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Castro Realty Group in the News:
8/22: Progressions, Orlando Sentinel
Boards of Directors
West Orange Habitat recently announced its new officers and board members including Alberto J. Herran, financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. in Orlando, as president; Duncan McCulloch, a national director of strategy with Sears Home Improvement, as vice president; Gail Ricci, retired, as secretary; Sally Lorenz, owner of Lorenz & Associates, as treasurer; and Marcia Castro, owner and broker with Castro Realty Group in Orlando.
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March 14, 2011|By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel
As mortgage rates, sales activity and prices in Orlando's existing-home market edged up in February, the number of houses listed for sale in the core market fell below 14,000 for the first time in five years, according to a new report released Monday.
The area's median price edged up from a revised $94,900 in January to $96,000 last month, said the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, which tracks member sales, most of them in Orange and Seminole counties.
As the average interest rate on a 30-year loan grew from 4.84 percent in January to 4.88 percent in February, the number of closings also edged up to a preliminary count of 2,084.
While real-estate research groups such as RealtyTrac have reported that about half of all sales in four-county Metro Orlando involve foreclosed or distressed properties, the local real-estate association said that 74 percent of sales in the core Orlando market were bank-owned or headed toward foreclosure.
The midpoint price of those properties in February was $74,000 for bank-owned sales and $98,000 for short sales, while sales of "ordinary" properties hit a median of $155,000 for the month.
Not since February 2006 has the Orlando Realtors' core market had so few houses on the market — 13,480.
"A downward slip in inventory means a downward slip in the number of choices available to homebuyers," said Mike McGraw, chairman of the local association and owner of McGraw Real Estate Services.
Based on the current pace of sales, that inventory would be consumed in 6.5 months if no other houses were to come on the market. Sales were so heated last year, when a federal tax credit was available, that the monthly inventory of available homes fell below the six-month mark on several occasions; in one of the worst months for the local market, the November 2008 inventory was almost two years.
Orlando real-estate broker Marcia Socas of Castro Realty Group said she remembers how the months of inventory a few years ago ballooned so much that she hated to even look at the numbers. Now, she said, it's back down to what historically is considered a market in balance between supply and demand.
With the shrinking inventory and rising interest rates, Socas said, she would have expected prices to increase even more than they have. But consumer confidence may be low because of rising fuel costs and continued difficulties in obtaining mortgage financing.
"I expected a higher influx of calls by now, too," Socas said. "Springtime has always been the busiest time, and we're not getting as many calls as expected."
Homes of all types spent an average of 99 days on the market before coming under contract in February, and the average home sold for 94.47 percent of its listing price. In February 2010, those numbers were 91 days and 94.87 percent.
Socas said that, despite what Bank of America and other lenders are trying to do to expedite distress sales, short sales continue to take so long that they weigh down the average time houses are listed for sale.
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Wells Fargo donates cash and property to Habitat for Humanity
February 20, 2011|By Linda Florea, ORLANDO SENTINEL
Wells Fargo & Co. gave Habitat for Humanity Orlando a $35,000 grant to help build homes, as well as two vacant lots valued at $14,500. Habitat will build homes for low-income families on the land, which is in Orlando's Holden Heights neighborhood.
"Donating vacant lots to Habitat for Humanity creates affordable housing for deserving families and helps stabilize neighborhoods that have been impacted by the housing crisis," said Stephen Porter, real-estate-owned program manager for Wells Fargo. "Plus, the grant will help Habitat complete homes already under construction."....
....Marcia Castro-Socas, a broker with Castro Realty Group in Orlando, and husband John Socas, owner of NozzleMaster Inc. in Orlando, walked 60 miles at a Susan G. Komen event in Tampa and raised $750 from Castro Realty Group, $750 from NozzleMaster and $250 from Enzon Pharmaceuticals in Bridgewater, N.J. …
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Castro Realty Group Becomes Orlando’s only Statewide and Locally Minority-Certified Real Estate Brokerage Company
Castro Realty Group Becomes Orlando’s only Statewide and Locally Minority-Certified Real Estate Brokerage Company
The City of Orlando MWBE recently certified P&L Consultants, Inc. DBA Castro Realty Group, as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), making it the only real estate company based in Orange County to hold both state and local minority certification. The MWBE is the certifying organization in the city of Orlando for minority-owned and woman-owned businesses. To qualify for certification, one of the requirements is that companies must prove that they are at least 51%-independently owned and controlled by qualified minorities or women.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the U.S. Census Bureau announced on September 21, 2010 that the number of Hispanic-owned firms increased by nearly 44 percent between 2002 and 2007. While minority-owned businesses are experiencing substantial growth, Hispanic businesses still represent only 9 percent of all classifiable businesses but 13 percent of the adult population. This report also highlighted that in the State of Florida overall, 22% of firms were Hispanic-owned in 2007. One of the summary points in the US Census Bureau’s report included the following eye opening fact: “The Hispanic population had an estimated purchasing power of about $1 trillion, larger than the purchasing power of Indonesia ($969 billion), Australia ($824 billion), the Netherlands ($654 billion) and of all but 14 countries worldwide.”
