TALLAHASSEE, FL - Realtors from around the state have converged on Tallahassee for the annual Legislative Days hosted by the Florida Association of Realtors. As many as 800 association members were in town Tuesday for committee meetings and conferences with their respective legislators at the Capitol. More events are scheduled today, including a luncheon with Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez.
Summer Greene, a Realtor in Fort Lauderdale and secretary of the FAR, said every state representative and senator gets a visit from Realtors in his or her home town. "We basically talk to them about the issues affecting our members, who are their constituents," she added.
Property taxes and state spending are priorities, along with affordable housing. Steven Louchheim, executive director of the Tallahassee Board of Realtors, said the organization would like the spending cap removed from the Sadowski Act Trust Fund that is supported by documentary stamp proceeds from real estate transactions. The fund was established to help underwrite various affordable housing efforts.
As for the housing market in Florida, "I am very cautiously optimistic," Louchheim said. "We don't want to promise a rose garden, but we are hopeful." Several other Realtors mentioned signs in their communities that real estate sales may be ready to reverse their downward trend. In her area, Greene said there has been a 16 percent increase in pending transactions, which are homes that had been on the market and which have sale contracts on them but haven't closed. She called that a "forward-looking" indicator.
"It's like everybody woke up Feb. 1 and said, 'Enough of this,'" she added. Prices have declined and mortgage rates have fallen to the point that buyers are returning to the market. The association announced this week that Florida's sales of existing homes in February totaled 8,310, which is down 25 percent from the 11,132 homes sold in February 2007.
A forecast by the National Association of Realtors states that the volume of existing home sales is expected to hold steady through late spring. Thereafter, a gradual recovery is anticipated during the second half of the year as the mortgage market improves in high-cost areas.
Source: Tallahassee.com