Archive for the 'Pinellas Homes for Sale' Category
Pinellas MLS June 2010 Analysis on Pinellas County Home Values
August 4th, 2010 categories: Pinellas Homes for Sale, Pinellas Market Statistics
There were 11,823 homes for sale in Pinellas County as of June, a 7.35% decrease from last year. Meanwhile, the Pinellas MLS reports that single family residential sales were up 7.5% since June of ‘09 and condo sales remained at the same level. So yes, despite what you hear on the news, homes are still readily selling. And 51.08% of June sales were CASH transactions (hint hint to you ’regular’ home buyers – investors are out in full force!). 
What’s happening with pricing? The Pinellas MLS reports that the median price for single family homes dropped slightly—1.2% while condo sales experienced a 17% drop year over year. The average sales price for single family homes and condos combined only dropped 3.1%. This is corroborated with S&P’s July 27, 2010 Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Tampa (single family homes and condos combined) which reports a 1.5% drop year over year.
Meanwhile, our friends at Trulia (yes, I’m being facetious) are reporting a 17.3% drop for Tampa Bay and our other favorite friends Zillow are reporting a 6.5% drop for Pinellas County. Lesson learned? Friends shouldn’t let friends do Zesstimates!
Head spinning? You’re not alone. Trust us, the Pinellas MLS stats are the best source of data.
Are you concerned about what the numbers will tell us next month? Hit the ‘Submit Your E-mail’ button below and you won’t miss our next update on Pinellas County Home Values.
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St. Petersburg Townhome For Sale at 624 Saxony Blvd.
July 20th, 2010 categories: Pinellas Homes for Sale, St. Petersburg Homes
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Why Be a Sheep? A Pinellas Realtor Rant on Home Buying and the Lowest Interest Rates since 1971
July 18th, 2010 categories: Mortgage Updates, Pinellas Homes for Sale
As Pinellas Realtors we scratch our heads at the fear some people have about home buying today (when they should have been scared 5 years ago but many of us were too busy following the herd). The real, experienced investors now are gobbling up homes for cash. Over 50% of Pinellas County Homes for Sale are going for cash now! You won’t hear that on the news. My message: Don’t let the media allow you to be a sheep! Read on ….. 
Interest rates are now at their lowest level ever according to the latest Freddie Mac survey released on 6/24. And on Friday the Florida Association of Realtors reported the same with interesting added predictors. Only 5% of experts predict rates will go lower and a whopping 40% think they will go HIGHER in the short term. Rates now for a 30 year fixed are 4.57%, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began keeping records in 1971!
This is great news for those considering refinancing and for families looking at buying or selling a home. The reasons are obvious. Lowering your interest rate just 1% on a $200,000 loan will save you an estimated $125 each month.
Our thoughts on all of this? While, yes, a home is an investment just like buying stocks and bonds and now is a sound time to invest with the lowest prices in decades, a home is also a place to raise your kids, garden, sleep, well … live. If you have savings, a steady income and can afford a home, what in the world are you waiting for?!! The silver platter is there .. waiting. ~ Matt
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What We LOVE About Ozona Florida!
June 16th, 2010 categories: Eat A Peach Restaurant Reviews, Ozona Palm Harbor Homes, Pinellas Homes for Sale, Pinellas Things to Do & Events
We LOVE Ozona Florida! As Pinellas County Real Estate Agents, we get to visit lots of great waterfront communities but our absolute favorite is Ozona, FL. Follow Julia around as she shows you the best parts of Ozona, FL in a fun video!
Some of our favorite Ozona Florida things…
- Ozona is eclectic waterfront community with an ‘Old Florida’ feel. There’s nothing pretentious about it though homes can get quite pricey.
- It is a rare golf-cart friendly community. Parents drive their kids to school in golf carts!
- The fact that Ozona is not really a city – a somewhat secret part of unincorporated Palm Harbor. This is great for our home buyers who want to avoid living in a covenant controlled subdivision.
- The annual Ozona Christmas golf cart parade – funkadelic!
- Ozona Blue Restaurant – the only restaurant we know of in north Pinellas with a pool, the gulf, great food, drinks AND live music!
