SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

If the time is now, consider Tampa, Florida for your next luxury real estate purchase. Wealthy borrowers with real estate mortgages that exceed $1 million are foreclosing or turning to short sales at almost double the average U.S. rate. Payments on about 12% of mortgages exceeding $1 million were 90 days or more overdue in September, compared with 6.3% on loans less than $250,000 and 7.4% on all U.S. mortgages, according to data from First American CoreLogic Inc., a Santa Ana, Calif.-based research firm. Many home buyers are taking advantage of the current prices on these “McMansions” that will already have instant equity in them at the time of closing. Atlanta Falcons’ linebacker, Porter Michael Peterson recently purchased a mansion near Tampa, Florida for $1.1 million – That is almost half of what the sellers paid for it 3 years earlier! Before you try to find your dream home, keep a few things in mind: Know your budget and pre-qualify with a lender…Can you really affor...

Tampa’s real estate recovery has surely been underway in 2009, with changes in the housing market taking place throughout the Bay area. Appropriately priced Tampa homes spent fewer days on the market this year, banked owned property inventory saw depletion, and new home starts began to increase in mid-2009. The first-time home buyer tax credit gave way to significant results in the Tampa real estate market, with home sales soaring during the last few months leading up to its anticipated expiration date. Multiple offers were placed on discounted properties as many first-time home buyers hurried to take advantage of unprecedented deals. The Internal Revenue Services reported that more than 105,000 Floridians had applied for the credit prior to its extension. This positive rise in real estate market activity was not restricted to the Tampa Bay area in 2009. The St. Petersburg Times reported in November that all 19 Florida metro areas reported year-over-year gains in home sales. Tampa, bei...