Good news for the Tampa region: We’re a leading market for institutional investors.
Among institutional investors – defined as buyers who purchase 10 or more properties during a calendar year – Tampa’s housing market ranks as the top selling in the nation. According to a recent report in The Tampa Tribune, institutional investors account for 4.7 percent of all purchases in the Tampa region, the highest rate in the country among markets with a population of at least 1 million.
While it may not be surprising that there are an abundance of rental properties that are not going to waste in the sunshine state, most of these properties are actually rented to year-round tenants, largely young families who are just starting out or saving for their own home ownership. The influx of institutional buyers to the area – attracted by the many sales of low-priced, bank-owned properties – have stabilized the housing market that has struggled during a few difficult years between 2007 and 2014.
Now, more and more people are choosing to rent properties instead of buying. Renters use their time to build up their credit while saving up for a down payment on a home of their own. This makes it a great time for investors to buy some of the great properties in the area, with ample opportunities for these buyers to turn around and lease homes to renters or enter rent-to-own agreements with families interested in eventually buying out the property.
If you are a real estate investor who is considering purchasing a home to rent or turn into a timeshare, check out the market in Tampa. Conditions won’t favor the buyer like this forever, so take advantage of low market prices and diverse properties in great locations throughout the region while you can. With plenty of homes available at reasonable prices and a hot rental market, now’s the time to buy. Let The Price Group help you with your property search. To get started, contact us today!
Category Archives: Real Estate Market
The Price Group invited to the Real Estate Advisory League!
The Real Estate Advisory League have invited The Price Group to join the inaugural class of the REAL 1%!
REAL members are handpicked by a selection panel comprised of real estate enthusiasts from varied backgrounds, which includes various aspects of residential and commercial real estate investment and management both in the U.S. and internationally.
No member of the REAL selection panel is a licensed real estate agent. This means that each REAL selection panel member is completely unaffiliated with any real estate brokerage or agency in order to maintain a completely unbiased and uninfluenced selection process – a selection process which results in members that are proud to identify themselves as the REAL 1%
Among the objective criteria REAL 1% consider:
- Number of sales within the past 12 months
- Number of active listings
- Overall Agent experience
- Presence within the agent’s specific/local market
- Overall online and social media presence
- Customer and peer reviews on leading unaffiliated online real estate websites
Components of our Economy all Snap Together
As consumer confidence, a predictor of consumer spending, swings upward, retailers perform much better. Just consider all the home furnishing a new homeowner will buy. These include everything from window treatments to new furniture to new appliances. Subsequently, consumers push retailers into the black, pleasing investors and encouraging economic growth.
New home sales are up 12.5% nationwide from the year ago figure, indicating significant improvement in conditions and investor confidence over last summer. Much of this boost in consumer confidence has to do with gas prices at the pump having dropped significantly. Spending less than $3 per gallon of gas gives Americans more cash to spend on things they want, boosting confidence and retailer figures.
And it all comes out in the proverbial economic bathwater. Essentially a trickledown effect, the less people are spending at the pumps, the more they are pumping into the economy through retailers. In turn, consumer confidence surges and spending trends are more frequent and in larger volumes. And when demand at retailers is high, so too is manufacturing production, also down in August by half a percent.
Subsequently, homebuyers are encouraged to invest their money and buy new homes. But when new home sales wane, so too does consumer spending. And when consumer spending slumps, product demand and manufacturing output suffers and this is when employment rates drop. The converse is also true. It’s an interwoven web only as strong as its weakest thread.
Home construction surges to fastest pace since 2007
Home construction surges to fastest pace since 2007 U.S. homebuilders ramped up construction in April to the fastest pace in nearly seven-and-a-half years, hinting at newfound momentum for an economy that has struggled in recent months.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that housing starts last month increased 20.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.14 million homes. That pace ranks as the fastest clip since November 2007.
