GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Nov. 9, 2015 – A family in Shawano County is among those across the country living in public housing, yet they make much more than the income limits established by the government.
The family has income of about $100,000, more than double the limit to qualify for public housing allowed under the law, WLUK-TV reports. The Shawano County Housing Authority says 98 percent of 202 public housing units in the county are occupied by low-income families. But the authority's John Wartman says there are five families exceeding the income limit.
That's because people applying for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program only have to meet income requirements when they sign up. Once on they're on the program, it's indefinite.
Wartman said the family with income of roughly $100,000 has been in public housing since 1994. He said he was surprised to learn about the family's case, and that he doesn't know how long they've made six-figures.
"In this particular case you have got this family, the wife is working, the husband is working,"
Wartman said.
Wartman said the Shawano County family making $100,000 doesn't need to be in a public housing unit, and is probably taking a spot from a family that needs it more. Robyn Hallet, administrator of the Green Bay Housing
Authority, said it would be best for everyone when families who are no longer low-income find new housing.
"The goal of public housing is to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing to low-income families," Hallet said.
HUD has 25,000 high-income families
A report from HUD's Office of Inspector General found more than 25,000 families across the country in similar situations. Nearly 2,000 families had six-figure incomes. HUD encouraged housing authorities in a recent letter
to use "discretion" to "remove extremely-over-income families."
Wartman said no one had ever brought up the issue with him. He said he expects the Shawano County housing board to talk about the issue later this month.
AP Logo Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
ivis@ivissardinas.com
www.ivissardinas.com
Monday, November 9, 2015
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Miami land fetches $100 million an acre
A prime waterfront site in Miami sold for $100 million an acre, a record, as a spate of high-end development transforms downtown.
BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN
MBRANNIGAN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
A 1.25-acre site on the Miami River at Biscayne Bay changed hands for a stunning $125 million, a record high for a property of its size in South Florida, according to CBRE, the listing broker.
The buyer is Riverwalk East Developments LLC, a newly formed Florida limited liability corporation managed through several other corporate entities by German and Gloria Coto. German Coto is the son of Argentine businessman Alfredo Coto, whose family is best known for its prominent Coto supermarket chain; Gloria is Alfredo’s wife.
The buyer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The seller was D&P Property Holding, a Florida corporation managed by Miami developers Ugo Colombo and Diego Lowenstein.
CBRE began marketing the property in April, and touted it in a May press release as “downtown Miami’s last vacant waterfront site.’’
The property fetched keen interest from suitors in Miami, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to CBRE.
“We got 15 offers,” said Gerard Yetming, senior vice president of CBRE, who marketed the property. “We had a very competitive process. We had multiple rounds of bidding with five or six bidding.”
CBRE said the grassy site, next to the EPIC Residences and Hotel, “holds the potential for over 2 million square feet of gross building area with spectacular views of the bay and downtown. In addition, the property has access to the only private dock downtown capable of accommodating mega-yachts.”
Maria Alvarez, a Realtor with CWV Realty Group in Miami, who represented the buyers, said: “That land is, I think, the most unique waterfront property that whatever they build, it will be spectacular, very high end.”
Robert Given, vice chairman of CBRE, said the record price reflects downtown Miami’s emergence as a global city and destination for the wealthy, particularly as several big projects in downtown reshape the city as a live-work-play center.
He said his firm began advising the sellers last year. “Our sense of the market overall was the timing was right. There was very good development momentum in the area with amenities going in,” Given said.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
CHINESE BUYING UP AMERICA!!!
The U.S. housing recovery is still going and international buyers are giving a huge boost, with the Chinese leading the charge.
Chinese buying was up more than 70% to $22 billion -- nearly 1 in 4 dollars of all foreign purchases, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Canadians are actually No. 1 in terms of total homes bought, but the Chinese buy much more expensive homes: An average price of $591,000.
The Chinese also bring a lot of cash to the table: More than three-quarters of their purchases were all-cash buys.
California is the biggest market for the Chinese, accounting for a third of their purchases.
Washington State, however, is coming up quickly, accounting for 9% of buys. It's followed by New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Why are they buying? Only 39% of Chinese buyers said they intended to use their purchases as their main home.
Some may buy condos for their children attending U.S. colleges. They hope that, in addition to saving on dormitory fees, they can make benefit from home price appreciation by the time the students graduate.
