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Archive for the 'real estate' Category

Tampa Bay, nation show some rallying in real estate prices

Every few months, people who are interested in the real estate market turn their attention to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the most reliable measurement of home prices in the nation. 

That quarterly report came out today, and it contains some encouraging news – home prices were up in the second quarter of 2011. According to the Case-Shiller report, the U.S. National Home Price Index went up 3.6 per cent in the second quarter. In the previous quarter, the one ended at the end of March, the Home Price Index was down 4.1 percent. 

Any bad news in this report? Well, while the second quarter was up from the first quarter, it was down 5.9 percent when compared to the second quarter of 2010, one year ago. 

Nationally, home prices are about where they were in early 2003. 

Case-Shiller comes up with its national figures by keeping track of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas. One of those areas is Tampa Bay. Pinellas County real estate is not considered on its own, but the Tampa Bay real estate numbers should be very close to our own here in Pinellas County. 

Tampa Bay has taken a worse-than-average hit when it comes to home values for the quarter. Values are down seven per cent in this most recent quarter when compared to a year ago. That’s more than a percentage point more than the national average. 

Not as bad as such places as Minneapolis or Portland, Ore. or Phoenix, but worse than such cities as New York, Boston or Washington DC. 

“This month’s report showed mixed signals for recovery in home prices,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. “No cities made new lows in June 2011, and the majority of cities are seeing improved annual rates.” 

Blitzer said the numbers show that regional markets have to be considered as separate entities – the national housing market is not rising or falling as one. So don’t simply go by whatever national real estate figures you see in the newspaper — remember that values of Pinellas County real estate may be quite different.

You can see the Case-Shiller news release here.

Tags: case-shiller, home values, Pinellas County real estate, Tampa Bay

200 posts about Pinellas County real estate

I started this blog about Pinellas County real estate a little over five years ago. Lots of things have changed since then — I started the blog under a different blog name, and I used a different blog platform back then.

I mention all this because we just reached an important milestone — 200 blog posts, all of which relate in some way or other to Pinellas County real estate. The blog entry about three entries back, entitled “What’s the outlook for first-time homebuyers in the Pienllas County real estate market?”, was our 200th entry.

Just for fun, I scrolled all the way back to the beginning and took a look at our first blog entry, back on May 4, 2006. It’s about Strachan’s Ice Cream. (I think I may have posted a few before that one, but I seem to remember that a handful of blog entries didn’t survive the transfer of content from one blog platform to the other.)

Anyway, that’s a lot of stories just about real estate in Pinellas County, even though a few of them have strayed a little bit from that single subject.

Feel free to page back through the old entries. Most of them are still informative about homes and real estate in Pinellas County, or more specifically real estate in Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Crystal Beach, Ozona, Oldsmar and Safety Harbor.

Tags: Crystal Beach, Dunedin, Oldsmar, Ozona, Palm Harbor, Pinellas County real estate, real estate, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs

Hurricanes don’t come ashore in Pinellas County very often, but if one does…

We need to be prepared. So plan, plan, plan, and take measures that will minimize risk and damage.

 Below is a list of hurricane preparation tips. Have a tip of your own to share? Tell us below and help keep others safe.

 If you are evacuating your home:

•  Turn the pilot light off on your water heater and furnace, then turn off the gas line valve near the appliance. Finally, turn off your gas at the meter. This will reduce the probability that a tree falling on the roof will break an active gas line and create the chance for a spark to cause a fire. Turning off valves working from the appliance to the meter will make it easier to reignite on your return by reversing the process.
• Turn off your master water supply
• 

  Hurricane supplies

   While some would recommend leaving your master breaker on for your alarm and refrigerator function, if you are leaving the property due to the severity of the weather, chances are the power may be lost anyway. It’s really safest to shut it off. The reason is that if the power surges, as it does when the power company is trying to restore the down service or with blowing transformers, it can damage electronics including HVAC systems. Homes equipped with a generator must turn off the main breaker to avoid shifting power back out to the street, as this can be dangerous for utility company workers or if a line has broken from the property with the generator. If you are not going to be leaving the property you can, and should, keep the main breaker on until the power goes out.

•  Unplug all fixtures or small appliances that can be accessed.
•  Bring into the garage, or otherwise secure, all movable exterior items such as small plants in pots, lawn furniture and pool equipment.
•  Fill all vehicle fuel tanks.
•  If you have time, trim all branches or heavy bushes that could damage windows.
•  Use wind shutters: either pull down your professionally installed hurricane shutters or install your own plywood panels.*

Take with you:

•  Food and snacks for two days
• Two gallons of water per individual
• Clothing for one week
• First aid kit
• Medications for 30 days
• Flashlights and spare batteries
• Cash
• Important documents (wills, insurance, licenses, medical and bank records as needed)
• Pet care items
• Tell a neighbor who is staying where you are going and how to contact you. Exchange numbers.

