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Pinellas County real estate: It’s not Silicon Valley

Real estate agents in two very different California markets are thinking that 2012 might be a banner year for high-end real estate sales. Even though these two markets are more than 200 miles apart, they are banking on the same circumstances to boost their high-end sales.

Silicon Valley, around the southern tip of San Francisco Bay

The two areas are San Francisco – or Silicon Valley, to be more specific – and Lake Tahoe, about 200 miles to the east. Real estate agents in both of those markets are thinking that economic developments in Silicon Valley’s high-tech industry might create a huge stimulus to high-end real estate sales in their areas.

A little history; the Lake Tahoe area has long been a favorite vacation spot for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Lots of high-tech CEOs and other highly compensated executives have long been drawn to the Lake Tahoe area on the California-Nevada border, just a four-hour drive from the San Francisco area.

One upcoming business event really has captured the attention of real estate agents both in Silicon Valley and in Lake Tahoe; the expected IPO of Facebook. That single event, if it takes place as expected, will create a new generation of Silicon Valley millionaires, many of them young adults with families.

Young, wealthy adults with families are a perfect fit for high-end lakefront properties in Tahoe.

The Tahoe market for million-dollar vacation properties has been depressed during the last few years, as you might expect. But the sales of premium Tahoe properties perked up during the third quarter of 2011, and observers of the market say Silicon Valley high-tech execs were right in the thick of those sales. Sales of those premium vacation properties stretched from a million dollars to four million or more.

Some buyers from the tech industry have snapped up vacation homes recently that run from $1 million to $4 million or more. Observers of the real estate scene in the Lake Tahoe area noted that one expensive lakefront development, Martis Camp, had 20 parcels bought up in the past year by executives for such high-tech companies as Google, Facebook and Apple, all based in Silicon Valley.

Facebook may be the biggest IPO player on the horizon, but it is not the only one. Ernst & Young says that 25 high-tech companies in the San Francisco Bay area are getting their Initial Public Offerings together.

“That’s all just great,” you may say. “But, really, what does all that have to do with real estate here in Tampa Bay? After all, Silicon Valley and Lake Tahoe couldn’t be much further away from here.”

True enough. But here is why I think this discussion is relevant:

Silicon Valley has Facebook, Google, Apple and literally hundreds of other high-tech companies. Most of them are doing really well. Somewhere around 25 of them are planning to go public very soon. When that happens, the high –end real estate markets in at least two separate geographic areas of California will boom. Sales of home in the middle price ranges should benefit, as well.

So where is our Silicon Valley? Where are all the IPOs in Tampa Bay?

There isn’t one, and there aren’t any.

We don’t have a sluggish real estate market; we have a sluggish economy, with little in the way of good-paying jobs and bright financial futures.

I’m delighted for Silicon Valley and for the Lake Tahoe area. But their success may mean little to real estate’s big picture if we don’t find ways of igniting this country’s economy once again.

Tags: economy, high tech, jobs, lake tahoe, pinellas county, public companies, real estate, san francisco, silicon valley, Tampa Bay

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

July home index leaves little to smile about

Every month, real estate people, financing professionals, homebuilders and many others wait with great anticipation for release of the monthly Case-Schiller home price index from Standard & Poor. 

 The index keeps track, on a month-by-month basis, of home prices across the country.

The most recent index report was released this week. And while everyone was hoping for a healthy uptick in home sales, what they got instead was more of the same.

Home prices in May (measured in 20 major cities) were down 4.5 percent from the same month a year ago. When compared to the previous month of this year, April, home prices were virtually unchanged.

 So what we have is a market that continues to sort of limp along at the same slow pace. No big drops to indicate additional troubles in the area of home prices; but no indications of additional market recovery, either.

Taken market-by-market, prices were up a bit in nine cities, and down a bit in 11 others. Unfortunately for those of us in this part of the country, homes prices were down 1.5 percent in Tampa Bay.

Why aren’t we seeing more recovery after such a long period of market weakness? Here’s a few possible reasons:

• The battle in Washington over raising the debt ceiling, and the inability of lawmakers to come up with some sort of strategy or plan – any plan – doesn’t do anything to inspire confidence.
• Because so many problems result from lax lending standards, the current lending standards are much tighter than before, and that keeps some buyers (even qualified buyers) out of the market.
• High unemployment rates (9.2 percent nationally) means thousands of people don’t have the incomes necessary for home purchases.
• The bad economy prevents the formation of new households. People forming new households are people in need of new housing.

 I posted a story a few days ago about the increase in cancelled real estate sales contracts. There are a number of reasons for cancelled contracts (tighter credit standards, tougher appraisals, general nervousness in the market), but whatever the reason, fewer executed contracts obviously means fewer sales.

