Should you buy now? Discounts look favorable in Tampa Housing Market-2009
Here’s a column from today’s St. Petersburg Times: It’s actually the most cut and dry, easy to understand article that I’ve seen. It explains all the ways you can use today’s Tampa Real Estate Market, Low Interest Rates and the National Home Buyer Tax Credit to your advantage.
It’s a terrible time to buy a home, the naysayers claim. They cite the uncertain job market, the threat of further home price declines, the plundering of retirement accounts. At the risk of raining brimstone on my head, I’ll take the opposite view.
Home buyers enjoy three discounts that might not survive 2009: a foreclosure discount, a tax credit discount and an interest rate discount.
Let’s start with a typical $180,000, three-bedroom, two-bath home for sale in almost any city or suburb around the region.
Foreclosure houses — repossessed by the bank or soon to arrive at that dismal destination — have been selling for about 75 percent of the price of regular homes. The market is rich with such bargains. So let’s take 25 percent — or $45,000 — off the top of that $180,000 home. That makes $135,000.
Clearwater Yacht Club
We’ll move on to the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers. The government defines that as someone who hasn’t owned a primary residence in the past three years. And the beauty of the tax credit is that you won’t have to pay it back, if you stay in the home for 3 years
But to get the $8,000 you have to buy a house by December 2009. Take that $8,000 off the $135,000. We’re down to $127,000. So far, so good.
We still haven’t added in the interest discount. Rates have fallen to historic lows. This week you could get a 30-year fixed mortgage for about 5.2 percent, as long as your credit’s good and your job pays enough. That’s a point lower than rates from 2006, when Tampa Bay area home prices peaked.
Economists predict rates will rise next year as the economy recovers. Shaving off that point saves you about $1,000 a year on your loan. Assume you’ll live in the house six years. That’s close to the average stay in these parts. That’s an additional $6,000 to subtract. So that’s $180,000, minus $45,000 for the foreclosure discount, minus $8,000 for the tax credit discount, minus $6,000 for the interest rate discount.
Our home price is down to $121,000, a tad below the Tampa Bay area’s median sales price for January. Not a bad deal.
February 27, 2009 | Permalink
The only catch I feel; according to the article is coming up with 10% down to do conventional financing. You can always ask the seller’s to pay for a portion of closing costs and prepaid items, however banks have their limit as to how much a seller is allowed to contribute.
An FHA approved home or condo only requires 3.5% down, which I think is a better option for some home buyers who may be purchasing their first home.
If you are in the market to buy a home we would be happy to help you find the best neighborhoods in the Tampa Bay Area. Email: realtyrae@yahoo.com with the subject: buyer’s agent.
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It looks like it’s going to be great weather here in the Tampa Bay area for this wonderful event!
I really enjoy this once a year art show, as there are so many different artists.
Here’s the info:
The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, now in its 39th year, will fill downtown Tampa’s streets this weekend with a pirate’s bounty of jewelry, pottery, paintings, photographs, metal works, sculptures and more. Nearly 300 artists, chosen from more than 1,000 applicants, will participate in what is arguably Tampa’s premier art event.
GREAT NEWS!!!!
We are now able to use last year’s maximum loan limits on FHA which in Hillsborough, Pasco & Pinellas is $292,500
(much better than the &$271,050 we were rolled back to).
Don’t forget about the 8,000 tax credit for home buyers. This is not just first time home buyers, it is for anyone who hasn’t owned a home for the past 3 years. This program will expire at the end of 2009.
If you are looking for a Real Estate Agent in the Tampa Bay area, please give us a call:
If California is number 1 in foreclosures in the U.S. and
Tampa, Florida is number 2 in foreclosures;you can expect the housing markets to be similar. California offers the same type of opportunities with regards to climate and beauty.
The difference is that the Tampa Bay area has an even greater number of homes for sale in the 55K range than California.
I thought this was a very interesting article about an investor who is planning on buying property to hold onto.
Some Investors Are Gobbling Up Homes Home sales doubled in California in the fourth quarter of 2008 as investors and speculators bought foreclosed properties—cheap. “This is the buying opportunity of our lifetime,” said Bruce Norris, head of an investment group that expects to purchase at least 100 homes this year in Southern California.
Norris Investment Group prefers properties built between 1980 and 1990 that are smaller than 2,000 square feet. Norris says these homes usually don’t have too many maintenance issues and are the easiest to both rent and sell.