Others are becoming landlords, buying cheap homes in distressed economic pockets, like Detroit, and renting them out.
Still others use the homes as vacation properties a couple of weeks a year and rent them out the rest of the time.
In addition to the tide of Chinese buyers and the Canadians, those from Mexico, India and the United Kingdom filled out the top five list. India also had a notable jump in money spent -- 48% growth.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Ivana Trump sells Palm Beach mansion for $16.6M
Ivana Trump
- Brian Bandell
- Senior Reporter-South Florida Business Journal
- Email | LinkedIn | Twitter
Ivana Trump sold her oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach for $16.6 million.
She paid $4.4 million for the 18,316-square-foot house at 102 Jungle Road in 1994 - two years after her divorce from billionaire developer Donald Trump. Given the big return on her investment in the home, it looks like some of the Donald’s real estate acumen rubbed off on her.
RELATED CONTENT: Ivana Trump to sell Palm Beach mansion for $19M
The buyer of the home with nine bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms was Thomas R. Maier. He received a $10 million mortgage from Northern Trust Co.
Famed architect Addison Mizner built the Moorish-style mansion in 1921 for himself. It was called Concha Marina. It has been expanded and remodeled over the years.
The home was listed for $18.9 million back in February.
Ivana Trump
- Brian Bandell
- Senior Reporter-South Florida Business Journal
- Email | LinkedIn | Twitter
Ivana Trump sold her oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach for $16.6 million.
She paid $4.4 million for the 18,316-square-foot house at 102 Jungle Road in 1994 - two years after her divorce from billionaire developer Donald Trump. Given the big return on her investment in the home, it looks like some of the Donald’s real estate acumen rubbed off on her.
RELATED CONTENT: Ivana Trump to sell Palm Beach mansion for $19M
The buyer of the home with nine bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms was Thomas R. Maier. He received a $10 million mortgage from Northern Trust Co.
Famed architect Addison Mizner built the Moorish-style mansion in 1921 for himself. It was called Concha Marina. It has been expanded and remodeled over the years.
The home was listed for $18.9 million back in February.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Florida trails other states in Hardest Hit distributions
About one-third of $1 billion allocation given to homeowners through first quarter
July 14, 2014 11:15AM
Florida is trailing other states when it comes to distributing its share of the federal Hardest Hit foreclosure assistance funds to homeowners in the state.Saturday, July 12, 2014
"More homeowners becoming landlords"
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Low mortgage rates and soaring rents have convinced a growing number of homeowners to hang onto their former homes and become landlords instead.
"Clients tell us all the time, 'We're never going to sell our home, even after we buy a new one,'" said Glenn Kelman, CEO of the brokerage, Redfin.
Susan Young of Lawrence, Kan., refinanced the mortgage on her house in 2013, landing a 3.25% rate on a 30-year fixed loan. She bought another house but has not put her old home on the market.
"If the interest rate was high, I'd sell," she said. "But this is such a perfect loan package, I just can't bring myself to give it up."
She gets $1,100 a month in rent, several hundred dollars more than her expenses, and is using the profits to pay off her mortgage.
Redfin reports that 19% of current homeowners either purchased or refinanced homes between 2011 and 2013 -- when rates were historically low falling just below 3.4%.
Chris Cannon and his wife currently live in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. and plan to move to start a family. But he will a hard time letting go of his home.
"It would be incredibly hard to give up the 3% mortgage we have," he said. "When we bought in November 2012, rates were at the bottom -- about 3.4% for a 30-year -- and we paid a couple of points to get ours down to 3%."
He figures he can rent his home in Mt. Lebanon for $1,400 to $1,500 a month, easily covering his mortgage payment and taxes which total $1,100 a month.
The math works in most landlords' favor these days. Rents have risen by about 20% nationwide since mid-2006, the housing bubble peak, while home prices are still about 21% below what they were at that time.
For people who are still underwater on their mortgages and unable to profit from a sale, renting helps soften the blow.
Juliana Ruiz and her husband Mauricio Jimenez bought their three-bedroom Pembroke Pines, Fla., home for $362,000 in June, 2005 when the market was red hot.
They opted for an adjustable rate mortgage, which turned out to be a great deal: rates have plunged, as have their mortgage payments. Now, they pay a 2.75% rate and owe $250,000 on the home, which is worth about $300,000 thanks to a recent surge in home values.
