Broward Homes For Sale, Broward MLS Search
Broward Homes For Sale,
Broward Homes For Sale on the Broward County MLS at www.BrowardHomesForSale954.com
In much of Broward Florida, Broward homes for sale have become dramatically more affordable since 2005, attracting new Broward home buyers who couldn’t have made a purchase “in the peak years,” Broward home buyers are snatching up 0,000 properties that just a few years ago would have been listed at twice that price.
The Broward County Florida housing market reflects a paradox of the Great Recession: While some baby boomers are struggling to prevent their primary residences from sliding into foreclosure, other Broward County home buyers are realizing their dream of purchasing a vacation getaway. Many Broward homebuyers “still have a lot of money that sits on the sidelines waiting,” the active in the second Broward home market. “I think the wait is over for them. Anywhere you look, you are going to find Broward home prices we haven’t seen since 2001,” largely because of Broward foreclosures and short sales.
However, boomers without disposable income should steer clear of the second home market, even if they believe they can get financing,. “Don’t over-leverage. If you are already retired or close to retirement, that’s not a risk to take.”
Conversely, for the fortunate Broward home buyers who are flush with cash, have high credit scores, and possess sufficient disposable income to make down payments of 20 or 30%, now may be the time to jump into the Broward housing market. Sharply reduced Broward homes for sale are at their lowest prices and interest rates in decades have combined to create a Broward County home buyer’s market. Moreover, with the stock Broward real estate market in the doldrums, some boomers are finding that purchasing a second Broward home can be a worthwhile long-term investment.
In 2009, the typical Broward Florida second home buyer was 46 years old with a median household income of ,500 (down from ,100 in 2007), according to surveys by the National Association of Realtors. And while income has gone down, second Broward home prices rose 12.7% in 2009, NAR notes. While these factors have closed the Broward market for some, the simultaneous increased demand for rentals of Broward homes for vacation and weekend properties has made these purchases more feasible for others. If you are a prospective Broward home buyer, you need to consider three key issues:
1. Can the Broward home for sale generate enough rental income to cover carrying costs (mortgage plus maintenance, insurance, utilities, and property taxes)?
2. Will the rental rates you charge, especially for the most expensive properties, attract a pool of Broward renters that is both sufficiently large and sustainable (particularly during economic downturns)?
3. If you intend to use the second Broward home more than you will rent it, do you have the means to carry two mortgages and to pay associated costs?
Some Broward County Florida boomers who bought second Broward homes for sale at their peak price, now find themselves alarmingly underwater on their home loans, which means they owe more than the Broward home is worth. For these owners, renting to cover expenses and waiting out the market to give the properties a chance to appreciate.
New Broward Florida home buyers, however, “can purchase a vacation home and have it break even from rental revenue because the prices of properties are lower, “If in 2005, you bought for 0,000 and the rental market was ,500 a week, you’d be hard-pressed to break even.” But with a Broward home today at 0,000, “you can indeed break even. The rental rates have not gone down.”
