Mortgage Application
Apply for a free, no-obligation quote from Florida Home Loan
Florida Home Loan offers the best interest rates on mortgage loans with outstanding customer service to
give you a pleasant experience with your re-finance,
home equity loan or new home purchase.

Give us a chance to prove it by clicking here.
Start

Archive for April, 2006

Five Simple Steps To Make Your Vacation Home Search Successful and Stress-Free

Friday, April 28th, 2006

Since acquiring real estate (even two or three houses) has become a national pastime, buying that getaway property might be some folks’ idea of the American dream. That’s all well and good, but potential second-home buyers should use caution Second homes in resort areas and rustic locations aren’t like first homes in that they have inconveniences… and that they lack the access to services that would help one address inconveniences.

What’s more, second-home buyers can be paranoid about how they plan to use the place. Are they shopping for a vacation home solely for their own use, or to generate income? A little of both? Several different approaches should be taken when considering a vacation home as opposed to a real estate investment property.

If it sounds daunting, it doesn’t have to be. Check out these five tips for aspiring second-home buyers.

1. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND WHY

It sounds simple, but it can trip you up. There are three main reasons why people buy vacation homes:

  1. As a place to spend time.
  2. As an investment property.
  3. As a place to retire to.

A smart buyer will have a good idea of what he or she wants before they begin their search, says David Hehman, CEO of Escapehomes.com. While people looking for an investment make up the biggest portion of second-home buyers now, everyone should watch the market closely. Demand is high and so are prices, but with Florida home loans getting pricier, that could shift.

Buyers looking to rent out their homes should consider less expensive areas, as rents tend to be higher — as a percentage of purchase price — than in ultra-expensive regions like the Hamptons on Eastern Long Island, N.Y. On the flip side, it shouldn’t be in an undesirable location that makes it hard to find tenants. Vacation home buyers should also consider how often they really are to use the place regularly.

2. WATCH OUT FOR THE EXTRA COSTS

Buying a vacation home will include that might surprise even those who have bought primary residences and are familiar with the process. With rising concerns surrounding natural disasters in some vacation areas, property insurance can be a killer. Spokesmen from the National Association of Realtors state matter-of-factly that flood insurance and fire coverage will be serious issues for buyers.

A good way to stave off this (financial and physical) damage is to not buy in a remote or susceptible area, for one, and regardless of where you buy, to designate 1-2 percent of the purchase price for insurance and maintenance annually.
3. KNOW THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Again, this sounds self-evident, but it goes far beyond knowing your way around the area’s antique shops and ski trails. For example, do you know if the houses in your vacation spot of choice have septic tanks? And do you understand the implications of that possibility? If the water comes from a well, moreover, is it safe for drinking? What about fire hydrants?

All tough questions, to be sure. The best way to stay on the right track is to have contingencies in any contract that allow for a thorough home inspection. Work with a real estate broker with impeccable credentials to show you the ropes, too.
4. LOOK BEFORE YOU BUY

Obvious? Not always. Tim Richards, past president of the New Jersey Association of Realtors, says that visitors to a spot can “become immediately enamored with it” and opt to move before they have any sense of whether someplace would be appealing to live in long-term. Visitors should contemplate the goods and services, health facilities and other factors an area offers. If you “test” the market for several years, in order to get a feel for what you’re after, you’re on the right track.
5. TAKE CARE WITH THOSE WHO TAKE CARE

Two Florida real estate experts recommend securing good people to oversee the property when you’re not there. This is doubly important in a storm-ridden, prominent vacation-home destination like Florida. Broker Lynda Traverso, with the VIP Realty Group on Sanibel Island, Fla., believes it’s essential to meet the people managing your home, as they’ll know the best electricians and plumbers and will run the show in the event of severe weather.

Guy Trusty (yes, that is his real name), president of Lodging & Hospitality Realty in Coral Gables, Fla., says that because second-home buyers are often not present, they should think of it like a business and hire good people to manage it accordingly. Choosing wisely may mean that your weekend getaway will remain in good shape for the times when you want to make your escape. Now apply for a Florida home loan and make it happen!

Time for a Florida Home Loan: Should Your First Offer be Your Best?

Friday, April 28th, 2006

Yes! The task of finding that perfect house is complete. Now what? As you prepare to actually make an offer for this Florida home loan, you have to consider: should your initial proposal be your best one?

