SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

The year of 2013 has proven to be quite eventful for the real estate industry, both in the Tampa Bay area and nationwide.   Over the last nine months, we have been carefully monitoring the market activity and headliners, and planning accordingly in order to stay abreast of real estate from all angles.   Starting Off Strong At the beginning of this year, Tampa’s real estate market continued the upward trend that 2012 produced. Home buyers, and the affordability of housing, were finally receiving some serious recognition, and it was a strong way to begin the year.   The number of homes that were either in foreclosure, or were seriously delinquent, dropped by over 300,000 units from October 2011 to the end of 2012, and the market quickly transitioned towards becoming a seller’s market, which is in part where we are today. Home Values Soar In the first few months of 2013, Tampa experienced an astounding 22% increase in median home sale prices, while the ...

The year 2013 has been a very positive year when it comes to the recovery of the housing market. We have followed the rising prices of homes, increase in newly build constructions sold,   homebuilders regaining trust and increasing the inventory, and we also witnessed people who went through a bankruptcy rejoining the housing market after rebuilding their credit. It is obvious that we still have work to do in order to reach the country’s potential but analysts agree on the fact that we are heading towards a bright future. According to David Crowe, chief economist for National Association of Home Builders, “the cards are in play for a decent and fairly strong recovery in 2014 and particularly in 2015.” What does this mean for people who have real estate needs but are not sure if it is the right time to enter the housing market? With a better inventory and more options on the market and with stricter but also more secured mortgage loans, the customers will realize that the ...

Real Estate Pulse 2013:     It continues to be a promising year for the real estate industry in the U.S., especially in the Tampa Bay area.   We are seeing irrefutable signs of housing recovery.   The latest excitement to make headlines is the blossoming new construction occurring in today’s market.   In July of 2013, construction spending increased to the highest level in the last four years here in the United States. With the recent low inventory levels, this is exactly what some buyers have been waiting for.   Spending increased as much at 5.2% nationwide since July of last year according to the Commerce Department figures .   As for private homebuilders, spending increased .6 %, which is the greatest change we have seen since September 2008.   Private residential construction wasn’t the only category to boast large improvements, with non-residential and factory construction also climbing to  1.3% and federal spending increasing by ...

1.5 million potential buyers There is new hope on the horizon for those who lost their homes due to the recession. The current administration has created a new rule regarding the waiting period for obtaining a new real estate mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration .   Previously, home owners who experienced a foreclosure or bankruptcy had to wait for three years before they could apply for a new mortgage. The new regulation makes it possible for those who have repaired their credit score, can prove their income, and have gone through a full recovery, to be eligible for a new mortgage loan in as little as one year. Many agree on the fact that this is a very positive sign for the real estate market and states such as Florida Nevada, and Arizona, have already taken advantage of this opportunity by redesigning their marketing campaigns to attract clients who have proved themselves to be financially stable after going through a foreclosure. These so-ca...

Since 2009, existing home sales have never been so high. July 2013 recorded and increase of 6.5% in comparison to June of the same year. A seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.06 million in June went up to 5.39 million in the month of July. This indicates a double-digit year-over-year increase in the real estate market. The median price for existing homes was $213,500 in July which was 13.7 % more than in the previous year at the same time. Also, 15% of the July sales were distressed homes foreclosures and short sales which indicated the lowest share since October 2008.   “The size of the increase was a surprise,” given the number of people applying for mortgages has dropped sharply since rates began to rise in early June, said Patrick Newport , an economist at IHS Global Insight. The increasing mortgage rates also play a big role in this.   According the Freddie Mac , “fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.37% in July from 4.07% in June; being the highest since July 2011. ...

Homeowners are thrilled to see the values of their homes continue to increase as the real estate industry is recovering and stabilizing.   The strong demand for housing and the low supply of inventory have continued to drive up home prices in the Florida real estate market, as well as nationwide!   Buyers are expected to be prepared to make strong offers due to the rising prices and mortgage rates. We have been witnessing multiple offers and bidding wars taking place in today’s market too. This appears to be great news for sellers, as they are now receiving offers equal to or above their listing prices. Sellers do, however, need to be mindful of how an appraisal can create challenges in closing their real estate transaction.   We noted earlier this year that appraisers were finally beginning to place higher values on homes, allowing for more sales to go through and for the market to gain strength. Recently, however, it appears in some cases as though appraisers a...

The year of 2013 has been proven to be an eventful time for the real estate market, especially here in Tampa, Florida. So far this year, we have discussed: the impact of international investors on the recovery of the housing market, the significant presence of Millenials as first-time home buyers, the recent mortgage rate activity with predictions of what to expect, the low housing inventory levels, and the encouraging signs of home value increases. So what can we expect to see as the next big move in real estate? The latest headline to grab the attention of the Tampa market came from a CNN Money article labeling Tampa, Florida at third place out of the top ten cities with highest percentage of all-cash home sales throughout the country. This is a positive sign of correction and stabilization returning to our real estate market. An astonishing 58% of all home sales in Tampa last month were settled in cash. This group of purchasers is made up of both international inves...