 If you are staying: (Highly discouraged if you are in a storm surge area or near the immediate path of the storm):

•  Increase food supplies to 3-7 days—preferably non-perishable food items.
•  Fill up your propane tank for your grill or buy two sacks of charcoal.
• Make sure you have a functional fire extinguisher. ABC type will work on any fire.
• Remember, with down trees and no reliable phone service, 911 may not be an option.
•  Increase water supplies to one gallon per person per day.
•  Adequate toiletries, diapers and special items to last at least one week
•  One flashlight per individual and one spare set of batteries per light
•  Increase cash on hand.
•  Battery operated radio
•  Toys books and games
•  Tools
•  Clean and fill the tub the night before land fall. This water will be used for pets and flushing toilets.
•  Do all of your laundry before land fall. You may not have a chance for a week or so.
•  Take digital pictures of your home and each room. This will support future insurance claims.
•  Store your valuable papers in a waterproof container or bank vault
•  Fill bags with ice from your ice machine
• Back up your computer data and store it in a safe place

 Additional steps for family safety:

• Discuss hazards that could affect your family (storm surge, rising water, down power lines).
• Determine a safe escape route and two meeting points if you have to evacuate your house unexpectedly. Have a contact person out of the area that each family member can contact if you are separated.
• Locate the safest room in your home. Pre-stock with pillows and blankets if room allows.
• Plan for taking care of your pets.

*According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), “In past hurricanes, many homeowners upon returning have noticed their temporary plywood shutters blown off because they were not adequately fastened. If you have a wood-frame house, use adequate fasteners to attach the panels over the openings when a hurricane approaches. Have these temporary shutters stored and ready to use since building supply stores generally sell out of these materials quickly during a hurricane warning. If your home is made with concrete blocks, however, you will have to install anchoring devices well in advance.”

A map showing evacuation routes, county shelters, and emergency numbers can be see here.

(Thanks to USInspect.com for this article)

Tags: hurricanes, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, real estate

Animal laws in Pinellas County

 Back in the old days, having a pet was a pretty simple matter. If your doggie wanted to go out, you let him out. You knew he wanted to come back in when he scratched on the door. Every evening you’d open a can of Alpo for him. End of story.

Pet ownership is a lot more complicated now. You can tell by all the people who walk, zombie-like, through your neighborhood at all hours of the day and night, leash in one hand and plastic poop bag in the other.

Pet ownership can be especially problematic if you own a pet and hope to move into a condo. Make sure you check the condo documents before you buy and read all the fine print if you hope to take your doggie along when you move.  Some condo developments restrict pets to a certain weight limit; others simply don’t allow pets at all.

Bo

If you want to buy a single-family home, restrictions like that don’t generally apply. However, you should make sure to check the homeowner association regulations just to double-check. Some may limit the number or type of pets you are allowed to have; others might impose restriction by weight. Almost all of them contain some language pertaining to animal waste and what you have to do to clean up after your pet.

Just for the fun of it, I thought I’d check on the laws in Pinellas County that apply to pets and other animals. Some of them are a little surprising. For example, I knew it was against the law to let your dog run free, but did you know it is equally unlawful to let your cat do the same thing?

Here are some other things you should know:

• It’s illegal to leave food or garbage out where it can attract “cats, dogs, raccoons, coyotes or other wildlife and thereby creates a public nuisance”
• While it is illegal to let dogs run free, the law doesn’t apply to police dogs or to “any dog which is actually engaged in or being trained for the sport of hunting during a legal hunting season…” So if your dog is caught running free, tell the officer you’re training him to hunt squirrels.
• If you have a dog or cat that is in heat, and you don’t keep her away from male dogs and cats, you’re breaking the law.
• It is unlawful to “molest, harm, frighten, kill, net, trap, snare, hunt, chase or shoot” any animal, unless they are fish. So apparently you can molest all the fish you want without fear of prosecution. It’s also against the law to “capture or collect for any purpose any animal, nest or egg or any animal, whether dead or alive.” So forget about those yummy road kill buffets.
• It’s illegal to “place, dump, abandon or leave” any animal on park property.
• You can’t use gasoline or chemicals to drive off wildlife.
• You can’t feed pelicans or sand hill cranes.
• And I like this one a lot: You can’t shoot wildlife with remote-controlled guns “when that person is not physically present at the location of that gun.”

