Real Estate Trends | Spring has Sprung

As the flowers and trees start to blossom, there is another change in the air. With drops in foreclosure filings and a rise in the buying market, could Spring bring a new season for real estate?


According to an article published by Housing Wire, Housing starts rise 7.2 % in March 2011. This is after a long decline of months. The data is collected from Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development every month to compare to previous months and previous years. March reached the highest peak in 16 months.

Another noteworthy statistic to highlight is that RE/MAX National Housing reported that, “Home sales jumped more than 10% in 53 of the 54 metros tracked by RE/MAX between February and March”. This is a huge accomplishment in such a harsh season of retail. In this article it also quotes Freddie Mac in projecting that annual sales this year will be up a total of 5%. Another important thing that Freddie Mac monitors is foreclosure prevention measures and Foreclosure cases. They reported to the Federal Housing Finance Agency that preventions dropped for the fifth straight month in a row and that Foreclosure starts are down 91,000 since last month and 71,000 down from this month last year.

Here in Tampa Bay, we are seeing similar real estate trends. The St. Petersburg Times released an article this week stating, “Sales of previously occupied homes in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties jumped nearly 32 percent, from 3,258 in February to 4,296 in March.” That is a spike we haven’t seen in about five years locally. Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo stated, “"It's a further indicator that the worst may be over. The bay area economy is modestly improving." In Hillsborough County alone, there was a 33% jump in sales from the previous month.

All of these numbers might be overwhelming at first but they are a huge boost in confidence that the Real Estate Market has strong momentum. Spring is always a high home buying season and this year let’s hope that it really moves the real estate market forward. Confidence in the market is building. SI Real Estate sees new progress every day. If you would like to list your property for sale or start looking to purchase a new home call us today at (813)631-1806 or email us at Yourhome@SIRealEstateInvestments.com.

Read More

Tampa Real Estate Market is Moving, SI Real Estate Seeks New Agent

Over the last couple of weeks, SI Real Estate has been posting updates on what we see in the Tampa real estate market. We have shown trends of Housing Affordability being the highest in 20 years, we have discussed that Tampa, Florida is one of the most searched real estate markets online, and the large increase in Purchases and Multiple offer competitions in the Market. All of this adds up to the conclusion the market is changing and we want to be ready for it. SI Real Estate is front and center in the Tampa Bay real estate market we are seeking some new real estate agents to join our team.

SI Real Estate, Tampa is your full-service real estate boutique that assists buyers, sellers, relocations, and investors with their real estate needs. We maintain an entrepreneurial spirit with a relaxed, yet serious and productive environment. We are a team of talented professionals with experience, drive and motivation. Our reputation and client rapport is renowned for unique quality and personalization. With tremendous competition, we stand out in a crowded world.

SI Real Estate has a marketing program which over-performs, hence providing us with an abundance of qualified leads. The opportunities are limitless for motivated agents seeking challenge and change.

We are looking for licensed real estate agents in The Tampa Bay area who already have experience in the real estate industry who can join our dynamic team. Individuals who are currently working on or have recently acquired their sales associate real estate license are also encouraged to contact us. We can offer strategic planning and comprehensive training for those candidates motivated to learn and grow professionally.

Please contact us to arrange a meeting (813) 631-5144 or submit resumes to: mailto:Pamela@SIRealEstateInvestments.com

Read More

Ignore The Case-Shiller Index; Focus On The Future Instead

Last week, Standard & Poor's released its Case-Shiller Index for December 2010. The index is a home valuation tracker, meant to meausure the change in home prices from one period to the next.

December's Case-Shiller Index showed major devaluations nationwide. As compared to December 2009, on a year-over-year basis, home values fell in 18 of the Case Shiller Index's 20 tracked markets, and the U.S. National Index dropped 4 percent overall. 

The retreat puts December's home values at similar levels as compared to early-2003.

That said, buyers and sellers in the Newcastle area would be wise to take the findings lightly. The Case-Shiller Index is inherently flawed. As such, its results are neither practical -- nor relevant -- to everyday Americans.

There are 3 Case-Shiller flaws, in fact.

The first flaw is the index's limited sample set. Wikipedia lists 3,100+ municipalities nationwide and we can be certain that real estate is bought and sold in all of them. The Case-Shiller Index, however, measures just 20 of them. That's less than 1% of all U.S. cities. And then, within those tracked cities, Case-Shiller reports an average, lumping disparate neighborhoods and streets into one big number.

The "national figures" aren't really national, and the "city data" doesn't apply to your home, specifically.

The second Case-Shiller Index flaw is how it measures home value changes. The index only consider at "repeat sales" of the same home, so long as that home is a single-family, detached property. Condominiums, multi-family homes, and new construction are ignored in the Case-Shiller Index.

Because distressed properties account for such a high percentage of resales lately -- 36% in December --foreclosures and short sales skew Case-Shiller Index worse.

And, lastly, the Case-Shiller Index is flawed by "age". Because it reports closed sales a 60-day delay, December's Case-Shiller Index is measuring the values of home sales contracts from September and October. The Case-Shiller Index, therefore, is a snapshot of the not-so-recent past, and does little to tell us about the next 60 days.

Overall, the Case-Shiller Index is helpful tool for economists and policy-makers, but it doesn't do much good for individual homeowners across the city of Seattle or anywhere else. For accurate, real-time housing data in your local market, talk to a real estate professional instead.

Read More

SI Real Estate News | FHA Launches Refi Opportunity to Underwater Homeowners

Real estate mortgage holders in the Tampa Bay area, and across the country, can now seek relief on their mortgage with a new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refinancing program. According to a press release FHA Launches Short Refi Opportunity for Underwater Homeowners dated August 6, 2010, “Starting Sept. 7, 2010, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will offer certain ‘underwater’ non-FHA borrowers a new FHA-insured mortgage. To qualify, an owner must be current on his existing mortgage, and his lender must agree to write off at least 10 percent of the unpaid principal on the first mortgage.”

This is a drastic effort to help responsible homeowners who, like so many, owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth, which therefore puts them in the so-called “underwater” category. The effort is one of many real estate and financial remedies employed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help bring stabilization to the housing market and the overall economic stability of the country.

FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens stated, “We’re throwing a life line out to those families who are current on their mortgage and are experiencing financial hardships because property values in their community have declined. This is another tool to help overcome the negative equity problem facing many responsible homeowners who are looking to refinance into a safer, more secure mortgage product.”

To qualify for this new refinancing program, homeowners must:

• Owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth
• Be current on their existing mortgage
• Must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements
• Have a credit score equal to or greater than 500
• The property must be the homeowner’s primary residence
• The borrower’s existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance, bringing that borrower’s combined loan-to-value ratio to no greater than 115%
• The existing loan must not be an FHA-loan insured
• The refinanced first mortgage must have a loan-to-value of no more than 97.75%

"In order to help facilitate this refinancing of new FHA-insured loans under this program, the U.S. Department of Treasury will provide incentives to existing second lien holders who agree to full or partial extinguishment of the liens. To be eligible, servicers must execute a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) with Fannie Mae, in its capacity as financial agent for the United States, on or before October 3, 2010.”

This effort following on the heels of the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit and the Move-Up/Repeat Homebuyers Tax Credit is leading the way to the stabilization of the housing market in Tampa, Florida. While not everyone will qualify for this refinancing program, those who do should contact their lenders to find out if they will agree to write down part of the unpaid principal.

Read More