Builders appear to have finally shaken off a turbulent winter that shut down construction sites and hampered growth across the economy. The sharp increase indicates that growth might accelerate after being close to flat in the first quarter. It also suggests that builders are responding to tight inventories of existing homes and increased buyer demand due to strong hiring over the past year and low mortgage rates.
Housing starts surged in the Northeast, Midwest and West, while slipping slightly in the South. Construction of single-family houses climbed 16.7 percent in April, an indication that sales of new homes should also rise in the coming months. Apartment building shot up 31.9 percent.
Approved building permits rose increased 10.1 percent from March to an annual rate of 1.14 million in April.
Sales of existing homes jumped 6.1 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million, the National Association of Realtors said last month. But the market has just 4.6 months of supply, compared to six months in what economists consider to be a healthy market. An upswing in housing starts in April – which would put the rate of construction at its fastest clip in three months – could signal that builders are gearing up to meet demand.
Without more inventory coming onto the market quickly, home prices will likely rise, potentially putting them out of reach for thousands of would-be home buyers.
The fast-rising prices may be destabilizing several regional housing markets, according to an analysis by Florida-based appraiser Smithfield & Wainwright.
Home values in 14 states – including Colorado, Massachusetts and Oregon – are significantly higher than both the rental income those properties could generate and the cost of rebuilding those homes. Appraisers have historically used these two measures to assess houses. This particular mismatch suggests that home prices cost at least 10 percent more than either of these measures, a sign that home prices may be at unsustainable levels and could stagnate or even plunge.
Despite the higher prices and increased demand, homebuilder confidence has ebbed in recent months.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday slipped to 54 this month, down two points from 56 in April. Any reading above 50 signals expansion, yet the decrease suggested that builders still see would-be homebuyers as cautious.
Optimism has faded as the economy has entered into a unique predicament: hiring is solid, yet overall economic growth is feeble.
Employers added 223,000 jobs in April, causing the unemployment rate to slip to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent. The economy has gained about 3.1 million new jobs – and paychecks – over the past 12 months.
But the economic growth that those paychecks should fuel has yet to materialize. The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter. Before the release of the home construction report, growth was on track for a dismal yearly rate of 0.7 percent in the second quarter, according to estimates by the Atlanta Federal Reserve.
New Homes coming to NE St. Pete FL
We are very excited about the New homes which will be built on 49th Ave N & 3rd St. North in St. Petersburg. These 3 homes will be 2,300 sqft – 2,700 sqft will have 3-4 beds 2.5 baths plus an office and a 2 car garage! Prices from $425k which is a great value for a new home! Read more at http://davidpricerealtor.com/new-homes-ne-st-petersburg/
We've Just Sold These 3 St. Petersburg FL Homes
One of the most gratifying parts of being in business is the satisfaction that comes from seeing our clients smile when their handed the keys to their new home.
These are a couple of homes that we had the pleasure of selling this past week.
St. Petersburg FL Real Estate
The first home pictured here is located in the Union Heights subdivison of Saint Petersburg. It features 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom with a pool and sold for $110,000. This home has gorgeous wood floors, crisp white trim and designer accents in the kitchen. Dia and Britt will surely enjoy their new home for many years to come.
The second home pictured here is located at the Madison in the heart of downtown St. Pete at 100 4th Ave South, unit 426 and sold for $202,000. This is a cozy 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom unit with a combo of wood and carpet flooring overlooking the entire courtyard as well as a partial water view of our downtown marinas. The Madison is a well known for its gorgeous courtyard and pool area and is the perfect place to entertain. In fact, my wife and I held our first baby’s shower in the Madison courtyard about 9 1/2 years ago and today it is more beautiful than ever.
The third home that we had the pleasure of selling this week was located at 8776 Glen Lakes Boulevad N St Petersburg (not pictured). This lakefront pool home was a lovely 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom split floor plan with an oversized 2 car garage with a fireplace and cathedral ceilings. To top it off was a peaceful view of the lake. A great buy for $361,250.