There are no definitive rules regarding reasonable first offers. Your first bid is a signal that you’ve begun negotiations - and chances are you and the seller will go back and forth with numbers and offers before reaching an agreement.

There are some lessons you can follow in order to secure the best deal on your Florida home loan. Consider the following:

- Give yourself room to haggle: It’s usually best to offer a first bid that’s five to ten percent below the list price and less than the maximum you can afford. However, there are many factors that affect your opening bid and the key to a successful offer is not percentages but information.

- Know the state of the housing market in your area: If your prospective new home is in a hot seller’s market, you are probably competing with other bidders and may have to offer the list price or even higher.

If you’re lucky, though, you may be purchasing during prime Florida home loan time; in an area that favors the buyer.

- Reseach a fair price range: Find out what similar houses in the area have sold for. Ask your Florida real estate agent for his or her opinion and for competitive market analyses (CMAs) for homes in the area that are comparable in terms of size, rooms and construction. This will tell you what houses like the one you want to buy have sold for recently. You can also find sales statistics in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and public records, but these may be several weeks old.

- Consider if there is anything about the house that could raise its value: What about additions or renovations? Or, conversely, problems that would reduce the price, including insect infestations or structural flaws?

- Think about the seller’s motivation: A seller who has to sell quickly, possibly because he or she has already bought another home, may be open to a lower bid. Sometimes this information is given as part of the MLS listing, or you can ask your agent about the seller’s motivation. If the house has been on the market a while, the seller may be willing to accept a lower price.

Your offer can also include things other than price to make it more appealing. Florida home loan pre-qualification is a big plus, as it tells the seller you’re serious and makes it less likely the deal will fall apart. Also, try to have your offer personally delivered by you or your real estate agent. This allows any questions to be addressed quickly and easily.

In the end, be prepared to negotiate, but also think hard about what to include in your initial offer. If it’s accepted, it will become a legally binding document. Preparing for this Florida home loan process is a big deal, but taking each step slowing will help you save the most time and money.

Florida Home Loan Options and Advice For Buying a Home With No Down Payment

Friday, April 28th, 2006

You see the ads all over the place, but is it really possible for buyers to obtain Florida real estate with no down payment?

Bob Bruss, a well-known real estate expert, says in a recent column that it absolutely is… although you will need good income and good credit in order to get your hands on a deal. Bruss himself has purchased a primary residence as well as several rental houses for nothing down. Your first home won’t be your ultimate dream home, but it will be a start. If you’re responsible, it can be done. But what does “nothing down” even mean?

The simple definition is that zero cash from your pocket will be used in the purchase of your home. However, that doesn’t mean the seller won’t receive cash from the sale — contrarily, the seller often receives 100 percent cash in a no down payment purchase.

If you have good income and good credit, Florida home loan providers are often more than happy to loan you 100 percent of your home’s purchase price. But it will not come cheap. The lender will usually charge an above-market interest rate any zero-down mortgage. They’ll surely require private mortgage insurance (PMI) as well, a monthly bill that covers the first 20 percent, or riskiest part, of the mortgage. In short, PMI premiums are not inexpensive.

If you really short on cash, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation’s top secondary market mortgage buyers, will even loan up to 103 percent of your home’s purchase price in order to help with closing costs. Just to be sure you can qualify, it’s smart to shop for a Florida home loan before you shop for a house or condo. When you receive written pre-approval from an actual lender (not just a pre-qualification, which effectively means nothing), you will know your maximum mortgage amount.

As much as conventional wisdom dictates you should put as much down as you can, there are two major reasons smart buyers are often able to buy a house or condo for little to no cash:

  1. They don’t have the cash. If you are short on liquid cash, that’s no reason not to buy a home. Even if you’ve got it, why tie it up in your residence when there are many ways to buy a home for little to zero cash.
  2. They are smart buyers who understand leverage benefits. By maximizing your leverage, and therefore diversifying your assets, you can get a greater return on your money.

For instance, let’s say you buy a $300,000 house for the full amount - $300,000 cash - and the house appreciates at the historic average rate of 5 percent annually. In 12 months, it will be worth $315,000, a 5 percent yield on your investment. If instead, you obtained a Florida home loan for the whole amount, you will earn $15,000 on zero investment for an infinite yield. Yes, you have to make the mortgage payments, but you’re more than making up for the cost.

There are creative ways to buy a home for nothing down, the most obvious being to obtain a 100 percent (or greater) Florida home loan. This method requires good income and good credit, however, and can be expensive. Let us say you don’t need 100 percent financing, but don’t want to tie up your cash in a down payment either. The first step is to get pre-approved by a lender for the maximum mortgage you can afford.

