Lisa Barton

Ocean’s Edge at Jacksonville Beach is an upscale condo community that features resort style living and 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. During the summer, Ocean’s Edge is offering to pay all buyers closing costs including pre-paid escrow expenses. Ocean’s Edge of Jacksonville Beach was recently approved for FHA financing, making these condominiums very attractive to first-time home buyers. AND they’re really cute condos with terrific amenities!

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Good news on for home buyers! Mortgage rates fell to a record low for the fourth time in five weeks. The average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.56 percent, down from 4.57 last week. That’s the lowest interest rate new home buyers have seen since since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The last time home loan rates were lower was during the 1950s, when most mortgages lasted just 20 or 25 years. The rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 4.03 percent, down from 4.06 percent last week and the lowest on records dating back to 1991. And there’s more good news for the Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach real estate markets--home sales are up!!! Prudential Network Realty has seen a big increase in sales this year.

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The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors recently published a “Short Sale Seller Advisory”. There’s great information here for people considering selling their real estate in the Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beaches or Ponte Vedra Beach area.

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The town of Nocatee is growing! After just four years of home building, the 500th home was started last month. Nocatee’s new four-lane parkway is scheduled to open this summer--almost 10 years ahead of schedule! Neighborhoods in Nocatee include: Austin Park, Coastal Oaks, Riverwood, Tidewater, Willowcove, and the just opened, Kelly Pointe.

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Today the corporate office for Prudential Network Real Estate sponsored a strategy session to discuss effective ways to list and sell luxury properties. I met with about 20 other selected agents to share success stories and brainstorm new ideas for selling “high end” properties in the Ponte Vedra Beach & Jacksonville area. This was a great opportunity to compare notes and share strategies for selling luxury homes (i.e., real estate priced above $900,000). I was very pleased to learn that Prudential Network Real Estate dominates the luxury real estate market in the Northeast Florida area. Over the last year, Prudential agents have listed almost 20% of the luxury properties and sold over 21% of the those high-end homes. It was great to learn that Prudential’s average sale price was almost $100,000 higher than the second ranked real estate office (even though they have four times as many agents as Prudential). 

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There are many great 4th of July celebrations happening around the First Coast.  Here’s the run-down of events from World Golf Village to Jacksonville Beach.

• World Golf Village kicks the fun off early with their celebration on July 2nd at 9:15 p.m.  Bring a blanket and find a spot along the Walk of Champions!
• In St. Augustine, you can enjoy the fireworks from the top of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Start the evening watching the sunset and as darkness sets in, the fireworks begin. This unique experience does require a ticket ($40) and space is limited. Visit www.staugustinelighthouse.com for more details.
• Rather see the fireworks for free?  No problem!  Head to the St. Augustine Bayfront and watch the fireworks explode above the Castillo de San Marcos.  Best places to view are located between the fort and the recently restored Bridge of Lions.  Show starts at 9:30 p.m.  More details can be found at http://fireworksoverthematanzas.com.
• From 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Jacksonville Beach, the Liberty Celebation will be happening at the Sea Walk Pavilion.  There will be live music, food, and plenty of entertainment for the whole family. More information can be found on Jacksonville Beaches’ website.
• Still not satisfied?  Another festive option is to view fieworks on the Jacksonville Downtown Riverfront.  Fireworks will begin at 9:45 p.m. and can be seen from the North and Southbanks of the St. Johns River.  See all of the details at www.jacksonvillelanding.com.

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Good news for first time home buyers who are trying to take advantage of the first time home buyers tax credit or the “move up” tax credit that is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2010. Right now, if the transaction doesn’t close by the deadline, buyers will lose the credit of $6,500 or $8,000. Even if the closing doesn’t occur because the lender couldn’t push through the loan in time. With many lenders facing a daunting bottleneck of these loans, Congress is quickly pushing through legislation to extend the deadline to close on credit-qualifying transactions through September 30th, 2010. Senate majority Leader Harry Reid(D-Nev), with the support of Johnny Isakson (R -Ga) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), sponsored a bi-partisan amendment to a pending job and tax bill which would extend the deadline, currently set to expire June 30th. The bill passed this week by a vote of 60-37. While, the bill must still be passed by the House and signed by the President before it becomes law, there is little rationale to deny its passage.

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Good news in the local Jacksonville real estate market. Here’s a great article from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors that I want to share with you: 

Continue Reading “May 2010 Real Estate Housing Statistics for the Jacksonville & Northeast Florida area”

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) has summarized the benefits of using a Realtor. I thought you might be interested. Here’s their article:
Realtors help people buy and sell residential or commercial properties, vacation homes, and land; they conduct appraisals; they operate in the United States and in other countries; some specialize in auctions; and others are buyer’s representatives. 

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One of the great benefits of being part of Prudential Network Realty is the affiliation with Gibraltar Mortgage, our in-house mortgage company. Gibraltar Mortgage is also an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, so they’ve got the backing of a national mortgage company. The home buyers I work with definitely benefit from this connection and now, Gibraltar Mortgage is offering a great deal for Prudential clients who are using a government loan (FHA/VA) for financing. Gibraltar Mortgage is providing a FREE 1% buy-down for the first year on a 30 year fixed mortgage. The deadline to apply for this program is July 31, 2010, so contact me soon if you’re interested. That 1% buy-down is a big deal! As of today, interest rates for FHA/VA loans are 4.875% (depending on your credit score). That means new home buyers can potentially enjoy a 3.875% interest rate for their first year. WOW! Marilyn Campbell is the loan officer in my Prudential Ponte Vedra office and she’s available to help my clients 24/7. 

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