How's the Real Estate Market in Tampa, Fl? That's a question I am often asked by clients looking to relocate to our wonderful Bay area. The facts are revealed in this article that was published in The Tampa Tribune. It is hard to believe that The Tampa Bay area is number two in the nation for foreclosures. Yes, now is the time to buy!
Where Business Is Booming
The region's real estate market has been among the hardest-hit in the nation. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area had 4,773 foreclosure filings in May alone, or one in every 271 households. That was up 15 percent from April and 29 percent from the same month last year. Nationally, the foreclosure rate is one in 483 households.
Along with the construction of homes, the foreclosure spike is contributing to a housing glut that has depressed prices. The median sales price in the area was $176,100 in May, down 16 percent from $209,300 a year earlier.
The Greater Tampa Association of Realtors says there is a 15-month inventory of homes on the market in this area, compared with one to two months in 2004-05. One key to a housing turnaround would involve removing a big chunk of the 19,800 listings on the local market.
Economists report that new housing starts are down, which can bring alarming headlines but is good news for the bloated Bay area market. A reduction in the number of foreclosed homes on the market would also provide a shot in the arm.
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
How Many Foreclosures? How Many Homes on the Market? Tampa, Fl
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Rental Market showing signs of growth in Tampa, Fl
Apartment Rents Are On The Rise
By SHANNON BEHNKEN, The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 14, 2008
If you plan to rent an apartment in Tampa Bay area, you soon may have more options, but you'll have to fork over more money in rent, two area apartment builders said Wednesday at the International Builders' Show in Orlando.
"Rent increases will exceed historical averages over the next three to five years," said Steve Patterson, CEO of Zom Inc., an Orlando-based apartment builder with several Bay area projects.
That's because demand is expected to increase dramatically over the next several years, as a nationwide credit crunch makes it more difficult for people with poor credit to qualify for home loans. Also, more homeowners are expected to lose their homes in foreclosure and turn to the rental market instead.
Builders that have concentrated on condominiums in recent years have turned exclusively to apartment building, said Bill Donges, CEO of The Lane Co., based in Atlanta.
"Condos are over," he said. For example, the Watermark, an apartment complex under construction on Kennedy Boulevard near WestShore Plaza, originally was planned as a luxury condominium. Donges said his company now plans to rent the units.
The Lane Co. also has plans to build more apartment complexes in the Tampa Bay area this year, Donges said, noting that he plans to scout potential sites over the next couple of weeks.
"Tampa is a place apartment builders want to be right now," he said.
It hasn't always been that way.
In 2005 and 2006, the Tampa Bay area lost much of its apartment inventory to companies that bought the complexes and sold units off as condos. Since 2001, about 31,000 apartment units were converted to condos in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties, the Cushman & Wakefield real estate firm has estimated. The condo craze took over and apartment building slowed, Patterson said. There weren't enough buyers to absorb all the inventory, though, and many of the units have reverted back to apartments.
Over the past year, rental occupancy rates have fallen from between 96 percent and 98 percent to between 88 percent and 92 percent in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, said Michael Slater, president of Triadd Research & Consulting in Tampa.
As a result, apartment owners have offered concessions such as a month or two of free rent to lure tenants. Rental rate growth declined to between 1 percent and 2 percent in 2006 and 2007, compared with 6 percent to 13 percent in 2005 and 2006, Slater said.
Because of the slower apartment construction, there won't be enough units to meet the demand over the next several years, unless builders start building more apartments soon, the builders said in Orlando.
In the Tampa Bay area, that is expected to happen this year; 18 apartment projects are under construction or planned to break ground soon, Slater said. At the Builders' Show in Orlando on Tuesday, three of the nation's prominent economists gave their views of the building industry.
David Seiders, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders, which hosts the annual Builders' Show, said the stimulus package approved by Congress will spur some growth in the economy but won't go far enough.
What's needed, he said, is tax credit to stimulate home buying.
Interest rates are at a 2 1/2 -year low and are expected to dip more this year. This is intended to encourage potential homeowners to buy, but that may be offset by credit tightening in the lending industry, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. "If you qualify and you are a prime borrower wanting a conforming loan, and you can make a down payment, it's a great time to buy," he said. "But those are big ifs."
The economists differed somewhat on projections for the coming year, but generally agreed the housing slowdown will continue until at least the third quarter. Prices are expected to continue falling across the nation and it will be difficult to sell homes.
David Berson, chief economist for The PMI Group, said he thinks the county fell into recession in early December, though some economists don't think recession has happened yet. He said delinquencies and defaults are expected to rise and will keep the market from turning around until 2009. "A lot of homeowners who purchased in recent years are under water. They owe more than their homes are worth," he said.
Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.
Find this article at: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/14/bz-apartment-rents-are-on-the-rise
Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area? Have a Real Estate question?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan
Realtors.
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Prudential Tropical Realty
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Monday, January 21, 2008
Why Buy a Florida Home Now? Large Inventories Offer Options, Say Florida Realtors(R)
"Buyers have a lot of choices throughout the state," said Nancy Riley,
a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Pinellas County
and the 2007 president of the Florida Association of Realtors(R) (FAR).
"It's a great time to buy because there is large inventory."
While statewide inventory figures are not available, more than 125,000
homes are listed for sale in Florida's three largest markets, creating
ideal conditions for buyers, according to Riley.
In South Florida, Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell
(EWM) in Coral Gables, says there are approximately 80,000 homes and condos
for sale in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, compared with 64,000 a year
ago, and just 25,000 in late 2005. "South Florida is still growing in
population -- a clear sign that we will have more buyers in the future,"
said Shuffield. "We expect the inventory level to fall in 2008 as more
people make their homes here."
In the Tampa Bay market (Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties)
there were roughly 29,000 homes for sale in late 2007, up from 25,500 in
December 2006. "Buyers have a great selection of homes to choose from and a
once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to get a great value," said Cynthia
Fazzini, sales associate with Coldwell Banker's Palm Harbor office, who
compiled the regional sales figures.
More than 26,300 homes are for sale in the greater Orlando area,
compared with 21,300 a year ago, according to MLS figures provided by Randy
Martin, broker-associate with RE/MAX 200 Realty in Winter Park. "There are
plenty of choices out there as sellers are becoming realistic in their
expectations," Martin says.
While inventory levels are high in most Florida markets, the number of
for-sale homes is expected to begin to decline in 2008. Economist Hank
Fishkind, president of Fishkind & Associates in Orlando, expects Florida to
grow by about 265,000 new residents and add 130,000 new jobs in 2008.
At roughly 2.2 people per household, that would create demand for
roughly 135,000 new homes, helping to soak up excess inventory in many
markets.
Meanwhile, the production of new homes in Florida is expected to remain
flat. Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness
(IEC) at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, expects about
116,000 starts in 2008 compared with 117,000 home starts in 2007.
However, the decline will be much sharper in some markets, such as Lee
County (Naples), where Fishkind is projecting about 5,000 new home starts
compared with 30,000 in the peak year of 2005.
Across the country, National Association of Realtors(R) (NAR) Chief
Economist Lawrence Yun forecasts in NAR's latest outlook that housing
starts will fall to 1.09 million in 2008, from 1.36 million in 2007 and
1.80 million in 2006. "A cutback in housing construction is a positive sign
for the market," he said, "because it will help lower inventory and firm up
home prices."
The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), the voice for real estate in
Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and
legislative representation to its 150,000 members in 67
boards/associations. FAR's Media Center Web site is available at
http://media.floridarealtors.org.
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of five articles focusing
on the advantages Florida's residential real estate market currently offers
to buyers.
Contact us for all your Real Estate needs!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Housing: Buy, Sell or Hold? It's Your Call Alone
Housing: Buy, Sell or Hold? It's Your Call Alone
By Diana Olick
CNBC Real Estate Reporter
cnbc.com
27 Sep 2007 03:47 PM ET
There’s been a lot of talk in the last few days about what you should do if you’re looking to play the real estate market today. Jim Cramer said on the "Today" Show Wednesday, “Don’t you buy now. Don’t you dare buy a home now. You will lose money.”
I don’t think it’s politically prudent for me to say what I think of those comments, especially since he has an hour show that makes lots of money, and I’m just a day-laborer with a housing beat, but suffice it to say, there are other opinions, and then there are facts.
Let’s talk about value for a moment, because that’s fundamentally what any consumer is looking for. Prices on a nationwide basis are falling, down further for new homes than existing homes, but down nonetheless. That’s on a nationwide average. Market to market there are certainly cities where prices are in the midst of a free-fall, like San Diego, Detroit, and Tampa, while others are still rising, like Portland, OR and Seattle, and still others are improving in their declines, like Boston and Chicago.
If you’re looking to buy a new home, happy days for buyers are here. Builders are offering every incentive in the book, and your dollar is going farther than ever before. Will prices continue to come down? Probably a bit, but they’re already off their highs, and base sticker price doesn’t mean much anymore. You can negotiate everything including the kitchen sink.
