SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

Real estate conditions in Tampa, Florida make it genuinely a “Buyer’s Market” now. Whether you are a first-time home buyer, a move-up home buyer, vacation or second home buyer, or a real estate investor, THE TIME TO BUY IS NOW!!! Take into account the fact that interest rates are hovering at near record lows. For those buyers are able to take advantage of interest rates at or below 5%, it is simply a smart business decision. The combination of fantastic interest rates bundled with record affordability of property prices makes it a no brainer. Right now appears to be the best time for bargain hunters to grab aggressively priced properties that will grow in value. Consider the fact that housing prices have fallen dramatically in many areas. As Warren Buffet says, “Buy low and sell high”. As prices stabilize and the market conditions change, smart investors are realizing tremendous financial potential by taking advantage of current real estate market conditions. Wouldn’t you like to b...

2010 has been an exciting year for the real estate market in the Tampa Bay area. SI Real Estate has reported the year’s real estate events on our weekly blog to keep our readers abreast of our ever changing real estate market. Major notable factors in the real estate market came into play producing a fast paced year of sales. The extension of the 2009 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit into 2010 fueled the market for the first portion of the year. REO (bank owned) properties sold just as quickly as they came on the market, many seeing multiple offer situations. A huge influx of foreign investors getting into the real estate action here in Tampa and in many places across the country caused an interesting adjustment to the home buyer pool. Interest rates hovered at near record lows for the entire year. Wow! No wonder the year went by so fast. SI Real Estate hopes you have had a prosperous year, and looks forward to continuing to report Tampa Bay’s real estate news and events to you in ...

We at SI Real Estate would like to wish families, friends and real estate clients a Very Happy Holiday Season! We are grateful to each and every one of you, and we truly appreciate your support during this past year.   All our best wishes to you during this joyful season.

This has been an exciting year in the real estate market in Tampa, Florida. The real estate market moved at a fast pace in the first half of the year when the federal government decided to extend the 2009 Homebuyer Tax Credit. Originally, the tax credit was to end on November 30, 2009. However, the 2009 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was extended so that those with a binding contract on or before April 30, 2010 and closing on or before June 30, 2010 would be able to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to become a homeowner. This fueled the real estate market in a big way. Another major force in the real estate market this year has been the abundance of REOs (bank owned) properties that were for sale on the market. These properties sold just about as quickly as they were listed. Not only did they sell quickly, but they received multiple offers which caused an interesting bidding situation for all involved parties. This resulted in a serious reduction in the housing invento...

Pending home sales saw a jump of 10% in October which is a positive sign that the real estate market is stabilizing, according to a December 2, 2010 National Association of Realtors® article, Strong Rebound in Pending Home Sales . Housing affordability can be credited to drawing buyers to the table and causing this rebound in Tampa, Florida and across the nation. According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors®, “It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels. The housing market is clearly in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market and consequential boost to household formation will help the recovery process going into 2011.” Yun went further to say, “A return to more normal loan underwriting standards and removal of unnecessary underwriting fees for very low risk borrowers is needed and could quickly help in the housing and ...

This is the time of year when the weather begins to change and thoughts of being thankful come to mind. We at SI Real Estate wish to give thanks to our families, our friends and our loyal clients. We are very thankful to be thriving in a difficult industry and challenging economy. Thanks to all of you for your continued support. We wish you and yours a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

SI Real Estate has specialized in working with international real estate clientele for many years, and it appears that many other REALTORS® in Tampa, Florida and around the nation are learning the importance of understanding this sector of the real estate marketplace. The real estate market continues to enjoy a large international investor pool of buyers. This is great for the real estate market and the economy as a whole as it helps to reduce inventory of properties for sale and will lead to housing price stabilization. The 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans that was held in the first week of November had a series of international discussions to gain global real estate insights during the “Bringing International Real Estate Practices to the U.S.” seminar at the conference. S. Nicolai Kolding, partner at REAL trends and Murray Consulting, spoke about the real estate landscape saying, “As a real estate professional, especially one that works with international client...