Hernando County Housing Market Slumps

Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Florida’s “Nature Coast” is known for wild, unspoiled beaches and landscapes, and large, undeveloped tracts of land.

Not it’s also being known for inventories of houses growing by the day.

Last year in July, one resident’s house was appraised at $250,000, and has now fallen closer to $200,000, resulting in “negative equity” in the home.

This scenario has led to a dramatic rise in foreclosure rates:

• When there is equity in a property, one can qualify for a Florida refinance to get a lower interest rate and monthly payment.
• When there isn’t sufficient equity, though, there’s no shot to refinance to get a lower payment. Foreclosures then skyrocket.

About 18 months ago, there were Florida home loan lenders offering programs for people with no verifiable income, or that were self-employed with less hassle than you might expect.

Today, in Hernando County, you can’t find a Florida mortgage if you don’t have a job or verifiable income. If you are self-employed, you are going to need three years of tax returns showing your income.

Even if you have a steady job, banks want much more data about you and your credit before they will issue a Florida home loan.

Even property appraisals now require 6-7 comps, or comparable sales, from the area that you are looking to buy in. They used to ask for three.

To top it all off, with the demise of bad credit Florida home loans, it is nearly impossible for people with low to moderate income to get financing.

Since undeveloped property is remaining uncleared and vacant, it seems that the level of growth for the Hernando County housing market, that was set to grow faster than Pasco County, will probably have to wait for at least 5 years.

Pasco County has experienced a far greater slump, due to its accelerated growth. But it also will rebound faster because of the larger population and inventory of houses. Hernando County will do well to keep the level of growth stable for the next 3-5 years as the market rises again.

SOURCE: Hernando County Times