Daytona's beachside has been undergoing improvements 'street by street, block by block.'
DAYTONA BEACH — Weathered and timeworn metal sign frame structures turned into colorful public art. Blighted back alleyways constantly littered with trash and junk finally cleaned up. Sun-baked traffic light poles getting fresh coats of black paint. These are beachside projects tackled by city government workers over the past few years. They might seem like small improvements, but for the people who live near them, they're long-awaited refurbishment and reassurance the city cares about them and their neighborhood. "It helps us to understand and see we have support and a backup," said beachside resident Brad Gonzalez. "That gives us the drive to improve our community even more." The improvements, and more like them, began with a commitment over three years ago from Mayor Derrick Henry to work with Seabreeze neighborhood residents on remedying the chronic problems making their beachside community look and feel blighted. "Sometimes when you work with the community, you get something better than you thought," Henry said as he reported on the improvements during the March 5 City Commission meeting. The project went so well that the mayor wants to duplicate it now and do the same thing in other areas of Daytona Beach. "I'm ready for the next community and neighborhood because beautification is something we should take as a priority all across the city," Henry said. Little projects add up to big changes The mayor's Beachside Action Committee was established at the beginning of 2021. The aim was to pursue improvements that could be made relatively quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Most of the projects were approved and planned in 2021, and the goal was to complete them as quickly as possible. Despite some supply chain challenges and tropical storms, about a dozen projects were completed in 2022 and 2023. One project involved a colorful outdoor welcome sign that alerted passersby that road beautification work was starting late last year on East International Speedway Boulevard. The sign featured three large palm trees and said "Welcome to our beachside." The sign stationed at the city's main gateway to the beach was also placed there to give people hope that beachside blight is being addressed. A second project grew out of a plan to remove large metal sign frames along Seabreeze Boulevard in early 2021. The towering frames were paint-starved and looking beat up. An out-of-the-box suggestion was to repurpose them as public art. The sign frames now have ocean-themed pictures of turtles, fish and a sunrise. They're covered in durable paint that will need minimal touching up. Another project centered on the unsightly trash scattered around beachside alleys and the rear of some businesses. Pictures before work got underway show stacks of wood, piles of trash bags, cardboard boxes, overturned trash cans, and buildings with graffiti and scattered junk. "That looks horrible. We don't want to look like that," Henry said when he saw photos of the alleys and side streets before they were cleaned up. In early 2021, the Public Works division began improving trash pickup and litter removal at businesses. Code Enforcement officers prioritized the back alleys of Seabreeze Boulevard bars and commercial Dumpster enclosures. After some time passed, the junk and trash vanished, trash cans were neatly lined up, and pressure washing and paint made the buildings look much better. "That's a remarkable difference," Henry said when he saw the post-cleanup photos. Improvements to sidewalks, curbs, signs and park In the middle of 2021, the city started a new pressure washing and maintenance program that focused on beachside sidewalks and curbs. Repairs improved pedestrian safety, and the sidewalks and curbs were left with a much cleaner, refreshed look. The sidewalk repairs were also done in a way that allowed much-needed shade trees to remain in place. Sidewalks along Seabreeze Boulevard also got drainable landscape covers for palm trees planted in those walkways. The gray-colored covers give pedestrians a smoother and safer surface to walk near, and they reduce stormwater debris. Faded, damaged and vandalized street signs and beach access signs were also replaced. Colin's Park also received new playground equipment including swings, landscaping, signs, sidewalks, picnic tables and parking. The pavilion received much-needed paint and picnic tables, and new benches were also added. Residents say the improvements brought families back to the riverfront park off of University Boulevard. Neighbors working together A parade of Seabreeze Boulevard-area residents came to the March 5 City Commission meeting to take turns at the podium thanking Henry, but the mayor said others also deserve credit. "It's not about me," Henry said. "It's about beachside residents who stood up and decided they wanted to participate." The mayor said "high praise" is also due to city staff members who partnered "with the residents to work day by day, street by street, block by block to beautify the beachside." Residents said they're grateful for the improvements. "Neighborhoods with a strong sense of place help people to flourish," Joyce Case said. When Case moved to her Seabreeze-area neighborhood in 2001, she said there were a lot of investment properties and not a lot of owner-occupied homes. But she couldn't resist her 1939 home two blocks from the beach, so she took a chance. Another Daytona neighborhood improving:Daytona Beach's new approach for riverfront vagrancy: Network of vigilant security guards Slowly but surely, she's seen improvements. First came traffic calmers, then improved code enforcement, and then an earlier bar closing time. A neighborhood watch group formed, a police department substation was opened, and various efforts have been made to reduce late-night problems generated by Seabreeze Boulevard bars. Case said the improvements have "inspired neighbors to work together."