Now, just so you won’t think that I am above all this, I’ve included a picture of Bo, our year-old Puggle (that’s a dog that is half pug and half beagle) – 28 pounds of muscle and attitude.

Tags: animal laws, dogs, pinellas county, Pinellas County real estate, real estate

Some colorful Downtown Dunedin real estate

Just found this picture of Dunedin's Blur nightclub, taken several months ago. Not sure what the special event was, but they draped the front of the building in this raspberry-colored fabric.

Tags: dunedin real estate

Ready to buy some Pinellas County real estate? Mortgage rates are lowest in 20 years

If the sale of Pinellas County real estate was simply dependent on interest rates, we should be seeing a stampede of homebuyers, because rates are the lowest they have been in 20 years.

According to Freddie Mac, rates for 15-year fixed-rate home loans dropped last week from 3.66 percent to 3.54 percent, the lowest those rates have been since 1991.

Rates for other mortgage profits dropped as well. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.39 percent, the lowest rate for a 30-year mortgage this year.

Why are real estate mortgage interest rates so low in Pinellas County and elsewhere when there is so much economic uncertainty? Those uncertainties are part of the reason. Mortgage rates follow yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes. Weaknesses in the economy have led investors to take money out of the stock market and put it into Treasury bonds. That lowers the yield on the Treasury bonds, and that leads to lower mortgage interest rates.

Congress established Freddie Mac in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. It provides mortgage capital to lenders.

Do those unbelieveably low interest rates make Pinellas County real estate ownership look more attractive to you? Why don’t you give me a call, and we’ll take a look what those rates can mean to you in terms of low monthly mortgage payments.

Call me anytime – 727-643-7100, or beth@bethfrederick.com

Tags: home financing, mortgages, Pinellas County real estate

Five ways to recognize the perfect Pinellas County house

     My last posting was about five steps you can take to make sure you get that home that you really want.  But that got me to thinking – how will you know the perfect house when you find it?

     You may know just by the feeling that it gives you when you walk through it. But it may be a little more complicated than that.  The perfect house needs to measure up in a number of ways if it is really going to make you happy and fulfill your needs.

      So, since the last post was “Five Ways to Make Sure You Get the House you Really Want,” here are “Five Ways to Know the Perfect House When You See It”:

1. IS IT PRICED RIGHT? There are lots of great houses out there that would probably make you happy, but not too may that can make you happy AND fit into your budget. If you set a price limit when started your home search, try to stay within that budget. You won’t be happy if your mortgage payments eat up too much of your income.
2.  IS IT IN THE RIGHT PLACE? There’s nothing more important than location when you are looking for a new home. Is the house near your work, near your kids’ favored schools, near the places where you like to shop or go out to eat? The greatest house in the world won’t make you happy if its far away from everything and everyone you care about.
3.  DOES IT HAVE WHAT YOU WANT? If you love to cook, you won’t be happy with a little galley kitchen. If you love to work on your classic car, you’ll need plenty of garage space. If you love to swim, you’ll need a pool. Don’t fall in love with a house that doesn’t have what you really want.
4.  IS IT BIG ENOUGH? Does it have enough bedrooms, or a big enough family room, or enough storage space? You won’t be happy if you are cramped. (By the same token, you may want to ask, “Is it small enough?” If you live alone or your kids have left the nest, you may rattle around in even the most beautiful 3,000 square foot house).
5.  IS IT IN GOOD SHAPE? The first house we owned was an architectural masterpiece that was on the National Register of Historic Places. But it was huge, and it needed virtually everything. We worked on it for 10 years and never got it finished. A more efficient home in excellent condition might have made a lot more sense for us.

When you’re looking for a house, follow your heart – but don’t let your heart overrule your head.

Tags: home, home search, pinellas county, real estate

Will the federal government become the biggest landlord in Pinellas County?

Q: Who is the biggest single family home landlord in the nation?

A: According to the Wall Street Journal, it could soon be the federal government.

Word has it that the Obama administration is thinking about developing a plan that would allow foreclosed single family homes to be rented out, thereby taking some of those foreclosed properties off the market and generating some income.

At the end of April, HUD owned about 69,000 homes; at the end of March, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned another 218,000 properties.

There’s nothing definite on this idea at this point. But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress last week that the idea “is worth looking at.” He and others say that renting out the foreclosed homes could help cover the cost of holding the properties until markets stabilize; it might even provide some profits for HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

One downside is that those agencies would have to become giant rental agencies, a business that they don’t understand very well. A better solution might be to sell the foreclosed properties en masse to private investors who would agree to rent them out, and who would agree to contract with property management companies, who would handle the day-to-day management and tenant issues.

