Jim Cramer Proclaims "We have reached the bottom of the Housing Martket

Jim Cramer of Mad Money on CNN, has just proclaimed that today, June 14 2009 is the bottom of the housing. He even went on to say that people should take the opportunity to buy real estate; He said that he is.

Well, only time will tell if this is absolutely true or not, but know can argue that prices have come down considerably, interest rates are great and there are federal and state incentives to buy. Many people are finding this to be the best home buying environment in years.

If you watch TV and cable news you would think there are only expensive mini mansions in on the Florida Gulf Coast.

The fact of the matter is there are many homes for sale well under $100,000. Hard to believe? well here are some statistic for Pensacola, Florida (Pensacola Is located in the NW part of Florida).

Out of 5474 active listing 982 are under $100,000, one out of five or 20%!

Out of 5474 active listing 2879 are under $200,000, more than 50%!

Don't believe me see for yourself, look at all current MLS Listings here.

The thing to keep in mind these properties are pretty much all less than a half hour from beaches and boat launches! The prettiest, cleanest, beaches in the US if not the world!

With the current interest rates at historic lows I don't know why everyone isn't at least considering living or investing here.

Home refinance loan Applications Jumped

Applications for refinance loans jumped 41.5 percent last week, after the Federal Reserve announced expanded purchases of mortgage-backed securities that pushed interest rates to lows not seen in six decades, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

Applications for purchase mortgages for the week ending March 20 were up a more modest 4.2 percent, with requests for refinance loans accounting for 78.5 percent of all mortgage applications.

The Fed announced on March 18 a $1.15 trillion expansion of its balance sheet, including a $750 billion increase to a previous commitment to buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

The Fed's announcement brought the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to 4.63 percent last week, down from 4.89 percent the week before, the MBA said. Points, including the origination fee, averaged 1.13, down from 1.23 the week before.

ERA Beach Ball Realty Receives 2008 Best of Pensacola Award

ERA Beach Ball Realty Receives 2008 Best of Pensacola Award

U.S. Local Business Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., November 21, 2008 -- ERA Beach Ball Realty has been selected for the 2008 Best of Pensacola Award in the Real Estate Agents category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).

The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA)

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USLBA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Local Business Association

Pensacola Real Estate Market Report, October 2008

The Pensacola real estate market continues to slow, as signs pointing to an end of our local housing bubble become apparent. As the saying goes, "all real estate is local"; this will especially be true as the nation recovers from the housing bubble of the 2000s.

Just some state and metro markets will recover sooner than others; some micro markets such as subdivisions, condominiums and neighborhoods will recover at different times. But, speaking to the Pensacola metro area as whole, there are clear signs of we approaching a stable market.

First, Let's look at the marked decline in active residential listings, as indicated by the red line below, this is monthly homes and condos currently for sale over time.

The number of active real estate listing in the Pensacola Association of Realtors (PAR) database has been declining since July 2007 and is expected to reach a Neutral Market in late 2009. A Neutral Market is in between a Buyers and a Sellers Market.

Next lets look at the number of residential sales from PAR.
The year end flattening in sales is much less dramatic than previous years. This likely is indicative of the bottoming of year over year sales. However, a key piece of data that is missing is the January 2009 monthly sales number. The month of January generally marks the slowest month of the annual sales cycle and will define the trend more accurately.

The last piece of market information is the average dollar value per residential (homes and condos) unit sold.

Average sale prices appear to be approaching the projected "Estimated Normal Price Appreciation" line, as indicated by the red line. This is an essential milestone of the real estate bubble recovery and appears to be at hand.

In summary, the Pensacola real estate market is in the late stages of recovery based on residential sales, inventory and price. As we exit the housing bubble other economic factors will dictate real estate conditions such as jobs, Wall Street, gas prices, world events and Government policies.