Were you hoping for a little more optimism in this month’s Case-Schiller home price index? Okay, here are a couple of bright spots: 

• The inventory of homes for sale was 164,000 units, a little more than a six-month supply. That’s the lowest that home inventories have been in a long time. Once we fight through all this stagnant inventory of homes for sale, we’ll see a re-ignition of the new-home construction business, and that will mean new jobs and some good stimulation for the economy.
• The median home sales price for the month of June was up 7.2% for new single-family homes. That could be an indication that homes in the higher price ranges are starting to sell.

If you are a glass-half-full kind of person, the new monthly index figures are a little encouraging. If you are more of a glass-half-empty sort, then the index just means more of the same.

Tags: case-schiller, home prices, price index, real estate, Tampa Bay

Most toxic city? Hint: It’s not Tampa Bay

What’s the most toxic city in America? That is, the city with the worst environmental problems, judged on the basis of dirty air, unclean water and the rate of environmental hazards?

Atlanta skyline

You may have thought Los Angeles with all of its smog, or you may have thought of a place like Chicago, with its reputation as an industrial center.

However, you would have been wrong on both counts, and on a number of other counts, as well.  Because, according to Forbes Magazine, the most toxic city in the U.S. is… Atlanta!

Yeah, I’m surprised, too.  We spent a very nice weekend in Atlanta a year or two ago, and I never had the sense that the city was unusually unclean or polluted. But according to Forbes, Atlanta is not only the most toxic city in the country, it has zoomed up to the Number One spot from Number 28 just a year before.

The next question from me is, so where does Tampa Bay rank on the Forbes list?

Tampa Bay is quite a ways down the list, at Number 16 (tied with the Miami area and St. Louis.) That’s not exactly great on a list with 40 positions, but it’s not terrible, either. Accortding to Forbes, Tampa Bay releases about 4 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the environment every year, a mere pittance compared to Atlanta’s 41 million pounds.

So what community occupies the final spot on Forbes’ 40-spot list?  According to the magazine, it’s Las Vegas.

Tags: environment, Tampa Bay, toxic

New data indicates declines in Tampa Bay home values may be slowing

Are we finally starting to see some stabilization in the value of homes in Pinellas County? According to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the answer might be yes.

According to Index data released yesterday, home prices in Tampa Bay fell 0.7 percent from April to May. That works out to an annual rate of 8.4 percent – the lowest rate in quite a while.  Just two months previously, the 30-day decline was 2.7 percent, which translates to an annual rateof decline of 32.4 percent.

The Index said the annual decline of home values from April 2008 to April 2009 was 21.3 percent, the seventh-worse performance among the 20 cities that the index tracks. The worst was Phoenix, which recorded a home value decline of 35.3 percent.

Here is why real estate agents and others are watching these statistics: What we have been seeing for some time now is a steady increase in the number of home sales in Tampa Bay, accompanied by an equally steady decline in sales prices. The increase in sales has contributed to a decline in the home inventory in the Multiple Listing Service, which is good; but home prices have been continually forced down, due in part to foreclosures and distressed sales.

These trends have made us wonder just where the bottom of the market is in terms of home values. These new figures from Case-Shiller may help us find that answer. Of course, it is only one month; and other variables such as higher mortgage interest rates could slow sales and depress home values all over again.

If you would like to see the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index data for yourself, go here.

Tags: home valies, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, Tampa Bay

Carl Cowden III is Tampa Bay’s premier painter of murals

Artist Carl Cowden III

In 1974, while still in high school, Carl Cowden III painted a 4 x 8 panel that was part of a temporary construction wall. That project, part of a contest for students, won him second place. Today, Cowden is Tampa Bay’s premier painter of murals.

He graduated from the University of Tampa in 1978 with a degree in fine arts and then got a job with the Community Design Center as a mural artist. The Community Design Center was a Tampa non-profit that developed building and restoration codes for historic neighborhoods. Between 1978 and 1980, he completed six large public murals.

During those early years, he was also known locally for his music.  His band, the Voodoo Idols, began performing in 1978 and continued until 1986.

Safety Harbor Fire Station mural

While he doesn’t limit his work to murals, the murals may be what he is best known for, and he is proud of the contribution they make to the community.

“Public art adds to the quality of life and property,” Cowden said. “These are images that are enjoyed by generations for generations.”

Cowden’s murals can be found just about anywhere and everywhere in Tampa Bay, and all kinds of clients pay for his services. For example, after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, the team and the local Outdoor Arts Foundation decided to depict the victory on a 10-foot-by-28-foot oil tank at 39th Street and Adamo Drive. Cowden had to work 130 feet off the ground to get that project completed.

According to Cowden, the lifespan of any mural depend on a number of factors.

Oldsmar City Hall mural

“Of ultimate importance is the condition of the wall before it is painted — the quality of the wall preparation as well as the paint and sealer used to complete the mural,” he said. “The wall must be sealed well, especially at the top. This keeps moisture from seeping behind the paint or substrate, which can destroy it from the inside out.”
 
A public mural’s value is largely determined by the community it serves as well as by the property owner, Cowden said, making the projects very site-specific. The process can be complicated somewhat by the fact that property owners may not live in the local community.

