deal was finalized Thursday. He’s happy about it and about his move to the community.
“It’s second to none,” he said, adding that he shopped around in Naples for about a year before choosing to live in the community.
While many residents are anxious about the sale, most see it as a positive change, Auston said.
“It is a high-end luxury golf course community and one of the biggest drawbacks is that they haven’t finished the clubhouse. When that clubhouse is finished and people can actually have the full golf and country club experience, it’s going to be a completely different community,” Auston said.
WCI invested hundreds of millions in the community to create an authentic Tuscan village with arched stone bridges, towering fountains, pavers and lush landscaping, including an impressive barrier berm of bushes and trees facing Interstate 75.
Its 18-hole golf course was co-designed by Greg Norman and Pete Dye.
But some have questioned the community’s location because it backs up to the expressway and there are power lines running through it. Others have criticized the development as over the top.
Charles Richardson, regional senior vice president for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC, said the possible sale should come as no surprise now that billionaire investor Carl Icahn is calling the shots as WCI’s board chairman.
Icahn is known for buying up companies and then forcing them to sell off underperforming assets.
Icahn won a seat on WCI’s board after a failed takeover attempt earlier this year. He offered $22 a share for the company, whose stock is now trading at less than $5.
“He’s got to raise that stock price,” Richardson said. “The shareholders are very uneasy about the fact that shares have dropped as far as they have.”
Richardson expects to see more asset sales.
WCI’s list of asset “opportunities” includes more residential and commercial developments in Southwest Florida, and others on the east coast of Florida, in Connecticut and in New Jersey.
In total, it represents 954 acres, 1,293 residential units, 592,957 square feet of commercial, 368 hotel units, 514 boat slips and 162 holes of golf.
“They’ve got assets but they don’t have a lot of sales activity,” Richardson said.
In the third quarter, WCI lost $69.7 million, or $1.66 a share, compared with profits of $10.7 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago. The company primarily blamed a higher number of cancellations.
WCI’s shares closed up 83 cents Friday at $4.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
source: naplesnews.com
Sign of recovery? Several realty agencies adding Naples offices
The end of a wobbly year in real estate may not seem like a time to expand the number of offices.
Several local agents, however, are adding offices in anticipation of a 2008 real estate recovery.
On Fifth Avenue South in Naples, the Hamburg-based agency Engel & Voelkers will establish a new storefront in the coming weeks.
Down the road, Downing-Frye grew from three to five Naples offices with new locations in the Third Street South area in early December.
And come next spring, John R. Wood will be expanding as well.
“With the kind of year we’ve gone through in 2007, the tendency is to get lean and mean,” said Marlene Graham, who borrowed against her home to open the new Downing-Frye offices.
Nearly three-quarters of real estate firms in Florida have only one office.
“I go the other way, I see a huge turn-around in the market, and we wanted to be ready for it,” she said.
The risk of being wrong on the timing is always present, the agency owners admit.
The Florida Association of Realtors reported a 29 percent decrease in existing home sales from October 2006 to October this year. Existing condo sales dropped 20 percent.
“The worst part was getting in touch with reality. It took a while for everybody – including us in real estate – to get in touch with (the fact) that the market really has changed,” Engel & Voelkers Naples office Managing Partner Maury Dailey said.
Dailey, after two decades in commercial real estate, purchased a franchise of the global company in December 2006.
The timing, for Graham and Dailey, was essential. They consider their new offices a vote of confidence in the future of the market, and wanted to get operations running early in the season to ride the wave of domestic and foreign visitors – especially the sidewalk traffic.
The approaches to lure traffic in the bustling downtown area, however, differ.
Engel & Voelkers “boutique” will have clean lines, no clutter, and windows free of property ads.
“When you’re outside and look in our office, you will see who is in the office or how many (people) are in the office, what the office looks like,” Dailey said.
The coffee, he added, will be served in china – not Styrofoam – per the company’s mandate.
With the exchange rate favoring European investors now, he hopes the style will appeal to high-end foreign clients.
The minimalist approach, a standard for the company in its 330 offices around the world, is the first line of action.
To this end, there will be no personalization of the desks. Associates will be able to use the office as a resource for serving clients – but there will be no photos of the kids frocking near the pier, or the teddy bear from last Valentine’s Day.
“We don’t want somebody from another culture who comes into our office and gets offended. We’re trying to welcome the community so we’ll keep it is as plain and simple as possible,” Dailey said.
At Downing-Frye, however, clean lines give way to stacks and racks of tourism brochures and local magazines.
The emphasis is on promoting tourism as much as it is on selling properties, said Graham, a former travel writer.
