Tampa Real Estate Insider Blog » Home Sales Statistics 2009

Florida Real Estate: 15 Market Positives Creates Demand for Investors

Rae Catanese — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:23:10 +0000

The upside of Florida real estate: 15 market positives

Let’s take a look at some of the opportunities for today and the future of Florida’s real estate market.

1. Great prices. Statewide, the existing-home median sales price was $161,200 in the fourth quarter of 2008; a year earlier, it was $216,600 for a decrease of 26 percent.

2. The time is right. Home sales volumes are rising again – a clear signal that today’s “buyers market” may be changing soon. In fourth quarter 2008, statewide sales of existing single-family homes were up 13 percent compared to the same period last year, according to FAR statistics.

From Seminole Heights Bungalow-Tampa

3. High inventory levels. Conditions are ideal for buyers to find their dream home. Inventory is still plentiful in all price ranges. But as sales volumes increase, inventory levels are likely to shrink. That reality translates into this advice for buyers: Don’t wait too long.

4. Low mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are still at the lowest levels since the 1960s. Lower rates multiply a buyer’s financial power. Even half a percent can make a sizeable difference. For example, on a $200,000 home, half of 1 percent could save the homeowner about $815 a year. Buyers can get more home for the money, which is a perfect scenario for families looking to upsize.

5. Incentives to buy. Federal, state and local housing programs can help buyers make that big purchase. The U.S. Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2009 includes an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. President Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus package also identifies and offers incentives to help home buyers with mortgages. Talk to a local mortgage lender about state and federal incentive programs.

How to get the $8,000 credit.

6. A long-term-growth state. Long-term economic and demographic trends continue to favor Florida. By 2010 economists forecast that Florida will be the third-most-populated state in the country. Florida’s population is expected to swell about 75 percent by 2030. Florida has been one of the 10 fastest-growing states in the U.S. for each of the past seven decades, and often the state has been in the top four, according to census data. Population growth will continue to provide a foundation for other economic development, such as new jobs and growing incomes. All of these trends are positive indicators for real estate growth.

7. A migration magnet. Even with a slowdown in economic growth nationally, projections call for Florida’s population to return to more normal growth levels of about 317,000 a year between 2010 and 2020, similar to the 1980s and 1990s, said Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. That’s a lot of new buyers coming into the market.

8. A favored retirement destination. Over the long term, Florida stands to benefit from the migration of the aging Baby Boomer generation, roughly 80 million strong. Demographic studies show that the Sunshine State’s mild climate and outdoor amenities continue to make Florida a top retirement destination.

9. Business-friendly state. Florida has always been a business-friendly state – no state income taxes, plus incentives from local municipalities encourage businesses to set up shop here. Even with the current economic downturn nationwide, Florida leaders continue to keep business needs in the forefront of planning for the state’s future. The Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners ranked five Florida communities on its “Best Performing Cities Index 2008,” which ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. Florida’s business climate ranked fourth among executives and sixth overall on “Site Selection” magazine’s 2008 Top State Business Climate rankings.

10. Positive investment outlook. Every quarter, the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies conducts a survey of industry executives, market research economists, real estate scholars and other experts. In the third quarter 2008 survey, the investment outlook for various types of Florida properties remains steady. “People who have responded to our surveys have not lost their faith in Florida as a place to be and a place to invest,” said Dr. Wayne Archer, director. “We have 40 pages of comments from our respondents, and although the dominant theme is the disruption of financing, perhaps the second theme, as one person put it, is people being on the sidelines with full pads and helmets just waiting to jump back in.”

11. Homeownership has value. Realtors believe – and research supports that belief – that homeownership provides a variety of tangible and intangible benefits to the community and homeowners. Studies show that home equity is still the largest single source of household wealth, both for the individual homeowner and for homeowners as a group.

12. Greater sense of well-being. Owning a home leads to increased personal well-being. Research shows that people who own their own homes tend to show higher levels of personal esteem and life satisfaction, which in turn helps to make homeowners and their children more productive members of society.

13. Beneficial for kids. Studies show that children raised in homes owned by their families are more likely to stay in school and more likely to graduate high school. They’re also shown to have a higher lifetime annual income.

