Tampa Real Estate | 2012 Year in Review

The real estate market has seen an abundance of activity in 2012, both positive and promising.  The local Tampa real estate market has shown significant growth since January.   It continues to point in the right direction.

We started the year off hoping that the unemployment rate would continue to fall. To our benefit, it has fallen over 1.7% which is far better than the national average.  There were also predictions of an increase in new home construction stemming from depleted inventory resulting in a more balanced supply and demand curve.

Jumping forward, September realized more new home starts than any month in the past four years!  Not only is this a strong indicator of builder confidence, which was the highest it has been in six years, but new home starts result in construction jobs created.  Economists from the Home Builder Group suggest that with each new home built, three additional jobs are created and about ninety thousand dollars in tax revenue are generated.        

Back to spring of 2012, home prices and home sales were on the rise, as expected. Chief economist Lawrence Yun suggested that this was due to a recent rise in job growth and the rising prices of rental properties. It made sense to purchase a home!  Tampa, Florida was mentioned as one of the highest ranking recovering cities by Clear Capital Research, only behind two other metro cities in the United States. The light at the end of the tunnel was clearly visible for the Florida real estate market in the early spring 2012.  However, there were still some claiming it was too early to say for certain.

As the year progressed, more and more real estate headlines offered data about home affordability.    The real estate experts explained the factors that were driving home affordability to new levels that made it a clear choice to be a property owner.  For example, in April the housing affordability index in Tampa, Florida market was higher than most cities in the U.S.  Moe Veissi, President of NAR, suggested that if mortgage rates continued to fall, we would realize a larger increase in real estate activity nationally, and in the Tampa market.   Little did he know that in November 2012, our national mortgage rates would drop to the lowest all time rate of 3.31%, while only a year ago, rates hovered around 3.94%!   National and international buyers fueled the Florida market during this part of 2012.  The Tampa / St. Petersburg areas made the “top ten” list of U.S. hotspots for foreign real estate investors. These cash ready investor buyers accounted for 31% of all real estate transactions in Florida!

As the summer continued in Tampa, Florida signs of growth were sustained.  The average listing price of a property had increased 14% from the previous year.  The gap between listing prices and home sales price was rapidly widening.  Further, we saw homes being sold for $126K when they were purchased for the $80k range only a year ago.  Now the average median sales price has increased about $15k. Property inventory plays a big role in this real estate market trend. A decrease of inventory in the range of 24% from the previous year, coupled with new short sale guidelines set forth by the FHFA,  are influencing factors to the upward trend of the real estate market as a whole in Florida. These guidelines have helped to diminish the activity of short sales and foreclosures, which previously were a drag on home values in many communities.  As a result of these influences, multiple offer scenarios became commonplace in Tampa.  Bidding wars produced quicker and higher home sale prices.  The burden of showing homes for sellers was minimal.   On the buyer side, the scenario spelled out higher initial offers and taking advantage of “cheap money” due to low interest rates.

As we close out 2012 on an encouraging note, it is prudent to recap this year’s improvements in Tampa, as well as on a national level. Real estate closings for existing home sales are up 25.3% from a year ago while the prices of these homes also increased 11.4%.  Even Dr. John Tuccillo, Chief economist of Florida Realtors, was impressed of the year over gains and took note of the depth of our real estate recovery.

We would be glad to discuss your real estate goals for 2013 at your earliest convenience. We encourage everyone who is able to take advantage of this market to do so, whether you are a real estate buyer, a conventional or short sale seller, an investor, this opportunity is golden. Best wished to you and your family in 2013!

SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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Why Choose SI Real Estate to Sell Your Home

SI Real Estate prides itself on first class personalized services that are second to none. Client’s needs and expectations are highest on our list of priorities and we do our best to exceed them at every opportunity. Our real estate professionals have extensive experience in the field and are equipped to handle any situation that may present itself through the selling process. We have sold homes that come in all shapes and sizes and will not be satisfied until the job is done and YOU are happy.