The next step is more exciting: using the written lender’s mortgage pre-approval to go ahead and buy the home you want. If you keep the mortgage balance below 80 percent of the home purchase price, you have alternatives:

  1. The 80-10-10 PLAN, in which you obtain an 80 percent first mortgage, a 10 percent second mortgage, and pay a 10 percent down payment in cash.
  2. The 80-15-5 PLAN, in which you pay only 5 percent down, and the seller lets you carry a 15 percent second mortgage, or the lender arranges a 15 percent Florida home equity loan. Either way, you receive leverage benefits, buy your home for practically nothing down, and avoid costly PMI.

After pre-arranging your Florida home loan through the steps above, then it’s time to start shopping for a place. Be sure to understand how much home you can afford, though. When you have a grasp of this, and see the home you want, go after it. With the help of an experienced buyer’s agent, be prepared to make an offer before another buyer pulls the rug out from under you.

Just be sure your offer contains two key contingency clauses:

  1. A satisfactory appraisal of the home, as required by your mortgage approval letter.
  2. A professional home inspection.

The appraisal should not be a proble, and be sure to accompany your inspector to be certain there are no latent or surprise home defects that go discovered. If your inspector discovers a serious undisclosed defect, then you can either negotiate for a “repair credit” toward your purchase price or cancel the sale and obtain a refund of your earnest money deposit if the seller refuses to bargain. So if you keep your wits about you, and follow the steps above, the Florida home loan process can be manageable even if you’re short on cash!

New Home Sales Soar as Prices Drop; Market Favoring Florida Home Loan Buyers

Friday, April 28th, 2006

While existing home sales are decreasing - as Florida home loan rates are rising - new homes sales across the country enjoyed their largest jump in 13 years last month. These figures got a boost from the fact that builders were forced to cut prices in order to cope with increasing rates and inventory.

This means it’s an ideal time to find a Florida home loan on a recently constructed house. You WILL receive a deal.

The government reported new homes sold at an annual rate of 1.21 million homes in March, up 13.8 percent from a revised 1.07 million pace in February. The jump, the biggest since a 16 percent rise in April 1993, came even as mortgage rates hit an average 6.32 percent last month for 30-year fixed-rate loans.

Rates rise, costs plummet, sales increase

With sky-rocketing mortgage rates driving up the cost of financing home purchases, most economists have been looking for the real estate market to cool off in 2006 after several years of record sales.

But economist Bob Brusca of FAO Economics said last month’s drop in new home prices is a sign that the market for new homes isn’t nearly as strong as the jump in sales would suggest.

He noted that the report showed an unusual drop in prices from both February and a year earlier, which could be a sign that home builders are cutting prices to move a large supply of new homes now on the market.

“New homes sales sprang back to life like a zombie in a cheap horror flick,” Brusca said. “And like that zombie, housing really is dead. Don’t let all that twitching fool you.”

He said that many of the new homes sold in March were probably built in a stronger real estate market.

Existing Florida homes versus new ones

Unlike existing homes, where sellers can live until they get an acceptable price, “builders can’t live in these houses unless they have a lot of family,” he said. “By and large they must finance them at rising interest costs.”

Average prices fell 7.1 percent from February to $279,100, after topping $300,000 for the first time in the February revised figures. The median price, which reflects the point at which half the homes sell for more and half sell for less, also fell 6.5 percent to $224,200.

And while month-to-month declines in home prices are not unusual, more significantly, prices also fell from a year earlier: a 2.2 percent decline in median prices and a 3.6 percent fall in average prices over that time.

New home sales, while a fraction of the overall Florida real estate market, are more closely watched since they’re more of a leading indicator of conditions in the housing market. Existing home sales are recorded at closing, typically a month or two after a purchase agreement, while new sales are tracked based on when Florida home loan contracts are signed.

Existing Home Sales Plummet in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

The evidence of a cooling Florida real estate market continues to mount. Sales of existing homes fell 22 percent in March, the fifth straight down month, the Florida Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

“We were in a market where someone sold something for $400,000, the next person put it on the market for $450,000 and the next person listed it for $475,000,” said Realtor Carolyn Kling of Tierra Verde Realty Inc. “That kind of rapid acceleration in price is not happening any longer, but people who are properly pricing properties are selling them.”

