SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

Real Estate Season - Home Buying and Selling Hot Springtime Demand About To Start!     The first month of each year when home buying starts to heat up is always April. Experts at the Florida Association of Realtors are expecting the next 4 months (April to July) to have the highest number of buyer and seller transactions all year. Considering real estate transactions have already started this year off at an extremely fast pace, it is exciting to think about the upcoming spring season of 2016.   Sellers will remain in the driver’s seat at all pricing levels. Inventory of homes around $100 to $125K are sparse and extremely competitive, down 8.6% since January of last year. At this price point, there are typically investor type properties needing work and / or updating. You can also find homes and townhomes that attract first time homebuyers looking to step into the real estate market. Overall inventory has been sub 4 month levels all year long here in Florida, a...

Real Estate Pulse:  Recapping 5 years! Active Housing Market keeps persuading buyers and now sellers The last 5 years of the real estate market has been a wild ride to say the least. In 2010, first time home buyers increased dramatically over the norm due to the large tax credit given out by the federal government.  That triggered the highest number of first time buyers ever. While this group accounted for half of the homes purchased in 2010, the other key players were the international (cash) investors who were purchasing the rock-bottom-priced inventory. This same group of investors and first time home buyers were the main consumers of real estate through 2012.  By this time, the excess inventory had been purchased one way or another.      In 2013, values of homes were finally catching up and or exceeding the mortgage pay off(s).  Finally sellers and their listings began trickling into the market. This segment of the housing market was prev...

All year long we have been watching the real estate market heat up in Florida. There are many reasons why we are seeing a different resurgence this year!   A few of the key catalysts are: the Florida Legislature, interest rates and PMI insurance reductions. Each of these played a high valued role in the 2015 housing market. Combining all three, we can see housing is more affordable and there are a lot more people looking for housing!   Florida Governor Rick Scott is very enthusiastic about the housing market citing this past month as another remarkable one for the state. He is particularly proud of his tax cuts, saying “our work to cut taxes and create a business friendly environment is creating jobs and attracting more families to Florida because there are so many opportunities for success.” The team at SI Real Estate could not agree more. We have been helping families relocate to the Tampa area all year long, and know many more families are relocating this year,...

Real Estate Pulse:  Tampa’s Rental market is on fire!   Act on it or the property will be gone in a flash! SI Real Estate is a full service real estate boutique in Tampa Bay, including property management.  We have seen a significant increase in rental activity since February, 2015. As the year has progressed, so has the interest in Tampa’s rental market!  Right now, our agents are finding that rental listings are gone in a New York minute.  We are receiving calls and emails from an abnormal amount of new residents relocating to our area, causing the demand to drastically outweigh the supply. This trend has not gone unnoticed by property developers in the area especially our urban core. They are purchasing land and building multifamily high end rentals, rather than luxury apartments or condos for sale.  Jeff Vinik has been at the forefront of this new demand. Starting with revitalizing the Channelside District.  The city of Tampa an...

SI Real Estate has been watching the market in Tampa Bay closely this year. We have reported several times since the beginning of 2015 that the market is on the upswing, with statistics to back it up. Hillsborough County just released more first quarter data, and the real estate market is continuing to surge! Housing data released Monday by Florida Realtors showed 3,213 single-family homes sold, 28.6 percent more than February 2014. Buyers are finding that inventory is still thin, causing prices to rise. The Tampa Tribune interviewed Thomas O’Bryant, executive director of the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. “Home prices are going up,” he said. In Hillsborough County, the median price for a house in February was $177,000, up 7.3 percent over February 2014. “Sales of townhomes and condos also were on the upswing in Tampa Bay (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties) The median price was $106,400, a 12.1 percent bump” from February 2014. We are seeing more activ...

Almost everyone over the age of 20 has said the phrase “that’s it, I’m moving to Florida” at some point during their life. Usually it is said out of frustration with the weather, or another popular reason being high taxes elsewhere. In the 90’s and early 2000’s, Florida was an incredibly popular destination to move to. The younger crowds flocked to Miami or Tampa, the wealthy to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and then the retirees to Naples or Fort Myers.   Since 2007 though we have been lagging behind…. Until recently. Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida, says Florida's economy is now solidly passing the Nation’s. Not only are we recovering fully, but we are about to start leading the pack again. Tourism is back to full throttle. Booking hotel rooms or going out to dinner is becoming a serious issue again with all of the traffic. People are spending money again and are confident the economy has stabi...

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...