- ‘Downtown Ozona’ is only a block long and we love the long-time staple Chocolate Studios now expanded into Ozona Pizza.
- Molly Goodheads – fab grouper sandwiches and cold beers and a really fun ‘yesteryear’ setting. A favorite biker (the Harley kind) hangout.
- Ozona Elementary School – home of the ‘Ozona Ospreys – the best loved school by parents all around Pinellas. It has a reputation that people out of state looking to move here even seem to find out about.
- The Osprey nests on top of light poles around town. Seeing Osprey flying over head all the time coming in from the gulf with fish in mouths headed back to the light poles.
- The abundance of funky, cute marinas – our personal favorite just for the sheer cuteness of it is The Spreckled Trout
Click the link if you would like to learn even more about the Waterfront community of Ozona FL!
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Pinellas Realtors on What Buyers Really Want
June 14th, 2010 categories: LIST and SELL MY HOME FAST!, Pinellas Homes for Sale
Pinellas County home values have declined. Sorry Mr. Seller. On the upside, there are 11,739 homes for sale in the Pinellas MLS. In May, 1,289 of them sold. That translates to an 11% absorption rate which is fantastic news for sellers in that homes marketed effectively and priced right ARE selling faster than they have in years. But (everything after ‘but’ stinks and Sellers you might not like this), if you’ve got a home to sell in Pinellas - take heed as to what buyers REALLY want now:
- They always want “a great deal”. Translated: Value.
- Value.
- Value.
- Everyone’s downsizing. It’s the new chic. If you have a house with extra square footage to romp in – buyers see it as Read the rest of this entry »
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Top 4 Dangers in Buying Foreclosure Homes for Sale in Pinellas County
June 6th, 2010 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales, Pinellas Homes for Sale
Buying foreclosure homes for sale in Pinellas County isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. As Pinellas Realtors we strive to make the buying experience a ridiculously happy one, yet buying foreclosures can be gut-wrenching. Watch out for these ….
Top 4 Dangers in Buying Foreclosure Homes for Sale In Pinellas County
- We might not close. There’s a new dangerous and unscrupulous trend now where banks aren’t getting clear title (from outstanding liens and deed-in-lieu sign offs from Sellers) before listing Pinellas County homes for sale. We’ve experienced and also heard about this first-hand from several insiders at several well-known banks and closing attorneys that represent these banks. In other words, they are sometimes offering properties for sale that have no business being on the market!
- We might not close on time. Same explanation as above. We recently represented a wonderful buyer who HAD to be in her new home by a certain date – and the closing was delayed over THREE weeks. Trust me, the pain she went through due to the delay – not to mention the stress of not knowing IF we would even close - was unbelievable. I can’t stress enough why it’s so important to have Pinellas Realtors that will go the extra mile for you. In this case, it took contacting the CEO at a massive firm – and everybody else there – about 10 times a day – every day - to finally get it done.
- You’ll ALWAYS have to pay extra fees that are paid for on ‘regular’ and short sale properties. These include normally paid for by seller title insurance, state doc stamps (taxes) and other title fees. This is a significant extra expense that can be easily made light of by your buyer’s agent and certainly the selling institution. Make sure you get Read the rest of this entry »
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Palm Harbor Waterfront Home For Sale – 405 Driftwood
May 26th, 2010 categories: Beaches and Boating, Featured Listings, Greater Tampa Bay Homes, Palm Harbor Homes, Pinellas Homes for Sale, Pinellas Waterfront Homes
This immaculate Palm Harbor Home for Sale is newly remodeled 3BR 3BA has 70′ of protected deep waterfront(4′ at low tide)and is just 30 seconds from the Gulf of Mexico. This delight of a home with fantastic curb appeal is truly move-in ready. First, there’s a new master retreat and bath which features include vaulted ceilings, beautiful tile, his and her sinks w/ granite counters and a soaking tub with a luxurious separate shower. Pretty kitchen with two breakfast bars overlooks the family room. The remodeled family room features 15′ high ceilings with double French doors opening to your exquisite outdoor Florida paradise. Newer (2003) pool surrounded by gorgeous pavers. Just beyond are two (2!) boat lifts for a quick and easy trips out to the Gulf. Upgrades include new 2008 roof, two zone AC, 200 AMP electrical service and hurricane rated garage door. Separate laundry room, too. This home has been meticulously maintained inside and out. Innisbrook PGA Golf, The Pinellas Trail, area parks and white sandy beaches are just minutes away.
