SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

Earlier this year the president reduced private mortgage insurance rates. FHA loans were more attainable for first time home buyers. Home owners that wanted to refinance and reduce their monthly payments could also participate in the reduction. Now Freddie Mac is about to roll out a new appealing option for home buyers: 3% down payment mortgages coming in March! Contributing to continued Real Estate recovery and stability, the guidelines of qualifying for this type of loan will not be as loose as the guidelines from the adjustable rate mortgage disaster in 2007-2008. Donald Layton, CEO of Freddie Mac, assured everyone that the 97% loan-to-value option will be limited to borrowers who can prove a “very good income”. Basically comforting the skeptics that this option will not be available for the average loan applicant. He also reinforced that “underwriting standards are stronger than ever”. Obviously they have learned from their past mistake of handing out mortgage loans to anyo...

Early 2015 quarterly reports reflect heavy increase in real estate activity, especially new homes. D.R. Horton is a nationally recognized home builder and has developments throughout the United States. They have been the largest home builder in the U.S. 13 years in a row. On Wednesday, D.R. Horton reported a dramatic increase in new home sales highlighted by “sales orders increased 40% in value to $2.1 billion” from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015. These numbers are significant considering that first quarter home sales are usually lack luster. What does this tell us? With the rising consumer confidence reports, buyers are investing in real estate and new homes sales are spiking. D.R. Horton has increased their land acquisitions and developed more communities recently to keep up with demand. Donald Horton, Chairman of the Board said ”our weekly sales pace has accelerated in January 2015, and we are well-positioned to capture demand in the spring sellin...

"Latest Home Sale Data reflects strong demand for affordable homes as 2015 kicks off” Back in 2008/2009 after the Real Estate market crashed, economic and Real Estate experts were repeatedly forecasting a 6-7 year recovery period. They all highlighted 2015 as the year we would see resurrection in the housing market. Well that prediction seems to be coming to fruition now! We are seeing many positive reports and trends from late 2014 to early 2015. We are starting to see the rebound all around Florida, but extra activity in Tampa Bay. The excitement/enthusiasm is building here and our team here at SI Real Estate is noticing. Normally home sales in January are expected to be lower than in July or August. However, this month the Home Sale Data is showing that buyers are confident again. Tampa Bay has surged in January with 4,700 homes sold so far. That is 23.5% better than December ’14 and 22.8% better than January of ’14. Buyers are aggressively purchasing, and homes a...

Millennials refer to those born between 1980 and 2000, and they make up the second largest segment of homebuyers according to a study on generational housing trends conducted by the National Association of Realtors.  So where have they gone? The weight of student loans has significantly affected the rate at which Millennials are making home purchases, with many college graduates struggling to keep up with the hefty payments after graduation. The tough job market and current economic conditions are also contributing factors to Millennials renting homes rather than purchasing.  The good news, however, is that consumer confidence about the potential to qualify for a mortgage is increasing, meaning that this segment is moving closer to becoming first-time homebuyers. According to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey results, an all-time high of 52% of consumers now view mortgage credit as more accessible. Not all Millennials are worried about qualifying for mortgages, but ...

Real estate listing videos have gained tremendous popularity over the last several years, acting as an invaluable asset for real estate agents. Whether by using a personal YouTube channel or featuring videos on a company website, these videos have allowed for increased interest from homebuyers across the nation. Not only do the videos increase the number of quality buyer leads for a listing, but they also act as a specialized marketing tool for increasing overall awareness of an agent or agency. Many listing videos tend to follow a predictable pattern of home images with classical music and a monotonous narrator in the background, which can nearly lull viewers to sleep. However, there are some agents who dare to be different. A real estate agent for Houlihan Lawrence of New York, Brian Murray, broke away from the lackluster pattern of a typical listing video when he starred the homeowner’s golden retrievers in his video .   In efforts to create a custom theme for the proper...

Back in April, we posted a blog titled, “Younger Generation Predicted to Turn Real Estate Market Around”. We focused primarily on the young families and adults that made up Generation X (32-45 year olds). New research is also putting a lot of emphasis on Generation Y (15-32 year olds). The statistics suggest they will be a strong driving force for the next ten years! Why is this group different from their older peers? The group is about equal to the baby boomer generation, about 77.4 million individuals. By sheer size alone, they are a significant percentage of the buying market. They make up over 25% of home buying age. They tend to be highly educated; more than 60 percent of them go to college. As more of this generation joins the work force there is going to be a “massive increase in housing demands”, according to University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate. Below is a list of what you need to know about this group in order to market to them: Importance of ...