According to Marcia Castro Socas, Castro Realty Group’s broker, “The MBE certification by the State of Florida as well as the certification by the City of Orlando, are a reflection of our long standing professional reputation, our unblemished record, and our identity with our heritage and culture. This distinction, along with our efforts to consistently educate and inform the local public, are indicative of our continual commitment and dedication to our clients and to the community of diverse cultures and ethnicities which we serve.”
While many firms provide residential real estate services in the Central Florida area, Castro Realty Group also boasts an accomplished commercial real estate division, property management, and foreclosures department.
About Castro Realty Group
Castro Realty Group is one of, if not the, largest long established Hispanic owned real estate companies in Central Florida. It consists of 12 licensed sales associates and broker associates operating in Orange, Lake, Seminole, and Osceola Counties for the company which has been established for the past 10 years. The company’s experience ranges from sales of real estate foreclosures listed as low as $8,000 to multi-million dollar commercial deals and luxury homes. Castro Realty Group has the distinction of having been repeatedly chosen and the “real estate expert speaker” at county and city down payment assistance classes, and has placed many buyers in homes utilizing down payment assistance and Neighborhood Stabilization Programs (NSP). The company’s founder, Lourdes Castro, is one of the few agents nationally to receive the National Association of Realtors’ accolade as a recipient of the Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Certification. However, apart from the experience and professional tributes, the company feels that it’s greatest measure of success comes from the fact that approximately 90% of it’s growth is generated through word of mouth and positive referrals from satisfied customers. Castro Realty Group is a proud member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando as well as the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. For more information, visit www.castrorealtygroup.com.
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Excerpt from Orlando Sentinel
Corporate Giving Section
July 26, 2010|By Linda Florea, ORLANDO SENTINEL
Castro Realty Group in Orlando will donate up to $800 to the Susan G Komen 3-Day For the Cure event. The company's broker, Marcia Castro Socas, will walk with the Young Survival Coalition Orlando in the 60 mile event in October in Tampa. Castro Realty Group will match all donations received by Marcia Socas, up to $800.
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After Federal tax credit ends, homebuyers turn to other sources for assistance in home buying.
Orlando, FL, June 1, 2010--With the deadline for contracts to be signed for the $8,000 tax credit eligibility for homeowners now a thing of the past, first time homebuyers are turning to some traditional assistance programs, as well as some new forms of assistance.
Although the process is not always easy-- there are different stipulations and requirements involved in the various programs-- experienced real estate agents are getting these deals done. Part of the difficulty in navigating the programs comes from the fact that there are a number of assistance programs available. Each county has its own down payment assistance program, the city of Orlando has its own program, federal stimulus funds exist in the form of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and there are also funds often available from other programs, such as the USDA. Each of these programs carries with it a unique set of guidelines and also varying amounts of assistance.
Castro Realty Group, a local real estate company which has been serving Orlando for over 10 years, has closed a large number of these transactions for both English speaking and Spanish speaking buyers. According to broker Marcia Castro-Socas, “We work with many buyers each month who come looking for down payment assistance funds. After understanding their particular needs we are able to help them determine which assistance program would work best for them, and we cater their home searches accordingly.” Down payment assistance programs often require more time for financing than traditional purchases, and some may come with clauses requiring repayment if a buyer moves out of, or sells, the home prior to a certain timeframe.
“It is so rewarding to be able to help these creditworthy buyers, who otherwise might not have been able to purchase their first home, to realize their family’s dream at today’s affordable price.” said Jim Chuba, of Castro Realty Group. In order to help simplify the many down payment assistance options to their buyers, Castro Realty Group has dedicated a portion of their website specifically to review some of the existing down payment assistance programs and their criteria (www.castrorealtygroup.com/downpaymentassistance).
Marcia is considered an expert in down payment assistance programs and has had the distinction of speaking as the real estate expert at certification classes for both the city and the county.
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Castro Realty Group 5820 Luzon Place Orlando, FL 32839-4801
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