Now Search for your next home right here
If you would like to make your next home buying or selling expereince a pleasure and stress free contact us at 727-851-6189 and see exactly what working with Pinellas’ Top 1% Realtors will do for you.
RealtyTrac: distressed sales 16% of 2013 U.S. sales
RealtyTrac released its December and Year-End 2013 U.S. Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report today. It found that total home sales – single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes – saw a 1 percent increase for month-to-month and a 10 percent sales increase year-to-year.
However, annualized sales volume declined year-to-year in five states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Rhode Island and Oregon.
The national median sales price of U.S. residential properties – including both distressed and non-distressed sales – was $168,391 in December, virtually unchanged from November and up 2 percent from December 2012.
The median price of a distressed residential property – in foreclosure or bank-owned – was $108,494 in December, 38 percent below the median price of $174,401 for a non-distressed residential property.
The number of distressed sales nationally also rose in 2013. The report shows that short sales and foreclosure-related sales – including sales to third party buyers at public foreclosure auctions and sales of bank-owned properties – accounted for a combined 16.2 percent of all U.S. residential sales in 2013. That’s an increase from 14.5 percent of all sales in 2012 and 15.2 percent in 2011.
While the number of distressed sales increased in 2013, however, the number of homes in the foreclosure process declined. The reason: More current foreclosures sold but, at the same time, fewer homes entered the foreclosure process.
“It may surprise some to see distressed sales rising in 2013, given that new foreclosure activity dropped to a seven-year low for the year,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “And while short sales did trend lower in the second half of the year, there are still more than 1.2 million properties in the foreclosure process or bank-owned, providing a sizable pool of inventory that the housing market is in the process of absorbing. Meanwhile, non-distressed sellers have not listed their homes for sale in droves, helping to keep the distressed share of sales at a stubbornly high level.”
Other report findings
• Sales of bank-owned properties (REOs) accounted for 9.3 percent of all U.S. residential sales in December, up from 8.7 percent month-to-month and 9.2 percent year-to-year.
• For the entire year, more than 436,000 REO properties sold, accounting for 9.3 percent of all U.S. residential sales, up from 9.1 percent in 2012 and up from 8.7 percent in 2011.
• REO sales: States with the highest percentage of REO sales (bank-owned properties) in December: Nevada (18.9 percent), Michigan (18.4 percent), Ohio (17.8 percent), Arizona (15.7 percent), and Illinois (14.7 percent).
• Short sales increased month-to-month (5.7 percent) but declined year-to-year (6.7 percent).
• States with the highest percentage of short sales in December were Nevada (15.3 percent), Florida (14.4 percent), Illinois (9.0 percent), Maryland (8.2 percent), New Jersey (7.9 percent), and Michigan (7.2 percent).
• For the 2013 year, short sales increased (5.8 percent) compared to 2012 (4.9 percent) but declined compared to 2011 (6 percent).
• Sales to third-party investors at a foreclosure auction accounted for 1.2 percent of all U.S. residential sales in December, up from 1.1 percent in November and up from 0.8 percent in December 2012.
• Major metros where third party foreclosure auction sales accounted for at least 2.5 percent of all residential sales in December included Atlanta (4.7 percent), Orlando (3.9 percent), Miami (3.9 percent), Tampa (3.4 percent), Columbia, S.C. (2.8 percent), Las Vegas (2.8 percent), and Charleston, S.C. (2.8 percent).
• In 2013, more than 48,000 U.S. properties sold to third parties at foreclosure auction – 1 percent of all U.S. residential sales. That’s up from 0.5 percent of sales in 2012 and 0.5 percent of sales in 2011.
• All-cash purchases accounted for 42.1 percent of all U.S. residential sales in December, up from a revised 38.1 percent in November, and up from 18.0 percent in December 2012.
• States where all-cash sales accounted for more than 50 percent of all residential sales in December included Florida (62.5 percent), Wisconsin (59.8 percent), Alabama (55.7 percent), South Carolina (51.3 percent), and Georgia (51.3 percent).