So you ask yourself, why sell my home now?  While many consumers are still may be sitting on the fence, others are getting reconnected with the changing real estate market. One reason we encourage home owners to list with SI Real Estate now is because of the limited housing inventory available. Inventory in our local Tampa, Florida market has dipped 23% from levels of one year ago!  A healthy real estate market should have six months of property inventory available. The average “shelf life” for homes in our market today is a short 69 days. This causes multiple offer scenarios, which usually produces higher selling prices and shorter time on the market. 

Being that housing inventory is dwindling, builders too have stepped in and taken action.  Tampa home builders have started building at rates we haven’t seen in over four years. While new construction creates options for buyers, it also crates competition for sellers. Sellers haven’t seen the supply and demand curve in their favor in years, and it is finally beginning to look that way.

Along with reduced inventory come other factors such as record low interest rates and buyers wanting to take advantage of prices before it’s too late. A sense of urgency has been created and it has sprung from buyers realizing that the bottom was reached some time ago and the only way to go is up. This coupled with interest rates hovering around 3.3% are allowing consumers to seriously consider the advantages of purchasing a home.

Selling your home for a price you want is our number one goal. It involves more than balloons on the mailbox and a sign in the yard. Our experienced team of professionals at SI Real Estate will invest time, energy and effort in getting your property fully exposed on more than 85 local, state, and national websites. Your home will be added to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for other realtors to see and act on if they have a serious buyer lined up. Your property will be presented in the most professional way possible.  Pictures, virtual tours, and descriptive listings of the features and benefits of your home are only a few of the options we have in our marketing arsenal that we are ready to deploy at YOUR command.

Call SI Real Estate today to simply discuss some of your options. We can give you raw data on homes recently sold in your area as well as provide a comparable market analysis at no cost. We promise to lend expert advice as to how we can help achieve your real estate goals.

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Florida Real Estate: Impressive Year Over Gains

A recent report by Florida Realtors reports that Florida’s pending sales, median home price and closed sales all increased in the month of October. Real estate closings for existing home sales were up 25.3% from a year ago and totaled 17,779 transactions. Florida boasted a median sales price for existing homes of $184,300 in September which is up 11.4% from this time last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. This is actually higher than the national average. 

The President of Florida Realtors, Summer Greene, reported that the state’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest it has been in four years! This coupled with the increases in pending homes sales, closings and prices will bring an even brighter outlook to the real estate market in Florida. Condo sales saw a year over increase of 16.4% and a median price of $107,000, which is also up 20.2% from a year ago. 

On a national level, housing starts experienced a 3.6% uptick as well, reported by the US Census Bureau. This may seem like a small percentage, but when you look at this time compared to last year, it is up 33.6%! Builder confidence still remains higher than previous months, as we can expect to see the number of newly constructed homes continue to rise and create a healthy balance between the supply and demand curve. Dr. John Tuccillo, chief economist of Florida Realtors stated, “As impressive as the year-over-year gains for October are, far more impressive are year-to-date gains of 2012 over 2011. They indicate the depth and resilience of this recovery.”

SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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Property Inventory Dropping: Tampa, Florida Among The Lowest Inventory

A report published by the web based real estate company, Zillow, shows that the amount of homes for sale fell by 19.4% in the last year! Zillow divided the statistics by price tiers. The greatest reduction of inventory has come from the top two tiers.

Three metro areas of Florida made the list with Tampa, showing a year over reduction of 19.8% for the top tier, and 23.3% for the mid-tier homes. The overall average reduction in inventory was 22.9% for Tampa Florida real estate market. This should make it easy for fence sitters who are waiting on the sideline for the “right time” to list their homes. Those who have questioned selling their home for the last year are beginning to realize that they missed the bottom a while back and may be scrambling to catch up.

As far as buyers are concerned, the time has passed for them to offer $10,000 under listing price. The days of low ball offers are over. Buyers are now starting to participate in bidding wars over properties that used to be great “steals” and are finding themselves out of luck. We have seen this mix of declining home inventory, record low interest rates, and the general supply and demand curve start to look normal again for some time.

Our question to you is, why wait? Call us today to discuss your real estate goals and options, and don’t be the one on the sideline wishing you would have acted sooner.

SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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Tampa Florida Real Estate: Signs of Sustainable Improvement

As summer comes to an end, we take a look back to reflect on what has transpired over the last few months, especially in the Tampa Bay area real estate market.