Deltona-Daytona-Ormond housing market earns top 10 ranking for this surprising reason
DAYTONA BEACH − A new national ranking lists Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach as the ninth-slowest metro area in the country to sell a house. The ranking by CreditNews.com comes as a surprise to P.W. Mabry, president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors. "We're selling properties like crazy right now," said Mabry, an agent with Re/Max Signature in Ormond Beach. "Our numbers (volume of homes sold) are going up." How did they come up with the ranking? New York-based CreditNews.com based its ranking of the nation's 10 fastest and 10 slowest metro areas to sell a house on data from real estate website Zillow.com, which found that it took a median of 39 days for a listing to be put under contract to be sold in the "Deltona" metro area in January. "When referring to 'Deltona,' we meant the entire metro area, encompassing Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach," confirmed Dan Runkevicius, chief editor for CreditNews.com in an email. "The data was sourced from Zillow’s 'for-sale inventory' data set.' Housing inventory was then adjusted to account for the size of the metro population." Florida Realtors Association data showed the "median time to contract" for existing single-family homes in Volusia County in January was actually 41 days, according to a copy of the report provided to The Daytona Beach News-Journal by the West Volusia Association of Realtors. The Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors reported that the median time to contract for properties listed by its members was 53 days. The statewide median time to contract in January was 43 days, according to the Florida Realtors Association. Nationally, the median time to contract for homes to be put under contract was 36 days in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. It's based on a 'Zestimate' Mabry said he takes data provided by Zillow with a grain of salt. "(Real estate) brokers must click on a button that allows Zillow to get their information," he said. "I know for a fact that not all brokers click on that button." "Zillow also has in small print on its reports that when they give you an appraisal value for a property that they call it a 'Zestimate.' That's so they can't be sued (if the information is incorrect)," said Mabry. "It's their personal opinion." "We have people tell us all the time that 'Zillow says my house should sell for a half-million dollars,' but that's not necessarily the case," he added. "Their 'Zestimates' are only within 5% of the actual sale price of a home about half of the time." John Adams, president of Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors in Daytona Beach, also expressed skepticism regarding Zillow's latest ranking for the Deltona metro area. "Zillow has a very good statistics team and generally produces good results, however, in this case, I can't agree," said Adams. Adams, Cameron has 300 agents in eight offices in Volusia and Flagler counties, the most of any real estate brokerage in the combined two-county area. Local market back to pre-pandemic levels? Florida Realtors Association data for the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach area, which encompasses the combined Volusia County-Flagler County area, showed that the median time to contract for homes locally rose to 33 days in 2023, up from 13 days and 11 days in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Despite the increase, the median time to contract remained lower than in 2019 (41 days), the year before the COVID-19 pandemic-fueled real estate boom in Florida began. "I like the (Florida Realtors) view over time, because it is more objective," said Adams. What CreditNews had to say about its rankings The report by CreditNews.com stated that its study "reveals a major shift in best-selling markets since the onset of Covid. None of the top fastest-selling metros pre-COVID remain on the list today, and vice versa. "Part of the reason behind this realignment is different inventory levels across the nation − which, we found, has a strong connection with how fast listings sell." What do the latest local housing numbers say? According to countywide data provided by the West Volusia Association of Realtors, Realtors in Volusia County sold 509 homes in January, up 3% from 494 a year ago. The median sale price rose to $350,000, up 4.8% from $333,990 in January 2023. The inventory of active listings climbed 21.8% year-over-year to 2,384, compared with 1,957 a year ago. Still, the month's supply for Volusia, meaning how long in theory it would take to deplete the inventory if no new listings are added, remained tight at 3.3 months, compared with 2.5 a year ago. The statewide month's