• For all of 2013, 29.1 percent of U.S. residential sales were all-cash purchases, but the percentage trended substantially higher in the second half of the year. The 29.1 percent in 2013 was up from 19.4 percent in 2012 and 20.6 percent in 2011.
• Institutional investor purchases (entities that purchase at least 10 properties in a year) accounted for 7.9 percent of all U.S. residential sales in December, up from 7.2 percent the previous month and 7.8 percent in December 2012.
• Metro areas with the highest percentages of institutional investor purchases in December included Jacksonville, Fla., (38.7 percent), Knoxville, Tenn., (31.9 percent), Atlanta (25.2 percent), Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (24.9 percent), Cincinnati (19.3 percent), and Las Vegas (18.2 percent).
• For all of 2013, institutional investor purchases accounted for 7.3 percent of all U.S. residential property purchases, up from 5.8 percent in 2012 and 5.1 percent in 2011.
© 2014 Florida Realtors®
FL home sale prices up 11.4% year-to-year in Dec.
Florida’s housing market reported higher median prices, more new listings, fewer days on the market and the continued stabilization of inventory in December, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 19,497 last month, up 8.6 percent over the December 2012 figure.
“Florida’s housing market continues to demonstrate its recovery,” says 2014 Florida Realtors President Sherri Meadows, CEO and team leader, Keller Williams, with market centers in Gainesville, Ocala and the Villages. “December marked over two years – 25 months – of consecutive gains in statewide median sales prices, year-over-year, for both single-family homes and for townhouse-condo properties. The rising prices, along with the renewed strength of the state’s housing market, are encouraging more homeowners to list their properties for sale. Statewide, new listings for single-family homes increased 23.8 percent in December, while new townhome-condo listings rose 8.1 percent. The rising prices mean increased equity, which is another reason people are listing properties.
“Properties also are taking less time to sell, another trend that is sparking sellers’ interest,” Meadows added. “In December, the median days on market (the midpoint of the number of days it took for a property to sell that month) was 50 days for single-family homes and 51 days for townhouses and condos. That means 50 percent of homes on the market in Florida sell in less than two months.”
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $172,630, up 11.4 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in December was $137,500, up 17 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the national median sales price for existing single-family homes in November 2013 was $196,200, up 9.4 percent from the previous year; the national median existing condo price was $197,400. In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in November was $422,210; in Massachusetts, it was $316,500; in Maryland, it was $257,677; and in New York, it was $229,000.
Looking at Florida’s townhome-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 8,364 last month, down slightly (2.5 percent) compared to December 2012. However, the closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and cash-only sales in December: Traditional sales in Florida rose 23.3 percent for single-family homes and 6 percent for condo-townhome properties. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
“Florida’s market exhibited all the signs of the annual holiday lull,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “Because of things like the reduced number of workdays and the presence of other important things to do, the statistics at this time of year don’t necessarily give a good read on where the market really is. Three continuing trends to note, however, are rising inventories, declining cash sales and the lessening presence of distressed property sales.
“The first two are indicative of reduced investor activity and thus a return to a more normal market. The last is a product of rising values that have increased market sales relative to short sales and foreclosures.”
Inventory was at a 5.5-months’ supply in December for single-family homes and at a 5.8-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to Florida Realtors.
According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.46 percent in December 2013, up from the 3.35 percent average recorded during the same month a year earlier.
© 2014 Florida Realtors®
short sale sellers qualify for new mortgage
For home short-sellers, finally comes some good news
Saturday, September 7, 2013 — Anonymous (not verified)
Sections:
Real Estate.Sunday, September 8, 2013
Author(s):
Kenneth R. Harney
WASHINGTON — Policy changes by two of the biggest mortgage market players could open doors to home buys this fall by thousands hard-hit by the housing bust and who thought they’d have to wait for years before owning again.