The attempt is to get visitors to fall in love with Naples.
“It’s always been my belief to sell real estate second, and community first,” Graham said. “If they like the community, they’ll want to pick a roof to put over their heads.”
She keeps the office doors open until 10:30 p.m. on Fifth Avenue South.
On a Friday evening, several couples with babies and puppies browse the tourism brochures and listings, then take a break to sit on the chairs in front of the office. Tourists come in to use the free Internet to print out boarding passes daily.
Lately, she said, the bulk of foreign tourists has been from Canada.
“It’s no secret. The exchange rate has had a nice influence on our market here,” Downing-Frye general manager Mike Hughes said. “I think a lot of people recognize the current market as a rare opportunity.”
It’s the market environment Dailey also prognosticates – and hopes – will happen soon.
“It won’t actually get out into the reporting until after the fact (but) that’s going to start happening this season I believe – that the best properties are going to be picked up by Europeans or really sharp Americans that realize we’ve got to be close, or we’ve already bottomed out.”
A $50,000 down payment on a property early this year equaled 37,920 euros. European investors can now make the same purchase with 34,819 euros – an 8 percent difference.
Although Dailey reiterates that Engel & Voelkers caters to high-end buyers, the median sales price of homes purchased by foreign buyers in Florida last year was $352,400, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Only 11 percent of sales to foreigners were over $1 million.
He still intends to carve a place in the niche market, and once the exchange rate flips, he and his 25 associates will be in a position to sell real estate abroad to local buyers.
Whether it’s stripping the office of clutter like Dailey plans, or stuffing it with souvenirs and advice on the community like Graham, “the key is being well-positioned for the future,” Downing-Frye’s Hughes emphasized.
Adding to the positive outlook, Bonnie Williams of John R. Wood’s marketing team said the firm will expand its offices, tentatively in the spring.
“A couple of years ago, everybody had this sense that ‘All I need to do is put a sign in the yard and someone is going to give me (the price) I want’,” Dailey said. “I think that mentality really hurt the market and hurt everybody.
“We’re still a little below (those year-to-year figures) but actually recovering,” he added. “I think we’ll see those values again, but it’ll take time to get there.”
source: naplesnews.com
Several local agents, however, are adding offices in anticipation of a 2008 real estate recovery.
On Fifth Avenue South in Naples, the Hamburg-based agency Engel & Voelkers will establish a new storefront in the coming weeks.
Down the road, Downing-Frye grew from three to five Naples offices with new locations in the Third Street South area in early December.
And come next spring, John R. Wood will be expanding as well.
“With the kind of year we’ve gone through in 2007, the tendency is to get lean and mean,” said Marlene Graham, who borrowed against her home to open the new Downing-Frye offices.
Nearly three-quarters of real estate firms in Florida have only one office.
“I go the other way, I see a huge turn-around in the market, and we wanted to be ready for it,” she said.
The risk of being wrong on the timing is always present, the agency owners admit.
The Florida Association of Realtors reported a 29 percent decrease in existing home sales from October 2006 to October this year. Existing condo sales dropped 20 percent.
“The worst part was getting in touch with reality. It took a while for everybody – including us in real estate – to get in touch with (the fact) that the market really has changed,” Engel & Voelkers Naples office Managing Partner Maury Dailey said.
Dailey, after two decades in commercial real estate, purchased a franchise of the global company in December 2006.
The timing, for Graham and Dailey, was essential. They consider their new offices a vote of confidence in the future of the market, and wanted to get operations running early in the season to ride the wave of domestic and foreign visitors – especially the sidewalk traffic.
The approaches to lure traffic in the bustling downtown area, however, differ.
Engel & Voelkers “boutique” will have clean lines, no clutter, and windows free of property ads.
“When you’re outside and look in our office, you will see who is in the office or how many (people) are in the office, what the office looks like,” Dailey said.
The coffee, he added, will be served in china – not Styrofoam – per the company’s mandate.
With the exchange rate favoring European investors now, he hopes the style will appeal to high-end foreign clients.
The minimalist approach, a standard for the company in its 330 offices around the world, is the first line of action.
To this end, there will be no personalization of the desks. Associates will be able to use the office as a resource for serving clients – but there will be no photos of the kids frocking near the pier, or the teddy bear from last Valentine’s Day.
“We don’t want somebody from another culture who comes into our office and gets offended. We’re trying to welcome the community so we’ll keep it is as plain and simple as possible,” Dailey said.
At Downing-Frye, however, clean lines give way to stacks and racks of tourism brochures and local magazines.