supply in January was 3.8, according to Florida Realtors. According to the National Association of Realtors, that means the local real estate market remains tilted somewhat in favor of sellers. "Historically, six months of supply is associated with moderate price appreciation, and a lower level of month's supply tends to push prices up more rapidly," the NAR website states. Who else made the fastest and slowest lists? According to CreditNews.com, the 10 fastest metro areas to sell a house in January, along with the median days on market, were as follows: 1. Hartford, Connecticut (8 days); 2. tie between Rochester and Syracuse, New York, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (9 days); 5. tie between Richmond, Virginia, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and New Haven, Connecticut (11 days); 8. tie between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, and Columbus, Ohio (12 days). Jacksonville was the other Florida metro area, along with Deltona to make the 10 slowest metro areas list: 1. Austin, Texas (66 days); 2. McAllen, Texas (53 days); 3. Poughkeepsie, New York (51 days); 4. San Antonio, Texas (49 days); 5. New Orleans, Louisiana (48 days); 6. Jacksonville, Florida (42 days); 7. tie between Cape Coral, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado (41 days); 9. Deltona, Florida (39 days); 10. New York, New York (37 days). Why do some homes take longer to sell? While some homes locally sell within days of being listed, others can go months without receiving an offer, often resulting in a lowering of the asking price. "When homes sit on the market, there can be a lot of reasons," said Mabry. "In some cases, it could be a property that requires extensive repairs or updating. Being over-priced is almost always the No. 1 reason. You have sellers out there trying to get top dollar for their home, in some cases against the advice of their Realtor."
Sixth-Straight Drop as Mortgage Rates Hit 7.03%
It’s down from last week’s 7.22% average for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan. Freddie Mac’s chief economist says they need to drop more, but it’s a “welcome relief.” LOS ANGELES (AP) – Home loan financing costs eased again this week, as the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate slid to its lowest level in four months. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 7.03% from 7.22% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.33%. The last time the average rate was lower was in early August, when it was at 6.96%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loan, also declined this week, with the average rate falling to 6.29% from 6.56% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.67%, Freddie Mac said. This is the sixth straight weekly drop for rates, echoing a recent pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. The yield, which in mid-October surged to its highest level since 2007, has been falling on hopes that the Federal Reserve may finally be done raising interest rates in its bid to tame lower inflation. “Although these lower rates remain a welcome relief, it is clear they will have to further drop to more consistently reinvigorate demand,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. The average rate on a 30-year home loan climbed above 6% in September 2022 and has remained above that threshold since. In late October, it reached 7.79%, the highest level on records going back to late 2000. The recent downward shift in mortgage rates is a welcome development for prospective homebuyers facing a housing market that remains unaffordable to many Americans. While sales of previously occupied U.S. homes are down 20.2% through the first 10 months of this year, home prices have kept climbing amid a stubbornly low supply of properties on the market. But as mortgage rates ease, they boost borrowers’ purchasing power, increasing how much home they can afford. Still, the average rate on a 30-year home loan remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.10%. The large gap between rates now and then is contributing to the low inventory of homes for sale by discouraging homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates two years ago from selling. So far, the pullback in rates has spurred a pickup in demand for home loans. Mortgage applications notched their fifth consecutive weekly increase last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Several housing economists are projecting that mortgage rates will continue to ease in 2024, though the forecasts call for the average rate on a 30-year home loan to remain above 6%, still about double what the average rate was just two years ago. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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