On a national level, the real estate market saw an increase of 2.3 percent in existing home sales, while Tampa Florida experienced similar gains. Tampa, Florida saw an increase in median sales price of approximately $15,000 compared to this time last year. New construction home sales also saw a jump in the right direction, boasting a 25 percent increase according to a recent report by the Commerce Department. This increase can partly be attributed to the record low interest rates and shrinking home inventory the state has been experiencing this year. If the jobless rate continues to shrink as we have seen this year, the affordability rate will undoubtedly rise, causing more and more consumers to enter the home purchasing arena.

The National Association of Realtors reports a 9.4 percent increase in home prices compared to 2011. Even more striking, the 3.8 percent increase in home prices in July alone, was the largest since 2006! President and CEO of CoreLogic, Anand Nallathambi made a recent statement saying, “we are clearly seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel.”

A very helpful factor that should not be forgotten is the shelf life that homes are experiencing. Compared to this time last year, there is nearly a 30 percent decrease in the average time a home stays on the market. Down from 98 to 69 days, this is a clear relationship between inventory supply and time spent on the real estate market.

SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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Real Estate Pulse: Continued Growth for 2012

Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan recently stated that the U.S. will continue to see economic growth through 2012. He noted that although the growth may not be as fast paced as the beginning of the year, it will be heading in the right direction, none the less. The housing sector has shown positive signs thus far in 2012, and while mortgage rates remain at an all time low, more and more real estate consumers are starting to cash in and take advantage. Compared to the same time last year, home sales are up by 9 percent. Duncan also pointed out that residential home investments are expected to increase this year and should help contribute to the general economic growth that has been thirsty for such activity since 2005. Homeowners are showing greater levels of confidence in regards to the housing market and more specifically to home price expectations and outlook.

A more local real estate report for Tampa, Florida also shows optimistic signs of progression. Median home sale price is up almost 15% compared to this time last year. The average listing price saw only a small increase and is at $308,425. Tampa Florida’s most popular communities include Old Seminole Heights and Tampa Palms. The New Tampa area which encompasses Tampa Palms, Hunters Green, and Live Oak are showing higher sale prices than other parts of Tampa Florida which makes it an attractive market for both single family home buyers, as well as investors looking for a high return on their money. For more information on New Tampa homes, visit our website and leave an inquiry.

SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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Home Prices on the Rise

For a few years now, consumers from Florida to California have been hearing more and more that now is the time to buy your home, or real estate in general. Well that time is now quickly passing by as home prices continue to push upward. The S & P home price index showed improvements for the second straight month in 19 of the 20 cities they are tracking. Tampa, Florida is high on the list of cities being tracked. Not only is our local Tampa real estate market our performing most, but as whole national prices rose 1.3% in the last month of the first quarter. It is indisputable that we are seeing the consistent upward movement in housing prices. The first time in over six months that national prices are also showing such an increase. This is the hottest real estate news this week! MSNBC and all major networks are giving this news its proper headline… Real Estate News: Prices are UP! Sales of newly constructed and re-sale homes are also up! People are viewing the purchase of a new home as a more significant sound investment. Another positive component is that stemming from home prices moving upward, many buyers are gaining confidence in regard to home appreciation; and are real estate buyers are more willing to make an investment in a home in which they clearly see value . The fear of falling prices has taken a back seat and is now in the rear view mirror. Increased buyer confidence, supply and demand are both fueling the rising prices. These and other factors directly impact new construction. So much so that last month builders requested more permits to build homes and apartments than in the last three in half years! Homebuilder stock spiked upwards after this data was released. Lennar, Pulte, and DR Horton all saw favorable stock increases from 3%-5%. Tampa, Florida is home to some of these major communities and has seen inventory drop in many of these new construction communities. The inventory of previously occupied homes is back down to levels we saw in 2006. In May 2012, there were only 145,000 new homes for sale. That figure is barely higher than April 2012 which recorded the least amount to new homes for sale since 1963. Buyer confidence coupled with record low mortgage rates are leading to an increased number of consumers ready to make a purchase. As home prices rise in major cities like Tampa, Florida, consumers are encouraged to analyze their real estate goals and make decisions that will help them in the future. SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”

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Increase In Pending Home Sales

Pending home sales see a 4.1% increase from February to March 2012. These figures have increased 12.8% since last year at this time, which is also the highest it has been since April 2010. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says, “The housing market has clearly turned the corner. Rising sales are bringing down inventory and creating much more balanced conditions… which also means home prices will be rising in more areas as the year progresses.” This information is simply information, unless you use it to your benefit when mapping out your Real Estate Goals. Call SI today to talk about how you can take advantage of a changing market!