14. Community involvement. People who own homes have a strong financial stake in what happens to their community and tend to become more involved in community and civic affairs. Studies show that homeowners also interact more with their neighbors and communities. Compared to renters, homeowners join up to 41 percent more civic and/or nonprofessional organizations, such as the PTA or Scouts; vote in local elections 15 percent more often; enhance their neighborhoods with gardens 12 percent more often; attend church about 10 percent more often; and have a 3 percent greater chance of being interested in public affairs.

15. An unsurpassed lifestyle. Finally, let’s not forget the things that brought people to Florida in the first place, and will continue to attract them – beautiful beaches, fabulous weather and a friendly business climate, with no state income tax. It’s no wonder that Florida’s combination of temperate climate, outstanding recreational amenities and economic opportunity has consistently put Florida in the top three of Harris Poll’s “Most Desirable Places to Live” survey.

Visit our website to search all homes in Tampa Bay. Get a market analysis on your home, or just drop us a line. realtyrae@yahoo.com

Top 3 Places To Live in Tampa Bay (thetamparealestateinsider.com)

Tampa Housing Market Update-Tampa Real Estate Market

Rae Catanese — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:09:41 +0000

I attended the National Association of Realtors conference a couple weeks ago here in Tampa, Fl. Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economic Advisor to the National Association of Realtors was the guest speaker. He had much more to say about the Tampa Real Estate market, however, I’ve been so busy showing properties I haven’t had time to post any new articles. The Tampa Bay Business Journal was also there and here’s the article they wrote.

Stay tuned! I will be blogging more about this in the next few weeks!

FAR economist Lawrence Yun stays positive in Tampa trip

Tampa Bay Business Journal – by Michael Hinman Staff writer

If the housing market is going to rebound, then the federal government has to be ready to expand an $8,000 tax credit to all buyers and to convince Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start buying jumbo loans.

Those were just some of the insights Florida Association of Realtorschief economist Lawrence Yun shared with members of the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors Thursday morning.

“We have the lowest mortgage rates since President Eisenhower but not with jumbo loans,” Yun said. “We hear about the 50-year low mortgage rates at 4.9 percent or 4.8 percent, but with jumbo mortgages, they still remain stubbornly high at 6.5 percent and 7 percent. Fannie and Freddie can’t buy those, so they have to charge a higher interest rate.”

At the same time help is needed to sell homes listing for more than $300,000, Yun said. “The government needs to raise the loan limit or get rid of the loan limit altogether if they want the housing market to stabilize,” he said.

“In the middle market, we are seeing a rise in foreclosures, and the high end will begin to suffer if there are no buyers. If there are no buyers, then they have to reduce prices, and reduce prices and reduce prices, and we’ll never find a bottom.”

Last year, many of the foreclosures hitting the market came from interest rate resets caused by adjustable rate mortgages. Now, however, other economic issues like job loss and other large bills are fueling that particular market, which is likely to stay strong through the rest of the year, Yun said.

“This area has had large job creation in recent years, but now we’re seeing job cuts that are much deeper than in past recessions,” Yun said.

One of the leading industries with job losses is construction, but financial jobs and business services aren’t that far behind, he said. In fact, the only areas that seem to be showing solid growth are education and health care.

“Independent of any political philosophy, the most likely occurrence is that there will be increased health care spending and increased education spending, so we’ll probably continue to see growth in those areas over the next four years,” Yun said.

On a broader scale, the United States is facing some of its biggest budget deficits ever, which could force the government to call on the Federal Reservemore, thus boosting inflation. Such a move could be good for homebuyers.

“In an inflationary society, the winners would be property owners as they would see their values rise,” Yun said. “If it’s a deflation, the losers would be responsible homeowners with mortgages.”

The signs are in place for a home sales rebound. During the economic downturn of the 1980s, home sales dropped dramatically because mortgage rates were rising from 10 to 18 percent, Yun said. In the most recent prior recession, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, home sales actually rose mostly because mortgage rates were falling from 8 percent down to 6.5 percent.