The emphasis is on promoting tourism as much as it is on selling properties, said Graham, a former travel writer.
The attempt is to get visitors to fall in love with Naples.
“It’s always been my belief to sell real estate second, and community first,” Graham said. “If they like the community, they’ll want to pick a roof to put over their heads.”
She keeps the office doors open until 10:30 p.m. on Fifth Avenue South.
On a Friday evening, several couples with babies and puppies browse the tourism brochures and listings, then take a break to sit on the chairs in front of the office. Tourists come in to use the free Internet to print out boarding passes daily.
Lately, she said, the bulk of foreign tourists has been from Canada.
“It’s no secret. The exchange rate has had a nice influence on our market here,” Downing-Frye general manager Mike Hughes said. “I think a lot of people recognize the current market as a rare opportunity.”
It’s the market environment Dailey also prognosticates – and hopes – will happen soon.
“It won’t actually get out into the reporting until after the fact (but) that’s going to start happening this season I believe – that the best properties are going to be picked up by Europeans or really sharp Americans that realize we’ve got to be close, or we’ve already bottomed out.”
A $50,000 down payment on a property early this year equaled 37,920 euros. European investors can now make the same purchase with 34,819 euros – an 8 percent difference.
Although Dailey reiterates that Engel & Voelkers caters to high-end buyers, the median sales price of homes purchased by foreign buyers in Florida last year was $352,400, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Only 11 percent of sales to foreigners were over $1 million.
He still intends to carve a place in the niche market, and once the exchange rate flips, he and his 25 associates will be in a position to sell real estate abroad to local buyers.
Whether it’s stripping the office of clutter like Dailey plans, or stuffing it with souvenirs and advice on the community like Graham, “the key is being well-positioned for the future,” Downing-Frye’s Hughes emphasized.
Adding to the positive outlook, Bonnie Williams of John R. Wood’s marketing team said the firm will expand its offices, tentatively in the spring.
“A couple of years ago, everybody had this sense that ‘All I need to do is put a sign in the yard and someone is going to give me (the price) I want’,” Dailey said. “I think that mentality really hurt the market and hurt everybody.
“We’re still a little below (those year-to-year figures) but actually recovering,” he added. “I think we’ll see those values again, but it’ll take time to get there.”
source: naplesnews.com
ULI to host attainable housing program in Naples
On Thursday, Jan. 10, the ULI Southwest Florida District Council will present “Attainable Housing, an Essential Part of our Urban Fabric.” The program will showcase three nationally-recognized affordable and workforce housing experts who will discuss public policy, legislative practices, partnership structures, innovative planning and designing concepts and successful approaches for promoting affordable and workforce housing.
Pamela Huges Patenaude, executive director of the Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing in Washington, D.C., is a national authority on public housing policy, governmental relations and community development. Her presentation, “Public Policy, Mandates and Incentives that Promote Affordable and Workforce Housing” will focus on housing as an important community goal.
President of Pyatok Architects Inc. in Oakland Calif., Michael Pyatok, FAIA, is a an affordable housing planner and architect who has served the American Institute of Architects on its National Affordable Housing Task Group. He is also a professor of architectural design and the director of the Center for Affordable Homes and the Family at Arizona State University in Phoenix. Pyatok’s presentation “Integrating Affordable and Workforce Housing into the Urban Fabric” will highlight innovative design.
Cito Berguiristain, a for-profit affordable and workforce housing developer and consultant, is first vice president of development of the Auburn Group in Delray Beach. His presentation, “Developing Affordable and Workforce Housing That is a Win-Win”, will champion strong public/private partnerships as a successful approach to building workforce housing.
source: naplesnews.com
Pamela Huges Patenaude, executive director of the Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing in Washington, D.C., is a national authority on public housing policy, governmental relations and community development. Her presentation, “Public Policy, Mandates and Incentives that Promote Affordable and Workforce Housing” will focus on housing as an important community goal.
President of Pyatok Architects Inc. in Oakland Calif., Michael Pyatok, FAIA, is a an affordable housing planner and architect who has served the American Institute of Architects on its National Affordable Housing Task Group. He is also a professor of architectural design and the director of the Center for Affordable Homes and the Family at Arizona State University in Phoenix. Pyatok’s presentation “Integrating Affordable and Workforce Housing into the Urban Fabric” will highlight innovative design.
Cito Berguiristain, a for-profit affordable and workforce housing developer and consultant, is first vice president of development of the Auburn Group in Delray Beach. His presentation, “Developing Affordable and Workforce Housing That is a Win-Win”, will champion strong public/private partnerships as a successful approach to building workforce housing.
source: naplesnews.com
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