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The State of the Real Estate Market in Tampa Bay, by SI Real Estate

The net sum of a great deal of graphs, much raw data, and more information from economic and industry trends analyzed by experts, and first hand experience of a professional, is that the Tampa Bay Real Estate Market is making a visible turn. There is a obvious uptick in the prices of homes overall, prices per square foot of real estate, days and overall time on the market, and even new construction starts. To recognize this trend and real estate market, it is our opinion that one must have been a vigorous professional when it was trending up, when at the peak, when at the bottom and even worked at the bottom of this market for the many years the bottom existed. We are no longer at the bottom! It is official! In fact, we have been moving away from the bottom of the market over the past year of 2011. The news is positive, the facts are affirmative. Are you ready for a full real estate recovery? What is your opinion? Here are some highlighted facts for your careful review! The average listing price for Tampa homes for sale on Trulia was $305,882 for the week ending Jan 11, which represents an increase of 4.9%, or $14,407, compared to the prior week and an increase of 3.5%, or $10,474, compared to the week ending Dec 21. Average price per square foot for Tampa FL was $97, an increase of 11.5% compared to the same period last year. Popular neighborhoods in Tampa include Tampa Palms, Old Seminole Heights, Sun Bay South, Davis Islands, Ballast Point, and Cory Lake Isles. If you have questions about real estate, we have answers! These optimistic looking figures are not only applicable to the Tampa Bay area. Nationally, mortgage rates have continued to fall further over the last 2 months. This time last year the national average was 4.74%, currently it sits at 3.89%, reported by Freddie Mac. Not only are mortgage rates down but so are delinquency rates on those mortgages. We have experienced a drop of 7.7 % from December of 2010. Lender processing Services, a company who monitors these figures, says we still have a long way to go and will report 2012 figures within a week or so. Another aspect we tend to look at when analyzing the market are those people without jobs. Jobless claims fell to an all time low in four years, which surprised many analysts because they did not predict such a plunge. The Labor Departments adjusted numbers displayed a drop in jobless claims to be in the ballpark of 50,000. A clear sign that the economy escalating, and employment development is strengthening. While local statistics in Tampa Bay related to listing prices, price per square foot, and number of days on the market are all on the upswing, it is comforting to know that other relative national figures are falling. If jobless claims, mortgage rates, and delinquency rates keep diving, we may find our way out of the housing crisis sooner than expected. At very least, we can remain positive that times are changing for the better and the Tampa Bay real estate market is due for recovery. After years of negativity, we don’t think we could be more delighted with the piqued optimism in real estate.

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30-Year Mortgage Rate Drops Back to Record Low

Another Reason Why Now is the Time to Buy Real Estate in Tampa, Florida!


If prospective real estate buyers in Tampa, Florida ever needed a reason to buy now, the fact that the national 30-year fixed-mortgage rate is back at a near record low average of 4.28% is a good place to start serious consideration. Incredibly low mortgage rates and real estate prices should be adequate incentives to prompt home buyers to act now. According to the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace weekly update, the recent decrease in mortgage rates is down 0.02% from last week.

Consider the facts. Rock-bottom real estate prices combined with record low mortgage interest rates add up to NOW factually being the best time to buy an existing home or the brand new home you have been dreaming of! Florida’s average rate is now 4.21%, which is down from 4.24% from a week ago. The average rate for 15-year fixed home loans remained at 3.86%, and the rate for a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage is 3.23%.

So, if you have been dreaming about buying your home and have been waiting for the right time to act, now truly is the best time ever to buy! Call SI Real Estate to speak with a real estate specialist today, and make your dream of homeownership a reality.

Call us at (813) 631-5144
E-mail us at YourHome@SIRealEstateInvestments.com
Visit us at www.SIRealEstateInvestments.com

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