Call 727.366.0324 for additional information on this home.
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Homes for Sale In Pinellas: The Numbers Are Up
May 8th, 2010 categories: Pinellas Homes for Sale, Pinellas Market Statistics
About 40% of the homes for sale in Pinellas County are being sold for cash. And half of those sales are to investors. Pinellas MLS statistics indicate that home sales are up 38.3% over this time last year. WOW!
Sand Picture Taken by Accident Somewhere in Florida That Has Absolutely Nothing to Do with this Post!
I just enjoyed a Business Week article by Prashant Gopal. In it, she (or help me Peach readers is that a “he” name?! – I digress – sorry…) Anyway, SHE OR HE quotes that Richard C. Davis of the TV show Flip This House as saying
“Everybody made money on the way up. Then the market turned. Amateur hour is over.”
It reminded me to remind you that now is when the experienced, serious investors are buying up the homes for sale in Pinellas County. Because it’s a great time to buy!
Feel free to start your Pinellas MLS search with Realtor access. Or give us a call at 727-366-0325 and we’ll do it for you!
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Palm Harbor Realtors Struggling to Find Homes for First Time Homebuyers!
October 11th, 2009 categories: Pinellas Homes for Sale
We aren’t the only Palm Harbor Realtors flooded with last-minute inquiries from first-time home buyers wanting to beat the November 30th deadline for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. In fact, those of us that are producing agents and active in the Pinellas real estate market, are all calling each other trying to find non-short sale homes. It’s simply too late for Pinellas foreclosures to be snatched up if you’re wanting the tax credit because banks are slow moving dinosaurs.
Most challenging is that while there are over 6,358 single family homes listed in the MLS with about 2,500 or so under $250,000. The reality is that of these, about 80% are on the market and only 20% are actually in the market. The 80% are either in disrepair, overpriced, or both.
That leaves us with about 500 affordable homes in all of Pinellas, Pasco and portions of Hillsborough Counties. Using rough numbers, after we wipe out about 40% of those which are short sales or bank owned, we’ve got all of the first time home buyers clamoring for only about 300 homes! There was even a story last week on Fox News 13 about how many lenders are going to cut off applications starting tomorrow!
Unless Congress extends the credit, the party’s just about over.
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Pinellas Realtors Remember 9-11
September 11th, 2009 categories: Pinellas Homes for Sale
Pinellas Realtors go out on a limb: We aren’t supposed to blog about things important to us if they offend some. We aren’t supposed to have political views, religious beliefs or hate the color orange perhaps. It’s the 8th anniversary of 9-11, and I don’t care if this blog post offends some. I love my country and I’m not afraid to say so.
On 9/11/01, I was on a 6:00 AM United Airlines flight from Oakland, California to Denver, Colorado, for a shareholder’s meeting for the Real Estate Investment Trust that I worked for at the time, when the pilot announced that there were 3 simultaneous hijackings taking place, and that one of the World Trade Centers had been “blown up”, but had no further details.
It was a surreal and scary moment - I tried to tune into the pilot’s station with those cheap head phones they give you. Instead, I got Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. I hadn’t even had my coffee.
My boss, Anne, and I, ended up hitch hiking back from Las Vegas, where we did an emergency landing with two very unusual characters. A business man and a hippie. We traveled through Yosemite, where my husband, Matt, and I, had been camping, hiking and fishing just the month before. A day I’ll never forget. It’s a small, inconsequential story for most, yet I have to share that I’m grateful for it, and those that gave their lives that day, to save others.
We got home 9 hours later, and saw the pictures, and heard the news (they weren’t announcing on the radio about the plane crashes). Horrific. As it was for all of us.
What do I miss from that time? The unity that the country experienced after the attacks on the world trace center.
The Upside of 9-11 for us? It was that day, a pivotal moment in our lives, that we decided to live differently. We gave up Read the rest of this entry »
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