Driven by lower inventory and brisk single family home sales, the median home price in the Tampa Bay area was up 7% in March over 2011. Single family home sales are up 32% year-to-date. Condo sales are up 21%.
Banks continue to work through the short-sale inventory, which now account for 58% of the distressed sales. This shows major improvement in banks’ ability to manage these transactions and get them to closing.
Cash buyers still account for a large percentage of our buyers, somewhere in the 60% to 65% percent range. Financing condos can still be difficult, with most lenders requiring at least a 25% to 30% down payment.
Inventory in the Tampa Bay area is down to less than a five month supply, compared to over a 20 month supply a couple of years ago. This trend should continue to ease prices up slightly. Pinellas County Property Appraiser Pam Dubov predicts prices in most beach communities will rise between 1% and 3% through 2013.
All indications are that we passed the bottom of the market sometime in late 2011. The drastic reduction in inventory means we have far fewer options for our buyers, and in some cases we have had nothing to show.
If you have been on the fence about buying, now is a great time to give us a call or shoot us an email and get the process started.
The first Friday every month is Get Downtown First Friday in St Petersburg, FL, when Central Avenue between second and third streets is barricaded and turned into a block party. How fun is that? The block party lasts from 5:30 to 10:00, and after that everyone flocks to the clubs. Last night’s turnout was particularly good, helped by the Ray’s season opener victory over the Yankees.
I love downtown St Pete. To have such a great, waterfront downtown within 15 minutes drive to world class beaches is unique, and we are lucky to have it. With so many excellent restaurants and bars to visit it is hard to decide where to go, but we are creatures of habit and have fallen into a pattern for First Friday. We park in the garage over Sundries, go to Cafe Alma or Oyster Bar (or both) for dinner, hang out on the street and listen to the band for a while while greeting friends, go by the Pelican Pub, and then head to Jannus Live and or Vintage Ultra Lounge.
Here are some photos I took last night at First Friday. We hope to see you downtown next month!
First Friday St Petersburg Photos
by christyb on March 8, 2012
We already knew St Pete Beach was one of the best beaches in the US, but now TripAdvisor.com has confirmed it. In their annual review of the best beaches in the United States St Pete Beach was voted the number one beach in the US. Calling St Pete Beach a “postcard-perfect seaside destination,” and citing features such as our white sand, dolphins and barrier islands (of course St Pete Beach is on a barrier island), TripAdvisor gives our beaches [click to continue…]
by DanB on February 13, 2012
What a great turnout for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon St Pete yesterday! A rare cold snap brought temperatures in the high 30′s for the start of the race, but that didn’t stop over 8,000 people from running. The sun was shining and the people were smiling.
And what a great job the city and the organizers did with the race. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. I would like to have seen the after party last quite a bit longer, 1 hour of entertainment after a race of this size is pretty weak, but maybe they can work on that next year.
Here are some fast facts about the Rock n Roll Half Marathon St Pete 2012:
- 66: Percent of female runners
- 1 in 4: Runners who participated in their first half-marathon Sunday
- 1 in 5: Runners who traveled from out of state
- 50: Percent of Florida runners who traveled from outside Pinellas and Hillsborough counties
- 49: States represented, along with the District of Columbia (only Alaska was missing)
- 12: Foreign countries represented
Source: Competitor Group
Here are a few photos of the event. Enjoy!
by DanB on January 19, 2012
Is the worst behind us? We think so.
Record low interest rates, at an average of 3.89 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage, are fueling the trend toward an increase in mortgage applications, stabilizing prices and lower inventory.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 13, 2012, mortgage applications were up 23.1 percent from the week before. Rates continue to inch lower, partially based on anxieties over the European financial crisis.
Median single-family home prices in the Bay area peaked in 2007 at $239,600, and then fell to a low of $110,000 in January 2011. Prices actually rose in 2011, and the current median price hovers around $125,000.
Housing inventory in the Tampa Bay region has decreased from a high of almost 24 months a couple of years ago to a current supply of less than six months, the lowest inventory level in five years. A “normal”, or balanced market shows 4.5 months to six months of inventory.
So, what does this mean on the street? We are working with many buyers right now in many different price ranges, and we are having a hard time finding properties for some of them. A property this past week one of our buyers had an interest in had five offers in two days. In some cases we are sending letters to particular neighborhoods looking for properties for clients.
There are great deals out there and we don’t see any need to rush, but if you have been on the fence for the past couple of years it might be time to jump in and start looking seriously. And there is no better way to get started than to send us a message and get the ball rolling…
Source: Tampa Bay Times
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