“Today, it is 5 percent, and it’s likely to be 5.5 percent by the year’s end,” Yun said. “That represents great opportunity. Home sales can rise, even in a recession, when the mortgage rates are favorable. We may be facing an unemployment rate of 10 percent, which is a high unemployment rate, but that still means there are 90 percent of the people out there with jobs.”

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Luxury Waterfront Home Market Statistics 2009-Tampa, FL

Rae Catanese — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:47:14 +0000

In the Tampa Bay Area defining a luxury home community usually means a large waterfront home in a desirable neighborhood. How is Tampa, Florida’s Real Estate Market performing in high end home sales?

I compiled statistics from the Tampa MLS. As of May 2009, there are approximately 109 active listings between 1m-2m for sale in Hillsborough County.

Current Active Waterfront Homes on the market: 109 total homes

The average home is a 4b/3b, slightly over 4,100 sq ft and waterfront. These properties are either bay front, lake, or riverfront for purposes of this comparison. Producing an average list price at 1,457,000 and $366.00 per sq ft.

Comparing Active and Sold Listings: 51 sold homes in the past year

I used the same search criteria based on the sold homes between May of 08 to date, May 09. The comps are as follows:

The average list price for the past year was 1.7m, Average sold price of 1.5m, and sold price per sq ft is approximately 340.00. It took 347 days on average to sell these 51 homes.

It would appear by the numbers, that the listing prices are sliding downward from the year prior. It is not just the lower end real estate market being effected by our economy.

If we look at the stats, only 1/2 of these luxury homes will sell in the next year. As of April 2009 there have been 27 homes sold over 1 Millon Dollars in Tampa. The good news is that we are on track to sell the same amount of homes in the same price bracket this year.

For sellers who want to sell their home you’ll need to be priced accordingly. Be flexible on pricing your home to sell. Buyers have to choose from over 100 homes for sale just in Tampa. Pinellas County is also quite competitive for those who want to be closer to the beach.

If you would like to speak with a Real Estate Agent about buying or selling your home, please contact Rae Catanese 813 784 7744 or email: realtyrae@yahoo.com

View all homes for sale in the Tampa Bay Area, see what homes are selling for in your neighborhood or request more information

Home Sales up for Tampa Bay Area!

Rae Catanese — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:32:12 +0000

Home sales were up in March across Hillsborough County as some real estate practitioners hope the housing slump is in the past.

Some 1,400 homes were sold last month in Hillsborough, according to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, the best figures since June 2007. The sales were up 25 percent over February and 20 percent from the year before.

The average sales price also is up from $160,145 in February to $168,071 in March, creating sales in Hillsborough of $235.3 million, compared to $179.4 million the month before.

“Our members have been saying they are seeing positive movement in the housing market. These latest statistics prove that they are indeed experiencing a more positive market,” said Carol Austin, GTAR chief executive officer, in a release.

Nearly 17,000 homes still remain for sale, representing an inventory of just under a year. However, that’s the lowest inventory Hillsborough has seen since October 2006 , and inventory was more than 17 months just a year ago.

“These statistics are extremely positive,” said Jack Rodriguez, GTAR president, in a release. “Hopefully it signals a trend to better things ahead, both for real estate and the economy in general.”

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Questions? Call Rae @ 813 784 7744 or email: realtyrae@yahoo.com

Home Sales UP 25% in March for Hillsborough County

Rae Catanese — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:17:58 +0000

Still on the fence about buying a home in the Tampa Bay Area? Here’s some statistics on our housing market.

Home sales were up in March across Hillsborough County as some real estate practitioners hope the housing slump is in the past.

Some 1,400 homes were sold last month in Hillsborough, according to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, the best figures since June 2007. The sales were up 25 percent over February and 20 percent from the year before.

The average sales price also is up from $160,145 in February to $168,071 in March, creating sales in Hillsborough of $235.3 million, compared to $179.4 million the month before.

Nearly 17,000 homes still remain for sale, representing an inventory of just under a year. However, that’s the lowest inventory Hillsborough has seen since October 2006, and inventory was more than 17 months just a year ago.

Looking to buy or sell a home in the Tampa Bay area? Give us a call 813 784 7744 or search all homes for sale www.TampaBayDwellings.com