SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

We would like to wrap up the year by saying thank you to all of our friends, families, clients, followers and supporters. We would truly be nothing without you. SI Real Estate is honored to represent you through your real estate transactions in the past, present and future. 2012 has treated the real estate industry quite nicely and we hope that next year sees similar, if not more improvements to the market in which we are all involved in. We hope that you all stay safe through this holiday season. Whether you are visiting family and friends, remember the roads and airways will be busier than usual, so please exercise caution. Please keep all the less fortunate people in your thoughts and remember to be grateful of what you have and where you live. We have seen tragedies such as natural disasters to the East coast, innocent children’s lives taken and political / financial turmoil in foreign countries. 2012 also offered bright spots like amazing performances from the US Olympic te...

The real estate market has seen an abundance of activity in 2012, both positive and promising.  The local Tampa real estate market has shown significant growth since January.   It continues to point in the right direction. We started the year off hoping that the unemployment rate would continue to fall. To our benefit, it has fallen over 1.7% which is far better than the national average .  There were also predictions of an increase in new home construction stemming from depleted inventory resulting in a more balanced supply and demand curve. Jumping forward, September realized more new home starts than any month in the past four years!  Not only is this a strong indicator of builder confidence, which was the highest it has been in six years, but new home starts result in construction jobs created.  Economists from the Home Builder Group suggest that with each new home built, three additional jobs are created and about ninety thousand dollars...

SI Real Estate prides itself on first class personalized services that are second to none. Client’s needs and expectations are highest on our list of priorities and we do our best to exceed them at every opportunity. Our real estate professionals have extensive experience in the field and are equipped to handle any situation that may present itself through the selling process. We have sold homes that come in all shapes and sizes and will not be satisfied until the job is done and YOU are happy. So you ask yourself, why sell my home now?  While many consumers are still may be sitting on the fence, others are getting reconnected with the changing real estate market. One reason we encourage home owners to list with SI Real Estate now is because of the limited housing inventory available. Inventory in our local Tampa, Florida market has dipped 23% from levels of one year ago!  A healthy real estate market should have six months of property inventory available. The avera...

Feature Property of the Week Come home and enjoy this community of newly constructed homes which are conveniently located in Tampa Bay. This community provides the perfect blend of amenities such as resort style pools, playgrounds, and wetland preserves and is conveniently located only 10 miles from the downtown Tampa business district. If you are looking for a luxurious home with space to grow and stretch, look no further. Upon entering the home, you are treated to a flex room which would be great for office space or a play room. The kitchen and living area provide great open space for a large gatherings or relaxing with family and friends. The kitchen boasts stainless steel appliances and a sizeable dining space. The double sinks are conveniently located in the kitchen island providing ample counter space. The laundry room and guest bathroom; also located on the first floor. The only bedroom downstairs is the huge master suite. Never worry about counter space in the maste...

A recent report by Florida Realtors reports that Florida’s pending sales, median home price and closed sales all increased in the month of October . Real estate closings for existing home sales were up 25.3% from a year ago and totaled 17,779 transactions. Florida boasted a median sales price for existing homes of $184,300 in September which is up 11.4% from this time last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. This is actually higher than the national average.   The President of Florida Realtors, Summer Greene, reported that the state’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest it has been in four years! This coupled with the increases in pending homes sales, closings and prices will bring an even brighter outlook to the real estate market in Florida. Condo sales saw a year over increase of 16.4% and a median price of $107,000, which is also up 20.2% from a year ago.   On a national level, housing starts experienced a 3.6% uptick as well, reported by th...

Both home sales and home prices saw positive annual growth during the third quarter according to the last report published by the National Association of Realtors. The national median existing home price rose 7.6% from a year ago. This is significant because it represents the highest increase we have seen in any quarter since 2006. At a local level, real estate in Tampa, Florida we saw an increase of 14.3% in median home sales price compared to a year ago. Tampa, Florida also posted a 7.6% increase in the National Association of Home Builders “Improving Markets Index” which identifies areas that have improved from the low point of the downturn.   This is the third consecutive month Florida metropolitan cities showed a gain, but what’s even more encouraging is that this also represents an even larger improvement when looking at the number of cities that posted a gain this time last year. CoreLogic recently reported that the third quarter brought about the most building permi...