“When I begin a design, I like to speak to the local community and the individuals who will live with it,” he said. “In this way, it is more than just a pretty picture — it is something that has meaning and value to the community. When the people who live with a mural have no say in it, or it deteriorates, or the community loses its unity, its value is diminished and it is subject to vandalism and the owner’s needs.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: art, carl cowden, Clearwater, murals, Tampa Bay

Public art in Tampa Bay

It seems as though communities are becoming more aware of the fact that art can liven up and enhance any downtown area.

While walking down Franklin Street in downtown Tampa recently, I noticed several examples of original art along the sidewalk. This particular piece was a design in the shape of a harp, with actual wind chimes where the harp strings would be.

A sign identified the piece as “Harp Fountain,” and the artist as Marc DeWaele, who owns the Art Symphony Galleria at 2714 South MacDill Ave. in Tampa.

Tags: art, Tampa Bay

Tampa Theater is a Tampa Bay treasure

If you have seen the movie Casablanca, chances are you’ve seen it on TV. Nothing wrong with that, it’s a terrific movie and it comes across great no matter how or where you see it. But next weekend is a true treat for movie buffs — you get to see Casablanca at the Tampa Theater.
If you are not familiar with the Tampa Theater, it is a true gem of a movie theater that was built in 1926 and then lovingly restored in the 1980s to its original splendor.  The detail inside the lobby and theater itself are breathtaking. It is a true local treasure, and if you live in Pinellas County it is a fairly short hop across the Courtney Campbell Causeway or over Hillsborough Avenue to Tampa to take advantage of what it has to offer.
The Tampa Theater is home to many concerts and events, but it is still a great place to see a movie, especially on old black-and-white classic. We saw Keb Mo in concert there a few years ago, and we’ve attended everything from cocktail parties to receptions in the tiled lobby.
Oh, yeah — back to Casablanca.  It is being shown next Saturday (June 27) at 3 p.m., and then it is being shown again the following day at the same time.  If you’ve never been to the Tampa Theater, it’s a great time to go and admire it. It is on Franklin Street in Downtown Tampa — learn more at http://www.tampatheatre.org

Tags: Pinellas County real estate, Tampa Bay, things to do

Pinellas County parks: Great places to go

Pinellas County offers some of the finest parks you will find anywhere.

Some, like Fort DeSoto at the southern tip of the county, have beaches that are considered among the best in the country. Others, like John Chestnut Sr. Park, offer plenty of lake frontage.

But Phillippe Park is special, because it offers lots of frontage on Tampa Bay; because it has been a public park since the 1940s, which is pretty much ancient history around here; because it is named after the man who brought the citrus industry to Tampa Bay; and because it has a big Indian mound within its borders.

 I attended a picnic at Phillippe Park this weekend and was reminded of how beautiful it is.

Tampa Bay from the park

There are a number of shelters you can reserve for picnics, and the grounds are kept in immaculate condition by the park rangers. 

There is plenty of parking, and Phillippe Park is a great place for a walk, or just a sit on one of the benches that overlook the water.

If you want to learn more about Pinellas County’s parks, you can click here.

Tags: parks, Phillippe Park, pinellas county, Tampa Bay

Ugly bathroom contest

Now, this is an ugly bathroom

Do you have an ugly bathroom?

Now, we’re not talking about a bathroom with some rust stains in the sink, or a tear or two in the flooring, or even a few rips in the shower curtain up by the curtain rod rings. No, we’re talking about a seriously nasty bathroom, one that you don’t like to go into even when you really, really have to go.

Luxury Bath Systems of Tampa Bay, which has a place of business at 33851 US19N in Palm Harbor, is looking for a really, really ugly bathroom. It has to be in Pasco, Pinellas or Hillsborough counties, but otherwise its an open field.

Here’s the good part; if your ugly bathroom is chosen as the worst of the worst, you might win a full bath remodel – a re-do that will include KraftMaid vanities from Grand Kitchen & Bath of St. Petersburg; vanity tops from Granite Plus Inc. in St. Petersburg; as well as new plumbing fixtures, toilets, lighting and doors. In other words, the works, something valued at $8,500.

Here’s what you do: submit a photo of your nasty bath at http://www.uglybathroomcontest.net/. You must submit your entry by March 31, and five finalists will be chosen and posted on the Luxury Bath Systems website between April 3 and 26.

"After" bathroom picture

Once the finalists are posted, people can visit the website and vote for their favorite. On May 1, the winner will be announced.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPARTMENT: The really ugly bathroom in the picture at the top was an entry in the ugly bathroom contest from an earlier year (we didn’t want to influence the outcome of this year’s contest). The really pretty bathroom picture shows a bathroom done by Luxury Bath Systems, but it is NOT a makeover of the ugly bathroom above. There; we feel better!

Tags: Tampa Bay, ugly bathroom