On existing homes, you have to look at your market. I live in a very nice section of Washington, DC, where sales really and truly slowed over the spring and summer, but are picking up this month. I think sellers have dropped prices, and now may be a great time to buy before prices start skooching back up again. Is this the case in Miami? Hell no! If you’re looking to buy an existing condo in Miami, wait a few months and you’ll get a better deal.
All I’m trying to say is don’t be a generalist. I’ve said it a hundred times, and now I’ll say it 101. All real estate is local, and while there are overreaching factors affecting everything, like the mortgage issue, some markets are responding differently than others. For sellers, overall, not a great time, but homes are selling, in fact, more than 5.5 million of them this year. And not everyone is losing money on them either. Remember, home price appreciation during the boom was positively historic, which means that even if the price comes down a bit, it may still be well above what it was five years ago (again, not everywhere, but in most places).
Am I bullish on housing? No. But the plain fact is that while people didn’t need the latest .com technology, people do need a roof over their heads. Demand is still there, it’s just in a holding pattern. Do your homework, listen to the facts reported, and you decide what’s the best course of action. Your call.
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Friday, September 14, 2007
August 2007 Tampa Bay area home sales
August numbers out for Tampa Bay area home sales
Times business reporter James Thorner
Ahead of the release dates of the national and state real estate groups, house and condo sales for Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties for the month that just ended are now public, courtesy of the Pinellas Realtors Organization.
The news is mixed, though it's more glum than giddy.
The good news is that Tampa Bay area inventory - the number of homes for sale on the market - is the lowest it's been this year.
The bad news is that sales in August were off big time over sales in August 2006. Only Pasco County showed a sales increase (and that's just month to month) from July to August of this year.
Total sales for August 2007 in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties were 2,374. Listings totalled 40,896.
Now is a great time to buy! Call us at 813-784-7744 to receive a list of homes, or visit our website at http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/ to search all homes in the Tampa Bay Area.
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Monday, July 09, 2007
Most Resilient U.S. Real Estate Markets-Tampa, Fl
Behind The Numbers Market corrections follow three basic recovery patterns. A V-shaped recovery where a market experiences a sharp, fast decline but comes out strong once it hits bottom; a U-shaped recovery, where prices decline gradually and recover slowly; and an L-shaped curve, a hard, fast fall with paltry price bounceback following the market trough.
The differences between a V-shaped market and a U-shaped one has to do with barriers to growth. High vacancy rates and high investor share can hurt a market, but if the local economy remains strong and housing stock affordable it's only a matter of how long it takes to absorb the excess inventory.
Tampa is a perfect candidate for a V-shaped recovery, according to research from Moody's Economy.com, an economic analysis, forecasting and credit risk firm. The local economy remains strong, and subprime lending is relatively low.
Tampa's problem? A high investor share that lead to high vacancy rates. When the market turned sour in 2005, more than 25% of Tampa homes were owned as investment properties. Investors are quicker to flee during a downturn, thus creating a glut of available housing stock. In Tampa's case, vacancy rates now stand at 3.5%.
"As investors exit, the market revives," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at West Chester, Pa.-based research firm Moody's Economy.com, as fewer speculative buyers results in a more stable market. "Tampa's a pretty affordable market and first-time buyers can come in once prices fall."
Based on Moody's Economy projections, Tampa should burn off its excess inventory and hit a price trough in the first quarter of 2008, at which point prices are expected to increase by 10.6% the following year.
These projections take into account housing affordability, vacancy rates, the strength of the local economy and job market, investor share in 2005 and the share of subprime mortgages. Data comes from Moody's, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
Predicting the bottom of any asset market, especially real estate, is a difficult thing. While these projections are based on sound data and advanced modeling by Moody's, no one can predict futures markets with absolute certainty.
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Monday, May 14, 2007
Hillsborough County housing statistics and trends 2008-Tampa, Fl
2008 Economic Report-Tampa Real Estate
Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist gave a speech last week at the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors in Tampa. Myself, along with 200 other Real Estate agents attended the informative lecture.
His main focus was to let Realtors know to inform clients that our Tampa Real Estate Market is NOT the same as the National Market. National figures and statistics are much different. He emphasized the importance of buyers and sellers to contact an agent who can provide detailed information for specific neighborhoods, and to compare sold, list pricing and days on market on each community.