In other words, there’s a fine Florida home loan line being walked. She called the slowdown a return to stability after an incredible year.

Unsold homes lower consumer confidence

However, rising numbers of unsold homes likely will hurt consumer confidence, which already is feeling the impact of higher gasoline prices, said Chris McCarty, director of survey research at the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The bureau reported Tuesday that its Florida consumer confidence index dipped two points in April, even as the national index rose two points to its highest level in almost four years.

McCarty said he expects most of the state to see a return to single-digit appreciation in home prices, but some parts might see a decline in prices for high-end homes. He said homeowners who hoped to tap their Florida home equity will feel the impact.

Florida home sale numbers

Statewide, 18,881 homes sold in March, down from 24,091 in March 2005. The median sale price of $248,200 was 17 percent higher than in 2005 and double the median price of $121,600 in March 2001. However, it is little changed so far this year.

In the Tampa Bay area, sales fell 26 percent, while the median sales price of $222,800 was up 24 percent over last year, but flat so far this year. The Miami market was the state’s strongest in March, with sales up 21 percent.

“It’s like a stock market correction,” said Virginia Lomagno, who manages St. Petersburg offices for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “I think what we’ve lost are the speculators.”

In Pinellas County, listings have tripled in the last year. The imbalance between sales and listings is particularly striking in the condo market.

David Lereah, the Realtors’ chief economist, said he was still looking for a gradual slowdown in housing that would result in a drop of around six percent in home sales this year and a slowing in price gains to around six percent, compared with the double-digit gains in prices in recent years.

This year’s rise in Florida home loan rates is dampening sales of both existing and new homes and forcing builders to cut back on construction of new homes. While housing has been one of the standout performers in the current four-year-long economic expansion, the current state of Florida home loans favors buyers over investors.

Make Sure Your Florida Home Loan Information is Protected by Lenders

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

After scandals in 2005 involving ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, concern over identity theft during the Florida home loan process has arisen. Real estate experts, however, say sellers and buyers’ information is well-protected.

It’s easy to see why Florida home loan protection would be necessary. Late last year, the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego reported 110 security breaches affecting 56.3 million individuals in the United States.

Also last year, Nationwide Mortgage Group settled Federal Trade Commission charges that the company failed to adequately protect customers’ personal and financial information.

Placing a safe guard on your finances

Because mortgage brokers and Florida home loan officers have access to so much personal information, it’s clearly important that they place a high value on safeguarding it.

“(Consumers’) information is safe and getting safer all the time,” said John Hall, a spokesman for the American Bankers Association. “All the mortgage information sitting at a bank is protected.”

Employee training and accountability, privacy policies, security standards and technology such as encryption and fraud detection software are some of the approaches banks use to safeguard data, Hall said.

“If a bank should send information elsewhere, even over a secure network, it is going to encrypt that information. They use Pentagon grade information technologies before sending any of your financial information across networks,” Hall said.

Madhavi Mantha, a senior analyst at Celent, a firm that scrutinizes banking technology, said, “Financial institutions have put a great deal of emphasis on security.” Mantha said banks have taken additional steps in one of the areas of greatest concern, outsourcing, to make sure information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, such as using dumb computers instead of computers that would store information.

More Florida home loan protection strategies

Justin Vedder, managing director of the Prieston Group, which insures companies against fraud, said, “Just from a standard practice, no matter whether in the mortgage industry or not, people are using greater firewalls. Their e-mails are encrypted. The exchange of data has become more secure.”

Vedder said that one of the biggest challenges is when identity theft does occur and a person’s stolen identity is used to apply for a real estate loan. This is a common form of mortgage fraud and the person with the purloined identity is colloquially referred to as a “straw buyer.”

“There are tools out there and certain skill sets to help identify those loans that don’t make sense” because they involve identity theft or other fraudulent elements, Vedder said. Indeed, there is a plethora of software companies offering technology tools to help combat mortgage fraud.

Vedder cautioned that the tools are “not the be-all and end-all.” In a quarterly study done by the Prieston Group of around 200 to 300 lenders this February, 75 percent of lenders said technology tools reduce the incidence of fraud less than 25 percent.

“Well, 25 percent is a significant factor when you look at the industry as a whole,” Vedder said.

A unique security proposition

A novel idea recently suggested by an MIT professor in a white paper is e-notarization laws to help stem the rising tide in forgeries and frauds in identity, Florida home loan and immigration transactions.

