Joanne Tarantino's (joannetarantino) Blog

The absorption rate in a real estate market it used to estimate how long it will take a property to sell.  The formula goes like this: if there are 100 properties on the market and 50 are sold every month you would have an absorption rate of 2, meaning in theory the entire housing inventory will ...

Generational Differences I recently found this survey done by the National Association of Realtors on how age affects the home buying trends and I found it to be pretty accurate in my career in Key West.  One finding especially true was older buyers choosing  a neighborhood for health care facili...

   A popular trend now emerging is the black kitchen.  It lends a look of stunning sophistication.  Gone are the days when the kitchen enclosed a lonely cook accessed only by a swinging door.  The kitchen has become the favorite place in the house for family and friends to hang.  With the embrace...

Although many prefer the privacy and yard space of a single family home, it is hard to pass up the easy care and sometimes extra affordability a condo or townhome offers.  Yes, there are those pesky association dues, but the single family owner pays the expenses, if not more, just not every month...

One would think in a  real estate market beginning  to pick up with sales increases that more contracts would make it to a successful closing. Not true, according to Capital Economics 18% of signed purchase contracts on existing homes were cancelled from May through July of 2012. There have tradi...

I just had the unfortunate experience of working with a buyer who wanted to use Quicken Loans.  It seemed like Quicken had some relationship with a large institution where the husband and wife worked.  These were two professional people with high credit scores.  This should have been a slam dunk ...

  Wind storm insurance rates have become a huge consideration in buying a home in the Keys. For most buyers I work with one of their first questions is what are the insurance premiums. Some property owners would even prefer to self-insure rather than be saddled with outrageous wind storm premiums...

For landlords who wish to keep their property pet free a new animal looms on the rental horizon. That animal is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA).  These animals differ quite a bit from a Service Dog (SD) which is extensively trained to assist a disabled person with certain activities such as tho...

Many Americans believe it is acceptable for homeowners to walk away from their mortgages, according to a survey by JZ Analytics. Nearly one-third of American adults believe homeowners should be able to strategically default on their mortgages without suffering any consequences. About 12 percent s...

  The market is certainly getting healthier than it was back in the dismal 2006-2010 arena. All indicators for Key West residential real estate are looking positive.  There are still foreclosures and short sales on the market, but improvement in all areas is the trend.  The number of pending sale...