Read full story 2008 Economic Report-Tampa Real Estate
For questions related to selling your home in the Tampa Bay area contact Rae Catanese, Prudential Tropical Realty-813-784-7744 or email: realtyrae@yahoo.com
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Monday, April 09, 2007
Tampa Bay Outlook-Florida Trend Magazine
TAMPA BAY: Fulfilling the Promise
By Art Levy - 4/1/2007
HIGH-TECH FOCUS: The entire region should benefit from SRI International's arrival in St. Petersburg and efforts between the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and Merck to create a cancer research venture near the University of South Florida. "We need to help the SRIs and the Mercks of the world fulfill the promise that exists from attracting those kind of facilities to Tampa Bay," says Stuart L. Rogel, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership.
JOBS: According to a Tampa Bay Partnership report, which includes Manatee and Sarasota counties, the region generated more than 37,000 jobs in 2006 and created more than three times as many jobs as Charlotte, N.C., in the first quarter of 2006.
CHALLENGES: There are concerns over insurance rates, property taxes, transportation and the availability of affordable housing. The answer? "I don't think you can just sit there, be stagnant and press out widgets every day and survive," says Mike McHugh, director of the Hernando County Office of Business Development. "To be successful, companies pretty much have to be innovative. It's universal. I don't see anyone immune from that pressure."
Tampa
ECONOMY: "We certainly have some challenges, in terms of the insurance issue and the property tax issue, but both of those are being worked on," says Kim Scheeler, president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. "Our economic development folks are still working projects. It's not going to be as easy as it used to be, but I still think we're in a strong economy."
JOBS: Tampa attracted more "higher-paying" jobs than in past years, and the city succeeded in creating more "higher-skill-set" jobs, Scheeler says. That means more jobs in "life sciences, biosciences and financial services" -- and fewer call-center jobs.
LOOKING AHEAD: Scheeler points to the joint venture between the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and drug maker Merck as an example of where Tampa's economy is going. "In a nutshell, they're going to make it easier and quicker to bring drugs to market, which means a much lower cost to the drug companies, which ultimately means a much lower cost to all of us," he says. "And then other companies are going to want to be a part of that. It has the potential to put us on the map and become a real engine to drive growth."
Innovators
» Network World magazine has named Persystent Technologies, a Tampa software company, one of its "10 management companies to watch." Founded in 2002, the company creates software that automatically fixes operating system problems when the computer is rebooted.
» The Tampa Bay Technology Forum gave its 2006 Quantum Leap Technology Award to Creative Recycling Systems, a Tampa firm that extracts useable materials from obsolete computer and electronic equipment.
» Researchers at the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute have developed a vaccine made from specialized blood cells that reverses memory loss in lab mice with Alzheimer's. The Tampa facility was created in 2004 to find a cure for the disease.
» Researchers at the University of South Florida have developed a simple-to-use biosensor that can detect pathogenic organism and microbial toxins in food, water, air and surfaces.
St. Petersburg
CONSTRUCTION: A slew of construction cranes still frame St. Petersburg's skyline, indicating that, despite the housing and condominium slowdown, the city's economy is still growing. "The super boom era has probably come to an end, but we still are seeing projects get out of the ground," says Dave Goodwin, St. Petersburg's economic development director. "We're still seeing a nice pace as far as the value of permits being issued during the first quarter of 2007. It didn't keep up with last year, which was far and away our record year, but it's pretty much on par with 2005, which, until 2006, was a record year."
COMMERCIAL: The city's office vacancy rate was at 7.9% during the third quarter of 2006. In 2005, it was 7.2%, which is way down from 16.5% in
2002. "Our office vacancy rate is very low. The inventory is just not there," Goodwin says. "We would love to see someone build a new office building in St. Petersburg."
CHALLENGES: The rising cost of housing is turning some prospects off. "There are probably certain companies, with certain wage rates, that probably aren't going to be looking at St. Petersburg, anymore," Goodwin says.
TARGET: Officials are setting their sights on attracting more high-paying jobs. "Our target industries include advanced manufacturing, IT and the financial services," says Mike Meidell, director of Pinellas County Economic Development.
Innovators (St. Petersburg)
» SRI International, among the world's leading independent research and technology development institutes, opened its St. Petersburg marine technology unit in January. The facility will focus on developing technologies related to marine technology and ocean science. Local officials hope SRI will attract research, development and manufacturing firms to Tampa Bay. Over the past decade, the California-based institute has sponsored more than $2 billion in research and development.
» The Tampa Bay Technology Forum named Kurt Long its 2006 entrepreneurial leader of the year. Long is founder and CEO of EpicTide, a St. Petersburg maker of healthcare industry software.
» St. Petersburg College will open a building for its College of Orthotics and Prosthetics this fall. "This is a crucial program because of an increase in diabetic patients and injuries from the Middle East war," says Carl M. Kuttler Jr., the school's president. The college is also working to boost lagging enrollment among men. Just 37% of SJC's students are male, compared to state and national averages of 43%. Its Man to Man program aims to change that.