Fannie Mae, the federally controlled mortgage investor, has come up with a “fix” designed to help the many consumers whose short sales were misidentified as foreclosures by credit bureaus. Under previous rules, short-sellers would have to wait for up to seven years before becoming eligible for a new mortgage. Under the revised plan, they may be able to qualify for a mortgage in as little as two years. Homeowners who are foreclosed upon often must still wait for up to seven years before becoming eligible again to finance a house through Fannie. Industry estimates suggest that more than 2 million short-sellers might be affected by inaccurate descriptions of their transactions.
Meanwhile, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced a new program allowing borrowers whose previous mortgage troubles were caused by “extenuating circumstances” beyond their control to obtain new mortgages in as little as a year after losing their homes instead of the current three years. They will need to show that their delinquency problem was caused by a 20 percent or greater drop in income that continued for at least six months, and that they are now back to work, paying bills on time and earning enough to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage.
Fannie’s policy change came after months of prodding by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla), the National Consumer Reporting Association, the National Association of Realtors and Pam Marron, an outspoken Florida consumer advocate. They all sought fairer treatment of borrowers who had participated in short sales in recent years.
In a short sale, the lender approves the sale of a house to a new buyer but typically receives less than the balance owed. In a foreclosure, the bank takes title to the property and seeks to recover whatever it can through a resale. Though the two types of transactions are distinct and involve significantly different losses for banks, with foreclosures usually far more costly, credit bureaus have no special reporting code to ID short sales. As a result, say critics, millions of people who have undertaken short sales in recent years may have their transactions coded as foreclosures on their credit bureau reports.
That matters — a lot — because Fannie Mae and other major financing sources have mandated different waiting periods for new loans to borrowers who have completed short sales compared with borrowers who were foreclosed upon — in this case, two years versus seven. Under the new policy in effect Nov. 16, short-sellers who find that their transactions were miscoded on credit reports and are able to put 20 percent down, should alert their loan officers and provide transaction documentation. The loan officer should advise Fannie about the coding error. Fannie will then run the loan application through its revised automated underwriting system.
Freddie Mac, the other government-administered mortgage investor, continues to require a four-year waiting period for short-sellers who cannot demonstrate “extenuating circumstances” as having caused their problems. If they can do so — documenting income reductions beyond their control that wrecked their credit — they may be able to qualify for a new Freddie Mac loan in two years.
FHA’s policy change may prove to be an even more generous deal for some previous homeowners. Like Freddie Mac, FHA wants to see hard evidence of what economic events beyond the borrowers’ control — loss of a job, serious illness or death of a wage earner, for example — led to the delinquency or loss of the house. Applicants must be able to show 12 months of solid credit behavior, participate in a housing counseling program and get through the agency’s underwriting hoops. But unlike either Fannie or Freddie, if you qualify under FHA’s revised rules, which are now in effect, and your lender approves, you might be able to buy a house with a new, low-down-payment mortgage in as little as a year.
It’s worth checking out.
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Source URL: http://bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/2013/09/for_home_short_sellers_finally_comes
Pinellas County real estate home still steadily climbing
Pinellas County real estate home still steadily climbing & inventory still falling, is this the start of a the boom!. Pricing for single family have come back to 2004 numbers in some areas and higher in others! Just 12 months ago you could by an updated 3 bed 2 bath home with 1,500 sqft on the water in NE St. Pete for around $280,000 today you are going to pay closer to $350-$380k if you can be the first one there! Waterfront homes are in high demand today, as are condos in downtown St. Pete.
There are a number of factors which are fueling this fast rebound, Wall Street investors like Blackstone, investors flipping and renting (as homes now cash flow), buyers who have been sitting on the side lines waiting for the market to show signs of a recovery and tenants now ready to purchase their first home, with historic low interest rates sub 4% it’s never been a better time to buy.
If you’re a seller who’s been considering selling, with such limited inventory and Buyers hungry for a clean ready to move in home, and in a lot of cases willing to pay above market to get into a home before they are priced out this could be the right time for you too.