Tampa’s premier home builder, Standard Pacific has recently published an article that sheds light on market conditions and trends in our area. The article is based on a report done by Barclays Capital that forecasts home prices rising as much as 5% – 7.5%! The article also reveals some significant factors that are pushing home prices in an upward direction and how this is being done in two different types of markets. It gives an interesting look into the prime “A and B” markets, and also tells why the “C, D and F” locations will soon become more desirable. On a local level, we are seeing this first hand. New homes in New Tampa are in higher demand than previous years and inventory is quite scarce. We are constantly in multiple offer situations and sometimes loosing the bidding war due to home buyers submitting low ball offers that do not hold up. Standard Pacific has a great presence in the New Tampa area and will soon run out of homes to sell. Don’t miss out on a home of your ...

A report by the Commerce Department showed that the rate at which builders started new construction on single family homes and apartments was the highest last month than it has been in four years. Plans for continued building are set at an even higher rate than we have recently seen, a clear sign of buyers taking advantage of record low mortgage rates, low inventory and builder confidence on the rise. Not only is this good for the real estate market in general, but new home construction creates jobs which is essential in today’s economy. In the last two months we have seen a fifteen percent increase in new construction. About two thirds of this increase deals with single family homes while the other portion is made up of apartment homes. This coupled with a twelve percent increase in building permits shows that there are no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Homebuilder stocks saw am increase as a result of the increase in permits and plans to keep building. The National Asso...

A report published by the web based real estate company, Zillow, shows that the amount of homes for sale fell by 19.4% in the last year! Zillow divided the statistics by price tiers. The greatest reduction of inventory has come from the top two tiers. Three metro areas of Florida made the list with Tampa, showing a year over reduction of 19.8% for the top tier, and 23.3% for the mid-tier homes. The overall average reduction in inventory was 22.9% for Tampa Florida real estate market. This should make it easy for fence sitters who are waiting on the sideline for the “right time” to list their homes. Those who have questioned selling their home for the last year are beginning to realize that they missed the bottom a while back and may be scrambling to catch up. As far as buyers are concerned, the time has passed for them to offer $10,000 under listing price. The days of low ball offers are over. Buyers are now starting to participate in bidding wars over properties that used...

In many cities across the nation, and especially here in Tampa, Florida, we have seen a dramatic increase in multiple offer scenarios in our real estate market. This is of course a seller’s dream and somewhat of a “price is right” guessing game for home buyers and their real estate agents. However, this shouldn’t be viewed as a negative occurrence for either side of the transaction. For sellers, having the option to consider multiple offers at various price points had been a thing of the past. This year, it is finally becoming more and more prevalent in our real estate market. An article published by Inman News identifies that most cities that are in real estate recovery (or beyond!), like Tampa, are seeing bidding wars on homes prices in all price ranges. This has nothing whatsoever to do with distressed homes. Other advantages of multiple offers for sellers include: generally quicker sales, less home disruption due to showings, and a “safety net” for the seller is created in cas...

As we continue to see the ever changing real estate market take a positive turn upward, some people are asking themselves what to do in these times. Based on recent home sale statistics, homes are being sold at a much faster rate than we have seen in years. A healthy real estate market usually has about 6 months of supply at any given time. Today we have seen that number cut in half, and the shelf life of homes for sale has dropped to about 69 days. A clear sign that the real estate has shifted to a seller’s market . August 2012 posted numbers for existing home sales that surpassed 9% increases from this time last year! Chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun said, “The Florida market is experiencing inventory shortages, which are placing pressure on prices.” This shortage of real estate inventory could lead to other advantageous recovery factors like new construction projects, which in turn stimulates the market with job growth. Lending conditions...