Tags: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, homes for rent, pinellas county, rental homes

Why the increase in home sales contract cancellations?

Why do home purchase contracts get cancelled?

You spend weeks or even months searching for just the right home. After a lengthy search, and after kissing a lot of frogs, you find your prince of a home and make an offer. You and the seller finally agree on a price and terms; at last you have a contract!

But instead of everything moving forward smoothly, something happens, and you end up with a cancelled contract.

After all your careful work, how can that be?

Cancelled real estate contracts are one of the side affects of this very difficult real estate market, and they can happen for a multiude of reasons. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported this month that real estate sales slipped during the month of June for the third straight month, and one of the reasons was an increase in the number of cancelled sales contracts.

What’s the reason?

No one really knows for sure, but the NAR points out that tighter credit standards might be one reason. If a loan application is unexepectedly rejected because of credit issues, you can say goodbye to your sales agreement. Likewise, tighter appraisals might be a contributing factor; if a home doesn’t appraise for the agree-upon selling price, that can mean another sales contract that ends up going nowhere.

However, economic uncertainty and the federal budget debacle may be causing hesitation among some consumers or lenders.”

Other possible reasons, according to the NAR: general uncertainty about the nation’s economy, and about the federal budget. That uncertainty may affect home buyers and sellerds as well as mortgage lenders.

Lower limits on loan amounts are scheduled to go into affect on October 1. That is several months off, but some lenders may be applying those lower limits already, anticipating that same current sales may not close before the end of September. That could be having an impact, too.

If you are planning on buying a home in the near future, you may want to call me soon so we can discuss ways of making sure your sales contract stays together until the closing.

I’m always available for a chat at 727-643-7100, or via e-mail at beth@bethfrederick.com

Tags: mortgages, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, real estate, real estate contracts

Tampa Bay ranks last when it comes to public transit

Tampa Bay scores again; Forbes Magazine took a look at the 60 major metro areas in the country and then rated their rapid transit systems. Tampa Bay made the list — in last place.

That should come as only a mild surprise to anyone who has had to drive to work on either side of Tampa Bay. Traffic here is a nightmare, and there are few alternatives to driving your own car to work. We do have a bus system, but there is no rapid transit system, no subway, no passenger rail.

A great light rail system opened a few months ago in Phoenix. So far, it's been very popular with local residents.

Many of our major roadways started life as sleepy two-lanes.  US19N, the major north-south road that runs the length of Pinellas County, was once a rural two-lane road that passed through miles of orange groves, at least in the northern part of the county where I live. Someone recently told me that he remembered when there was just a flashing light at the intersection of 19 and Tampa Road, a busy major intersection today that serves six lanes of US19 and four of Tampa Road. 

If you want to cross the bay between Pinellas (Where St. Petersburg is located) and Hillsborough (Tampa), you have four choices: The Gandy bridge; the Howard Franklin Bridge; the Courtney Campbell Causeway; and Hillsborough Avenue, the only land route, located at the northern tip of Tampa Bay. If you attempt this crossing in rush hour, be prepared to sit.

If you’ve read this blog before, you know I am a fan of light rail, and we might — just might — have such a system in our sights.

A month or two ago, President Obama came to town and announced that the federal government would fund the majority share of a high-speed rail line between Tampa Bay and Orlando. That’s nice, because it would eliminate the drive on I-4, a really difficult bit of Interstate between those two cities.

But the real value of such a line would be the possibility of a light rail system at this end of it. The high-speed line could connect to a light-rail system that would circumnavigate Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties and provide an alternative to the automobile.

We have something called the Tampa Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority (TBARTA), which would like to build that system. Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, who serves on the TBARTA board, spoke at St. Petersburg College recently about rapid transit in Tampa Bay, and said such a system is necessary both for current residents and to respond to companies that may consider locating facilities in Tampa Bay. 

All that said, I do have a bone or two to pick with Forbes about this ranking.  We used to live in Washington, DC,  and it would be hard to imagine a worse commuting city than that. before we lived in Florida we lived in Maine, and that meant the occasional drive to the biggest metro center in that neck of the woods, Boston. If you’ve never driven in Boston at rush hour, it is a breathtaking experience. Still, both those cities have good subway systems and buses that run frequently.

I think it is fair to say that Palm Harbor real estate, Dunedin real estate, or Pinellas County real estate in general would be more attractive if it was served by an efficient light rail system