rmasse10's Blog: All Categories

I just got back from a 3 day vacation (can really only take short spurts of disconnect) and I must say that I felt like a coffee addict on Decaf for those 3 days.  My wife and I work in the Tampa Real Estate Market.  I went to the beach with my wife and stayed right on the water...20 steps to the sand.  When I booked the room, I ordered what they call the "Resort Convenience" package.  This pays for a number of things, and also gives you access to business services.  Great, "Does that include Internet"..."Yes".  Ok, so I pack my laptop, my wife packs her's, along with an assortment of other electronic devices, and off we go.

The beach was beautiful, the water was warm and wonderful, and the sand and sun were very relaxing.  No, I did not carry any devices…

Ok, I am definitely for Government making sure people keep their homes, it is the American Dream.  But what's with this removal of the Seller Assisted Down Payment.  So according to this "Bail Out" Bill that the President just signed into law, as of Oct 1 2008, Seller Assisted Down Payments will no longer be allowed...Whats Up with That!  As I stated in the first line, the American dream apparently comes at a price.  So if you first time home buyers out there need a little extra cash to buy that home in the Tampa Real Estate Market, and most of you will need something due to high overall closing costs, you are out of luck.  The government wants you to come up with all the money yourself, no gifts, no seller assistance, no nothing.  This is how I understand…

The Tampa Real Estate market is moving very fast right now, mostly because the deals are a plenty and the prices are right.  People are coming out of the woodworks right now to buy homes as fast as they can get their hands on it.  First time home buyers should make note that come Oct 1 2008, seller assisted down payments will no longer be allowed and therefore any first time home buyers out there should pick up the pace and make sure you get your offers in before that time period elapses.

Markets with the highest activities have been Riverview, Brandon, Tampa, and Apollo Beach mostly due to the amount of home you can buy for the money.  So if you are in the market, don't haste, as the deals are starting to disappear.

I hear almost daily about this real estate slump that is occuring...but I just don't see it.  Real Estate as a whole is a very location specific animal and what happens in one county is not necessarily what happens in another.  The Tampa Real Estate Market is currently on fire.  Property's that are well priced are selling at an incredible rate.  We have buyers from all over the world looking to purchase a piece of sunshine.  Granted, the pricing in today's market is lower than it was 2 years ago, but the overall reduction in home prices is not that dramatic as other counties.  Tampa Bay is in Hillsborough county and Tampa Bay did not see the huge upswings in prices the other areas went through.  Don't get me wrong, the Tampa Bay area had increases in home…

An email I just received from GTAR (Greater Tampa Association of Realtors) shows the following in the Headline:

(1) EXISTING HOME SALES UP A WHOPPING 76% SINCE  JANUARY, 2008
(2) INVENTORY DOWN 5.5% SINCE JANUARY 2008
(3) MONTHS OF INVENTORY DOWN 54% SINCE JANUARY 2008
(4) AVERAGE SALES PRICE DOWN TO $227,565
(5) AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET UP FROM 124 IN MAY TO 152 IN JUNE

This is excellent news for the Tampa Real Estate Market in both home sales and Tampa Foreclosures.  The main reason for the drop in average sales price is due to Banks accepting their loss on either property they own thru the Foreclosure process or losses they have accepted due to the Short Sale Process.  These properties when they close, regardless, set new comparatives for the market…

Being an engineer in my past life, I am kind of a gadget freak.  My home office is full of technology, greater than the entire building where I work.  I have more fire power in my home than most tech companies around the Tampa Bay Area (trust me I do).  Anyway, I use to think that the Iphone was a toy when I first saw it.  I used my Blackberry and loved it for a long time.  Then my buddy bought me an Iphone (he says so that we can speak the same language...not sure since he is Russian so).  Anyway, my thoughts of toy moved to tool I can't do without.  Don't get me wrong, the Iphone is still a shinny toy, but with the new App store being released, the toy has grown up.

One app I saw, not currently in the App Store, but in conceptual proof, was an app that…

A report just out from NAR lists the Tampa Real Estate Market as having an inventory drop by 7.0% year over year.  No surprise here from me as I have been watching the inventory and clients have been writing contracts as fast as the ink flows out of the pen.  The main reason for this drop in my opinion is three fold: First, the pricing is more in line with that of sub 2004 values, I would say somewhere around the 2000-2003 years, interest rates are still very low and people are jumping in with cash in hand.

Usually news like this creates a frenzy in buying which is both good and bad.  The market can not sustain itself like that in 2004 again, and I hope for a more stabilize "neutral" market to come about by the decreased inventory results.  Whatever…

An ongoing issue in todays market, especially in the Tampa Foreclosures and Tampa Short Sales market... is the waiting.  These deals are not an overnight transaction.  You will need to hurry up, wait, then hurry up again.  Here is what I mean.  The desire for alot of these properties is great so the bidding will be fierce.  Make sure you put your best foot forward and make the best offer that you can because alot of times, you will only have one shot at it.  Then after this frenzy, you will need to take a back seat and wait...at times up to 60-90 days for an answer.  But here is the catch, if and when the bank give you the green light, you need to move things into high gear again and get everything done in quick time.  The bank has made their decision…