In the paper, “Electronic Notarization: Why It’s Needed, How It Works, And How It Can Be Implemented To Enable Greater Transactional Security,” published by the National Notary Association, Daniel J. Greenberg, director of MIT’s E-Commerce Architecture Program, outlines the legal and technological issues that must be addressed to ensure convenient and secure e-commerce in an era of rising document forgery and identity fraud.

Many paper-based transactions, from real estate conveyances to international adoptions to last wills and testaments, are notarized to prevent, detect and prosecute fraud.

As government agencies and industry move toward a complete paperless workflow, electronic documents will need to receive the same level of security as their paper counterparts. The MIT professor’s proposal highlights the importance of human oversight in the technology surrounding mortgage transactions.

Palm Beach Real Estate Bounces Back Slightly In March; Still Well Off Last Year’s Pace

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

Despite recent stagnation and fears of an abrupt real estate slowdown, the Palm Beach County housing market bounced back a bit in March, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Last month, the median price for a single-family home in Palm Beach County was $393,700, according to data released by the Florida Association of Realtors Tuesday. That’s down significantly from the county’s peak of $421,500, seen in November, though up slightly from $391,000 in February.

The number of single-family home sales in the county was 929, up slightly from February but down 33 percent from a year ago at this time. As far as the Treasure Coast goes, meanwhile, the news was similar. The boom is over, but there’s no bust yet. The median price of $258,000 is off last year’s peak but up 10 percent from a year ago.

The number of sales in Martin and St. Lucie counties was 573, down 19 percent from last year. The typical Palm Beach County condo sold for $224,600, up from $220,800 in February. The overall sales volume held steady at 706 units. On the Treasure Coast, the median price was $186,300, down 1 percent from a year ago, while volume was down 34 percent.

Are Longer-Term Florida Home Loans the Answer for Certain Buyers?

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

Here’s the question, of course: What is the best Florida home loan solution for a cash-strapped buyer?

As Florida home loan rates continue to rise, lenders and banks are considering longer-term deals for potential clients. For example, a 50-year home mortgage doesn’t exist yet, but the idea is being seriously batted around as home price increases continue to far outpace income gains, making monthly payments on more traditional Florida home loans less affordable.

The once-rare 40-year mortgage has already surged in popularity and at least one lender is now offering a mortgage five years longer.

Yes, Ownit Mortgage Solutions, has rolled out a 45-year loan, mostly with variable rates, that it calls “the perfect alternative” to interest-only Florida home loans “for borrowers who desire affordable monthly payments.”

Of course, going the 45-year route isn’t for everyone. Some analysts are skeptical that longer Florida home loans are truly beneficial to borrowers.

Non-traditional Florida home loan views

Neil Garfinkel, partner and real-estate specialist with law firm Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson in New York and Los Angeles, says borrowers pay much more in interest with longer amortization mortgages than they save.

For a $300,000 Florida home loan at 7%, he said, the monthly payment for a 30-year schedule would be $1,995.91, and for a 45-year would be $1,829.10, a savings of about $166.81 a month or a little over $2,000 a year. But the interest paid over the full term would be $418,526.69 for a 30-year loan and $687,714.82 for the 45-year loan.

“Will it help consumers get into bigger houses? I don’t really know,” Mr. Garfinkel said. “But if a client is asking me would you do this, I would probably tell them no.”

At Ownit Mortgage, Julie St. James, senior vice president of capital markets, notes that home prices in the past several years have more than doubled in parts of California, the state where about half of the company’s loans are made. In California and other hot housing markets, borrowers who are stretching to get into homes are taking out riskier non-traditional home loans.

With the 45-year loan “there’s some principal reduction, whereas the interest-only doesn’t give you any,” Ms. St. James said. “That has an inherent value. Even if it’s just $1 of principal reduction, that’s $1 less that you’ll have to pay interest on.”

It’s at least something to consider for your Florida home loan.

Rates Continue To Rise For Florida Home Loans; Biggest Impact Felt By ARMs

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

ATTENTION SHOPPERS: If you’re in the market for a Florida home loan, there is no time like the present.

Average mortgage rates have shot up by almost a full percentage point in the last 12 months, most recently with another increase this week, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Bankrate.com. With standard 30-year, fixed-rate home loan rates edging up to 6.64 percent, mortgages are at their highest level in nearly four years and are expected to go higher yet.

  • The current average is up from 6.27 percent at the beginning of 2006, and 5.85 percent at this time a year ago.
  • For example, on a Florida home loan of $150,000, that increase translates into an extra $77 per month.

