John R Wood Island Real Estate, Inc. Licensed Real Estate Company

 Washington, DC, December 29, 2011

Pending home sales continued to gain in November and reached the highest level in 19 months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 7.3 percent to 100.1 in November from an upwardly revised 93.3 in October and is 5.9 percent above November 2010 when it stood at 94.5. The October upward revision resulted in a 10.4 percent monthly gain.

The last time the index was higher was in April 2010 when it reached 111.5 as buyers rushed to beat the deadline for the home buyer tax credit. The data reflects contracts but not closings.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the gains may result partially from delayed transactions. “Housing affordability conditions are at a record high and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines, but contract failures have been running unusually high. Some of the increase in pending home sales appears to be from buyers recommitting after an initial contract ran into problems, often with the mortgage,” he said.

“November is doing reasonably well in comparison with the past year. The sustained rise in contract activity suggests that closed existing-home sales, which are the important final economic impact figures, should continue to improve in the months ahead,” Yun added.

Pending home sales are not affected by the recently published rebenchmarking of existing-home sales because the index uses a different methodology based directly on contract signings, and is adjusted for seasonality.

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 8.1 percent to 77.1 in November but is 0.3 percent below November 2010. In the Midwest the index increased 3.3 percent to 91.6 in November and is 9.5 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South rose 4.3 percent in November to an index of 103.8 and remain 8.7 percent above November 2010. In the West the index surged 14.9 percent to 121.2 in November and is 2.9 percent higher than a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Source:  National Association of Realtors, www.Realtor.org

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John R. Wood Island Real Estate Inc. 1019 Periwinkle Way Sanibel, FL. 33957 239-472-2411

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ORLANDO – Nov. 21, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued to show gains in October, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 13 percent last month with a total of 13,755 homes sold statewide compared to 12,145 homes sold in October 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

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Source:  www.floridarealtors.org

Photo Source:  John R. Wood Listing at Loggerhead Cay 

 ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 26, 2011 – Prices are rising in Florida.

Florida cities have had the largest year-over-year increases in average list prices, according to the latest real estate data from Realtor.com. Based on August data of 2.2 million listings in 146 markets, Florida cities make up nine of the top 10 places for highest year-over-year list price spikes.

Nationwide, the average list price is $320,325, up 2.36 percent year-over-year.

Here are the top 15 cities boasting the highest percentage of year-over-year increases in average list prices.

1. Miami
Average list price: $640,332
Year-over-year increase: 27.4%

2. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.
Average list price: $443,570
Year-over-year increase: 26.27%

3. Central-Fla. rural service area
Average list price: $405,809
Year-over-year increase: 19.41%

4. Punta Gorda, Fla.
Average list price: $267,066
Year-over-year increase: 16.37%

5. Macon, Ga.
Average list price: $193,520
Year-over-year increase: 15.98%

6. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
Average list price: $466,785
Year-over-year increase: 15.86%

7. Naples, Fla.
Average list price: $713,087
Year-over-year increase: 15.13%

8. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
Average list price: $591,895
Year-over-year increase: 14.68%

9. Ocala, Fla.
Average list price: $193,360
Year-over-year increase: 12.07%

10. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
Average list price: $181,409
Year-over-year increase: 11.48%

11. Orlando, Fla.
Average list price: $319,419
Year-over-year increase: 10.56%

12. Portland-Vancouver, Ore.-Wash.
Average list price: $314,537
Year-over-year increase: 10.52%

13. Boise City, Idaho
Average list price: $212,588
Year-over-year increase: 10.43%

14. Springfield, Illinois
Average list price: $174,537
Year-over-year increase: 9.12%

15. Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Average list price: $211,414
Year-over-year increase: 8.34%

Source: Melissa Dittmann Tracey, Realtor® Magazine Daily News

© 2011 Florida Realtors  www.floridarealtors.org

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John R. Wood Island Real Estate Inc,

1019 Periwinkle Way Sanibel FL. 33957

239-472-2411

www.SanibelRealEstateMarket.com

Photo: 780 Birdie View Ct, Sanibel Island FL 33957

 Residential Sales  Sanibel            3^rd Quarter vs.     3^rd Quarter 2010

 # sales                                               40 sales  vs. 21                 ↑90%

 Average price                                  $891,892  vs.  $629,595    ↑42%

Sales Volume                                     35.7 million to 13.2             ↑170%

Million Dollar Sales                                10 vs.  2                     ↑400%

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Jay Richter

Managing Broker

John R. Wood, Island Real Estate, Inc

1019 Periwinkle Way Sanibel, FL. 33957

239-472-2411

BY ALAN ZIBEL AND JEFF BATER

Sales of previously occupied homes in the U.S. rose in August to the highest level in five months but remained weak from a historical perspective as the sputtering housing market fails to propel the economy.

Existing-home sales increased 7.7% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. July's sales pace was unrevised at 4.67 million per year. Sales were up 18.6% from the same month a year earlier.

The results were better than forecast. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected home sales to rise by 2.7%

Source: The Wall Street Journal  www.wsjonline.com

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John R. Wood Island Real Estate Inc.

1019 Periwinkle Way

Sanibel Island, FL. 33957

239-472-2411