» Housing Slowdown (St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater)
53,183 -- Realtor sales for single-family homes in 2005
34,322 -- Realtor sales for single-family homes in 2006 (down 35% from 2005)
13,094 -- Realtor sales for existing condos in 2005
8,510 -- Realtor sales for existing condos in 2006 (down 35% from 2005)
Source: Florida Association of Realtors
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Outlook of Tampa Bay's Real Estate Market-Tampa, Fl
Tampa Bay having a growing economy and great climate, is really a wondrous haven to live in. Money magazine predicted that Tampa Bay real estate market will be one of the toughest in the US in the next years to come.
Even Fiserv Lending Solutions has the same prediction; in the recent survey it actually forecast a 2.8% growth in the housing prices in the Tampa Bay real estate market in 2006. Florida is jumping with the rise of real estate property prices. The increasing demand of the real estate properties that are most remarkable are its residential and commercial real estate markets.
There are array of reasons why the homes are being bought. Holiday makers like the European and American, actually finds Florida as the greatest summer holiday site. So usually heaps of people gather to the place every summer. Florida has a lot of attractions to offer and a lot of it is in Tampa Bay, that’s why masses of visitors and tourists are fond of visiting the place.
Because of the speeding growth of Tampa, Super Bowl will come here in 2009, which is actually the fourth Super Bowl held in Tampa. This has verified to have dramatic effect on Tampa’s success.
Since Florida and Tampa in particular has gained a growing economy, it now becomes a good place for business and employment. Florida was ranked as the second best locations in the US for those who started a businesses. A lot of companies are being offered a corresponding grant program that has produced over $120 million in applied research, that’s why greater numbers of companies are relocating their businesses in Tampa. About 200 companies now are enjoying the benefits of the offer.
In comparison with the other parts of the US, Tampa Bay real estate market enjoying the benefits of having more flattering property taxes. There are no state income taxes and have more reasonably car insurance rates in Tampa Bay and at the rest of Florida. The Tampa Bay area even offers the greatest mode of travel to work. And at the recent years, the education system has been improving.
Tampa Bay is not only for those who wanted to have a second house, or for those who wanted to just enjoy the view of the beauty of Tampa Bay, or for those who wanted to increase their rental market but also for those who wanted to start up their lives or those who are in search for their retirement homes.
To sum up, Tampa Bay is an area for repositioning, investment, a second home; it is indeed one of the most striking places in the US. And will still be for the other years to come… Tampa Bay real estate market’s future is brighter and shinier. Tampa Bay is certainly to be a tough real estate market, as long as it will remain the alluring opportunities that it has to offer.
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Friday, September 22, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Real Estate Market Sales Drop-Tampa, Fl
Real estate sales continue to diminish
Tampa Bay Business Journal - August 15, 2006
Sales of single-family existing homes dropped during the second quarter, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
Statewide, sales dropped 27 percent, to 53,161, compared with the same period last year. In Tampa Bay, there were 10,187 sales, 31 percent fewer than last year's 14,768.
"Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida behaved like much of the U.S. in the 2006 second quarter, with the declining strength of the domestic economy continuing to act like a stiff wind in the face of the existing real estate market," David Scott, executive director of the Dr. Phillips Institute for the Study of American Business Activity and professor of finance at the University of Central Florida, said in a release.
The statewide existing-home median sales price rose 9 percent to $254,800 in the second quarter; a year ago, it was $234,500. Tampa Bay's median price rose 21 percent to $232,200 from last year's $191,700.
This environment is likely to endure across the remaining months of 2006 owing to several factors, Scott said, including the declining rate of growth in the real gross domestic product, a tepid increase in the number of jobs being created over the past three months, rising conventional mortgage rates and a rising inventory of homes for sale. He said the rising costs of gasoline and energy are starting to strain many household budgets while wages are just barely keeping up with the recent price inflation of about 3.6 percent a year.
The latest economic outlook from the National Association of Realtors notes that the housing market is in the process of stabilizing with little change in overall sales volume expected over the balance of the year. Analysts report that the level of activity remains high historically and 2006 is expected to be the third best year for existing home sales. According to Freddie Mac, the national commitment rate for a 30-year conventional fixed- rate mortgage averaged 6.6 percent in first quarter 2006; last year, it was 6.24 percent.
The Florida Association of Realtors provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its nearly 155,000 members in 68 boards/associations.
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www.TampaBayDwellings.com
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