As summer comes to an end, we take a look back to reflect on what has transpired over the last few months, especially in the Tampa Bay area real estate market. On a national level, the real estate market saw an increase of 2.3 percent in existing home sales, while Tampa Florida experienced similar gains. Tampa, Florida saw an increase in median sales price of approximately $15,000 compared to this time last year. New construction home sales also saw a jump in the right direction, boasting a 25 percent increase according to a recent report by the Commerce Department. This increase can partly be attributed to the record low interest rates and shrinking home inventory the state has been experiencing this year. If the jobless rate continues to shrink as we have seen this year, the affordability rate will undoubtedly rise, causing more and more consumers to enter the home purchasing arena. The National Association of Realtors reports a 9.4 percent increase in home prices compared to ...

Real Estate inventory could not keep up with the demand for homes during the month of July. This is now the fifth month in a row we have seen a correlation between supply and demand that is favorable to a thriving real estate market. The National Association of Realtors reported that the national median home price is up 9.4% from a year ago at this time, which is the strongest gain since January 2006! Our local Tampa, Florida real estate market has seen gains even higher than the national average and boasts a 12.4% increase in median sale prices from a year over perspective. Sales of existing homes are also up 10.4 % from this time one year ago. Chief economist for the NAR said, “Mortgage rates have been at record lows this year while rents have been rising at faster rates. Combined, these factors are helping unleash a pent-up demand.” The demand stems from a 23.8% decrease in listing inventory from a year ago and looks like it will continue to fall. Not only are homes being sold ...

If you are still looking for reasons to buy a home, look no further. The reports have been released. Real Estate consumers are finally beginning to act on their instincts. A brief comparison of Tampa, Florida’s housing market versus this time last year shows great improvements that will eventually lead to an even more stabilized real estate market. Home sales have increased about 8% since this time last year. Not a huge increase, but positive activity nonetheless. What is most encouraging when looking at year over reports of Tampa, Florida is the month supply of homes on the market. This time last year, Florida was sitting at a 6.5 month supply of homes compared to only a 3.5 month supply this year! Prices are obviously adjusting now and moving upward. The number of homes in the Tampa Bay market is around 7,600 compared to last year’s figures of 12,000 plus! This is indicative of a seller’s market and is encouraging to see the gap between supply and demand shrinking. Not only do...

So far, 2012 has provided countless signs of an enhanced real estate market. We are constantly being reminded of the historically low mortgage rates, median sales prices rising, and buyers’ confidence higher than the last several years. What we may be missing out on are the real life examples of how this impacts an agent and buyer relationship. Here are some valuable bullet points that will give you a real estate reality recap! Listing price: - Usually properties do not sell for this amount. - Listing prices are most often a tool to trigger showings and offers. - Average listing price in Tampa is: $308,425 / Median Sales Price: $114,505, an impressive 14% increase from last yr. (updated mid-July) - Here is an example of a real life Tampa transaction: Recently one of our brokers sold a condo at $172K. Listing price was $155. Multiple offers were submitted. Read more about this trend here. Comparative Listings : - Investors decisions based on ROI - Homes that were purchased at the...

Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan recently stated that the U.S. will continue to see economic growth through 2012. He noted that although the growth may not be as fast paced as the beginning of the year, it will be heading in the right direction, none the less. The housing sector has shown positive signs thus far in 2012, and while mortgage rates remain at an all time low, more and more real estate consumers are starting to cash in and take advantage. Compared to the same time last year, home sales are up by 9 percent. Duncan also pointed out that residential home investments are expected to increase this year and should help contribute to the general economic growth that has been thirsty for such activity since 2005. Homeowners are showing greater levels of confidence in regards to the housing market and more specifically to home price expectations and outlook. A more local real estate report for Tampa, Florida also shows optimistic signs of progression. Median home sale pri...