Typically, Norris pays somewhere around $50,000 for these properties and spends another $30,000 on repairs. He expects to rent these properties for at least $1,200 a month until the market for them turns.
He expects that time won’t be too far away. “You cannot have this (low) level of pricing be permanent because it costs too much to build a home [in California],” Norris said. “That’s how you know you’re making a logical decision when everything is falling around you.
When you can buy a finished product someone will want to live in for $55,000, that just has to make somebody pretty wealthy someday.”
If you are looking to invest in Real Estate in the Tampa Bay Area give us a call:
Phone number: Rae Catanese 813 784 7744
Prudential Tropical Realty
It doesn’t seem like four years ago that we all heard about the old Georgetown Apartments being purchased for a new waterfront community in South Tampa off of Westshore Blvd. Fast forward to 2009 and the apartments are still there and the property is in foreclosure.
I remember taking clients out showing property and saying “can you believe someone bought that site for 125m”? At the time, there were plenty of stories just like that, with speculators lined up to purchase some of the last waterfront properties in Tampa. NewPort Tampa Bay was another project not too far from the Georgetown Apartments that you may also remember.
This was the headline in an article published January 7, 2006
TAMPA – Another boating community is coming to South Tampa.
Developers plan to replace the 624-unit Georgetown Apartments with 1,249 homes, including 90 canalfront houses with boat docks and 99 community boat slips, according to documents filed with the city. The name was The WESTSHORE BEACH CLUB!
Now that property is being foreclosed on and the City of Tampa has an opportunity to purchase it….
TAMPA — Conservationists want to take advantage of tanking real estate values to buy prime waterfront property in South Tampa.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio asked the nonprofit Trust for Public Land to put together a proposal to purchase the old Georgetown Apartments property on West Shore Boulevard after learning the 160-acre property was in foreclosure.
“We have this opportunity because of the economy. It will not come around again,” Iorio said. “And here’s something that’s right in the urban core that could be a beautiful environmental site for our residents.
“ Developers bought the land in 2005 for $125 million, with plans to replace the 600-unit apartment complex with more than 1,200 homes. Iorio said she turned to the Trust for Public Land because the organization can move quickly with a purchase. If the deal goes through, the half of the property that fronts West Shore Boulevard could still be developed at about the same density it is now, and the portion on Tampa Bay could be purchased by the county’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program.
That would require approval of the Hillsborough County Commission. Commissioner Rose Ferlita likes the idea. “We need another ELAPP piece of property in the city,” she said. “A little bit of development in the front, a little ELAPP in the back. It’s a win-win.” Since its creation in 1987, ELAPP, funded by county property taxes, has made possible the purchase of 44,700 acres of beaches, woods, swamps and grasslands throughout Hillsborough County. But most of that is in unincorporated parts of the county. “Something like this will be so well received by the South Tampa people,” said Ferlita, who was on the Tampa City Council when plans to redevelop Georgetown were announced.
“In this case maybe the economy did something positive for that community.”Greg Chelius, director of the Trust for Public Land’s Florida operations, said he hopes Bank of America and the other financial institutions involved will give the conservation group special consideration before putting the property on the auction block. “We don’t want preferential treatment in the way of price, but it would be nice to work with them prior to it going out to a nationwide bid,” he said.
Chelius said the Georgetown story isn’t unique. All across the country, the trust has been finding bargains on distressed properties.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of the City of Tampa purchasing this site? Leave us a comment.
For more information on distressed property in the Tampa Bay area, contact Rae Catanese-Real Estate Agent-Prudential Tropical Realty 813 784 7744
Hello Everyone,
Just a quick update to let everyone know that the Tampa Bay Business Journal asked “The Tampa Real Estate Insider Blog” to do a testimonial.
As a Real Estate Agent, and author of a Real Estate Blog in the Tampa Bay Area, The Business Journal provides me the information I need to stay ahead of the game in the Tampa Bay Housing Market. Yes, I really do read it!
It will be in the Feb. 27th issue, next Friday. If you subscribe look for me. If you don’t subscribe here’s their info:
Subscribe to The Tampa Bay Business Journal for unlimited online access to content and features for subscribers only. Plus-
- Fresh Sales leads
- Networking events
- Weekly paper delivered to your home or office
Thank you for your continued support and compliments!
Rae Catanese, PA-Prudential Tropical Realty 813 784 7744
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
ENHANCED HOME BUYER CREDIT
Who Qualifies?: Anyone who has not owned a home for the preceding three years. That means you may still qualify for the incentive even if you and your spouse owned a home more than three years ago.
