FBC Mortgage Blog

By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel
December 10, 2009

Foreclosure-related filings have fallen in Metropolitan Orlando for a third straight month, according to a new report by RealtyTrac Inc.

Still, the Orlando area ranked eighth in the U.S. for foreclosure activity in November, with 7,349 legal actions filed, down 3 percent from October but up 21 percent from November 2008.

Jeffrey Sachs, a senior mortgage consultant for FBC Mortgage LLC in Orlando, said it’s still too difficult to say whether Central Florida has hit bottom in terms of foreclosures, because banks are dealing with their legal filings and short sales at such different rates.

“I firmly believe that what we see with the number of foreclosure filings is never an accurate reflection of where the market is,” Sachs said Thursday. “. . . At this point, we should be near the bottom — we’re seeing bidding wars on some bank-owned properties.”

Florida had the nation’s second-highest rate of foreclosure activity in November: one in every 165 households received some sort of foreclosure filing during the month. Florida, behind only Nevada, took the No. 2 spot from California, which posted the nation’s third-highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 180 housing units getting a foreclosure filing.

The only Florida metro area with an activity rate higher than Orlando’s last month was Fort Myers, which was also fourth in the nation. Las Vegas and seven California metro areas filled out the rest of the national top 10.

The four-county Orlando metro area had one foreclosure for every 120 households in October, according to RealtyTrac, a California-based research company. In comparison, the nationwide rate of foreclosure activity in November was one household out of every 417.

“Loan modifications and other foreclosure-prevention efforts, along with the recently extended and expanded homebuyer tax credit, are keeping a lid on the most visible symptoms of the nation’s ailing housing market — foreclosures and home-value depreciation,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This is providing a welcome respite for the real-estate industry, but a full recovery will only come when unemployment recedes to normal, healthy levels, and when availability of credit reaches a more rational balance between the extremes of the past few years.”

Within Metro Orlando, Osceola was the only county that showed an increase in foreclosure filings, which jumped 56 percent from a month earlier, though they were up only 4 percent from November 2008. Lake County had an October-to-November decrease of 3 percent (also down 3 percent from a year ago); Orange, 5 percent (down 41 percent from a year ago); and Seminole, 40 percent (down 3 percent from a year earlier).

Outside the metro area, Volusia County recorded a 16 percent increase in filings (up 61 percent from a year ago), Brevard a 19 percent increase (up 9 percent from a year ago), and Polk a 58 percent increase (up 8 percent from a year ago).

Mary Shanklin can be reached at 407-420-5538 or mshanklin@orlandosentinel.com.

Written by David Welch, Agent in Winter Park
December 1, 2009 8:44 AM Market Conditions in Orlando

I looked back at my predictions for 2009 last December, and I have to say with the exception of price we have exceeded every expectation I had. I was hoping to see sales in the 1,600 per month range through the second half of the year. We have actually been seeing sales above the 2,000 mark since June. I was also hoping to see our inventory level drop below 22,000. The faster sales, slower foreclosure rate and the MLS rule requiring short sales to be pended has pushed our inventory down to just over 16,000. Foreclosures and short sales are continuing to pressure prices lower with a median sales price in the $120’s in November. Our “normal” sales, however, are typically around my forecast $180,000 mark. Later this month I’ll take a shot at forecasting 2010.
Right now, November sales are not disappointing at all. I posted yesterday on Twitter that our closed sales stood at 1,788 with a median sales price of $123,250. Jeffrey Sachs with FBC Mortgage texted me when he saw this pop up on Facebook. Jeffrey wanted to let me know that his company had 43 closing scheduled for yesterday to add to that total. FBC does close a fair amount of loans in our market, but there are a number of other lenders in and around Orlando that also had home purchase loans closing yesterday. Jeffrey and I have been working together for ten years, and I highly recommend Jeffrey Sachs and FBC Mortgage for your financing needs. I closed two transactions last month with Jeffrey, and both were ready ahead of schedule. Both buyers were pleased not only with the loans that they received, but also the service that Jeffrey and his team provides. Contact Jeffrey for your loan, then contact me for your home.

Orlando Real Estate, David Welch Real Estate Optimist, As Seen on HGTV’s House Hunters

orlandoRealtor NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2009

Orlando-based FBC Mortgage, LLC reports
that the average credit score of its
clients with closed mortgages saw sharp
increases in the first and second quarters
of 2009. According to FBC Mortgage, LLC
President Rob Nunziata, the average credit
score has been trending upward for the
past two years due to the elimination subprime
lending, tighter underwriting and
minimum credit score guidelines of 620.