But since they now have three children and both Juliana and Mauricio work mostly from home, they needed more room.
They bought a six-bedroom home nearby and have been renting their old place out for a year.
"The local real estate market allows me to cover the mortgage and small incidentals with the rent collected," said Ruiz. "At the same time, my property value is increasing."
If the mortgage rate starts to climb, they'll consider selling. By then, they hope they will be able to sell for a profit.
Of course, there are downsides to becoming a landlord. Owners have to make repairs, deal with tenants and cover expenses, even when the property is vacant.
"[Being a landlord is] definitely not for someone who hates spending money on plumbing repairs and new locks," said Young.
And some tenants can be demanding, say if the water isn't hot enough or the air conditioning not cold enough.
"Tenant happiness is important to me and I try to give them whatever they ask for -- within reason," she said.
The surge in landlords is working out well for most owners, but it is taking a toll on the housing market, according to Kelman. Every home converted into a rental property is one less that goes on the market. And in hot real estate markets these days, very few homes are up for sale.
"It's a major reason we have low inventory and limited sales growth," said Kelman.
Miami Real Estate Prices Reflect More Balanced Growth
Miami, FL – The performance of the Miami real estate market in May continued to reflect strength, healthier growth, and more balance between buyers and sellers, according to the 30,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.
Median Sale Prices Rise by Narrower Margins
Median sale prices again increased for both single-family homes and condominiums in May but remain at affordable 2003 levels. The median sale price for single-family homes increased 12.6 percent, up to $250,000 from $222,000 in May 2013, marking 30 straight months of growth. The average sale price for single-family homes increased 21.4 percent from $408,021 in May 2013 to $495,525 last month.
Median sale prices again increased for both single-family homes and condominiums in May but remain at affordable 2003 levels. The median sale price for single-family homes increased 12.6 percent, up to $250,000 from $222,000 in May 2013, marking 30 straight months of growth. The average sale price for single-family homes increased 21.4 percent from $408,021 in May 2013 to $495,525 last month.
“The Miami real estate market continues to perform well as demand remains historically strong but while fueling more balanced price growth,” said 2014 Chairman of the Board of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS Liza Mendez. “Sales are consistent with 2013 activity, which set a third consecutive sales record, and properties are selling rapidly and close to asking price.”
The median sale price for condominiums has increased for 35 consecutive months. Compared to May 2013, the median sale price for condominiums increased by 3.6 percent to $186,600 from $180,000 a year prior. The average sale price for condominiums increased 3.8 percent to $384,900 from $370,843 in May 2013.
Home Sales Decline Compared to Record LevelsIn May, residential real estate sales in Miami-Dade County decreased 6.4 percent to 2,704 compared to 2,888 in May of last year. Single-family home sales decreased a negligible 0.1 percent relative to May 2013, from 1,216 to 1,215. Compared to May 2013, condominium sales declined 10.9 percent from 1,672 the previous year to 1,489 last month.
Miami Real Estate Selling Fast, Close to List Price
Miami real estate continues to sell at a rapid pace and at nearly asking price, reflecting strong demand compared 2013, which was the third consecutive record sales year.
Miami real estate continues to sell at a rapid pace and at nearly asking price, reflecting strong demand compared 2013, which was the third consecutive record sales year.
The median number of days on the market for single-family homes sold in May was just 47 days, an increase of 9.3 percent from May 2013. The average percent of original list price received was 94.3 percent, down only 0.6 percent from May 2013.
The median number of days on the market for condominiums sold in May was 53 days, an increase of 10.4 percent compared to the same period in 2013. The average sales price was 94.3 percent of the asking price, a decrease of 2.4 percent.
National and State Figures
Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops increased 4.9 percent from April but were 5.0 percent below what they were in May 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 23,013 in May, up 3.6 percent compared to the year-ago figure, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of condominiums totaled 10,558, down 7.0 percent from May 2013.
National and State Figures
Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops increased 4.9 percent from April but were 5.0 percent below what they were in May 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 23,013 in May, up 3.6 percent compared to the year-ago figure, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of condominiums totaled 10,558, down 7.0 percent from May 2013.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $213,400 in May, a 5.2 percent increase from April 2013, according to NAR. The statewide median sale price for single-family existing homes last month was $180,000, up 64.3 percent from the previous year, while that of townhouse-condo properties was $145,000, up 13.7 percent over the previous year.
