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Vacation rental owners report high occupancy rates from the summer season

Owners of vacation rentals are reporting that the summer season was a successful one with 68 percent of them reporting occupancy rates of 76 percent or more over the summer, this according to a report released today by HomeAway, Inc.  The vacation rental market suffered from the market downturn just like the rest of the [...]

Low prices and low mortgage rates spurred 2010 vacation home purchases

More than half a million vacation homes were purchased last year, fueled by low real estate prices, attractive mortgage rates and the potential for price appreciation according to research done by the National Association of REALTORS for HomeAway.

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Gulf Oil spill could cost coastal homeowners up to $3 Billion in home values

Dennis Norman

Report looks at impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil spill on Florida Coastal home values

According to a report released this morning by CoreLogic the impact of the BP DeepWater Horizon oil spill on home values in the coastal area’s along the Gulf coast is expected to range from $648 [...]

Congress Considering New Tax Burdens on Real Estate

Dennis Norman

As the real estate market and industry continues to struggle to try to pull out of the dumps, another blow could come soon from Congress in the form of new tax burdens on real estate.

Congress is proposing that all owners of rental properties be required to complete and file 1099 forms [...]

Florida Condo Sales Up 67 Percent In First Quarter; Prices Drop 13 Percent

Dennis Norman

Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 24 percent in first quarter 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors®. A total of 38,846 existing homes sold statewide in 1Q 2010; during the same period the year before, a total of [...]

An Appraisers View of HVCC, sub-prime, the market and more – Final post of the series

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Monday I did the first post and yesterday the second post of my E-View with Frank Gregoire, a Florida appraiser and author of Appraiser Active.

Frank is often quoted as a source for nationally syndicated real estate columnists and appears as a

Francois (Frank) K. Gregoire, IFA RAA

speaker [...]

Is the “Live Music Show Capital of the World” the place to invest now?

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

I’m talking of course about Branson, Missouri which,  according to the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce website, is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary of Branson’s first show, “The Baldknobbers”.  The Chamber Site also states that the Branson area has:

more than 50 live performance theatres three pristin lakes 12 [...]

The North Carolina Mountains…Investment Opportunity or just a great spot for a vacation home?

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Recently I finished an E-View TM with Bob Radigan from VIP Realty Group in Florida about the gulf coast market.  Bob is also active in another popular vacation market, the mountains of North Carolina.  While in North Carolina during part of the year  Bob is an agent with Landmark Realty Group.

In my [...]

Florida: Sometimes the best deal is the one you didn’t make…But, is now the time to buy? Final post in the series

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

This is my final post of a series about Florida real estate and the second part of my interview with Bob Radigan with VIP Realty Group in the Sanibel/Captiva area.

For part one of this series click here, part two click here and part three click here.

Following is the continuation [...]

Florida: Sometimes the best deal is the one you didn’t make…But, is now the time to buy? Part 3 of a series

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

This is my third post of a series about Florida real estate and the second part of my interview with Bob Radigan with VIP Realty Group in the Sanibel/Captiva area.

For part one of this series click here, for part two click here.

Following is the continuation of my [...]

Florida: Sometimes the best deal is the one you didn’t make…But, is now the time to buy? Part 2 of a series

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

In my post yesterday I was talking about Florida and whether or not now is the time to consider buying there now. To answer this question I turned to Bob Radigan with VIP Realty Group.

Following is part one of my E-View TM with Bob:

Q- Bob, please share [...]

Florida: Sometimes the best deal is the one you didn’t make…But, is now the time to buy?

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

I met the wonderful woman that was to be my wife in 1998 in St. Louis.  Prior to moving back to St. Louis she had spent the prior decade living on the gulf coast of Florida and loved it but came back to St. Louis to be closer to [...]