How Much?: The incentive calls for a credit of ten percent of the purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000 for a single resident or a married couple filing jointly.
Are There Limits?: The credit is phased-out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).
How Does It Work?: The tax credit reduces a your tax bill or increases your refund, dollar for dollar. It is fully refundable, meaning that the credit will be paid out to you, even if you owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax that you owe. Even better, there is no repayment requirements associated with this incentive if you keep your home for at least three years.
What are the valid dates to purchase a home?: The incentive is for homes that close between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
Principal Residences: The tax credit is available for purchases of principal residences. Purchases of vacation homes and rental property are not eligible.
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To request more information on how to purchase a home using the new home buyer tax credit send an email to: info@thetamparealestateinsider.com
*This information is provided for general awareness only, and is not intended for the purpose of providing legal, accounting, tax advice or consulting of any kind. Please consult with your tax professional for complete details.
In a move that will make it even more difficult to qualify for a condo loan, Fannie Mae is putting a host of new conditions on mortgages for condominiums.
- View from 345 Bayshore Condo
Lending giant Fannie Mae is slapping tough new requirements
Fannie Mae’s timing ”couldn’t be worse,” said Jack McCabe, a South Florida real estate consultant who believes the region is mired in a housing depression. “This is effectively going to make it much more difficult to qualify.”
NEEDED TO QUALIFY
The new conditions include:
• No more than 15 percent of unit owners can be 30 days or more past due on association fees.
• For new condo buildings and condo conversions, at least 70 percent of units must have been sold or put under contract. That’s up from 49 percent previously.
Charles Foschini, vice chairman of debt and equity finance for brokerage CB Richard Ellis in Miami, said Fannie was protecting investors, borrowers and taxpayers, as it should in a climate of increased risk.
Borrowers will benefit, he said, by knowing they are moving into a condo complex that is adequately funded and has plenty of reserves, allowing them to predict their monthly expenses.
”From the taxpayer’s perspective . . . the quicker we can instill sounder underwriting practices for mortgages for Fannie or anyone else the more confidence we’ll have in the market,” Foschini said.
If you are looking to buy a condo in the Tampa Bay area and would like a list of approved condos, please send us an email with your request: info@thetamparealestateinsider.com subject: approved condo list.
Our phone number is 813 784 7744 should you have any questions.
Rae Catanese, PA
Real Estate Agent -Prudential Tropical Realty-Tampa,FL
Looking for Things to do in the Tampa Bay area? The 2009 St. Petersburg Boat Show is coming up.
Tropicana Field
1 Tropicana Drive
St. Petersburg, FL 33705ADMISSION: $2
Friday, March 13, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 15, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Whether you are looking for a boat, or just exploring your options this is the show for you. Many Tampa Bay area residents live in boating communities and have waited to own their own boat. Manufacturers of new boats are hurting just like the real estate market, so now may be the BEST time to buy a boat.
Ahoy Mates! This is the boating sales event of the season. Chart your course to Tropicana Field–St. Petersburg on March 13, 14, & 15.
The Tampa Bay Boat Sale is a grand event showcasing area boat dealers and manufacturers, the latest in boating and fishing supplies… great accessories too.
This three-day sales event offers a great way to see and compare all available makes and models in one location. Tropicana Field will be filled with new boats, trailers, docking and safety equipment and many outdoor-related exhibits!
You won’t believe the selection of boats on display from large to small… too many makes and models to list them all! Millions of dollars of boating inventory…All IN ONE LOCATION.
Area lenders will be on hand offering low show financing rates. You could be on the water before the weekend is over.
The event is open to the public. Admission is only $2.00!
see also: Westshore Yacht Club Boating Community
I watched Larry King last night on CNN, and Suze Orman mentioned that TAMPA, FL was an area that is experiencing foreclosures at record levels.
What will this mean for our inventory of homes on the market? It can’t hurt to have the national media letting the public know that our Tampa Real Estate Market has become the best place to find deals.
Why is the Tampa Bay area is different than other areas of the country?
- We are still a desirable location for retirement and relocation
- Have beautiful beaches
- A major city with over 30 companies headquartered here.
Most of the media talk about foreclosures on a national level. It’s nice to finally see our real estate market getting some attention. This will help buyer’s confidence level and decrease our level of inventory, which will help stabilize our market.
If you need help buying or selling a home please contact us.
Prudential Tropical Realty, Tampa, Fl
813 784 7744 or emailto: info@thetamparealestateinsider.com