Active Inventory Rises Year-Over-Year, Drops Month-Over-Month
While seller confidence is resulting in more properties being listed for sale, new listings are increasing by a much smaller percentage than they had during the last year.
Active Inventory Rises Year-Over-Year, Drops Month-Over-Month
While seller confidence is resulting in more properties being listed for sale, new listings are increasing by a much smaller percentage than they had during the last year.
Housing inventory in Miami-Dade has dropped month-over-month for the second consecutive month. Active listings dropped 0.7 percent compared to April, while inventory of single-family homes and condominiums has dropped nearly 2.0 percent since February and 0.8 since last month, respectively.
Active listings at the end of May increased 29.9 percent, from 13,042 in 2013 to 16,945 last month but remains 60 percent below 2008, when sales bottomed. Inventory of single-family homes increased 20.2 percent from 4,971 in May 2013 to 6,004 last month. Condominium inventory increased 36 percent to 10,941 from 8,045 active listings during the same period in 2013. At the current sales pace, there is a 5.5-month supply of single-family homes, an increase of 10 percent from 5 months in May 2013, and a 7.7-month supply of condominiums, up from 5.8 months in May 2013, an increase of 34.2 percent.
New listings of single-family homes increased 1.9 percent, up to 2,069 in May 2014 from 2,030 during the same period in 2013. New condominium listings increased 5.3 percent from 2,752 in May 2013 to 2,871 last month.
At the end of the May, total housing inventory nationally rose 2.2 percent to 2.28 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.6-month supply at the current sales pace.
Short Sales Decline 54% in May
While traditional sales continue to increase, distressed property transactions in May again declined in Miami-Dade due to fewer short sales. In May, only 32.5 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami-Dade County were distressed, including REOs (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 37.1 percent in May 2013.
While traditional sales continue to increase, distressed property transactions in May again declined in Miami-Dade due to fewer short sales. In May, only 32.5 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami-Dade County were distressed, including REOs (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 37.1 percent in May 2013.
“Foreclosure filings are sharply declining in Miami-Dade, so we expect the distressed inventory to continue to fall in future months,” said 2014 MIAMI Association of REALTORS Residential President Francisco Angulo. “In addition, as homeowners continue to recover equity, fewer short sales are being transacted, which will continue to fuel the health of the Miami real estate market.”
Of total Miami sales in May, 9.2 percent were short sales and 23.3 percent were foreclosures. Sales of REOs increased 19 percent while sales of short sales sharply declined by 54.5 percent.
Nationally, distressed homes accounted for 11 percent of May sales compared to 18 percent in May 2013.
Cash Sales Drop to 55%
Cash sales in Miami continue to decline as more financing becomes available. In Miami-Dade County, 55 percent of total closed sales in May were all-cash transactions, compared to 63 percent in May 2013. Cash sales in Miami are still significantly higher than the national average of 32 percent. All-cash sales accounted for 42 percent of single-family home and 66.9 percent of condominium closings, compared to a year earlier when cash sales were 45 percent of single-family home sales and 76.1 percent of condominium sales.
Cash sales in Miami continue to decline as more financing becomes available. In Miami-Dade County, 55 percent of total closed sales in May were all-cash transactions, compared to 63 percent in May 2013. Cash sales in Miami are still significantly higher than the national average of 32 percent. All-cash sales accounted for 42 percent of single-family home and 66.9 percent of condominium closings, compared to a year earlier when cash sales were 45 percent of single-family home sales and 76.1 percent of condominium sales.
Since nearly 90 percent of foreign buyers in Florida purchase properties all cash, this continues to reflect the much stronger presence of international buyers in the Miami real estate market.
Access May 2014 Miami-Dade Statistical Reports: SFMarketIntel.com
Note: Statistics in this news release may vary depending on reporting dates. Statistics reported by MIAMI are not impacted by NAR’s rebenchmarking efforts. MIAMI reports exact statistics directly from its MLS system.
About the MIAMI Association of REALTORS
The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 94 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of five organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward County Board of Governors, the YPN Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 30,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S., and has official partnerships with 120 international organizations worldwide. MIAMI’s official website is www.miamire.com.
The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 94 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of five organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward County Board of Governors, the YPN Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 30,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S., and has official partnerships with 120 international organizations worldwide. MIAMI’s official website is www.miamire.com.
submitted by: Ivis Sardinas
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