Meanwhile, 15-year mortgages rose to 6.27 percent, up slightly from last week and up markedly from 5.42 percent a year ago. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) hit 5.87 percent, up from 4.59 percent just 12 months ago — and the highest level in nearly five years. Much as all this might lead you to panic, rates still look pretty good by historical standards. The average 30-year rate isn’t all that far off the record low of 5.3 percent set in June 2003.

The biggest shock in recent weeks has been for holders of adjustable-rate mortgages. ARMs typically have lower interest rates than fixed mortgages initially, but after a certain period of time, the rate varies based on an index. Rates on ARMs have been rising more quickly than fixed-rate loans, in conjunction with the series of increases in short-term interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in an effort to combat inflation.

“If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage poised for an increase any time in the next two years, you are standing on the train tracks with the bright lights bearing down on you,” said Bankrate.com analyst Greg McBride. “Now is the time to get out of harms way.”

Whether refinancing makes sense for a homeowner depends in large part on whether they will be in the home long enough to recoup the closing costs. Generally, if you plan to stay put for more than three years, refinancing is worth looking into. Typically, ARMs don’t carry a prepayment penalty, but such penalties would come as an additional cost for homeowners with poor credit, and who are holding subprime loans with higher rates.

Conventional Florida home loans have remained surprisingly low until lately in spite of the Fed’s actions, but the acceleration in the past few months, coupled with market pressure for a smaller short- and long-term deviation, as well as concerns about higher energy prices and inflation, has caused some concern. Economists expect the average 30-year Florida mortgage to rise modestly in the coming months, nearing 7 percent by the year’s end.

“Fixed-rate mortgages will continue trending higher as the year progresses, but are likely to remain very attractive relative to adjustable rates as well as the historical average,” McBride said.

Mr. McBride isn’t a fan of interest-only mortgages, which allow borrowers to defer principal payments for five years or more, and which accounted for an estimated 27 percent of all home loans last year — up from 23 percent in 2004 and a mere 1 percent in 2000, according to LoanPerformance LLC, a San Francisco-based mortgage data firm.

Despite the recent Florida home loan cost increases, with the relatively low rates at present, buyers who can’t afford the monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage are buying too much home. Do not be tempted to reply on an interest-only or adjustable-rate Florida home loan just to squeeze into that dream house. Save a little more and reconsider your options.

A Look at the Richest U.S. ZIP Codes

Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

What’s the difference between 11962 and 28741?

About $2,125,000, according to MSN Real Estate and Forbes.

Those ZIP codes are at the top and bottom of the list of the priciest areas in the country. This year, Forbes collected the top 500 most expensive ZIP codes in the U.S., a list that includes the most famous ZIP in the country, 90210 (Beverly Hills, CA), along with places well-known for their ritzy residents (the Hamptons, right) and some neighborhoods that few have ever heard of other than the people who reside there.

These areas have a lot in common. The most expensive ZIP codes in America are, for the most part, the kinds of places you would expect them to be. Oceanfront California and South Florida housing market locales, in lush valleys, with mountain backdrops, on hillsides with postcard panoramic views. To say nothing of the houses themselves. They’re nice. We could explain in a lot much detail, but you get the idea.

As usual, the list was dominated by California real estate. The state took up over half the space on the list, with one South Florida housing market entry making the top 10 (Miami Beach, with a median price just shy of $2M — that’s a hefty Florida home loan). According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing home in California was just under $600,000 at the end of 2005, by far the highest in the country.

The national median, for comparison’s sake, was a bit more than $200,000. New York was also big in the list, along with Connecticut, Arizona, Maryland and others. Upscale suburbs close to urban power centers, along with places where the wealthy vacation, come in atop the list. Sagaponack, NY, located in the posh Hamptons area of eastern Long Island, tops the list, with a median price of nearly $2.8 million last year.

THE TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE U.S. ZIP CODES

11962 Sagaponack, NY — $2,787,500
92067 Rancho Santa Fe, CA — $2,445,000
92662 Newport Beach, CA — $2,397,500
94528 Diablo, CA — $2,266,000
94957 Ross, CA — $2,247,500
11976 Water Mill, NY — $2,150,000
93108 Santa Barbara, CA — $2,050,000
90402 Santa Monica, CA — $2,005,000
92661 Newport Beach, CA — $1,996,500
33109 Miami Beach, FL — $1,942,500